Queen of Wands: Book Four in the Tree of Ages Series by Roethle Sara C

Author:Roethle, Sara C.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vulture's Eye Publications
Published: 2017-09-21T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Anna gritted her teeth, thoroughly irritated with herself. She’d slept right through the entire night without entering the Gray Place. She knew it meant her body had desperately needed the rest, but she still felt guilty that Eywen, wounded and likely exhausted himself, had spent the night watching over her.

“Did you see that?” he asked from his seat in front of her in the saddle.

She silently cursed herself. Not only was she a monumental burden, she’d neglected to keep her eyes on their surroundings. “See what?” she hissed.

He pointed. “A flash of color in the leaves. I think it was—” he cut off as something dove right for his face. He ducked, and the bright red blur passed by, then looped up in the air to circle around.

“Blasted Pixies,” Eywen muttered, slowly straightening his back.

“Pixies?” Anna repeated in disbelief.

She watched the red shape as it hovered back down toward them, slower this time. It stopped above their heads, just out of reach. Anna’s jaw fell open. It was a tiny woman with fiery red hair that matched her diaphanous wings. The wings were impossibly thin with visible veins, more like those of a dragonfly than a butterfly.

“Travelers!” the tiny woman buzzed. “Were you attacked by the Dark Faie the evening before last?”

Anna flicked her gaze to Eywen, wondering if they should answer the little woman, or squish her.

“Don’t make any sudden movements,” Eywen muttered. “They may be small, but Pixies are deadly en masse.”

Anna shivered at the thought of being swarmed by the tiny humanoids. “Why do you ask?” she questioned.

The Pixie woman dipped in the air, then caught herself mid-fall to hover at Anna’s eye level. She placed her tiny hands on her tiny hips. “We have been sent by the Oak Queen to rescue those attacked by the Dark Faie. If you are those we seek, we shall safely escort you back to the Queen.”

Anna shifted her gaze back to Eywen. “Oak Queen?”

He seemed deep in thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, we were attacked by the Dark Faie. How far away is the Queen?”

“A full day’s journey on horseback,” the Pixie explained, glancing down at their steed in seeming distaste. She turned her sneer to Eywen. “Had the Oak Queen not informed us there were Aos Sí among her companions, you would have been killed on sight.”

“Then I am grateful I now serve a more magnanimous queen,” Eywen replied smoothly.

The little woman accepted his response with a nod. She bobbed in the air, angling her wings just right so the vibrant red flashed in the sunlight. Hundreds of colorful flashes blinked in response from the trees above.

“Follow us, please,” the Pixie instructed. She narrowed her gaze once more at the horse, then added, “And do try to keep up.”

She rose back up toward the canopy, where all the other Pixies swarmed around her. As one, they headed north.

Eywen nudged their mount into motion, tugging the reins in the direction the Pixies had gone.

Anna leaned forward, hovering her chin over Eywen’s shoulder.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.