Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
They always had.
The trees stood just beyond Regina’s cottage, their trunks dark and planted deep, their branches lifting like welcoming arms. The moment her boots crossed from packed earth to uneven, leaf-strewn ground, something inside her eased. Her shoulders relaxed. Her breathing slowed. The air itself felt different—alive in a way stone walls and hearth smoke never were.
She slipped between the trees without thought, following no path, only instinct.
This was home.
Not the cottage. Not the village. This.
Sunlight filtered through thinning leaves, scattering gold across moss and bark. A bird flitted overhead, its wings whispering. Somewhere deeper in the woods, something small scurried and paused, watching her. She felt it—felt them all—without seeing.
Elara stopped near an old oak whose roots rose like knotted fingers from the earth. She set Regina’s basket down and rested her palm against the bark.
Warm.
Not from sun, but from something older.
“You feel it too.”
The voice was light, lilting—and entirely unexpected.
Elara spun.
A tiny figure hovered just beyond the oak’s trunk, smaller than a young bairn’s hand. Gossamer wings shimmered behind her, catching the light in impossible hues—blue, silver, green all at once. Red curls framed a round face dusted with freckles, and sharp, curious eyes studied Elara with open interest.
Elara grinned. “I am so pleased to finally see you and I want to thank you for your help, and your warnings.”
“You can see me,” the little creature said, shocked but delighted.
“Aye, I can see you clearly,” Elara said then thought of what it might mean, the danger of it, having not only visions but the ability to see magical forest creatures. And she wondered over her newfound abilities. “How is it I can see you when others can’t?”
The fairy flitted closer, circling her slowly. “Most humans can’t see us. Not unless we want them to. And even then, attempts can prove futile. Fear prevents most from catching even a small glimpse of us.” She stopped directly in front of Elara’s face, hovering eye to eye. “You have an inherent connection with the forest and all in it, and you embrace it, and the forest embraces you.” She smiled wide. “I am pleased to finally meet you, Elara. I am Amelia.”
“I am pleased to meet you, Amelia. I have felt you near for some time and was hoping to meet you.”
Amelia’s smile softened. “It was inevitable with the forest being your home.”
Elara found her remark more a declaration as if it was fact that the forest was actually her home, as if she was born here among the trees, the foliage, the forest creatures themselves. But that was nonsense, and yet she could not shake the feeling.
“Well, I am an herb-scribe,” Elara said, thinking that might explain it.
Amelia’s wings fluttered once, amused. “That is only a small part of you.” Her expression sobered. “We don’t have much time. Things are stirring.” She glanced deeper into the forest, where shadows layered thickly between trunks. “The old paths are waking and you and others wake with them.”
Elara shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“You will,” Amelia assured her. “You will come to understand it all and I will be there to help you and warn as well. So, pay heed to my words.”
“I am pleased to hear that,” Elara said, Amelia’s words reassuring though she didn’t understand why. Shouldn’t she be skeptical of the fairy? How was it, she trusted her so easily when the fae had been condemned and banished?
Amelia reached out and brushed Elara’s cheek with the lightest touch, cool as morning dew.
Elara gasped, something inside her responding to the touch. Not pain. Not magic as she understood it. Something deeper. Buried. Freed.
Amelia tilted her head slightly, her delicate features sharpening with alertness. “Someone approaches.”
Elara stiffened. “Who?”
The fairy’s gaze slid past her, toward the deeper trees, as though she could see beyond bark and shadow. A knowing smile curved her lips. “The Hunter. Your husband.”
A strange warmth settled in Elara’s chest at the certainty in Amelia’s voice. “You know him?”
“I know his tread,” Amelia replied. “The forest knows him. He walks with purpose.” Her wings fluttered once, catching the light. “He is close now.”
Elara turned, searching the woods, though she heard nothing yet.
Amelia’s expression softened, something almost wistful passing through her bright eyes. “You walk between paths, Elara, and they soon will collide.” She flitted back, already beginning to fade. “I will see you again.”
Before Elara could speak, Amelia shot upward, dissolving into a shimmer of light that vanished among the leaves.
A moment later, footsteps crunched against fallen leaves and branches.
Dar emerged from between the trees, his gaze sharp, already fixed on her. Relief crossed his face so quickly it was gone almost before she caught it.
“There you are,” he said. “Plans have changed.” His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked around. “You should not have gone alone into the woods.”