Chapter 157: A friendly face.
~Ava's POV~
"Open the gates," I ordered, my voice steadier than I felt. Something told me we weren't in danger. Not yet.
The servant bowed quickly and ran back toward the front entrance. Callie shifted the children in her arms, her eyes full of questions I couldn't answer.
"Stay behind me," I told her softly. "If anything happens, take the children and run to the back passage."
Iris looked up with wide eyes. "Why are you scared, Ava? Is a bad person coming?"
I bent down and touched her cheek. "No, little one. I'm just being careful. Remember how we practiced being careful?"
Ellis nodded seriously. "Like when we play the quiet game in the cellar."
"Exactly," I said, my heart breaking a little at how normal hiding had become for them.
We walked toward the front courtyard together. I kept my steps slow and even, not wanting to worry the children more than they already were. The gates creaked open, and a figure in a dark cloak stepped through.
The hood fell back, and I gasped. Standing before us, her silver-blue hair blowing gently in the wind, was Princess Alexis of the Fae.
"Alexis!" I couldn't stop myself from rushing forward. It had been so long since I'd seen a friendly face from before.
The Fae princess smiled, though her eyes remained sad. "Ava. You look... different."
I touched my brown wig self-consciously. "We had to change to survive."
Alexis nodded, understanding immediately. "May I come in? We should not talk openly."
Once inside the palace we now called home, Callie took the children to play in the back garden. I sat across from Alexis at the study room, watching as she removed her gloves. Her hands, once smooth and elegant, now bore calluses and small scars.
"How did you find us?" I asked. "We've been so careful."
Alexis raised her hand, and a small ball of blue light appeared above her palm. "My magic. It can find those with royal blood, no matter how well they hide. Plus, my magic is inside you."
Fear gripped my heart. "If you could find us..."
"No one else can do what I do," she assured me quickly. "At least, no one loyal to the temple."
I relaxed slightly, pouring tea into two simple clay cups. How different from the golden goblets we once drank from.
"My people are being hunted," Alexis said without preamble. "Even after we went into hiding deep in the forests of Eileen, they found us."
"How?" The treaty had always protected the Fae lands since the last time Raphael went to them for help. No being or human could enter without permission.
"The temple found a way to break our magical borders," she explained, her voice tight with anger. "They came with fire and iron. Many of my people died before we could escape again. Most of them have returned to the well. While others couldn't. Their soul lost and perished."
I closed my eyes, picturing the beautiful Fae city I had visited after I got better. The crystal spires that caught the morning light, the singing trees that lined the central square. All of it destroyed.
"It's been three years since Raphael and Drogon disappeared," Alexis said, looking out the window toward the mountains in the distance. "Three years of darkness for all our kingdoms."
Three years. Sometimes it felt like yesterday that I had stood at the gates, watching helplessly as the temple forces surrounded us. Other times, it felt like a lifetime ago.
"The first year, they solidified power," I said, remembering the news Callie had brought back from her trips. "The executions, the new laws. People were too shocked to resist."
Alexis nodded. "The second year brought the drought. Crops failed across all five kingdoms. The rivers in Amermont dried to trickles."
"And now, in this third year, the temple has turned its eyes to the mages and people who can wield or smell magic," I continued. "First the Fae, then the shifters. I heard they had gone to the first realm as well."
"Don't forget the tax collectors," Alexis added bitterly. "Taking what little the people have left."
We sat in silence for a moment, each lost in memories of what once was. I thought of Raphael's kingdom before he left. Despite his cold appearance and the rumors that surrounded him, his people had never gone hungry. The rains had come when needed. The harvests had been bountiful.
"How are you holding on, Ava?" Alexis asked suddenly, her eyes searching my face. "Truly?"
I smiled gently, the way I had learned to do when people asked about me. "I am doing great," I lied. "We have these lands, food to eat. The children are safe."
Alexis didn't believe me, I could see it in her eyes—but she didn't press. Instead, she reached across the table and took my hand. Her skin was cool against mine, the way all Fae were.
"I didn't come only to bring bad news," she said. "I came because I can help."
Hope, that dangerous feeling I had pushed away for three years, bloomed in my chest. "Help how?"
"I can locate where they are," Alexis said, her voice dropping to a whisper even though we were alone. "Raphael and Drogon. My magic has grown stronger in hiding, and yesterday, I felt something."
My heart stopped. "They're alive, right?"
"I believe so." Alexis's eyes glowed slightly, the way Fae eyes did when their magic was active. "But they are far from here, hidden by powerful spells. That's why no one has found them."
My hands began to shake. "Where? Where are they?"
Alexis smiled, a real smile this time. "Not where, but when."
"What do you mean?" My mind struggled to understand.
"Time magic," she explained. "The oldest and most dangerous kind. I believe they're trapped in..."
A crash from outside cut her words short. We both jumped to our feet as Callie burst through the door, the children clinging to her skirts.
"Soldiers," she gasped. "Coming up the road. At least twenty of them."
Alexis's face went pale. "They followed me. I was so careful, but they must have..."
I was already moving, grabbing the emergency packs we kept ready. "The back passage, now. Callie, take the children."
As we hurried toward the hidden door behind the kitchen hearth, Alexis grabbed my arm. "We need to finish this conversation. What I was about to tell you changes everything."
"Where can we meet?" I asked, hearing the distant sound of horses drawing closer.
Alexis pressed something cold and metal into my palm. "This will guide you. Three days from now, at midnight. I'll be waiting here."
I looked down at the small compass in my hand. Instead of pointing north, its needle glowed with Fae magic.
"Don't lose it," Alexis warned. "And trust no one until then."
As we slipped into the dark tunnel beneath the house, I clutched the compass tightly. After three years of hiding and surviving, was it possible? Could I finally find them again?
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