Veiled Fae (Fractured Fae 2)

The thought surprises me, but I can’t shake the thick, volatile feel of the darkness in the court. Spring was corrupt, but docile, it told its story. Then again, I’ve seen that there’s more to Faerie than meets the eyes and I can’t expect each court to be the same. But this unnerves me in a way I can’t describe.

Can the land fight back? I sure as fuck hope not.

“Earth to Bella,” Jacob urges when I don’t respond to Maddox’s question.

“Yes. It’s strong and doesn’t feel anything like Spring did. I don’t know what’s going on, but be ready for anything.”

“We always are,” Emrick promises. His answer calms my nerves. Having them all on our side is the only thing keeping me from going into a full-blown panic. I’ve got training under my belt, but the violence the connection promised has me freaking out.

Beyond the trees is another stone wall. It rises high above us and a large gate rests in the middle. Just like Allwyn did in Spring, I walk up and place my hand on the door, pushing magic into it until the gate gives way, allowing us to push it open.

“Here we go,” Gerwyn says excitedly, ready to see his home again despite the warnings I just gave him. I couldn’t blame him. The fae had thought they’d never see this land again.

The realm beyond the gates is breathtaking. The fluffy white snow stretches out across the land, glittering in the shining sun. It’s almost blinding but I can’t look away.

The pine trees scattered throughout the snow have layers of powder on their branches, making it downright picturesque. Unlike the snow on Earth, the white powder has an almost iridescent glow to it. There’s an ethereal beauty that I’ve never witnessed before.

My mind can’t make sense of the contrast between the land in front of me and the magic I’d witnessed from its grounds. How can something so beautiful be so terrifying? That uneasiness had settled in my gut and now it won’t loosen its hold, tainting the moment for me.

Marring the beautiful bright lands, is a tall stone castle and military-like compound right in the middle. It looks more like a large prison than a land fit for families and honestly, I’m not even surprised. That fits the images I got from Faerie much more than a beautiful stone castle would have.

“Am I the only one getting Azkaban vibes?” Jacob mutters. I don

’t bother to turn to him but let out a hum of agreement.

“Didn’t someone say that the king of winter had instigated the war?” I ask Gerwyn and Andras. I’ve tried to absorb everything they’ve taught me, but it’s been a huge information overload since we’ve arrived. Hell, even before then.

“I just hope the inside is more inviting than the outside,” I say with a sigh. Though I don’t exactly have high hopes.

The stone structure looks as cold as the frigid air feels, all sharp angles and smooth dark stone. It lacks the ornate beauty and bright colors of the carved stone castle in Spring. They’d made that look like a home and this feels exactly like Jacob joked… a dark prison.

The wind is now whipping through our group so roughly that I have to squint. Even my lungs feel like they’ve frozen over and I can’t tell how far we are from town, but I hope it’s not much further. This is brutal. I take everything I thought about it being beautiful back, this is literal frozen hell.

“We’re in the barrens now, once we pass this and are closer to the walls, it’ll calm,” Gerwyn promises. His voice sounds detached and distant as he screams into the wind, but we hear him nonetheless.

Each step is slow and harsh, but after what feels like hours, the wind dies down to a soft breeze. It’s so abrupt it leaves me reeling, but I’m not about to complain. I haven’t been able to feel my nose for a while.

“What are these?” I gasp as colorful balls of light dance in front of us. They weren't visible when we first walked, but now they’re everywhere, hugging the outskirts of the castle as they flit in the wind. They remind me of glowing fairies, though the center is just a concentrated ball of light.

“Are they ghosts? They’re hardly scary.” Jacob’s laugh is relieved, and I can’t blame him. I thought we would enter the land and find a horde of angry fae spirits, straight from a nightmare. These are simply beautiful little wisps of light.

“They’re unreal," I agree, scanning my eyes over the glowing orbs. My hand starts to drift toward one before Emrick snatches it back and grunts in annoyance at my lack of self-preservation.

Gerwyn gives a shaky sigh. “They’re not the ghosts I warned you about. These are the spirits of the animals who have passed in Faerie. There’s no rhyme or reason to the colors, but they’ve become protectors of the land. They won’t bother you so there’s no need to worry, Emrick. They are rather beautiful,” he says. His voice is almost surprised, like he’s seeing them in a brand new light now. Maybe time away from the court has given him a chance to appreciate the little things he hadn’t realized he’d miss.

“You missed your home, didn’t you?” I ask quietly, giving him a moment to gather himself and trying not to draw the attention of the others. My hand wraps instinctively around his and he smiles softly down at me. There’s a sadness in his eyes, but it’s being quickly replaced by anticipation.

“I never thought I’d see it again. Our king was terrible, sadistic, and selfish, but it was still my home. It had its own beauty and culture, despite his efforts to rule over it and squash anything with real joy. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to see it again," he says reverently, giving me a look of pure awe and adoration. Me being the socially awkward person that I am, just gives a nervous laugh as I wave off his attention. He simply smiles and kisses my cheek, accepting my dorky ways without hesitation.

“Alright, while you guys are being all adorable, I’m freezing my balls off. Can we go now?” Jacob whines. Snorting at his crude comment, I take Gerwyn’s hand and we continue toward the uninviting, castle town. The foreboding feeling in my stomach that the visions gave me still linger and glancing up at the castle they only get worse.

The entire compound looked so small when we first spotted it, but as we approach I can see how wrong I was. The town is huge and looks like it takes up about a fourth of the Court of Winter. With such an unforgiving landscape, I couldn’t blame them for the design. I mean, they could have tried to make it look a bit less cold, but it got the job done and likely kept the danger out.

The stone walls of the town are high, only giving a partial view of the ridiculously large castle. It’s easily twice as large as the one in Spring. The stone is darker, and the spires jut into the cloudy sky in a display that rivals any movie villain’s I’ve ever seen.

“They no longer look like just stone walls," Maddox points out when we’re close enough to see the finer details. After a second glance, I realize he’s right. The walls have windows dotting them and there’s a sloped roof on top to ward off the snow.

“Sorry, I was distracted by Maleficent's castle,” Jacob deadpans.