THE SUMMER sun was high in the sky, beaming down on the citizens of the Summer Court. Music was in the air, and a scattering of children were dancing amongst the fields.
Andorra spun with the music as well, the hem of her gown swirling around her ankles. In just a few hours, it would mark the end of Sunnandæg, and then she would have to return to the Royal Court. But, for a few more hours, she could be no one except Andy, a sun fae.
Eve wasn't dancing, but she was standing nearby, snacking on fruit. "You have no clue how happy you've made my father," she said. Her own hair was styled longer, glowing in the sunlight. Andorra didn't ask Eve how she could adjust the length of her hair on a whim, and Eve never brought it up.
"He's made me happy by inviting me," Andorra said on an exhale, slumping on the ground next to Eve. She pressed a hand to her racing heart, feeling it beneath her fingertips. She couldn't really remember the last time she had danced like that, wild and carefree.
"You're Queen," Eve said in a duh tone. "You're invited everywhere."
Andorra leaned up on her elbows. "Still. The Summer Court is a home I've never gotten to really know. I appreciate that Desmond wants me to embrace my heritage. Not every Court is as kind."
Eve snorted. "Who cares about Princess Eolande. She'll get what's coming to her. Karma and all that."
Andorra didn't have the heart to tell Eve that she cared about whether or not Princess Eolande liked her.
"What time are we expected at your house for gifts?"
Eve tossed the core of her apple on the ground, dusting off her hands. "Probably now." Then, she looked up and gave the middle finger to the far distance. "Why is Callum standing and observing so far away, that freak?"
Andorra looked towards where Eve was flipping off a figure in the distance. She gave a playful roll of her eyes as she stood up, fixing the skirt and straps of her gown. Then, she ran her fingers through her hair, freeing it of debris. "He's convinced you're mad at him. And giving the middle finger probably isn't helping."
"He's such a loser." Eve began walking back towards the main road, Andorra following. As they walked away from the music, it dimmed and became a quiet noise in the background, all done by the magic of the land. Something Andorra was still becoming used to.
"A loser, but at least he keeps me alive." It was humor in Andorra's tone. She wasn't sure where she would be without Callum, and her feelings towards him were deeper than strangers. He was her friend. Maybe even her best friend, all things considered.
After all, she spent most of her time with him. Even Oberon, her head guard, spent time checking and fussing over the perimeter, over the castle, over the entire Royal Court, which left her alone many times.
Although, despite how much she enjoyed Callum's presence in her life, he wasn't really the man she wanted to be alone with for all hours of her day.
"I can hear you, you know." Callum's voice was bratty as he caught up to them, and Andorra elbowed him in the ribs.
"You don't need to hide like a creep," Andorra reminded him as they entered the town center. There were more fae here, bustling around. Some were dancing in the streets. Some were eating. Some were talking amongst each other.
Andorra found it charming that no one worked on Sunnandæg. A true break to worship all the sun had given them.
"I'm not really welcomed here." Callum eyed the Summer fae as they walked through the town. His eyes lingered on a few fae that were openly staring.
"Oh, stop. The Summer Fae don't care that you're Prince Puck's son." Eve shot at him. "We aren't like that here."
"Oh, you mean you aren't like my people," Callum hissed.
Eve rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."
"No, I'm just saying that it's no secret people dislike the Winter Court." Callum's shadows gathered at his ankles in his apparent anger.
"Callum, relax. No one is out to get you here. Can we just relax? It is a holiday, after all." Andorra gave him a look that said stop while you're ahead.
"A holiday for you." Callum tilted his chin up. "We celebrate other things. More useful things."
"You're impossible," Andorra laughed. She was used to his attitude, even if she wished he would be a little less biting. A little less cynical.
"Hey. You have no leg to stand on Ms. I like a Snow Fae despite the caste system."
Andorra's cheeks burned. It felt unreal that she could feel that way for Nohx. Unreal that some of her friends actually knew it to be true. Unreal that, when the right time came, there would be no caste system separating them.
She would be able to love Nohx openly. She wanted to sing to the skies above at the joy it brought her, knowing that Nohx loved her back. It wasn't a fantasy, and it wasn't an unrequited crush. Nohx, despite everything, loved her as much as she loved him.
"Queen Andorra! Queen Andorra!" The shouting of her name had Andorra turning, watching as a woman ran through the town center, her hands gathering the skirts of her gown as she hurried along. Andorra could see that her feet were bare, and her hair hung unbound, flying in her movement.
Callum muttered something under his breath as the woman approached them, hastily bowing in Andorra's presence. She was out of breath, breathing hard. "I'm sorry for calling you out like that," the woman gasped. When she raised her head, she was too shy to make eye contact. "I need your help."
Callum, quick as ever, slid in front of Andorra. "Sorry. Any requests for help may be submitted to the Royal Court."
Andorra pressed a hand to Callum's shoulder, stepping around his body to offer the woman a smile. "I'm here now. It'll be useless to send any sort of request to the Royal Court. How can I help?"
The woman swallowed hard, her throat bobbing in the process. "There's been a sighting in a western woods. A daemonium sighting." The woman's eyes focused on her own feet, but Andorra could sense the unease in the air. The clear terror in her tone.
Andorra looked up, eyeing where the woman had just come from. She didn't know a lot about the layout of the Summer Court, but if this woman had run the entire way to the town, it couldn't be far.
Eve stepped forward, her face stoney. "That's only a handful of miles away from here."
Andorra felt a sudden twist in her gut. The daemonium had been popping up, all in random locations, all without warning. Only a few at a time, which was manageable, but didn't avoid death.
