Three more fae had been reported missing. They’d all disappeared without a trace. And what was most concerning about that was the sheer number. Three. Before it had always been one.
Cailis frowned. “I don’t understand why I can’t come to watch and why no other fae are invited.”
“They say the area is too small for spectators at this one. And something about it being far away, so it would be difficult for those who can’t mistphase to attend.” The knotting twists in my stomach resumed. Not even Matron Olsander was allowed at the second test. I was on my own.
“Did they say why it’s so far away? Or where it is?” my sister pressed.
“No.” My fingers trembled as I smoothed a few strands of hair behind my ears.
Daiseeum used her magic to tame the wisps. “There. All done.” She patted my shoulder. “You shall exceed today like you did at the first test. I just know it.”
A knock came on my bedchamber’s door.
“That must be Sandus.” I gave Daiseeum a smile of thanks, then hugged my sister, but when I opened the door, my breath stopped when I beheld the crown prince. A smile parted my lips as my stomach coiled. “What are you doing here?”
“Is that how you greet your prince?” he asked in a teasing, husky tone.
I tried to ignore the flutter in my heart that had nothing to do with the test. Prince Norivun’s wings rose high above his shoulders, his cut jawline also demanding my attention. He wore a rich blue tunic. The fitted material clearly defined his powerful chest muscles hidden beneath.
Blessed Mother, he’s a beautiful male.
Somehow, I managed to bob a curtsy, but my voice came out breathy when I replied, “Sorry, good morning, my prince.”
He took a step closer to me, crowding my space as his aura wrapped around me. His air affinity kissed the skin on my neck, sending a shiver of goosebumps cascading down my spine.
“To answer your question, I’m here because there’s something you need to see.”
I straightened, and some of the curling motions disappeared in my belly at his grim tone. “Now?”
“It’s important.”
“What’s happened?”
“The fields in Isalee—” His brow furrowed, and the worry that etched into his features was deeper than anything I’d seen of late. Dread filled me.
“What’s happened?”
“Come.”
I didn’t have time to ask what he intended to do before his hand wrapped around my forearm. The realm disappeared in a blur of mist and shadows, air and wind.
We reappeared in a blinding snowstorm, and the gusts were so strong I was nearly knocked off my feet. Shielding my eyes, I called upon my air affinity to create a warm bubble around us.
My magic responded immediately, easily ten times faster than it’d been three months ago.
Norivun’s lips kicked up, and some of the tension that had knotted his expression lightened. “You’re nearly as fast as me with your air affinity now.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Nearly?”
He chuckled. “You can’t expect to be as strong as the Death Master of the continent.”
Despite the fact that I was in a snowstorm right before my second test, I laughed. “Did you really just whisk me from my chambers, minutes from the beginning of my second test, just for a jaunt in the snow, my prince?”
The fleeting lightness on his face vanished. “Do you recognize where we are?”
I peered through my air bubble and frowned when memories surfaced of the familiar brutal winds and raging storms. “Is this the Isalee field where the snowgum attacked you? Where the crops first began to die?”
He nodded. “And look at it.” He waved his arm toward the field, toward where growing crops had been.
My lips parted, a stone settling in my stomach as I took in withered black stalks lying limp on the snow. They dotted the entire landscape, barely visible through the blinding storm.
My mood plummeted. “How? What happened?”
The prince scowled. “I don’t know. Truthfully, I have no idea.”
“But . . . only days ago, this field was thriving. Lord Woodsbury proclaimed it at the last council meeting.” Bending down, I frantically dug through the snow, having to push several feet aside until I came to the hard, cold dirt. It was dry and gray—exactly as it’d been before I’d restored this land’s orem.
A mewling sound escaped me. No, no, no. Sitting back on my haunches, I stared at the dead ground before me.
“Are the gods working against us? Do they want us all to starve? Is saving the Solis continent truly beyond anything we can fix?” Because if my magic only restored life to these crops temporarily, then we were all doomed.
Norivun crouched at my side. I leaned into him, and his hand pressed into the small of my back, steadying me and drawing me close.
But it wasn’t until my side met the firm warmth of his thigh that I realized I was allowing the bond to soothe me when I should be anything but calm right now. I snapped upright. “What’s happened here since we left?”
The prince’s eyes glittered. “The villagers say the crops had been thriving since you used your affinity, but then this morning, they woke up to this.”
My jaw dropped. “The plants died overnight?”
His single nod had my heart clenching. Leaning forward, I shoved my hand into the soil. Where? Where are you?
When I’d left this field two months ago, pulsing orem had beat through it. But now . . .
My breath stopped.
Nothing. Nothing rippled beneath my palm.
I moved my hand, frantically searching the soil for something, anything. I called upon my life-giving affinity and willed a heartbeat of life to tingle back into this land, but the second my magic surged forward, it collided with something that bit back at me. The shock of it was so sudden I nearly fell to the side.
I yanked my hand back. “What in the realm was that?”
The prince frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s something here.”
Norivun’s brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
Tentatively, I laid my hand back on the ground and closed my eyes, then searched for that zap I’d just sensed, that strange barrier, but . . . it didn’t respond. Shaking my head, I opened my eyes.
“I don’t know. I could have sworn I just sensed something, something that punched back at me, but maybe I didn’t. Maybe my magic is all tangled up right now. I’m nervous about the second test, but Mother Below, how can this field be dead again?”
He raked a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh. “I wish I knew.”
My braid settled on my shoulder as I stared at him with pleading eyes. “Is everything we’re doing hopeless? Have all of these weeks that I’ve spent visiting fields been for naught?”
Outside of my bubble, the wind raged. A moment of helplessness hit me when the absolute bleakness of our climate met me with full force. Life here on the northern continent would never grow without the aid of magic. This land was too cold, too frozen to ever foster plants naturally.
My mouth twisted with concern. “Will I never fulfill our bargain? Will our fae ultimately starve no matter what I do?”