Princess Elodi's Arc

Chapter 55 of 55

Elodi slept that night in a tent the villagers raised near the tower. At dawn, warm wind woke her. The fae queen stood outside, wings folded, waiting. Beside her stood a young man with dark hair and large dark wings, a thin silver crown on his brow. He looked no older than Elodi. "This is my son, Obsidian," Eirlys said. "He will take you and one friend to gather what you need. Our land is full, thanks to the great tree. You will not leave here thirsty." Obsidian dipped his head. He did not bow low like the villagers had. "You spoke true to my mother," he said. "She does not forget that. Bring one companion and empty barrels. I know where the water runs clean." Elodi called for Damon. He came with the hawk still on his wrist. Obsidian eyed the black bird and gave a small nod, as if it passed some test. The three of them carried the crew's barrels along a mossy path into the trees. The path opened, and Elodi stopped walking. A tree stood ahead so wide it blocked the sky. Its bark wore thick moss, and its roots twisted like ropes across the ground. From its branches hung long vines of pink and blue leaves that swayed with no wind. Water threaded down the roots into a clear pool. "The Faeheart Tree," Obsidian said. "It feeds the spring. It feeds all of us." He knelt and filled a cupped hand, then drank. "Safe. Fill your barrels." Damon and Elodi worked fast. The water was cold and sweet. While the barrels filled, Elodi asked the thing she needed most. "We were blown far off course. My captain lost her charts in the storm. Do you know these waters? Can you tell us where we are?" Obsidian broke a leaf from a low vine and turned it in his fingers. "You crossed the cold current to reach us. That current runs from the west. Follow the coast east from here, and you will strike the shipping lanes in three days. Merchants sail them. They will know your Avalonia." Elodi's chest loosened. Three days. Not lost. A heading, and a chance at home. "Three days east," she repeated, fixing it in her mind. "East along the shore," Obsidian said. "Do not cut across open water. The current will drag you back." They rolled the full barrels back to the beach. Blackwell watched the crew load them and pressed a palm to one lid. "Fresh," she said. "Enough for a week, more than a week." She looked to Elodi. "And the shore?" "Three days east brings us to trade lanes," Elodi said. "Merchants who know the way to Avalonia." Blackwell almost smiled. "Then we are not lost. We are only far."