The Shadowed Path

19. Reine-1

19

Reine

We wandered around for a while, and by a while, I mean for about an hour. Fae aren't known for their patience. Finally, when it felt like we came back to the same set of trees and rocks, Rhys plopped down on one of them.

"We're lost."

"Again, thanks for stating the obvious, dear brother." I sat beside him, and Troubadour remained standing, scanning our surroundings.

I scowled at him. "You're the dark Fae, and these are your lands. Don't you have some sort of trick or guidance for us?"

"Yeah," Rhys agreed. "That chick in the cave called you a prince, and you've got the vibe. You should have some sort of command of the forest or something else Fae-ish going on."

I directed a silent question to Rhys. What chick in what cave?

I think it was Desdemona, but I’m not sure. They’re cousins. Tell you the rest later.

Troubadour arched an eyebrow and ran one hand through his hair. The dark blond strands seemed to relish being out of their controlled coif, giving him a rakish air. I looked away, my cheeks heating. What was wrong with me? I mean, yes, I was attracted to him, but I had gotten way too old for silly schoolgirl reactions. Or had I secretly been fascinated with him since he’d appeared through Aria at her shop? He certainly didn't act like a Fae prince.

He plucked at his harp, and the notes sounded hushed, like they, too, had gotten trapped in whatever space-time loop Faerie had built here. The melody tugged at my heartstrings with its sadness.

"Ish is about right for me." He continued to play, the song bittersweet, and inclined his head toward Rhys. "A Fae prince doesn't have to be scarred to be exiled from his court."

Rhys put a hand to his marred cheek. "Harsh, mate."

Troubadour had the grace to appear somewhat abashed, although I doubted the genuineness of the expression. "I do apologize, but surely you've become accustomed to it by now."

"There's no getting used to something that keeps you trapped away from your home."

"That, Light Prince, is very true." Troubadour sighed and sank to a cross-legged posture on the ground. I think we all held our breath in case we needed to rescue him from the forest floor sucking him in, but nothing happened. Maybe it waited until the Fae or other creature died or at least succumbed to exhaustion and starvation. My stomach growled.

"Oh!" I dug in my pack. "I still have a breakfast wrap from this morning. Who wants some?"

The looks on their faces resembled something feral, so I divided the wrap as best I could and handed it around. A golden glow flowed between our hands as I did so, and I smiled. Even in a temporal trap in the dark Fae lands, the magic of breaking bread (and eggs and cheese) held. Thankfully Fae food didn't spoil.

Eating made me recognize the despair that had crept in underneath my tiredness, and I stood to shake it off. "Let's go again. We have to find our way out—"

Troubadour finished for me, "Before dark, lest the water wolves swarm again."

I shuddered. "You don't think we dealt them enough of a blow?"

"There are always more predatory creatures, Princess. If not the wolves, then something else. There's a reason the walls of the city are so high and impenetrable."

"I thought they were to repel invading Fae armies."

"That's a nice side benefit, although if the invaders were as beautiful and charming as you, I wouldn't mind."

I laughed. "That was a clumsy flirt. Come on, you can do better than that."

Rhys rolled his eyes, then frowned and looked up. "Stop it, the two of you. Wait, I have an idea." His wings appeared, and he flew upward. Not willing to be separated vertically or horizontally, I followed him, and Troubadour came close behind me. Rhys reached the tops of the trees, and we turned and searched for any sort of landmark.

Troubadour sighed. "We should be able to see the lake and possibly the city from up here, but there's nothing. Just waves of unbroken trees."

"Wait." I squinted into the distance. "Over there. Do you see it? There's a gray smudge."

They turned toward where I pointed.

"I do believe you're right, Princess. That could be the border of the Gray Zone. I've heard its magic is powerful enough to overcome most spells, including defensive ones."

"That's why we have to stay to the path once we get there. But let's go."

"How do you know it's not an illusion?" my ever-so-skeptical brother asked.

I paused and closed my eyes, reaching into the well of memory. I found the signature of the Gray Zone's energy, a certain vibration and feel in the air. The echo of the same drew me forward. "Because I can actually feel it." I flew onward, the guys flanking me.

Troubadour turned to me with a frown. "No one can feel the Gray Zone except the gray Fae."

"Perhaps I've picked up some tricks during my time in the Earth realm. Or maybe I've always been good with places."

"She has always had an uncanny sense of direction," Rhys agreed. "That's why my mother insisted she come with me when I forayed out into the Earth realm."

I glanced at him, my brows raised with surprise. He didn't often talk about our life before our exile. Both of us found it too painful. He grinned and shrugged.

We crossed something, an invisible resistance in the air, that made my body twang like one of Troubadour's harp strings. I paused and flew back, testing it. The two princes circled back.

Rhys asked, "What is it?"

"Something shocked me. Didn't you feel it?"

"No, but look." Troubadour pointed downward, and now that I floated in the energy that tingled with welcome, I could see a break in the trees that formed a line.

"It's the Shadowed Path." I descended, and when my feet met the hard-packed dirt, relief flooded through me. "Thank the gods."

The others landed beside me, and Rhys swiped the back of his hand across his brow. "Phew. I'd forgotten how hard flying could be after not doing it for so long. Good thing you had the food."

My stomach twinged again, and now that we'd come out of the perpetual afternoon of the forest trap, I could see the sun had progressed on its descent. The shadows had grown longer, and the light more golden.

"Yes, and we should hurry, lest we become food for something else."

Troubadour fell in behind me. "Do you know what Ellerin had planned for you in the Gray Zone?"

"No, but I hope I'll be able to figure it out once we get there."

"With your strange affinity?" Rhys sounded skeptical and a little disapproving. Oh, well, he could feel what he wanted.

"Probably from having been there before, although Sir Raleigh guided me." The tightness of the forest spacing loosened with more room between the trunks and grass appearing in patches here and there. The blades had started their autumn fade from green to brown, and all around me the land emanated the waning vibration of the cooling season. A pang of homesickness for my little cottage in Scotland, which would be surrounded by leaves of red, yellow, and orange, darted through my chest. That was odd—this was my home, even if I hadn't quite reached Lorien yet. Why would I feel nostalgic for a place I'd longed to escape?

The forest gave way entirely to grassland, and we walked down a gentle slope to a stream. I stopped, sensing the border.

Rhys and Troubadour flanked me again, and we all looked at the water.

Rhys spoke first. "That's not a normal stream."

"No," Troubadour agreed, "it's not. That's the border of the Gray Zone, so it's a transition feature. We'll need to be careful crossing it."

"So, you're coming with us?" I asked, my heart giving an unexpected skip. "You don't have to. You gave me the information you intended, and now you can find your way back."

He shook his head. "I'm in it for the long haul, Princess. Besides, I have business in Lorien I've been putting off, so I may as well come with you. It seems like you could use the help."

I looked at Rhys, who scowled but didn't say anything for a few seconds, then, "Your call, Reine. He has been helpful."

"That's fine with me, then. Shall we cross and see what awaits us on the other side?"