Fae of the North (Court of Crown and Compass Book 1) by E Hall

Author:E Hall [Hall, E]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Soren

In the bed beside me, which feels much too far away, Kiki falls quiet as my father’s stories and fae whispers morph from memory into clarity. I don’t think this conversation should wait but have had to put a lot of thought into how to best approach it. I cross the room and light a candle.

She sits up, her eyes wide with alarm, rimmed red, and tracing my every move as though afraid I’m going to fly away and leave her alone.

I take a risk, sit beside her, and draw her close. She nestles under my arm like she needs comfort. I certainly did when I was a kid and the world seemed like it was spinning out of control. Kiki is grown, but I imagine this is a lot for her to handle.

“Kiki, have you ever heard of dreamweavers?” I ask.

She shakes her head, still tucked under my arm. She feels so right by my side like she belongs. The flare in my chest doubles and brightens.

I release her, put another log on the fire, and then return to sitting so we’re facing each other. My fingers drift along the glitter beneath her eyes and then I lift her chin. “Sometimes dreams don’t make sense. Other times they’re fragments pulled from waking life that we’re trying to process or find meaning in. Dreams take many shapes, and I don’t know much about being a dreamweaver, but it’s a rare fae power. I think you dream other people’s dreams.”

Kiki is still quiet as though processing this information.

“There’s a rumor that the silver king is a dreamweaver. That’s another way he was able to defeat so many of the fae. They were trying to rise up against him, but he saw their dreams, learned their weaknesses, and after setting Raven’s Landing ablaze, he ordered the demons to take their shadows, one by one.”

She swallows hard.

“What will happen if the king and I enter each other’s dreams? What if we did already?”

An involuntary shiver wraps around my spine. I don’t answer because I dread what I don’t know. Nadya’s voice uttering Vespertine as we left her stall echoes in my memory. I repeat it now.

“Do you think he can help?”

“As long as you’re not afraid of the dark. From what I’ve heard, he’s not a sparkling ray of sunshine.”

She settles back, and I hold her until her breath softens into sleep. My eyes remain wide open because I’m afraid of the dark and the unknown, though I’d die before I told anyone.

The silence of morning breaks with a shrill kraa, followed by a low gurgle, and finally the trill of a raven. I rush to the door to see the edge of a golden wing, wheeling away and into thin clouds. I imagine the golden raven is checking in and making sure Kiki is on the right path.

On the stoop to the domed house is a block of cheese, bread, a pouch filled with dried berries, and another with dried meat.

I spread the tapestry on the table, studying the next leg of our journey.

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