Forged in Frost and Fire (Book 1 in the Chronicles of Kings trilogy)

Chapter Ten

-Part Three-

ARMY OF THE FAE KING
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

Twilight approached faster here than it did in Rame. Or at least it felt like it did. Maybe that was only because I was dreading the dark. I looked up to see the sky turning from a periwinkle blue to a lavender.

My boots slapped into the ground as I moved, crunching against leaves and snapping twigs. My breaths came in unsteady exhales and inhales. My palms were scratched from moving against tree trunks and from that moment when I tripped over a log and nearly face-planted into the soil. My hands had taken most of the hit though.

I hadn't been in Hiraeth long, only a few hours, but it felt like time moved faster here. And I was pretty sure it did. Elda had told me that the days go by faster and that the nights are longer. Yeah, as if those night creatures needed more time outside.

I hadn't stopped to rest much, just to take a swig of water every couple of hours to keep my mouth from feeling like I had eaten a handful of sand, and to keep my throat from hurting from my anxious breath scraping against it. I had covered miles during my travels through the woods, and surprisingly, I hadn't gotten tired yet. Nor had I encountered anything strange. Although I knocked on the wood of the tree next to me after thinking that.

I didn't know exactly how long it had been since I crossed over the border, but it must've been a couple hours, judging by the positioning of the sun in the sky. I hadn't realized before, but the sun in Hiraeth was different than the sun in Rame. It was less bright, and didn't have an orange glow, but a silver one. Not to mention the sky was a lot different too. It looked like a painting. The different clouds and blues mixed together as if they were excess paint curling together in water. I had the urge to sit down and paint it. I might have, if I didn't know any better and I actually had the resources to do so.

I continued onward, pushing past trees and branches and vines that hung down. There hadn't been too much wildlife so far. I'd seen a couple of colorful birds, much more vivid than those in Rame, flying from the tops of trees, or a couple of fluffy-tailed squirrels hopping from branch to branch. Which I hated. I despised squirrels, the little devils were like cuter versions of vermin. Except they were wicked. They were scary. It didn't matter if I was a fae now who could freeze off those damn tales.

A cold breeze jutted through the forest and I shivered, my breathing heavy. It must've been really cold if I felt affected. I looked around, noticing that the trees themselves looked a little wilted, the grass under my feet looked dry and felt a little crispy. The land was dying. Just like Elda said. She had explained to me that because of the war in Hiraeth, the land on the other side of the border, Rame, was also being affected. It was why we were experiencing winter temperatures in the middle of spring.

I continued walking, forcing myself not to get distracted again. I had to get out of the forest before daybreak. I had walked for about a mile or so before I felt something that made the hairs at the back of my neck stand on edge. My footsteps faltered and I froze, my breath coming out in white puffs in front of me.

A snap sounded from behind me and I whipped around, finding nothing but forest behind me. I should've kept going, should've shrugged it off and continued on my journey, but something felt...off. My senses were going haywire, as if trying to warn me of something. My fae instincts seemed to be kicking into overdrive. My muscles were coiled, ready to spring into a run, my toes were curling in my boots, preparing for action. I felt my power swell within my chest, frost making the tips of my fingers tingle. My body was ready for battle.

Echoing laughter sounded throughout the forest and I felt my heart kick into a beat twice of what it had been before. I flinched from the noise, drawing a dagger from my belt as horror sluiced through my mind. More laughter, louder now...closer. The laughter made the back of my neck grow cold and my insides twist as if they were noodles on a fork. The laughter didn't sound natural. It sounded cruel, like nails on a chalkboard.