Dance of Fate

Chapter Seventeen

An entire week went by before Rhys told me I was to go back to the Spring Court to fix the tears in the wall. Azriel had convinced him not to let me go alone, to my anger. So, I'd had to wait until someone had a free day to go with me. Of course, that someone happened to be Azriel.

He'd always been strangely protective over me, ever since I had known him. It was extremely annoying at times, and I couldn't for the life of me understand why he cared so much. But I did know that most of the time, arguing with Azriel was pointless. If he had decided he would go with me, there was nothing I could do to prevent it.

Every day, I'd had to increase the amount of Faebane I was giving myself. I assumed it was because my body was getting used to the effects, but it seemed to be less and less effective. At this point, I was taking multiple spoonfuls a day. I'd managed to keep it a secret this long, at least. I didn't take any today, though. Amren had explained that fixing the wall would take a great deal of power, and focus, so I'd chosen not to weaken myself on purpose.

It almost seemed like my power was even more restless than it had been before I'd started using Faebane- like it had increased somehow. Only a few hours, I told myself as I grit my teeth and shoved it down.

Before we had winnowed away, I had put a glamour on both of us- no one would be able to see, hear or smell us. The usual pounding in my head began, and I resisted the urge to cringe. Azriel somehow noticed my discomfort, even though I was sure I had done nothing to reveal it.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly.

"I'm fine." I said flatly, not meeting his eyes. Azriel stared at me for a moment, as if he didn't quite believe me, but finally nodded and winnowed us away without another word. 

Azriel squinted against the sun as we arrived in the Spring Court, his nose scrunching, surely at the overwhelmingly sweet taste of the air. I almost laughed at how out of place he looked, dressed in all black, his black wings and hair, and the shadows that swarmed around him, so contrasting to the background of vibrant green grass and the soft pinks and yellows of the flowers.

"What?" He demanded. I forced back my smirk.

"Nothing," I said as I turned around and began walking towards the wall. I heard Azriel mutter something behind me, though I couldn't make out his words. I walked and walked, Azriel a step behind me, no doubt analyzing our surroundings for potential threats, until I finally felt the presence of the invisible wall.

Azriel still couldn't sense it, so we continued walking until he did- until the hairs on the back of my neck stood, and it was undeniable that it was right in front of us. The only other indication beside the feeling of its presence, were the trees. On our side, they were in full bloom, vibrant with flowers and life. While on the other side of the invisible wall, their leaves had all fallen due to the harsh winter that plagued the mortal lands.

I carefully scanned the wall, urging my power out, to feel where the cracks were. I walked along the side of the wall, focusing my entire body on locating the tear. "How do you know where it is?" Azriel questioned, following closely behind me. His voice caused my focus to falter.

"I just do." I said simply, turning back to my task. Azriel didn't say anything, but I could feel his eyes on me. I tried to ignore it, tried to force myself to forget his presence entirely. It was much more difficult than it should have been.

After several, long minutes, I finally found the first crack. It wasn't a very big one, but big enough for someone my size to walk through. Probably not big enough for a soldier, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

I halted, an Azriel took that as his cue to take a few steps back. I closed my eyes, reaching for my power. It was eager to be released, and it seemed to pulse with delight as I urged it out. When I opened my eyes a large ball of violet light was floating in front of me. I held my hands out, and it found its way to the wall- right where the tear was.