When Kingdoms Fall by Callie Dahl

Author:Callie Dahl [Dahl, Callie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-12T16:00:00+00:00

Thirty-Nine

Willa

Sweet smells of honey wafted around Willa as she sat up from the cold, hard dirt. Stretching her arms out, she yawned before letting out a shiver. The fae surrounding her were all sleeping. And the faerie male who had been sitting beside her when the tonic pulled her to sleep was now resting on a tree nearest to her. A small flask glistened in the moonlight atop his chest, his mouth open as he slept with his chin raised towards the night sky. Even in sleep he was striking. Handsome. Yet his natural beauty was tainted by his irritating attitude. The only thing keeping her from stealing his horse and running from camp was his promise to check on her family.

Willa looked up at the trees and noticed the red moonlight was more orange tonight. Tomorrow, it would return to its normal glow. Had she been gone for that long already? She tried to count the days, but everything since entering these woods had blurred together.

If she was correct in counting, today was hers and Tybalt’s birthday. Twenty five years old. How she had survived her birthday, within the Wylan Woods, was beyond her. Was Tybalt alive to celebrate? What had the elves done when returning to Traifton? Ivaan was dead. Sentries were dead. Claire’s ship was gone, as was she. Someone had to answer for what happened, and with Willa gone, she hated to wonder who would take the blame.

A voice came from the trees. “Willaaaaaaa!”

Mother? Willa whipped her head around, searching.

“Willaaaaaa?” A different voice, yet one she knew all too well. Ivaan.

The deep, laughing voice of her father called to her next. “Willa!”

She let out a startled cry and, without hesitation, sprinted forward towards his voice. The tonic had helped her sore legs and arms, and there was hardly any pain as she ran past the sleeping fae commander and tore into the rows of trees.

Her father’s voice called out again.

“I’m here!” she yelled.

“Willaaaaa!” A teasing, bubbly voice rang out.

Willa gasped. “Claire?”

She let out a choked laugh. It was so good to hear her voice. Willa let out another half laugh, half sob, and ran blindly past two more tree trunks. A large bush was before her, and on the other side an orange glow pushed through the thorns and brambles. A fire must have been causing the glow, her family had to be on the other side of this bush.

“Come on, Wi, hurry up!” Tybalt’s voice came from the other side.

Willa grinned when Claire echoed him, “Yeah, hurry up!”

Willa shook her head at the sound of her brother and Claire giggling and whispering to one another. Lovebirds. Lovebirds she had missed so terribly.

“I’m…” She pushed through the last of the bush, grunting at the thorns grasping at her limbs and pulling on her cloak as she did. “Here!”

She nearly fell on her face as the bush gave way and let her out on the other side. Stumbling forward, she wiped her hands on her pants, a goofy smile still pulling at her lips.

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