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“I know, but…” Lunara swallowed back her tears and exhaustion. “Brand needs me more.”
Fern clearly disagreed, grumbling as she drew a golden coin from the mass of her honeyed lavender curls. She tossed it into the oily surface of the portal and they jumped through.
The spectral fingers of the ether caressed Lunara as they traveled the in-between spaces of the world. Eternity and split-seconds collided, the journey as infinite as it was instant.
They reappeared at the entrance of the Archives, steps away from a circular desk. Though desk wasn’t quite the right word. The thing looked like it was hewn from a single stump, gnarled roots tangled into the diamond floor. So large, it would’ve taken up the whole of her modest cottage in Nachthelliae.
Its warm, speckled wood was a perfect match for the creature sitting behind it—a Fae with bark-like skin and flowering branches for horns, their round eyes and cropped hair as green as the leaves pouring down around them. Like a living tree, they rose to their full height and slowly bowed, a stunning mix of strange and beautiful.
Ridiculous, really, that she missed them sitting there. Shite, she’d missed the whole desk, only vaguely recalling its presence in her periphery.
The Fae straightened as Lunara and Fern approached, their sharp teeth glinting as they smiled. “Sisters’ blessings and greetings.” Their voice was a rustling hum, like a low wind in the forest. “I am Tahny, the Directory. How may I assist you, Your Highness?”
She jolted at the honorific. It had yet to sink in that she was considered an Imperial-by-proxy, all of Bordoroth painfully aware of her as-yet-unofficial mating to one of their Sons. If only the realms knew just how bleeding tragic it’d become.
“Um…” Lunara cleared her throat. “Well…” Her head was muddled, heart stuck on continuing its pounding lament over everything. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“We’re looking for information on the Dread Chasms and their shadows,” Fern chimed in. “Not the fluff you’ve got up here that everyone already knows. We need the real stuff. Secrets and the like, eh? Whatever you’ve got that’s kept hush-hush for good reason.”
“I see.” Tahny tilted their head, lips pursed and gaze going distant. “I will do my best, Your Highness. Allow me to just…”
As they trailed off, branches detached from their body, skimming over the gleaming surface of the desk in front of them. The moss growing between its cracks glowed, the luminescence pulsating and trailing down before disappearing into the floor. So similar to the flora and fauna back home, their light ever shining to combat the Evesong’s darkness.
A trickle of guilt slid its way down Lunara’s spine at the thought. She avoided thinking about her home and the mounting responsibilities as its Keeper like her life depended on it.
For all you know, it does.
True.
Tahny shuddered, a single bloom dislodging from one woody horn and dangling from its stem. There was something strange in their look when they refocused and said, “Apologies. We may have what you are looking for, but this particular inquiry requires approval and will take some time.”
Fern released Lunara’s hand and planted a fist on each hip. “Approval from fucking who? She’s an Imperial Daughter now. It doesn’t go much higher than that.”
“Forgive me, Your Highness.” Tahny inclined their head. “I am not at liberty to disclose such things.”
“What?” Fern shrieked.
Lunara grabbed Fern’s arm. “It’s alright. Maybe we should—”
“Nah.” She wrenched away. “The Sovereigns themselves brought you down here. You may not have been paying attention, but I was, and Tahny here was well aware of who was giving permission to whom.” She turned on the Directory, taking a menacing step forward. “This smells like pixie shit to me.”
Even small as she was and lacking the torrential power she possessed whenever Vann was nearby—a result of whatever strange give and take there was between Fae and their magic—Fern was something else. That acute look in her eye, like she could see straight through to the soul of a creature and find their every fault, was nothing if not threatening.
Tahny swallowed. “Please. I am merely a servant to higher beings, yourselves included. Your request has been made and an answer should be rendered within the next couple of days. If you like, I can…”
The rest of the Directory’s words were lost as goosebumps rushed over her skin—a visceral warning that told Lunara her life was about to become infinitely more complicated if they didn’t get out of there. Quickly.
“Time to go,” she said through the clench of a false smile. “Yes, Tahny. Thank you.” She had no idea what she was agreeing to, already pulling Fern away. “That would be wonderful. Whatever you’re able to do is most appreciated.”
Dark, familiar magic swept in—a twin, of sorts, to her own—racing towards them from the swirling surface of the portal and pummeling into her. She would recognize it anywhere.
Shite. Arse. Fuck. Hurry!
Fumbling, Lunara produced an ivory curl of bone from her pocket of the ether, breaths sawing, a cold sweat breaking across her brow.
Any second now…
She’d never travelled out while someone else was coming in, but—
