Page 14 of Ignite
Zeph.
She must feel my emotions.
Reichardt wasn’t my father, not by blood or love. He never knew the real me, never eventried. What he knew was himself and his selfish needs—he knew money and greed.
He was wrong. Someone did choose me, and not just Zeph. My mother. Graylen. Addie and Avery. The Riders that werechosen by the wyverns when I was. They chose me, and I chose them back. They’re not only my friends, but my family.
I push back, letting Zephyr know I’m okay.
“Thisis why you had to be brought here the way you were,” Willow urges gently, pulling my attention to the view behind her as she nods toward it.
The moment I take in the scenery, my fire extinguishes.
Small cottages are built into the trees—not on the ground, but so high up that it’s a wonder anyone can get up there without wings. The houses are wrapped around the trunks in a circle, a narrow, planked walkway lining the outer rim of each one.
There have to be fifty of them, maybe more, though there’s no sight of anyone outside of them. Pale yellow lanterns are draped along the branches, all of the limbs connecting as if all the trees weave together into one.
Small insects with pulsing bodies that glow slowly blink to life, filling the makeshift village one by one. They light up the forest even more, shedding light on the carefully laid ecosystem.
The area is in the shape of a horseshoe around us, everything off of the ground and built into the forest above. Colorful tarps stretch between branches, anchored by three points to various limbs. They’re stacked throughout the trees, scattered from the tallest branch to the lowest.
A light catches my eye, flashing quickly from the top left of the horseshoe. The outline of a fae is illuminated by several of the glowing insects, though they quickly retreat from the edge of the triangle-shaped tarp.
“Is this place abandoned?” I ask carefully.
Willow huffs a soft laugh and shakes her head. “They’ll come out soon; we aren’t used to visitors.”
My gaze drifts back to where I saw the fae in the trees, the area dark and empty now. This place…it feels untouched by the rest of the realm. It isn’t anywhere I’ve seen on a map or heard about since being in Penyth. It’s as if it doesn’t exist at all.
This village—thisoasis—feels sacred. Pure. A place that has locked itself away from the nightmares of the world and thrived on its own.
I look back at Willow to find her bright green eyes watching me softly.
“Why bring us?” The unspoken—whysaveus?—lingers in the air.
Dark figures emerge from the brush. My body tenses and muscles buzz as I prepare for what lies ahead. But Willow doesn’t so much as flinch—not even a sidelong glance in their direction as they come forward.
She smiles as they stop by her side—three of them. Two on the left and one on the right. I size them up, taking note of the double-crossed spears attached to their backs and the grim frowns they wear as they watch me closely.
Warriors—guards of some sort.
“Another precaution?” I say with a raised brow. Not that I blame them for being cautious, but if they had any reservations about me, why bring mehere?
Willow’s grin turns into a smirk, and she dips her chin. “Youare in no danger here,” she says simply. “As long asweare not in return.”
A crashing of sticks snapping and leaves rustling comes from behind us, followed by a shout. “Lu!”
I spin around, hearing a quiet laugh rumbling from Willow’s chest.
A pair of familiar, warm, honey-colored eyes focuses on me, and warmth fills my heart. His tattooed throat moves as he swallows, his chest expanding rapidly. The gold hoop on his lip glimmers as his mouth stretches into a relieved smile. I can’t help the mirroring grin that works its way onto my face.
“Calix?” I breathe, a weight lifting off of my chest now that I’ve finally laid eyes on my friends.
He runs to me, his arms wrapping around my waist as hepulls me in close. “Trouble always has a way of finding you,” he huffs and squeezes me a little tighter.
“You’re okay.” A laugh of disbelief tumbles from my mouth. “All of you?”
My voice breaks as I squeeze my eyes closed, knowing I’ll have to open them to face the answer.
