The spoon clattered to the floor and Skye jerked up.
“Ye kenna keep yer eyes open,” said Annwynn. “Ye need a rest. Come lay in Kheelan’s bed. I’ll rub ye with a little something to help yer wounds.”
Skye obediently followed Annwynn to Kheelan’s room and stretched out on his bed, enjoying the cocoon of comfort from his sheets and pillows. In no time, Annwynn had rubbed ointment on her wounds and left her alone.
Sleepily, she took in more details of Kheelan’s room. No photographs hung on the wall, no personal effects of any kind adorned his dresser. Only a small wooden box on the bed’s nightstand provided any decoration. Curious, Skye opened the box.
A goldstone sparkled against a lining of black velvet. The goldstone she had given him the first night they’d kissed.
Skye smiled as she palmed the crystal. So Kheelan had kept it by his bedside ever since that night. Had stored it in a fancy box as if it were as precious as a diamond. It meant something special to him. She meant something to him.
Skye lay back down on the bed, clutching the goldstone in one hand. Eyes closed, she pictured Kheelan’s face with its sharp angles and serious eyes. She wouldn’t think of the last time she saw him, in the clutches of the sluagh. Instead, Skye remembered the tender smile as he placed the iron medallion around her neck.
She snuggled deeper into his scent, where his body had so recently lain.
She was in heaven.
Chapter 21
Burnt Peat
“Awaken, fair one. It is time.”
Skye shivered at the prodding of cold hands on her neck and shoulders. “Whaaat?” She rubbed her eyes, straining to see in the darkness. She couldn’t remember where she was, why she was lying in a strange bed in an unfamiliar room.
“We must be on our way.”
Annwynn flipped on a light and Skye blinked. “I’ve slept all day? Don’t tell me it’s night again.”
“The Seelie Court awaits ye.” Annwynn lifted a hanger from the foot of the bed. On it hung a shimmering sapphire-blue fairy gown.
“For me?” Skye ran delighted hands over its sparkly surface. It was full length, long-sleeved, and had a slit seam in the back for her wings. Annwynn help her into it and Skye rushed to the mirror.
She hardly recognized herself – she looked more fairy than human. Her purple and red hair cascaded in glowing ringlets and the new gown gave a pearl luster to her complexion. Even her wings had undergone a transformation. They were larger, and the blue and purple diamond pattern more pronounced and vivid. No signs of Claribel’s abuse remained.
“Where’s Kheelan? Wait ‘til he sees me in this get-up.”
“We’ll meet him along the way.”
Skye frowned. “He really is okay, isn’t he?”
“Fit as a fiddle. Merely resting and anxious to see ye.”
Not as anxious as me. “I’m ready. Let’s go.” Being alone with Annwynn was slightly unnerving. The sooner this was over, the better. Kheelan shouldn’t have to wait a minute more to gain his independence and get on with his life. For the first time Skye wondered what he would do. Would he move? Try to meet his family? She had forgotten to tell him he had a sister, Katie, and to arrange a meeting between him and Kyle.
I might never see him again after tonight. That scared her more than facing a fairy queen and her court. No, Kheelan wouldn’t just leave. He cared about her. “So how do we get to your Queen?” she asked. “Is it far from here?”
“Not far in fairy time.”
Annwynn was being deliberately vague. Oh, well. They loved their secrets. To be fair, they had to be secretive against human invasion.
Annwynn pulled out a white faux fur stole from the closet. “Human skin is more sensitive than ours so ye might need this. Follow me outside.”
They crossed the yard, by the orange full moon light, until they reached the border of a cotton field and a thick pine grove. Annwynn stopped by a small mound of earth, no larger than a baseball’s base plate and no taller than her ankles. If alone, Skye would have thought the mound of dirt one of the many widespread fire ant dwellings that plagued the South.
“Give me yer hands.”
Mystified, Skye clasped the fairy’s hand – ice and fire united at Samhain.
Annwynn sang in a crystal bell note voice:
Samhain is the summer’s end
Winter’s darkness enters in
When witches, fairies and the dead
Dance together and may be led
To frolic in the land of Faery
For one night only may they tarry
This Halfling to our land may come
As we will, may it be done.
The ground swallowed Skye, casting her into a tunneled maze of complete darkness. Up, down, right, then a sharp left. As if she were riding an underground rollercoaster – blindfolded.