Falling.
Pain.
Suffering.
The World Tree guided me through the chaos of Sol’s heart, a place where black, spiked vines wrapped around a pulsing core.
Trapped memories that festered and bled, leaving an acrid stench in my nostrils that reminded me all too much of Elana and her evil.
Even in death, she haunted me.
I reached out and touched the darkness, bleeding my vitality into it and forcing the inky sickness to unravel and release its hold on my mate.
The memories unfurled in a tumult of agony, taking me under in its sea of sorrow that had dwelled in my Earth Fae’s heart for far too long.
And when I opened my eyes, I was no longer Claire.
But Sol.
A Spirit Fae with silver eyes towered over me at the front door, her hair pulled up tight at the top of her head. She kinda looked important. But she wasn’t supposed to be here. “You gotta leave,” I told her. Mom wasn’t home, but she’d be back soon.
The lady didn’t smile.
She sort of growled.
Her presence was dark and wicked and not quite right. I didn’t like her.
“Get out of my way, child,” the woman sneered, lashing at me with magic.
Spirit magic.
Mom once warned me about the Spirit Fae. She said they could control other fae. Fae like me. But most didn’t. Most were good. At least according to my mom.
But I could tell this lady was bad. And not just ’cause of the way she looked at me. Her black cloak seemed weird, and she smelled funny.
“Move,” she demanded once more.
“No,” I said, folding my arms. “I’m not gonna.” My mom said not to let any strangers in the house while she was out with my little sister. She called me the man of the house. And this lady wasn’t gonna come in no matter what.
She sighed. “Why do children never listen?” Her hand cracked the side of my face, sending me into the nearest wall with a loud thud.
I gasped.
My legs wobbled.
Black spots messed with my eyes.
’Cause that hurt! A lot.
But the scream from Aflora in the living room hurt more.
“No!” I shouted, trying to find her. She was supposed to be hiding. I told her to when I saw the weird lady standing outside. But Aflora was always soooo difficult, refusing to listen. Even to my mom, who was supposed to be her mom now. I didn’t really get that. But now wasn’t the time.
Mom put me in charge of Aflora.
She was too small to fight on her own.
I ran into the other room, the ground seeming to vibrate beneath me, and found my new sister against the wall with the evil woman’s hand locked around her throat. Aflora clawed at the lady’s arm like a wild animal, her stark blue eyes flaring with fear and fury.