Moonfall | Book Two

CHAPTER 11

It was midday when Michael found himself roaming the Woodlands. He was not headed in any particular direction, just simply waiting for the fairy to find him as she always did.

The late-night snowfall left the ground covered in inches of thick snow. With the sun being hidden behind the clouds, and the sudden drop in temperature over the last few days, he could not foresee the snow melting away anytime soon. It seemed winter did not want to go out without a bang.

He walked and walked, and continued to walk until the hairs on the back of his neck stood up—the telltale sign he was being watched.

There used to be something unsettling about walking through the territory of his enemy. Now, the unsettling feeling had less to do with being behind enemy lines and more to do with the unfair advantage the fairy had to easily find him and not the other way around.

He scanned the area around him, but doing so only confirmed he was visibly alone. Even though he could not see her, he knew she was close, and wondered if she was hidden behind an invisibility spell like the last time.

"You can come out!" He yelled.

He waited while minutes passed by, but she continued to remain hidden.

He began to feel annoyed and slightly angry. He had come to the Woodlands to fill her in on the plan, not play hide and seek.

But then he thought back to when she had last hidden herself—the cluster of trees that remained perfectly still despite the rustling trees surrounding them—and began to look for a similar sign in order to locate her.

He looked amongst the trees around him, but the lack of breeze made it difficult for that plan to work.

He sighed. "You can trust me, you know."

Suddenly, Michael felt a shiver run down his spine. He looked ahead, then to his left and right, but saw nothing. It was only when he turned around that he saw the fairy standing no more than ten feet away.

Underneath the hood of her black cloak, her hair was twisted into a side braid just like it had been the first time they met. Despite facing him, her head was lowered, as if she refused to look at or acknowledge him.

Thrilled their game was over, he took a step towards her, but she responded by taking a step back. That action immediately told him she did not, in fact, trust him.

And he could not blame her.

They had only met twice, and the second meeting consisted of him telling her she had to leave the only home she had ever known because of his wants and needs.

He had told her it was what she should want, but had not asked if it truly was what she desired.

Since he could not approach her, he, instead, looked at the fairy—took a really good look—and realized her head was not down in defiance but in submission. Her eyes had not refused to meet his, they could not. She had magic on her side but chose not to use it against him when she so easily could.

She was not a threat, and was only trying to protect herself in the one place she should have felt most protected.

He understood her caution, but, still, it bothered him.

"If you do not trust me, how can I trust you?"

She finally looked up. When her brown eyes connected with his, his earlier annoyance and anger began to recede as he realized his error in asking such a question.

Because it was not the same. It just was not. Her distrust of him was not the same as his distrust for her. For a century, her people had been confined to the Woodlands and unable to step foot outside of it because of his people and the Witches. A year ago, the Wolves meant to slaughter the Fae, which forced them to flee this world and seek safety in another.