Lingering memories filtered through, reminding me of how handsome Philip had been when his profile was lit up by the summer sunset. No one spoke after I told them of my upbringing. Enjoying the silence, we kept walking into the nothing that was around us.
Speaking of our odd journey, I realized I wasn’t sure where we were going. “Is there a portal or something that we’re going to?”
“Ley lines. It’s the powerful lines between dimensions that allow us to travel through them. Our world is a mirror of yours, so it’s easier to get to.” Bain was the one to answer me. Pointing ahead, I saw a light shifting through the ground. It was odd from never seeing them before. “With how your world used to be, the lines were hidden from the beauty all around. With just ash remaining, the glow cannot be hidden.”
“That’s terrible,” I breathed out. “Does your world look like this?”
“In some parts, but our magic has put up a little more resistance than your world did. We still have strongholds she hasn’t been able to penetrate, but we’re running out of time from her drawing core magic out of the other areas,” Fergus replied. His sorrow could be felt because it was his source of magic being lost.
“We’ve only managed to secure a handful of reservoirs away from the decayed lands,” Alasdair added. I could only guess that he was the one with water as his source of power, hailing from the summer court.
Wondering something that bothered me, I looked between the two men next to my sides. “Who is air and fire?”
“Air for fall court,” Cullen proudly announced.
“And I am fire,” the man with white hair returned.
“How is the winter court fire?” I was baffled by the idea.
“Easily. The cold does not bother us, so we don’t need it for heat. Our internal temperature helps keep it contained unlike a warm-blooded fae would use it for making fires all the time.”
“In a weird way, that actually makes sense.” I nodded toward him, holding him in a higher regard. I couldn’t imagine what they were all going through with feeling their power drain from within.
The humans lost their land, but not their true essence as the fae were suffering now. Feeling for them, it helped me know this was the path I was meant for. At some point, I’d be alone long enough to let myself grieve Philip properly, but I wouldn’t let the tears shed yet. I knew once they started, there’d be no stopping them. Letting myself pretend the permanent ache in my heart didn’t exist, I followed the men through the rift of golden magic.
6
Fergus
The woman was captivating in ways I couldn’t describe. Though, I felt like I was missing something rather important about her. Now that we were back in our homeland, we were all more equipped to handle what might come after us. Briar had literally been the last person and living thing left on Earth. There were no words for the mass genocide Morrigan created. No power would ever be worth putting a species on the brink of extinction.
Many humans had come through the ley lines with Áine when she came back. It was the only hope she could give them, but even to this day, the humans didn’t fit well with the rest of us. None of them were prepared for the level of magic we all possessed and how we used it so openly. They were taught to call it witchcraft, dangerous to do, but we knew otherwise with how we lived in nature.
Throughout the last eight decades, a lot of them had grown more accustomed to our way of living, but none of them possessed magic. They lived in valleys outside the kingdoms because a lot of fae didn’t like having them present in their domains. The segregation was hard, and I kept wanting to mention it to Briar. How would the princess take it, knowing her people struggled still?
As the princes of the thrones, we made a vow that we wouldn’t become kings until we defeated Morrigan. But the second we did, we would free the humans from feeling inferior to our people. With the way the world was now, we no longer had time to separate by race. I had a feeling it was going to take us all to defeat what was to come. There was so much for us to do, but we weren’t prepared for it all.
“I’m going to go gather some wood and berries,” I told the others. We were in a remote section of Faerie where the vegetation still grew. These little spots were lessening more and more, but we had a map that told us where the next one would be, if they survived. More X’s were placed on the spots we found destitute. We were all shocked when this spot wasn’t the first to go from it being nearest to the human world.
When I began to walk into the forest, I felt someone coming behind me. I knew it was one of our men, but I wasn’t sure who. When I was greeted with Briar’s smile, my heart nearly stopped in my chest. Alasdair was not wrong when he called her beautiful. But I knew better than to explore anything with the princess.
Unlike our kind, they saved themselves for marriage. Well, the females did. I wasn’t sure why that was such a law for a female royal to not engage in discovering her personal pleasures, and I knew better than to ask Briar about it. Her being a virgin for her prince would not bother the rest of us. We’d think highly of her for her abstinence with honoring her views.
“Would you like some help?” Her voice was quiet in ways I had never heard a female speak before. Women of my breed were loud and boisterous, always having an opinion of their own. With Áine raising her, I wondered if our queen had taught her to be outspoken.
“It’s just firewood.” I shrugged, hoping she’d leave me to it. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t be appreciative of her help, but I just wasn’t a people person the way the others were. Much preferring my natural habitat of living in the forest, I wasn’t even a prince that lived in a castle. My people preferred to be below ground in a way that soothed our magic.
Briar wasn’t prepared for our world, showcasing vibrant colors that glowed at night. With the sun finally setting behind us, she was beginning to see their translucent glows activate. Knowing we had a few minutes before the cold bothered the others, I let her wander and roam the area we were in.
Starstruck, I wanted Briar to see why our world was worth saving on her own. Plus, my kind enjoyed watching how others responded to our natural habitat. If they were kind, we let them be in our lands. Those who showed disrespect, we killed without a second thought. It was rare I let anyone see my brute strength, but it was often my people needed me to use it to protect what was ours.
It was clear to me that Briar lost focus on what we were doing, but it wasn’t just her who had. Watching her squat beside a teal vine that grew magenta and gold leaves, her fingers gently stroked over the color to see if the pedal felt real or not. I had no doubt this felt unusual to her in ways that I couldn’t easily describe. It was interesting to watch how she moved about in my world. Gentle in her touch, Briar clearly cared for plants and their purpose in our society. Her smile was light, demanding my stare to not leave it. Unlike the nymphs and whores we so callously used, Briar was sweet and timid. She exhibited strengths not many found by doing so. I knew the moment she picked up the base of the flower without plucking it that she was going to be good for our people. Not many had a gentle side like that, and I knew I needed to tell the others of it.
A lot of my clan had visited Earth plenty of times to know that their greenery didn’t compare to ours. Briar had never visited our world to know all of the different textures and brighter colors that enhanced our plants from our core magic.
When she caught me watching her, she dropped the plant. Hurrying to stand, she was embarrassed by it, changing to look ready for whatever task I asked of her next. “I am sorry, but I’ve just never seen plants like this before.”
“My home is now yours, Briar Rose. I’d much prefer to see you tend to it then destroy it with your buildings and cities.”