The torchlight celebration was one of the largest of its kind. Once we lit our torch, someone else would light the one behind us, and then the next one would be lit and so on and so forth. Torches would be lit throughout all of Faery to please the land and bless us in the coming season with bountiful food during the long days of winter we were facing.
We stepped up to the tree, and I placed my palm over the bark.
“Brother,” I whispered, feeling warmth rush through me as he responded.
Malachi had lost the ability to speak three months ago, and I’d missed the sound of his boisterous laughter echoing through my head. Not a single day had gone by that I didn’t spend time here, making sure he knew I hadn’t forgotten him. Even when I was away searching for Kahleena, I made time to come check in.
Malachi would have understood had I missed a day or two, but I had made a promise, and in a world where they were seldom kept, I refused to break the one I made to him. My fingers slid, and the bark flaked off the trunk and crumbled to the cold ground.
“Soon you will be moved inside the palace, Malachi. If or when we are forced from this realm, you will come with us. I’ll not abandon you. This I vow to you, blood of my blood and brother of my heart. I will never allow you to suffer as our mother did.” Ryder’s hand landed on mine, and he smiled against my ear.
“I will not abandon him either. Malachi gave you back to me and made a selfless choice when he gave his life for yours. Family is forever, which means that no matter the changes we endure or hardships we withstand, we never have to face them alone.” His lips kissed my ear, and I gave him a watery smile.
“I will not leave him either,” Ristan said loudly, placing his hand on the tree beside mine.
One by one, our family moved closer, placing their palms on the trunk as they offered their vow to never abandon him or forget his sacrifice. It was something else to behold the generous amount of love and pride our family held and offered each other. Smiling as the bark began to glow a vibrant golden hue, I let my hand drop. Gasps spread through the assembly, and the bark covering the tree began dropping to the ground and then sprouting into green buds of new growth.
Ryder yanked me back as the fairies zoomed around the tree, zipping in and out of the cracks with a whirring motion that was impossible to follow. My eyes slid to one of the cracks, and my heart tattooed on the inside of my sternum.
I inched closer, unable to deny that there were, in fact, fingers pushing out from the narrow space. With a trembling hand, I touched them, exhaling as they lifted, curling with mine.
“Brother.” I swallowed the emotion.
“Synthia, my sister.” Malachi’s richly dark baritone entered the air, and he shoved from the tree. “I’m so glad to see you after such a long slumber.” He’d whispered it, slowly scanning the crowd as a lopsided smile played on his lips. “You’re having a party in my honor?”
My heart thundered as I stared at him, uncertain of how or why he’d just busted out of the fucking tree. I opened and closed my mouth, trying to piece a whole sentence together before finally managing a whispered, “How did you do that?”
He smiled down at me and stretched his arms, uncaring that he was naked and shit was just hanging out for everyone to see.
“I am free,” he stated with a pointed look. “Faery is currently experiencing an identity crisis and is rather temperamental these days. It has freed me for something more powerful, and I heard all the people and decided now was a good time to allow it to choose what it will. So many people are here. You foresaw my return and summoned them here for me?”
“Uh, yes?” I muttered uncertainly if I should correct the lie or not. Had he just declared Faery rejecting him in an upbeat tone? He fucking did. I flashed my gaze to Ryder, who looked just as shell-shocked as I felt. “You should probably come inside first so we can find you something to—”
He smiled at the women, who walked by gawking at the appendage hanging freely between his legs. His attention span was shorter than a fucking gnat’s! He bared his teeth at another woman, making a deep growling sound in his chest as she gave him a flirtatious look.
“Malachi, pay attention,” I hissed, snapping my fingers in his face. He turned around as the hope that the kids weren’t watching entered my mind. No such luck though since they were kids, you bet your ass they’d be noticing everything they didn’t need, or should see. “We should go inside so you can get dressed and we can speak privately. There’s a lot happening, and I need you to tell me about the temperament of Faery . . . Malachi!” He moved away from me, and I groaned as he smiled at me over his shoulder.
“I would love to, but first, I need to find food, fuck, and drink whatever it is that smells so delicious. It’s a party, Synthia! For me.”
“You should probably put on pants first,” I shouted in horror, but he laughed and wrapped his arms around several females who had been inching closer and closer to him. He tossed me a look of excitement as he cut through the crowd with them already fondling him. “I can’t believe that just happened,” I muttered as a few people snickered. “I guess this will be one holiday the children won’t ever forget?” I offered, turning to look at Ryder, whose lips twitched at the bewilderment on my face.
“Grab your torch and let’s get this thing started before those waiting across Faery to light theirs think we’ve forgotten about them, Pet.”
I did as he instructed, holding the base tightly as the fairies worked their magic and flames ignited on the wick. Ryder did the same, and I smirked at him before we touched our flames and lowered them to light the stationary torch in front of the tree. Then we turned and held our touches out so Lena and Lilith could begin the line, which spread through the entire field until the night became day with the fires burning in the valley.
Once our torches were handed off, we melted back into the background and resumed watching the people. My mind wasn’t here, though. It was seeking the solution to figuring out how to find Kahleena. The glowing tree continued even though Malachi had abandoned it, and if the noises behind me were correct, he’d made it only a few steps from it before he had entered a female. Kahleena’s words echoed through my head, and my brow creased with her word choice.
“Neither here nor there . . . seek me where you cannot enter . . . eliminate the elements forming dread . . . I am there, and here, but I am fractured to be ubiquitously in both,” I muttered, spun, and stared at the palace, remembering the room in the cellar that Ciara and I had both backed away from. I hadn’t even remembered I’d done it until just now. How could I have missed it?
I took off running through the crowd, using my magic to force people out of my way. My shoes kicked free and I ignored the way my feet slapped against the cold ground. I slammed through the front doors and cut down the corridor leading to the lower level without pausing.
The guards I passed fell into step behind me simply because I was running like Lucifer himself were chasing me. I rounded the next corner before pulling to a complete stop so abruptly my hair billowed forward, momentarily blocking my view of the wide, solid wooden door.
Even from several feet away, the sensation of unease was slithering through me but I forced myself closer. When the wards lit up around me, I sent a blast of magic toward the door, splintering the wood into slivers and dust. My palm lifted, and I flicked my wrist to keep the wooden missiles from reaching flesh.