Chapter 5

"Katherine, we need to go." Aoife's voice is coming from the deer-like human standing in front of me.

"Aoife, your face…you…how…" My mind is spinning, I can't think straight.

"She can see us, Aoife!" The small faerie's sweet voice exclaims excitedly.

"Of course she can Aria, she's a Baird." Aoife rolls her large chestnut eyes, her rounded ears twitching in irritation. "I know this is a lot to take in Katherine, but we have to get you safe before we can explain. Please, just trust us."

"I do trust you." The words leave my mouth without hesitation, and I know them to be true. I know that I can trust these creatures with my life, I can feel it in my blood.

"Alright bonnie, lets get ya to the faerie pools." Duncan's voice rings out from the man made of crystals.

I want to lay my head on the cool stone ground and sleep, yet I find myself standing with shaking legs and falling into Aoife's open arms. Her wood and berry scent is stronger than before. I clench onto her as my head begins to spin, my stomach twisting.

"Something attacked me…I don't know if I can walk yet." The thought of the journey to the faerie pools made my head spin faster.

"I smell blood Duncan, she's hurt. You have to carry her for now. Aria…help her."

As gently as possible, Duncan lifts my broken body into his massive arms. He is not as hard as stone as I had expected, instead he is soft and warm. I want to apologize, to be embarrassed, but the ringing in my ears is so strong that all I can do is close my eyes. I feel hot liquid running down the back of my neck…

"My head…I hit my head." I groan as I close my eyes.

We are moving now, I can smell the salt in the air as we make our way out of my father's cottage. Aria, the beautiful faerie, is near me. I can hear her fluttering wings as she flies around my head.

"Hello Katherine." Aria's soft and sweet voice echoes inside of my broken mind. "Do not be scared, I am going to help you."

Aria touches her small palm to my temple. It feels as if I am the conduit to which Aria channels all of her raw and pure power. Adrenaline and euphoria flow through my core like a cascading river, rushing through my veins into every fiber of my body. The searing pain that had brought me to my knees begins to fade until there is no pain at all. Blood flows to my wounds, I feel the tissues begin to repair themselves, closing every break in my skin. My spinning mind slowly comes to a halt…Aria healed me.

I opened my eyes in time to see Aria slowly float up to Duncan's shoulder. She sits down and slumps over, exhausted.

"Are you okay?" I want to reach for her, protect her.

"She'll be okay, love. Our magic...it works differently here. We are not at our full potential. You will see, soon. Just got to get us to Skye first." Duncan says softly as he unleashes me from his arms, holding me steady while I balance myself.

"I'm…we are in Skye, Duncan."

"You know this is not truly Skye, Katherine."

The horrid thunder strikes as lightning continues to rain down, lighting up the entire sky. The massive onyx and purple clouds grow larger, coming towards us.

"This way!" Aoife yells.

I noticed a break in the side of the cliff at the bottom of the treacherous staircase I had walked down hardly a day ago. Aoife slips through the nearly invisible break, disappearing.

"It's a pathway," Aria explains sleepily. "It was made for your father if he ever needed to escape."

"Did he know this was coming?" I ask.

"We all did…we've been waiting for you for a very long

time Katherine."

"All of those people, they're all being-"

"We have no time to explain ourselves now, we have to go." The sadness in Aria's eyes is palpable.

I bite my tongue, holding back the venom of my words. Those people, children, had they known what was coming? Had they been warned? I know the answer, I heard the screams. My feet feel like lead as I follow Aria and Duncan under the mountain.

Aria's otherworldly glow lights our way as we descend into the darkness beyond. The smell of earth envelopes my senses, dripping water echoes in the distance. I reach out to balance myself, my fingertips graze the rough and cool surface of the mountain rock. The tunnels twist and turn like the coils of a serpent as we descend further into its depths. The sound of rushing water grows closer the further we walk. The familiar scent of moss and salt fills the stiff air, the faerie pools are near. I can see a soft blue light in the distance…the end of the tunnel.

"We're almost ther-"

Aoife is cut off by the sudden surge of power that pulsates through the mountain. Slicing pain sears through my palms. My legs tremble as the ground beneath me begins to shake violently. The smell of death and decay fills the air as whirls of thick purple mist slowly creep towards us, bright light pulsates from within.

This thing, monster, has found us. There is no way to escape…

"It is time, Aofie." Duncan says as his emerald skin begins to glow, waves of power rippling from him.

"It has been my honor Duncan Falconer, I will get our princess home."

Faster than my mind can comprehend, Aoife snatches Aria's small body from Duncans shoulder and grabs me by the wrist, dragging me towards the blue light at the end of tunnel.

"No!" Aria cries. "Duncan, no!"

Unable to break away from Aoife's grip, I look behind me and see Duncan place his powerful body between us and the oncoming mist. An unearthly screech rumbles through the tunnel as the mist comes to a halt. Duncan raises his arms, his palms facing forward.

"For the Baird's, my one true ruler!" Duncan screams as green light erupts from his palms.

Ear piercing screams crack through the air as Duncan's light slices into the purple mist. The mist balks, as if Duncan's light is strong enough to stop it.

Duncan looks back at me and nods his head, a smile on his face, telling me to go forward. In that moment I know him, I know him in every cell of my body. Our souls are intertwined. He was made to protect, I was made to be protected by him.

"Duncan!" I cry out, the realization digging its claws into my heart.

Duncan closes his eyes, relief washing over his face. One moment he is standing in the tunnel, his body vibrant and strong, the next he is covered in purple mist. In the span of a few seconds Duncan's emerald skin fades to sapphire, his limbs stiffen as his body turns into itself, his eyes sink into his skull.

I look away, unable to watch Duncan, my protector, as he dies. He knew he could not fight the mist, he knew he would not survive…

I stop resisting Aoife's grip and run faster, unwilling to let Duncan die in vain. I hold back the tears that threaten to escape, I have no time to wallow in my own despair.

The soft blue light is brighter now, the sound of rushing water and smell of salt is as strong as ever. Tears are running down Aoife's eyes but she does not falter, she runs faster.

We reach the end of the tunnel and I gasp as I look down into the deep blue water below. In the center of the body of water is a perfect circle, within that circle enchanting opal light dances, welcoming me.

"Aria, remember your duty." Aoife's voice breaks as she releases Aria from her grip.

"Duncan…"

"Your duty, Aria."

Aria straightens and wipes the tears from her eyes before bowing to Aoife. As gently as possible, Aoife strokes Aria's face with her fingertip before turning to me.

"You are Katherine Baird, the last heir to the royal Baird family…the only one left." Aoife places both hands on my shoulders. "You will save us, Katherine Baird. You will save the world."

Aoife reaches for my palms and traces the golden swirls carved into them. She releases me and motions me towards the portal. Aria lands on my shoulder and wraps her small arms around my neck. The tunnel begins to shake once more, the mist readying to strike again.

I walk to the tunnel's edge and brace myself to jump. I look back to Aoife, knowing the answer to my question before it escapes my lips.

"You're not coming, are you?"

"I've waited a long time for you to return Katherine, I

would like to rest now."

"I'll do whatever it takes Aoife."

"I know you will."

I take one last breath, and jump.

The world fractures, gravity shift and I am falling and standing still all at once. The edges of my vision blur as vibrant colors of cobalt blue and pulsating violets rush past me. My body ripples, my bones elongate and then compress again and again. I feel weightless yet anchored, suspended in the liminal space that goes on for an eternity.

Slowly, everything fades into nothing…and then nothing becomes everything