Page 64 of Fae Games

He gulped and sprinted away, overtaking his companion and disappearing into the field of giant garlic flowers. Pokeweed watched them for several moments before turning in my direction.

“You can lower your invisibility hood if you stay beneath the protection of the willow tree,” he said.

“How did you know I was here?” I pulled off my hood, letting the cool breeze blow through my hair.

“It’s taken some time, but I’m now attuned to most of the trees in this academy.”

“How long have you been here?” I asked.

“Since I was ten, so that’s thirteen years.” His lips curled into a wistful smile, and I wondered if he was thinking about the wet-nurse who had brought him up. “I heard that you might need a hiding place until tonight.”

A breath of relief slid from my lips. “Thank you!”

Pokeweed chuckled and walked under the wide canopy of the weeping willow. “Those guards will return with more ruffians to start a commotion, so let’s get out of sight.”

“Does this happen often?” I asked.

“Only with those foolish enough to pick fights with me.”

“Why?”

“Why are people cruel?” The fur over his brows rose.

“I mean, why start a fight when they know you have power?”

“Not all of them believe someone with a cursed appearance would be able to control any form of faerie magic.” Pokeweed continued around the willow’s trunk. “Now that the Duchess of Nevermore is deceased, I’ve heard all kinds of rumors, such as having been fathered by a satyr.”

“People can be such assholes.”

He chuckled.

“What?” I asked.

“I’ve never heard that phrase before, but it’s very appropriate.”

I stared into his fur-covered face. “Don’t you watch DVDs?”

“I prefer my plants.” He stopped at a bulge in the tree and glanced at my hand. “If you place your palm over that knot, I will place my hand over it and attune you to the wards.”

My mind raced back to that metal depiction of the goddess Dana, who had caused me so much agony on my first day. I placed a damp palm where he had indicated and asked, “Your wards or the academy’s?”

“It’s something I set up a long time ago.” His hand covered mine, and warmth spread through his palm. It seeped into the back of my hands, into my bones, and out through my palm.

It made the fine hairs on the back of my head stand on end and a breath catch in the back of my throat. Behind us, the thin branches of the weeping willow rustled. I swayed back and forth. I’d known Pokeweed was powerful, but I didn’t realize the extent of his magical strength.

“What’s that?” I asked.

The knot expanded into a hole that widened and lengthened into a doorway and a hallway beyond. Tiny lights, as small as the stars, lined a pathway that seemed to stretch countless steps.

“I’ve created multiple underground passageways so I can travel around the academy campus in peace.”

I gulped, trying not to imagine a young Pokeweed with weak magic falling prey to the arrogant high faeries. “Where else does it lead?”

“To my home,” he replied. “You’ll be perfectly safe with me.”

“Of course.” I stepped through the entranceway and inhaled the damp, woody scent of the hallway.

As soon as Pokeweed stepped in after me, the knot closed with a snap. I wondered if he had enchanted it this way in case he had to run away from a mob.