Vareck nodded. “It’s why this place feels familiar to me.”
“Familiar how?”
He took a deep breath, like he was drinking in the atmosphere and letting it revitalize him. “Like it’s under my skin. As though I feel its history and remember it in lifetimes that are not my own. As if the essence of my soul is buried in the roots and traveling through the ley lines.”
Something in his voice sent a shiver down my spine. A resonance, like the realm was tugging at some invisible thread inside him.
“That’s not concerning,” I muttered sarcastically.
“It should be,” he replied. “Evorsus doesn’t just call to furies. Itrecognizesthem.”
I swallowed hard. “But you’re the last one.”
He dipped his chin again. “As far as I know, yes.”
“What did it want from them, err, you?”
He met my gaze. “To bring us home.”
I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to tell him the very notion scared the hell out of me, no pun intended, but before I could form a cogent response, a thought occurred to me. If the realm recognized him, would it recognize methrough our bond?
We walked in silence, both of us lost in thought. The path shifted beneath us, bioluminescent vines lighting the way like we were being led somewhere.
The realization only added to the somber vibes that had befallen us.
We weren’t just walkingthroughEvorsus.
Based on what he told me, we were being guided.
“Is it just me or does it seem like we’re being led somewhere?”
Vareck seemed unsurprised. Maybe he already knew that, or maybe he also came to that conclusion. “Evorsus isn’t omniscient, but it is sentient. Is it leading us the same way as your thread?”
I paused, only now realizing that yes, it was. The pull from the land was the same direction as the thread that was attached to my sister.
He must have sensed my hesitance at answering, but I nodded. Vareck worked his jaw. “We follow the thread. Evorsus is full of illusions. Nothing is what it seems. Don’t eat anything. Don’t let anything touch you.”
“Don’t eat any poisoned apples. Got it.”
“I’m serious, Meera,” he said sternly. It was clear this place scared him more than he wanted to admit. “I’m voicing it out loud so we’re on the same page.”
The forest glowed faintly as we moved, lighting the narrow path between protruding roots. Strange birds cooed somewhere above, and the breeze carried whispers I couldn’t quite make out, like the trees were speaking to each other. Gossiping about us.
My boots squelched against the damp earth. Despite everything, the realm was stunning. Wild. Alive in a way that Faerie hadn’t been in years. I couldn’t shake the sense that we were being watched, and despite searching for the telltale shine of hidden eyes in the bushes and treetops, I found nothing.
“You said something earlier,” I murmured.
“About what?”
“This place. You said it wants to keep people. Trap them. Has it ever tried to keep you?”
He hesitated. “Yes.”
I glanced at him. “And?”
“I didn’t let it.”
That was it. No elaboration. No story. Just those four loaded words and an uncertain glance at the still leaves and the silent trees.