She turned to Eve. "Tell your dad to sound the alarm." Then, she turned to Callum. "Call your Rali. We need all the help getting people out of the town center while it's still safe. I'm going to go find the daemonium."
"Not alone you're not," Callum snarled.
Eve was already hurrying away, rushing to meet her father. But Andorra knew they didn't have that sort of time, not with the creature on the move. She thrust her hand into the air. She felt oddly calm, despite the situation. "Pyatt!" She called out. She watched the sky, waiting for her firebird to appear.
"You need to start getting people out of the town," Andorra commanded Callum. "I know you're not keen on leaving me alone, but the Summer fae need you more right now."
She didn't bother looking at Callum; she knew he was follow her lead. Even if it meant he hated her for it, because deep down, he knew she was right. The Summer fae needed direction, and fast.
By the time Pyatt was circling overhead, Callum was issuing a STAY HOME order, his tone brash and abrasive. "Queen's orders!" He was nearly shouting at them. "It's not safe, get to your homes!"
When Pyatt touched down, Andorra stepped onto his wing, swinging herself onto his back as soon as he raised his wing for her. "We need to go to the Western Woods. A daemonium was sighted."
"On it." Pyatt shot into the sky right as an alarm rang out through the town center. Eve must have reached her home, alerting Desmond. Andorra pushed everything to the back of her mind as Pyatt raced over the Summer Court. Andorra watched as summer fae rushed back into their homes, leaving terror in their wake during what should have been a celebration.
Of all days, Andorra thought to herself. Only, that thought alone got stuck in her mind as she thought about the uncanny timing of an attack. Over the past few months, she had seen more and more daemonium slipping through the cracks, and all at times that were strangely horrific.
Andorra was making the connections. But they left a sour taste in her mouth as it forced her to consider what was actually going on in Anlithamy. And now that she was in charge, it was her problem to deal with.
"We're here," Pyatt announced, slowing down as they approached the woods. Andorra looked over the side of Pyatt, trying to get a glimpse, but it was impossible. She would have to be on foot. "Bring me down."
Unlike Callum, if Pyatt disagreed, he kept his thoughts to himself. The firebird brought her down safely, landing right at the mouth of the woods, staring into the shaded spaces between the trees. If a daemonium was slinking around, it would be hard to catch in the woods, but not impossible.
Perhaps the woods were the safest place to find one.
"I'll go on foot. You fly ahead, looking. Make sure none of them have traveled to the surrounding areas. When you spot one, let me know."
It would be too good of luck to assume none of the daemonium had left the woods.
Pyatt snorted, steam curling around nostrils. "If I find one, I will kill it," Pyatt declared as Andorra slipped from his back. She looked down at the bottom of her gown, knowing it would be of no use to her. She gripped the bottom, and with her strength, she ripped the fabric until the bottom hem rested above her knees. That way, it would be out of the way. Then, she patted Pyatt's temple. "Stay safe."
Pyatt ascended as Andorra stepped into the woods. She went silent, listening for any daemonium lingering, but she heard nothing. She continued, her steps light, the trees moving around her to accommodate her presence. Leaves fluttered, branches lifted, and Andorra found the roots had slithered into the forest floor, keeping her out of danger from tripping. She felt again like she had when she had run from her own wedding.
She wasn't alone. She paused, pressing her hand to the trunk of one tree. "Is the daemonium still in here?"
She wasn't sure if it would work, or if at her wedding, it had been a fluke. She could nearly taste the magic in the air, the way it weighed heavy around her. And not for the first time, she wondered if this was a summer fae thing, or if this was a fae thing.
Would she ever get used to the magic? She wasn't sure.
The leaves rustled around her. The tree that she pressed her hand to seemed to bend towards her, as if it were bowing, and the top moved in a jerky motion. Back and forth it shook the top of the trunk towards her, and then away from her.
It took a moment of watching in awe to understand. "You're nodding yes?"
The tree settled once she had guessed correctly. She kept her hand to the bark, feeling the rough texture, wondering what to ask next. "Are there more than one daemonium trapped in here?"
Again, the tree leaned forward, shaking back and forth, towards her and away. "Alright. Are they close?"
Before the tree could nod yes or no, she heard the daemonium herself. She braced herself for only a moment before turning, watching as three daemonium crept up behind her, still a good ten feet away, their ink oozing onto the forest floor.
She would never get used to seeing them. They were terrifying, and the fear she felt crawling up her throat was just as prominent as it had been in the school bathroom. But, Andorra was different now. Powerful.
Flames licked at her palms as she stared at them. She willed the heat into her hands, but then realized where she was. One shot of fire could potentially burn the forest down, and Andorra wasn't sure if she would be able to stop the spread of a wildfire. She extinguished the flames just as a daemonium shifted towards her.
Acting on instinct, Andorra shot beams of light from her body, blinding even herself in the process as she released a flare of light.
As soon as her light dissipated, Andorra was blinking the white dots in her vision away, trying to see again. The creatures from Moribund were squealing in pain, their inky bodies burning from the sunlight. All three stumbled to the ground, hissing echoing through the woods as their black substance boiled beneath them.
She wasn't sure if it had been enough. Andorra shut her eyes and blinded them again, this time holding her flare for longer, hoping it would kill them for good. And if that was all it took, then defeating the creatures herself would be incredibly easy from here on out.
When she opened her eyes, she was pleased to see all three were reduced to bubbling puddles of ink. She felt satisfied enough to let her shoulders relax, hoping that the creatures had killed no one in the Anlithamy.
"Was that all of them?"
Another nod from the tree had Andorra walking out of the Western Woods, calling to Pyatt from above. She rubbed at her forehead, knowing this was no coincidence. They had been released here on Sunnandæg for a reason. And she was going to get to the bottom of it.