I study the layers and layers of protective spells, in awe that someone created this.
The most prominent of these wards are ones that will a person to leave this place. There are still more that form a magical barrier of sorts, one that would be impenetrable to a nonmagical human. Finally, I sense several overlapping enchantments that obscure whatever’s beyond from view. It’s all so hopelessly complicated.
Unfortunately for me, the magic I’ve been following cuts directly across these wards, as though they weren’t there.
My queen…
That voice stirs my blood and prods my back, and if I have any hope of finding its source, I’ll need to get past these spells.
I give the web of them another once-over. After a moment’s hesitation, I reach out with my fingers, unsure how the wards will react. Hexes and curses could be woven into these things, and I really don’t want to walk away from here with some curse that rots me from the inside out.
Help me…
I’m emboldened by that plea. There may be someone on the other side of these spells that’s in true peril. And while I’m in no position to be some knight in shining armor, I am the only one who’s here, so I can at least try to be brave.
I take a steadying breath, then press my hand to the web of spells.
At my touch, the entire cluster of them disintegrates, as though it were no sturdier than an actual web. But even as my hand slips right through, I feel the massive amount of power these spells released, the wave of it slamming into me and causing me to stagger back. The shock wave spreads out into the jungle, dissipating as it goes.
I frown. Spells that strong should’ve put up some sort of fight.
But I only linger on that concern for a moment because now that I’ve removed this section of wards, I can see the area in front of me for what it really is.
Ruins.
I stare at the toppled columns and the smashed remains of hewn arches, the white marble covered in vines and vegetation. The stone itself appears to be inlaid with golden floral patterns, and the ends of the columns morph into what look to be the boughs of trees.
I’m no expert but…I swear this architecture has the touch of the Otherworld to it, the realm where fairies reside. So what is it doing hidden away in South America?
My heart thumps harder.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s some sort of failed resort that was left to molder…
That would make some amount of sense, even if it doesn’t explain the protective wards.
Tentatively, I step forward and move through the ruins.
Come to me, my queen…
That masculine voice sounds clear and close, and there’s something about it that is gut-wrenchingly intimate. It makes my breath come out shaky.
I head toward it, the line of blue magic still guiding my way. It weaves between the structure’s fallen features. My gaze snags on a bit of smashed stone and what appears to be part of a marble branch, the end of it morphing into what looks like a real leaf. But that can’t be right.
The more details I take in, however, the more certain I am that this isn’t some failed resort. Instead, it appears to be an unearthly palace left to rot. Most of it is thickly buried beneath strata of vegetation, but here and there I catch glimpses of what once stood here.
I step up to one of the more intact walls, pushing aside a curtain of plants. Underneath them, I take in the marble, my eyes lingering on the gold inlay of a coiling flowering plant decorating the wall.
This definitely seems made by the fae. Maybe one of them even lived here.
Empress…
I step away from the wall, letting the foliage drop back in place, the haunting voice luring me to it once more.
All around me, I feel more of those wards. They’re everywhere, glittering in the air, wrapped around toppled columns, coating the few standing walls. Someone went to pains to cover every square inch of this place in spells. It would take me hours to figure out what each one’s purpose is and longer still to remove them all.
Ahead of me, the inky-blue magic slopes downward from the sky, the strip of it eventually sinking into the earth. I follow it all the way to where it meets the ground.
Reaching out, I run a hand through the indigo magic. My fingers tingle pleasantly as they pass through it, but nothing else happens.
I toe the damp earth right where the power meets it. All I see is mud, yet I sense wards deep below—wards and something else, something I am antsy to uncover.
I raise my palm to the mud, and I force my power through it.
“Unearth your secrets from below,” I incant. “Reveal to me what you know.”