“Did she say what shocked her?”
Stormy shakes her head. Whispers, “She fell asleep without saying a word. I think she’s just exhausted. She’ll be better tomorrow.”
Tomorrow. Right. Another day lost. I can’t keep wasting my time on sleeping or stopping or waiting for the next thing to fall into our laps. “I’ll go get Tide. We should all stay together.”
With a nod she closes her eyes and cuddles next to my sister. Jealousy rises unbidden. You are not being replaced, Ebony. Stormy is a fill-in. She’ll never have the relationship with Khloe you have.
You sure about that?
No. Not at all.
I begin the short trek back toward Tide. It was this way, right? Then why is that bush new? It was on the left and now it’s on the right. And these flowers weren’t here. They start off tiny, no larger than a quarter. Then they grow the farther I walk. I know this is the wrong way, so not the way I came, but I can’t help it. The blossoms intrigue me, creating their own little path that seems to beg to be followed.
The ground softens and sinks the farther I venture. Mud covers my shoes, but what do I care? This isn’t a runway. And those flowers, they smell like honey and cherries. The scent is so familiar I want to eat the petals. Is this what nostalgia feels like? Because if so, I say bring on the memories. I can recall nothing pleasant from my childhood. But this? This could be the sweet memory I’ve been waiting for.
I keep walking.
Is that water? The noise trickles and bubbles. Curse you, Ebony. Why don’t you pay better attention? It’s going to take a miracle for me to find my way back to the others. But who cares? My only concern is how much stronger the scent grows, how much closer the water sounds. Tide mentioned a creek. Could I be closer to the nearest Fairy Fountain than I realized?
The creek comes into view. The water seems to be lit from underneath. Black stones, just as Tide described, lie in its bed.
No. Not black stones. A closer observation shows what lies beneath the water are sunken pieces of wood. Wood carved into various shapes and sizes. Hearts and roses and crescent moons and stars. Polished wood, too dense to float.
Ebony. The wood is ebony.
I tread into the water. It rushes around my ankles, guiding me along its path. I pick up one of the carvings. This one is a heart, small enough to fit into my pocket. I store it next to the compact, still inside my jacket. Then I’m running through the creek, throwing caution to the wind.
You go, girl. Let your inner five-year-old out.
The moment I step foot within the Fountain’s perimeters, I know I’ve been here before. The scent of honey and cherries is stronger than ever. I didn’t know it was a fountain back then, obviously. But I remember being five or so and playing where the colors were brighter than anything I’d ever seen. Where the water tasted sweet and the trees seemed to sing.
This is that place.
But she isn’t here.
Why would she be? Did I expect it would be so easy? That I could just waltz up to the Fairy Fountain and she’d be waiting on some sort of Fairy throne? Nope. I’m not an idiot. I get that things don’t just fall into one’s lap and all.
And why am I so sure she’s absent? You know that sinking feeling you get in your abdomen when you’re about to be chastised? Yeah, I don’t have that. I should turn around. What was I thinking? Who follows a smell? What kind of freak takes a swim in a river at midnight?
Sure as crowe not me. Good thing no one saw. I’d never live this down. Tide would get a kick out of it, and I can hear Stormy and Khloe’s titters already. Blush.
Yep. I’m going insane. This is happening, people.
On the shore I pick my way back to the place I entered the water. Branches slap my face and arms, scratching my skin and nearly taking an eye out. When I hear a bell-like giggle through the darkness, I exhale a fuming breath through my nose.
“Okay, Khloe, you can come out now. Go ahead and make fun. It won’t bother me one bit.”
But my sister doesn’t answer.
Pelted by another bendy branch, I grow more furious with every step, cheeks growing hotter. “I know you’re there, Stormy. This is so hilarious. I get it.” I’d throw a clod of dirt at them if I wasn’t worried about it containing rocks. “Be serious, for once. Oh right, I forgot. I’m the only serious one here.”
“Way too serious, if you ask me,” a voice I don’t recognize calls from above.
I crane my neck and gaze upward. The glow of a live Fairy makes a leaf look like a lantern. The light dances, and I know in an instant this is the one who’s been laughing. My young memory fills in the blanks. This was a lightning bug to me back then. Or that’s how I recall it. Have I really known of Fairies all along?
Do I talk to her? What if I scare her away?
Wait, is that me caring about another being’s feelings before my own needs? Weird. Cool, but weird.
“Hey,” I whisper. “Er . . . Fairy. Hey.”
I expect her to flit away, far away. Her fellow Fae are dying—being murdered? We haven’t quite solved the mystery of that case yet. Still, she must be terrified out of her tiny mind.
But she’s stronger than she appears. She flits down, hovering in the air before my face. She’s sort of plain but still pretty, with pale lips and bronze skin. Her eyes are brilliant turquoise, and her hair is flat white. She places her hands on her hips and lifts a brow in a “what do you want?” sort of gesture.
Now she’s speaking my language. “Where is your queen, Fairy?” The question comes off sort of rude and much more me. Back on track, thank goodness.
“I have a name, human.”
Smirk. I like her. “So do I. It’s Ebony.”
She gasps and covers her mouth. “Ebony? The Ebony?” She curtsies midair. “Forgive me, Princess. I did not recognize you. I did not realize you had returned.”
Princess? Returned? Say what now?
“You have arrived just in time. Come with me. Your mother is not well.” She grabs the corner of my jacket collar.
“Wait, you want to help her? Isn’t she killing you all?” Come on, it was the easiest thing to assume. Don’t deny it.
Another tiny gasp. “What? Oh no, Her Majesty would never harm us. We are her humble servants. She saved us from our horrible fate. And now it is our duty to protect her. But we must hurry. Our lives are connected to the beat of her heart. As she gets worse we fade, one by one.”
“Wait, what fate?” I’m so confused here. I follow the Fairy toward the Fountain, in the opposite direction of the creek’s flow. “You want me to walk through a waterfall?”
“What are you, scared of a little liquid?”
Ugh. “No.” Yes. I can’t see my mother looking like a wet mop. What will she say?
What will she say? And what do I care? Defiance brewing, I follow the Fairy through the waterfall to find the most glorious pool, lit from within like the river. The shore is lined with more ebony wood carvings. The walls are what draw my attention, though. Markings and drawings in blue ink cover every inch of stone.
“The blue ink.” I part my wet hair, which falls like curtains around my face. “I’ve seen it before.”
“Of course you have.” She sounds annoyed, as if this is her own way of saying “duh.” “Some of these drawings are yours.”
My eyes widen. I take in the drawings. My gaze flashes from a sketch of a daisy to one of a doll. “I drew these? What’s the blue ink from?”