Not waiting to see if I had any questions, she stepped closer to the boulder in front of us, pulling me with her. The rock’s surface was smooth and silver like the boulder Xander had spoken to when we’d approached the camp, and I waited to see what would happen.
Ode cleared her throat. “It’s me, Ode of Ferlay, and uh, Xander’s guest, Cara.”
There was silence for a moment, but then the air shimmered in front of us, and Ode grinned as she yanked me forward between the boulders. The same tingling sensation I’d felt earlier rushed over my body, but like before, it disappeared a moment later.
“Holy Goddess,” I breathed as I took in the sight in front of me. Like the camp, the party must have been hidden by some kind of illusion until we passed the boulders, and I wasn’t prepared for it.
Hundreds of fae were spread around the valley, laughing and chatting as they drank wine and ate from a massive banquet spread out on a long oak table. A band with five winged fae played the strangest music I’d ever heard, the notes of the wooden instruments jarring and yet seeming in complete harmony, and the fae were in groups lounging on what appeared to be huge white mushrooms, sitting on carpets of moss, and lazing in rock pools that steamed and bubbled.
“They look like you,” I gasped, pointing to a whole group of winged fae who were giggling and flying high above us.
Ode tipped her head back to see where I was indicating. “You mean, Ferlay pixies? Yes,” she said with a smile. “But we’re not the only ones with wings.” Lifting her hand, she pointed to the smaller winged creatures whizzing and darting between the fae I’d spoken about. “Those are Tudora pixies.”
“I’d thought they were fireflies,” I commented, squinting as I tried to make out their small bodies.”
“Shhhhh,” Ode warned, bringing her finger to her lips. “They’re tiny but fierce, and you donotwant to call them any kind of insect. What they lack in size, they make up for in attitude. They also control chaos magic and have a nasty habit of making others think they attract bad luck. They’re probably some of the fae you should try to stay away from.”
“Right, steer clear of the Tudora pixies,” I agreed.
Looking back at the other groups of fae, Ode gestured with her hand to a group of female fae wearing moss-green dresses. “Over there, we have the nymphs. They can turn into trees when they want to and have different abilities, though it’s always something to do with nature. Like the power to make trees grow fruit even in winter, or make impressive wooden weapons.” The nymphs were talking to some blue fae lounging in the rock pools, and Ode went on. “And those fae are water nymphs.”
“Let me guess, they control water in some way?”
Ode’s eyes sparkled. “Something like that. Most of the fae here are able to control the different elements is some way, but some fae have completely different powers depending on their heritage.”
“You mean, like how Nathaniel can speak to animals?”
Ode didn’t look surprised that I knew Nathaniel’s power. “Exactly like that.”
To our left, a group of fae lounged on giant white mushrooms as if they were armchairs, and I had to ask, “And what about them? What are they doing?” They all had the widest grins, and they laughed and chatted louder than all the other groups of fae. In the middle of the group, Ellis leaned his back on a mushroom and sucked what looked to be a giant yellow bubble into his mouth.
“…First we make them still, still, still, then we’re going to kill, kill, kill!!” the group of fae cheered before guffawing and spluttering, some of them almost falling off their mushrooms. A small pile of the strange yellow bubbles rested on the ground, and the moment Ellis’s bubble was gone, he reached his hand down, scooping up another bubble. As he lifted it to his lips, his gaze found us, and he grinned stupidly.
Ode pursed her lips as she stared at him. “Those would be our camp idiots. Stay away from that stuff. Every year a group of them go out to collect the gas that the Piti toadstools give off when they’re planning to digest someone. Knox and Yanee are wind and water fae, and together they can catch the yellow gas in those bubbles before the toadstools get them. The gas is mostly harmless and makes you deliriously happy, but it takes a while before you can see straight again.”
I stared at her in horror. “Did you just say when the toadstools are going todigestsomeone? As in…eat them?”
Ode waved her hand like I was overreacting. “They won’t hurt you unless you disturb their family, and they only need to feed like once in a decade. But I swear these guys are going to turn their brains to mush.”
Her gaze lingered on Ellis when she said the last part, and I didn’t miss the way he watched her, almost like he was daring her to join him. Her cheeks reddened, and she turned back to me. “But you must be starving! Let’s find you something to eat.”
At that, she turned her back on him and led me over to the huge banquet table, collected two silver plates, and handed one to me. My stomach grumbled at the sight of the luscious fruits, vegetables, and assortment of meats, but I didn’t reach for anything, not even when Ode started piling what looked to be small honey cakes onto hers.
“Is it all, uh, safe?” I asked her quietly, and she whipped her head to me.
To my left, a short fae with a neat brown dress who was busy refilling one of the platters let out a harumph and glared in my direction.Oops.
“Yes, it’s allincrediblydelicious,“ Ode said loudly, making a show of looking around at all the platters as if she couldn’t decide what to choose next, and I got the feeling her answer was more for the fae in the brown dress than it was for me.
The short fae sniffed and then finished refilling the platter before walking off and quite literally disappearing into a tree. I tried not to gape, which was easier to do because the moment she was gone, Ode whirled toward me. “Don’t ever say anything bad about the food!” She hissed and then sighed. “I should have warned you. Brownies are temperamental, especially when you’re talking about their cleaning or cooking. Trust me, you do not want one of them on your bad side, otherwise, we’ll be left eating oatmeal or mushrooms for months.”
I nodded seriously and tried not to think about how she’d used the wordmonths. I wouldn’t be in this place for that long…would I?
“But yes, it’s all safeto eat,“ Ode went on, more casually now that there weren’t any brownies around. “And by that, I mean it won’t kill you, though try to stay away from those purple ones over there.” She pointed to the platter the brownie had just refilled. “Those are sour fruits, and they’ll leave your tongue swollen for most of the night.”
“What? Then why are they on the table?” I spluttered.
Ode shrugged. “Not everyone has that reaction. To the water nymphs, they taste sweeter than a honey cake. Or so I’ve heard.”
