A Court of Shift and shadow

IX

Galads POV

Then and there, I should've just gone back to the camps and forget about her, and the Spring Court. Diseperard and waited for the day when we would meet again in hundreds of years, when we both would wear the crowns of our courts. Maybe I will forget about her until then, her face fading in memory and time. But instead of this, I fused with the shadows and hid in the forest, finding a spot from which I could wait. Waif for her to leave the house, to talk to her again. I knew what Belinda would call me as soon as she found out. Stalker... She would say. You are a stalker, just leave her alone, in response I will fumble for an excuse. I had no excuse for doing this except my own stupid stubbornness.

The morning turned to day, and I waited, and waited. Spying at the manor for hours. And then finally I saw her. She stood in a window on the second floor, a white dress with a red collar.. I got closer, the shadows slowly disappearing with the midday sun rising. A faint smell of blood was mixed with her wildflowers. What I first thought to be a reed collar on her dress was blood. She climbed the window soon standing in its open frame.

"What are you doing?" I whispered, my mind looking for hers, only to find the mirrors removed and her mind open. It wasn't pain she felt, nor fear. It was empty, or as empty a mind can be. Words and old memories going in and out of focus.

Don't be weak, Don't speak, Don't shift.

A free fall in the clouds, a scream of joy.

I am proud of you, you didn't freeze, or flinch.

The panic of seeing him covered in blood, The Creature filled with claw marks.

THE PAST IS IN THE PAST!

I left her mind, the experience made my mouth dry. And I saw how she fell, how she walked out of her window, falling to the ground. My heart stopped, and time slowed down. Only for her to shift into her Sparrow and fly upwards. I followed, staying hidden in the disappearing shadows. But soon she was gone, her sparrow disappearing in the forest. Failure once more hit me.

"Just give up Galad." I said out loud, trying to convince myself to return in time, before Belinda told anyone where I am. The forest around me was filled with life, animals and creatures. The Spring Courts lands were home to more of the magical creatures than any of the other courts, the evergreen spring making it easy to hunt for food year round. A small fox came by, only to get scared and hide as it saw me. No, not me... I turned around, and in that moment I realised that I was beyond stupid.

The Beast belonging to the High Lord of the Spring Court attacked, I had overstayed my welcome by a lot... I needed to get away, but the fighting got too intense for me to winnowed. All I could do was to rely on my Ilirian training, and magic, hoping to get just enough of a moment to winnow. But I had no weapons, and the Beast had claws. Shit... The Beast pinned me down to the ground, I almost heard him laugh, as he prepared for the final blow. But it didn't come. Instead a large wolf sprinted forward, pushing him to the side. I got up, baffled by the wolf's help. The two continued the fight, and I had all the time to escape. But something kept me staring at the two. The Beast was biting at the wolf, and the wolf always seemed to move away at the last minute. A pause, the two of them bleeding, the wolf with its back at me. Panting, tired. The Beast shifted back two Tamlin.

"Galad, I see that you have a friend." He said, and drew a blade, an Illyrian blade... SHIT! The Wolf stumbled, I couldn't leave it to get killed. The smell of its blood hit me, and mixed in, wildflowers. Tamlin also seemed to notice. As he lowered his blade.

"You..." The same tone that I had heard in her mind earlier. She didn't shift, instead her wolf form growled in response. Her mind was closed off again, her body tense and on edge. If I left, he would kill her, and she knew it. Her mind opened up just for a moment and her words were clear.