Wylde Magic | Book 3

Ten: To Be Found

Things made sounds in the dark. I could hear them, if not see them. The magic at my fingertips itched for me to light a fire, shoot at the unknown assailants, anything to stop the maddening hushed sounds of movement around us.

The openness of this particular stretch of the Wyldes was a peculiar combination of overgrown trees that blocked sight of most things, and high mountains on either side which made the evening and morning much darker than they needed to be while the tall peaks blocked the sun.

We walked, trying to make an early start of our morning in the light trying to filter around the mountains before us. A jagged wall of stone that separated the Summer and Autumn courts, if only for a small stretch.

And us, weaving between gnarled, ancient trees as we tried to evade whatever lived here.

Thain paused at the front, signaling the rest of us to do the same. My heart hit my ribs in anticipation and alert. Such a thing had become so common for me as we traveled through the unclaimed Wyldes that my muscles were sore from tension.

After whatever it was that Thain had sense was gone, he signaled us forward again.

As the sun rose enough to lessen our concerns for lurking things, Spaulder spoke up.

"I am growing rather weary of sneaking around," he said.

"We may be able to fend off most of what lives here," Thain said, pushing through the trees up front. "But it would slow us down to do so, and I would rather not disturb anything that has been dormant since the last wars. Conflict in the unclaimed Wyldes usually stirs up older, nastier things."

I looked back to see Spaulder's face. He smirked as he replied. "I can promise you that I am older and nastier than anything I have sensed here."

Thain turned and gave Spaulder a hard look. Probably assessing him yet again, and coming up with no answers. With a sigh, Thain just turned back and continued to move us forward.

"We're getting close, right?" Schula asked. "I feel like it wasn't that far from here."

"We're close," Thain said. "I can sort of feel him somewhere ahead of us. Which means he can feel me as well, if he's not too busy to pay attention."

"Do you think the summit is really in chaos?" I asked. "Or will there still be people there trying to come to some sort of agreement?"

"It's hard to say," Thain said. "But Eberon can be very persuasive, and his mother's constant presence asserted in the activities of the Autumn lands ensures that his name means something at least."

"Do the fae hold nobility as the humans do?" Spaulder said with a hint of distaste. "I thought them to put more faith in the merit of the individual than the bloodline."

"Ah, I can answer that one," Nassir said. "The fae do promote lords. It is a boon given by the leader of the court. For instance, Lord Thain here has been awarded his title for his past deeds for the Autumn court. That will not guarantee any title to go to his offspring, however. Any children Thain may have would have to earn a title on their own. So, while we do use the lord or lady title, we do not allow it to be inherited. Eberon and his mother will have earned their honors separately."

"Some families, like Eberon's family, make it a tradition where all of the children are expected to achieve great things and gain their titles as well," Schula added. "A bunch of effort for a pretty word before your name, if you ask me."

"I didn't know that," I said. "I... kind of like it that way."

"I'm not surprised," Schula said. "After seeing how the people in Sulls treated each other based on lineage, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And what do all those separate titles mean anyway? Baron, duke, sultana. Nonsense."