Schula yawned as she nudged me awake. "Your turn for watch."
I nodded, still sleepy. My mat on the cold cave floor was comfortable as it could have been, considering I had just spent a month with a bed. I was already tired of the mat again, and I hoped we found the elves soon, and that they had beds.
Schula took my warm spot, comfortably curling in the blanket and dropping off to sleep. I rubbed my eyes and found a place against the wall to stand.
We had been in the cave system for a day or two. There was no real way to tell, since we couldn't see the sky from in here. Still, from how often we stopped to eat and rest it could easily have been two.
The caves proved to still be a mystery, even after spending a month studying with the witches. Schula and I even spent some time speculating about them while skimming over the journals, but we didn't find anything of use. Lark had never mentioned anything to Nassir about the caves either, so they would simply have to remain a mystery.
I sat my watch in relative silence. The cave was a damp one, offering echoes of drips and splashes from other tunnels. I glanced over to Nassir. He was barefoot, a habit he had picked up after we left the hot sands and he had increasingly left his shoes off as he walked to more places. After we entered the limestone caves he had left them off entirely, trying to sense more through his stone shaping magic. Puko was sitting on top of the stack of books next to my mat where Schula now slept. I watched them for a moment, content to be together. The pull of a triquetram was strong. So very strong. I didn't know what I'd do without her.
A few hours passed. I practiced fading in and out of the kind of seeing meditation that Nassir had been using until it gave me a headache. It would be a useful thing to master, if I even could. Finally, when it felt like about time for the watch to end and our next stretch of walking to begin, I began pulling food from the packs to prepare some kind of breakfast.
The first to wake up was Nassir, closely followed by Puko. We pulled together the last of our bread to eat before it got stale, and Schula woke up as we had just settled everything else back in our packs.
"Is it time to get up?" she mumbled.
"We have the last of the bread, if you're interested." Nassir said, handing her a large piece.
She yawned and took it, climbing out of the warm blanket. "Thanks."
"Hey, Nassir," I said. "Can you tell how far the caves go?"
"That's an interesting question." He gave me an odd, crooked smile and scratched his chin. "Sometimes it feels as though we are already at the exit, and other times it feels as though it could go on forever. Far out of my range, anyway."
"Ah." I sighed. "So we won't know we're getting close until we're on top of it."
"Caw!"
"But I have the feeling we could be close now," Schula said, a mouth full of bread and pulling crumbs off her share to feed to Puko. She swallowed. "Have you noticed the temperature change?"
I immediately stuck my arm out in front of me to the open cave. I tried to feel the still air on my skin and compare it to the rest of our journey so far. Instead of cool cave air, it was just a little bit warm. I stood, my bread falling out of my lap and onto my pack.
"It's warmer!" I exclaimed.
"It's a bit humid too. We may be nearing water," Nassir added.
Schula grinned. "I noticed on my watch, but we were all dead tired so I figured it would be best to approach the new lands when we were well rested."
"Well then, let us finish up here and see the lands that Lark walked." Nassir smiled.
They didn't have to tell me twice. I shoved bread in my mouth like it was the last time I'd see it, and loaded up with several of our packs while they finished up. Puko was happy to nab a small hunk of bread from Nassir and settle himself on my shoulder.
Once Schula and Nassir were done and the last blanket was tucked away, we set out again. The birds came easy and bright under my hands. My fingers never really left the cave wall as I trailed them gently along the smooth stone and occasionally pressed my palm flat to reveal a new bird.
Our steps were light and fast. We were all eager to get out of the small space and into the open again. What new place awaited us was an exciting mystery. I wondered what Lark thought as she wandered through this very cave. Was she pulled this way? Did she know what would be here, or was she as clueless as we were?
But one other thought loomed at the back of my mind. I had only seen the lower half of his face in the flashes from Lark's stone. My father. Would I meet him? Was he in Eidelhein? Would we be able to find it?
Schula gasped and it drew me from my thoughts.
"What is it?" Nassir asked.
"I feel air. Moving air," she said.
I took in a sharp breath and held it. The tiny hairs on my skin, the back of my neck, prickled with the feeling of it. We had been in the still air for so long that it was exhilarating to feel it move.
"Let's keep going," Nassir said. "We must be close."
We picked up the pace. The energy in our steps was almost palpable. Soon we felt more air. More warmth. More life. We rounded a bend and we saw light on the walls.
"Wren!" Schula gasped. "This has to be it."
I ran forward a little, pulling ahead and feeling the warmth on my face. Another turn and-
The sun filtered down through a thick canopy of leaves. If I strained, I could hear running water somewhere in the distance. The tree trunks were thick, and old. This forest was ancient. The lighting was dark, but it was better than it had been in the caves. The tree branches were so far overhead and so full of life that I couldn't imagine what the sky overhead might look like. If it was just past morning or nearly night.
"Wow," Schula said, emerging from the caves behind me. "This place is..."
"It feels old," Nassir said. "And full of life."
"But where do we go from here?" I asked. "There are no paths, no signs to follow. How anyone would know this cave was even here is a mystery."
"The witches know," Schula said. "And if Lark had made any real trusted friends here, they would know too."
"Well, they obviously haven't kept up the place," I said. "There are shrubs and things in the way."
"Let us simply walk whichever way our whims carry us," Nassir said. "I will leave a trail."
"What kind of trail?" Schula asked.
