A deadly fae assassin needs to uncover the truth about her existence while also carrying out the task she's hired for. Only, she never planned to fall in love with the biggest adversary in her mission-or rather fall in love at all.
💜💜💜
Larkspur i...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Is this it?" Hemlock points ahead of us towards the cluster of trees.
"Hmm." I nod, my eyes trained on the ground.
The grass is fresh and dewy. So whoever was there in the dawn didn't cross onto the grass. We quicken our pace and reach the end of the lawn. There's a thick boundary of neatly trimmed bushes that are almost chest high beyond which the famous Mythbell Oak groves begin. The Oak groves encircle the school completely. So any trekker or wayward traveller will only see dense growths of oak, but will never feel the urge to explore because of the magic wards created in the air. Legend has it that the school has existed for ages and the building had never needed any renovations.
The Lumerians have so much trust in their magic that the school has no proper boundary wall. Everyone who comes in through the gate is verified and scanned with modern technology before being let in. So, there is no chance an intruder might have gotten through.
"I think it's someone from the inside." Hemlock comments, bending down and studying the base of the tree carefully. "Because someone was definitely here."
"What do you see?" I kneel closer for a better look. He points to a small patch of grass that has been uprooted from the ground a little, probably in the haste of escape. One or more than one person had been here last night and aiming at Ergun or me.
"Hey Night Girl!" Ergun is standing on the steps of the courtyard, his bag slung over one shoulder, waving at me. "What are you doing out there?"
"None of your business," I shout back.
"What you're doing in Oak Grove is my business." He comes walking slowly towards us. I can almost feel Hemlock's hostile gaze like a laser pointer on him.
"Why? Are you the security guard?" I roll my eyes.
"The Oak Grove has a magic spell on it, Lark. Any unauthorized magic in and around here might negate the effect of the protection and leave us vulnerable to the Noires."
A shiver runs through me like a single drop of biting ice down my spine. Noires are the vectors of destruction—spirits created out of the darkest of the primal magic which existed long before civilisations. They run solo, preying on common fae-folk. They're like black holes for magic. They suck out all the magical powers from the captured fae and then drain their life force to become more powerful themselves.
"The Noires are gone," Hemlock says pointedly.
"Yeah, that's what the administration wants you to believe." Ergun chuckles.
"You mean the announcement of them being all wiped out—"
"It was false. The amount of magic that can wipe out all the Noires was never born. Yes, the Noires were actively hunted and removed by the Solarian soldiers, but only from the areas in and around the capital." He sighs. "They still exist outside of the Kingdom walls and definitely can sneak in through gaps in our magic, however strong."
