A Court of Weeds and Whispers

. s e v e n .

c h a p t e r   s e v e n .

Solys

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TWO DAYS PASSED BEFORE I FOUND a single gap in the Wall to pass through. When I stood in front of the invisible opening, I felt the powerful blast of magic like a gust of wind about to tear me off my feet. The force of it nearly threw me to the ground, but determined to keep my balance I pushed on through it and did not stop to complain.

Magic was prowling here. In the Immortal Lands, I felt it all around- like a wolf stalking the scent of its next good meal, eyes fixed on the meaty prize in front. The sticky, sweet scent of magic rushed over me from head to toe and coated my tongue with the horrible flavour. These lands were deceptively beautiful, and that's how I knew, when I slipped through the Wall, that I was no longer home. No landscape as grand as this could ever have existed in the plains of the world I left behind. Trees taller than any I had ever seen, the grass a brilliant shade of green, flowers in full bloom despite the harsh winter taking place over the human border.

It was a sight that almost made my eyes water.

I hated, more than anything, conceding to the honest truth that Prythian was the most glorious place I had ever seen. But the world around me paled in comparison to the estate up on the hill. Paled. From my place crouched among the bushes at the base of an oak tree, I marvelled at the ivy-scrawled manor rising over the hills in the distance. It was exactly what I always pictured a castle would look like. Exactly what a faerie of high status would take up residency in.

I had no more time to stop and ogle. I swallowed sharply and picked my way down from the raised bit of land I'd been perched on and down into the thick of the woods. I couldn't afford to be away from cover for too long, not when anything could be stalking me from the skies or across the fields. Not when anything could have been roaming in search of its next meal.

I shuddered. Even the trees, as regal and ancient as they seemed to be, reminded me of my insignificance and made me shrink inside my skin. I was small- so small in comparison to the scale of grandeur that this place embodied. I was nothing in comparison to the very dirt scuffed beneath my shoes- for even it was more powerful than I. The silence got to me too– the only sound I could hear was the chilling whistle of the breeze passing through the undergrowth where I crouched and made my way through. 

I stopped, halting sharply when I heard the voice. It was a faint, trilling sound barely louder than a whisper, the words so barely intelligible I almost could not understand. But in the grinding silence I could hear it as plain as day and night. I could hear now, the words it spoke. My eyes widened and my heart soared- Feyre, it had to be her. 

Solys, it called out. Solys, I'm here. Come and find me. Please. I'm here.

Entranced, I couldn't help but want to listen. I shifted in my place among the ferns and felt my heart leap. I can save her. I'm not too late. She's really alive. 

How else did it know my name if it wasn't my little sister calling to me after all? Why did it know my name if it wasn't her? Hopeful tears welled in my eyes as I surged forward through the trees and nearly stumbled on my way towards it as it kept on calling out.

Solys please help. I'm here. I'm alive. You can save me. Hurry.

As I went it seemed the voice only grew more distant, and as it did so, I realised I had been stupid. 

So stupid. 

This voice was not at all close to how Feyre- my Feyre- sounded. I spent my life adoring that voice, listening to that voice. I knew her voice better than any other. As it continued to cry out, calling my name and urging me to hurry, I fell back at once.