Nassir smiled and pressed a bare foot to the ground, raising a perfectly round stone from the ground nearly to the height of his calf. "We will be able to see and feel our own magic, should we need to."
"Clever." I smiled. "Let's see which way looks the easiest to traverse."
We picked our steps carefully through the forest floor. The air was warm but not hot, and it had a lot of moisture in it. These lands had plenty of water, and every so often I could hear it.
We stopped once to tie our hair up off our necks. Schula twisted mine into a braid and coiled it at the back of my head, and I tried to do the same for her. When my attempt failed to sit as nicely as the one Schula did for me, she laughed and did it herself. Nassir, who was able to cut some excess off while we were in the valley, didn't need to do anything.
Puko took turns flying and sitting on one of us. He would beg for treats, and if we didn't give them to him, he would fly off and look for something on his own. Sometimes coming back with bugs he had found.
As the light grew even dimmer, we assumed it was nearly sunset. We were quickly corrected when the rain started. Fat drops came fast through the cracks overhead. Warm rain fell down on us, and we took cover by the trunk of a tree.
"Well, there is not telling when it will stop," Nassir said. "Shall we wait it out, or keep going?"
I shrugged. "I'm eager to move on, but not if it keeps us wet and sick. We can rest a while and see if it lets up."
"I agree," Schula said and slung an arm around my shoulders. "I'm happy enough to take in the scenery anyway. I've never seen trees like this before."
"They look..." Nassir stiffened. "Watch out!"
Nassir shoved me aside and pulled Schlua from where she was just standing next to me. In place of where we stood was an arrow with bright blue fletching.
My eyes shot up, wildly looking from above where it could have come from. Dropping from the trees was a group of people dressed all in green with their faces hidden. The ones that didn't hold bows held spears. The biggest one stood with a spear pointed to Nassir and Schula, and two bowyers stood with them. A more lithe figure pulled a hood off, revealing the face of a pale woman with...
"Ears," I hissed out. They were like mine. Just like mine. I instantly saw the different curve that set me and the high fae apart.
"Stay calm, sister," she spoke without looking at me. "Your danger has ended. We will take care of these monsters."
Nassir kept still, assessing the situation. Schula was struggling, desperate to leave Nassir's grip and get to me. "Let us go! Wren!"
At the sound of my name, the large figure stiffened. His spear didn't leave it's aim at my friends, but he turned the rest of his body and pulled back his hood, looking at me.
Our eyes widened at the same time.
The dark, scarred warrior. I watched Lark hand her baby to him. The pain on his face was unforgettable.
"Stand down," the big man said softly.
"But, Teyber..." The lithe girl with the familiar ears didn't drop her spear.
"Stand down," the warrior called Teyber hissed. He stepped forward slowly, reaching out gently and then pulling his hand back.
"How is it you are here?" He asked.
I didn't know what to say. My eyes darted to Schula and Nassir, now out of danger but still very much as confused as I was.
"I saw you," I said. "In a vision. From... from Lark."
His breath caught. "She lives?"
My eyes watered immediately. My mouth trembled as I shook my head.
"Oh, Wren." He reached out, his arms open but not demanding. His eyes were as wet as mine, mixing with the rain that fell down on us as tears and rain trailed down our faces.
I hesitated, and Teyber swallowed, nodding. Just as he was about to put his arms down, I reached out and slowly accepted the hug. He took me in his arms fiercely, and lifted me from the ground. I began sobbing in his arms. This stranger. I had no clue who he was, other than he held me as a baby. But he hugged me like Bryn, and the emotions all surfaced.
I was somewhat aware that the rest of the group looked at us with some mix of bewilderment and horror. Nassir had recognition on his face. He must have known Teyber from the vision too, since he was the only other one that could look onto Lark's stone and see her memories.
Teyber put me down and held me at arms lenght, but didn't let me go. "You have no idea how long I have wanted to do that."
"You took me, and the woodcutter found me. And Mila, she knew yet she didn't know." I tried to explain but the jumble of words came out a tangled mess.
Teyber shook his head. "Witchery. It was Lark's doing. Mila was surely bound just as I was. Only I was burdened with the knowledge of you, yet I couldn't speak of it. Wren, there are things that you need to know, but not here."
Teyber sighed, turning it to a growl at the last moment. "You are already here, and there is no avoiding this forever. You are unsealed now. Wren, come with me to Eidelhein. There is much to explain."
I turned to Nassir and Schula. Puko had landed on Nassir's shoulder once it was safe, but now he did the most unexpected thing. He flapped over, and landed on Teyber. The big warrior laughed.
"I see you are still around, old pest. Did you watch our Wren well?"
"Teyber, I'm not going anywhere without Schula and Nassir," I said.
His lips parted and he let out a slow breath. "Nassir. How in the world did you retrieve Nassir from Icehold?"
Teyber walked to Nassir, knealing in front of the old fae. "Nassir, I am glad for your presence, you have no idea how we tried before."
"You were part of that commotion," Nassir said with a soft laugh. "I remember it."
Teyber stood, wiping his eyes. "Come with us to Eidelhein. Please, all of you. There is much to be shared, and warm beds. Please, allow me to tell you what has happened these last years."
I swallowed and looked to my friends. Puko was still on the warrior's shoulder. Nassir nodded to me. Schula reached a hand out and I walked over to take it.
"Alright then," I said. "To Eidelhein."