Nightshade: Chapter Four
Amara shows Rowan the woods outside the palace.
This is the music I used as inspiration for the scene with the trees and fireflies.
The tunic Rowan wore was made from fine silk, with dark embroidery around the collar and sleeves.
It suited him.
“This is a beautiful place.”
“Thank you.” From what Mother had told me, all the faery realms had their own individual beauty, but it was still pleasant to hear Rowan say that. He also seemed to like the look of the palace – or he was pretending to like it, since this would be his home as long as he stayed in the Night Realm.
Rowan was frowning now. “You said the sorcerers used a mirror to enter the realm. What happened to it?”
“The spell smashed it into tiny pieces; all the shards were expelled along with the sorcerers. I remember the combined magic from our spellcasters making the mirror glow with a bright light – and then there was the sound of glass breaking.”
A tall figure was gliding towards us.
“Rowan, this is Erebus, the Royal Counsellor.” I waited for Erebus to straighten up from his bow before saying: “Erebus, this is Prince Rowan of the Spring Court.”
“I am honoured to meet you, Your Highness. I have already had the pleasure of being introduced to your mother and brother,” said Erebus. There was a strange light in his eyes as he looked from Rowan to me.
It looked like shock…and hope.
Feeling somewhat unnerved, I asked Rowan: “Would you like to see the grounds?”
“I would love to.”
As Erebus moved in the opposite direction to us, Rowan murmured: “I wanted to compliment him on his brooch, but I felt it was too soon in our acquaintance for that.”
“That was the heart’s token from his wife.” During a faery wedding, the bride and groom exchanged small gifts crafted from their own magic, as a symbol of their commitment to each other. I once heard rich humans did something similar with rings.
As we stepped out of the palace door, Rowan’s breath caught at the sight of the fireflies. “I’ve never seen them during the day before.”
“Are there any in the Spring Realm?”
“No. There are in the Autumn Realm; I saw them dancing during last year’s festivities.”
He seemed to be listening for something while we walked.
“Our birds sing at night. They’ll wake up soon.”
He nodded as if he had expected nothing less. “Do they perch on your hands?”
“Yes. A nightjar visits me every time I walk out here; I’ll introduce her to you.”
We walked through the silent trees with fireflies dancing around us. A gentle breeze started to caress our hair, carrying dusk and nightjar song with it.
Rowan kept glancing around him as if he wanted to take in the sight of everything he could. The lights from the fireflies shone in his eyes like jewels. Even dressed in the clothes of our people, Rowan stood out like the first rays of the sun against the night sky.
I looked away quickly. I couldn’t be caught staring.
“She’s here.”
I stopped and held up a hand; with a flutter of her wings, the nightjar flew towards me and landed on my finger.
“What is your realm like?” I asked Rowan.
“Our birds sing early every morning. The blossom never falls, and the wildflowers never die. My brother says the Dawn Realm must have a special preference for us, because the sunrises are a work of art.” He smiled softly. “I love it when spring comes to the human world too. Winter may be cruel, but the Winter Queen is not.”
“She has a son, doesn’t she?” I asked, scratching the nightjar on top of her head.
Rowan nodded. “Prince Loken. He has a roguish streak – Mother won’t stop us from being friends with him, but I don’t think she really approves of him.”
“I hope to get the chance to meet him someday.”
“When the spell is broken, I will introduce you personally. I promise.”
I looked into his eyes and believed every word.
“I don’t think she wants to leave you.”
I looked at my shoulder, where the nightjar perched. “She usually flies away after a brief visit. I hope she doesn’t get lost inside the palace.”
Maybe Rowan would like a proper tour of the Night Realm. I would have to ask him – but I didn’t want him to think we weren’t trying to find a way to break the spell.
We had already tried everything we could, and I didn’t want anyone else to die. What could we do?
“Your Majesty.” Erebus was standing at the palace doors. “May I speak to you for a moment?”
Hi! When Nightshade eventually comes out on Kindle (I can’t decide if it’ll be before or after Riverflow), it’ll have to come off Substack…which means the blog is going to look a bit bare. So I’m going to do posts about my other books - character inspiration, various spins on tropes, etc.
Stay tuned!