Page 3 of Wings of Snow
“I’m fine.”
He inclined his head toward the fjord. “It’s a steep walk to reach our land-dwelling city on this island,” Drachu said, his voice as deep and rich as his mahogany hair. “Once we arrive, you may rest and recover.”
“Why would we need to recover?” Cailis asked, her tone wary.
Drachu smirked. “Your sister’s magic is weakened. She needs much recovery.”
Cailis and I shared a sharp look.
“How did you know that?” I asked.
“I told you I?—”
“Know many things.” I sighed. “Yes, you’ve made that rather apparent.”
His sharp canines made an appearance again when he grinned. Smoothing that expression, he lifted an icy branch when we reached the trees. Towering trunks with frosted leaves hung everywhere. It was a plant species I was unfamiliar with, and the more I looked around at the darkened landscape, the more I realized that we were truly in a foreign land.
An instinct begged me to drop to my knees and push my palm against the sandy soil to see if this land also held magic within its depths, but I didn’t. I already knew what would happen, and it was too devastating to once again feel my affinities tethered within me.
And it seemed that Drachu apparently knew of my caged power.
An ominous feeling slid through me, but I reminded myself that the fae king had nothing to do with the diminishingoremon my home continent.
At least, I didn’t think he did.
Heavy breaths soon lifted my chest as we began to climb the landscape, moving higher and higher up one of the steep fjords.
Strange bird calls filled the sky, and it struck me that no other Lochen fae had joined us.
“Where’s your clan?” I gripped a slick branch to steady myself on the steep terrain.
“Some in the sea.” Drachu’s deep voice cut through the night, his breathing steady and even. “And some are here on land, living in Vockalin.”
“Vockalin?” Cailis panted at my back, also struggling with the climb. “Is that the name of your city?”
“It is. We shall be there shortly, if you can manage the climb.”
I gave my sister a guilty look. She could have, of course, flown to wherever we were going, but I knew she wouldn’t since that would require leaving me and my wingless form behind.
Gulping in air, Cailis asked, “Why would a sea-fairing race build their city so high up a mountain? Wouldn’t you want it closer to the water?”
Drachu shook his head. “The climb is needed for our legs when we emerge from the sea. It activates the magic more, making us fully shift into our two-legged form.”
My eyes widened. I didn’t know much of the Lochen fae, only that they commanded the oceans. “Truly? How many fae in your clan are in Vockalin?”
He shrugged and stepped on a large rock. “I would imagine several hundred, but we shall see when I arrive.”
“Do you have many cities?” I asked.
“Of course. We have as many as the Solis, but half of ours are underwater.”
“Does that mean there are as many Lochen fae as there are Solis fae?”
Drachu eyed me over his shoulder once more, his green eyes glittering. “If not more.”
One look at Cailis confirmed that Drachu had spoken the truth about all that he’d just revealed.
Millions of Solis fae lived on our frozen northern continent, but like the Lochen fae, the Solis were prideful, often ignoring the other fae races in our realm. I couldn’t recall finding any books in the castle’s library that spoke of the Lochen, Nolus, or Silten fae, at least none that I’d seen. I knew some texts had to exist. We weren’t entirely ignorant of one another, but none of my studies when I’d been in school as a child had taught us of our fae neighbors.