The Incandescent | Book 7 | The Fairy arc

Chapter 24 ~ The Arrest of the Truth Telling Fairy

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~ Planet Monshalow ~

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White boots treaded on the rain-scented grass. Ireyna lowered her wings, feeling the evening sunlight on her back, as she walked the rest of the way home through the forest. She stopped upon sight of approaching fairy soldiers.

Killian was with Laurvellina, standing in a sleigh drawn by silver unicorns. Pink energy formed from Laurvellina's wings, spiraling around the pink wand in her hand, encircled with ribbons and topped with a star, to indicate the wand material was made of stardust. Killian was speaking urgently to Laurvellina, but she ignored him, looking directly at Ireyna in the forest clearing.

Ireyna felt an invisible field surround her. Ireyna tried to shield herself, but she was unable to use her power for some reason.

What is wrong with me? Why do I feel so weak? Ireyna faltered, her wings drooping as she struggled to keep from fainting.

Ireyna heard Killian's faraway voice call out her name before the field tightened and lapsed, allowing Ireyna to hear voices and commotion in between stretches of hollow silence. What is happening? What's around me? It feels like something intermittently losing signal. What kind of field is this? Is it the Fairy Queen's power? I can't sense it.

Ireyna's heart jumped in startlement when she heard the command from Laurvellina: "Arrest her!"

Did I hear that right? There's got to be some kind of misunderstanding. Ireyna fought anxiety, alarmed by the sudden stressful turn of events.

Drave stepped out from behind Ireyna, holding periwinkle blue lavand flowers. Ireyna realized the invisible field was his sound manipulation ability.

Drave pushed Ireyna to the ground, causing Killian to step out of the sleigh and rush towards his wife. Fairy soldiers seized Killian, preventing him from reaching her.

Ireyna was on her knees, her head down and her wings a dim glow, as she fought another wave of dizziness from close proximity with lavand, the flower kryptonite that weakened fairies. Laurvellina's pink energy swirled angrily around Ireyna, gripping her tightly and forming metallic pink chains on her hands and wings.

This cannot be happening, Ireyna thought, feeling as though she was trapped inside a nightmare, unable to escape. Why would I be arrested? Under what charges? I did not commit any crime. Was I framed for something? I don't understand....

"Please release my wife!" Killian kept insisting, struggling against the fairy soldiers. "I implore you! I'm sure there is a reasonable solution."

"You clearly heard her intention," Laurvellina spoke, her voice like crystallized ice over a glacier. "Ireyna allied herself with the Glittered Inktraitor. Her willful decision poses a danger to our realm, since her power is manipulated for a detrimental purpose we are unaware of."

"Let me speak with my wife," Killian demanded. "She will listen to me. If there is anyone who could reason with her, it is me. I alone can change the course of her decision."

There may be hope, Laurvellina thought, realizing Killian may indeed be the only person who could convince Ireyna. Perhaps her love for her beloved would become her undoing.

Laurvellina signaled for the fairy soldiers to release Killian. Drave placed the lavand in a sound wave to keep them from affecting fairies; even the Fairy Queen was susceptible to lavand.

Killian rushed forward, seizing Ireyna and lifting her from the ground. He glanced at Laurvellina, who reluctantly waved her wand to dispel the chains. Ireyna was already weakened, so she wouldn't be able to use her power. It took some time for fairies to fully recover from lavand.