"Are you ready?" Caliath held Morgana's clammy hand. She took a deep breath and nodded. Then they stepped forward and fell into the willow tree's shadow. Morgana stifled a scream as cold washed over her like water from the deepest part of the Undine Ocean. Pitch black swallowed her vision, and the smell of the damp garden disappeared. The drip of rain on leaves was replaced with silence.

"Caliath?" Morgana tightened her grip on his hand.

"I'm here." His voice was like a warm beacon.

"I can't see anything." Her blood pounded beneath her skin like a drum. The absence of sight and smell was overwhelming. It felt like the darkness was suffocating her like a thick blanket.

"Once we start walking, you'll be able to see."

"Okay ... My room is on the seventh floor, near the East Wing."

"I've been to the sixth floor before, for meetings. You can guide me from there."

"Okay." Morgana's arm tugged forward, she stumbled, and inhaled sharply. Caliath led her through the strange darkness, and after a beat, a patch of light appeared up ahead. As they got closer Morgana could make out a dimly lit corridor with a flight of stairs that was staffed by two guards.

"My room is up those stairs and it's the third door on the right," Morgana whispered.

"Got it."

Morgana held her breath as they closed in on the guards and slipped into the shadow of a gigantic urn painted with grapevines. Caliath squeezed her hand then tugged her up the stairs. The weightlessness made her feel like she was tumbling inside a wave.

They landed in a door's shadow at the top of the staircase and a whiff of peonies coiled through the darkness. Morgana gasped as rough hands hurled her into the brightly lit hallway. She stumbled and fell back, the air knocked out of her lungs. An arm pinned her neck to the ground and a spy blocked the chandelier's light. The fae who was squashing her had indigo hair and wore black leathers. His brows furrowed. "Lady Morgana?"

Caliath stepped out of the shadow and attacked the spy with earth magic. His head jolted back, and blood dribbled out of his nose. The spy wilted to the floor and Caliath dragged him back into the shadow with his earth magic as if he were sweeping dust into a pan.

Morgana stared at the door's shadow. Caliath had knocked him out so quickly it was as if nothing had happened.

"He saw me," panic laced Morgana's voice.

"Then we'll have to get rid of him." Caliath bent down and helped Morgana to her feet.

"How?"

"Make the spy forget he ever saw you, sister," hissed the disembodied voice of the grimoire.

Caliath and Morgana shared a look. The voice was inside both their heads, a howl and a whisper that was like shattered glass scraping over stone.

"Can you do that?" Caliath asked.

"I've never done it before. But I created storm clouds today, so I guess anything's possible."

"Will your magic into his mind and once you find the memory, you must eat it."

"Eat his memory?" Morgana grimaced. "What happens if I don't?"

"Then the spy will tell King Erik that you shadow-walked, and you'll be imprisoned for the rest of your days. It's either that or kill him. Let your instincts guide you."

A silence passed where Morgana gritted her teeth. "Fine." She closed her eyes and followed her instincts, gathering her magic, and molding it into a glowing worm. She floated it through the air and into the door's shadow, where it latched onto the spy's cheek and crawled to the side of his head. It slid over his ear and burrowed inside, like a termite tunnelling through wood. An array of images, sounds, smells and sensations flashed before her. Morgana gasped.

"Are you okay?" Caliath asked.

Morgana nodded and continued searching his memories, sweat trickling down her scalp. She sucked in a breath when she found it, the memory of her trapped beneath his forearm. Morgana took a deep breath and made her magic grow legs, teeth, and an insatiable hunger until it became a jackal that devoured his memory as if it was a rat. All that was left of him to remember her was darkness.

"It's done." Morgana's legs gave out and her skin was slicked with sweat. Caliath caught her. "That's my room." She pointed to the door nearest and Caliath helped her over to her bed. He shut the door with his earth magic.

"Someone might find him," worry laced Caliath's words. "We need to return to the ball, to avoid suspicion."

Morgana winced. "We will, I just need to rest a moment. I think I used too much magic." She flopped back onto her pillows, breathless.

The rain outside slowed and a damp breeze fluttered her gossamer curtains. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled.

"That happens to me too. It's burn out from using too many elements."

There was a pitcher of water on the bedside table and Caliath handed Morgana a glass. She gulped it down then sat back with a sigh and closed her eyes. The bed dipped as he sat down. There was a lock of hair stuck to Morgana's cheek. And after a moment, Caliath brushed it back, his fingers trailing warmth over her skin. Morgana opened her eyes. The fireflies cast a soft glow around his shoulders.

"You're the only fae besides the Golah family who's been in my room," she whispered.

"Surely your friends have visited you." Caliath began playing with a lock of her hair.

"I don't have any friends, except for Aelys."

"What about me? Aren't I your friend?"

"Yeah." Morgana swallowed. "Well, as of five minutes ago."

Caliath smiled and his eyes trailed over her face, lingering on her lips before meeting her gaze. "Has anyone courted you, at the balls?"

"No." Morgana's cheeks heated. "Has anyone courted you? Or are you courting somebody?"

"No."

"Oh."

The air grew taught as if a wire were pulled tight between them. Her heart thundered, skin too hot and feverish. Their eyes locked, and Morgana felt like she was drowning in jade pools.

Shouts echoed in the hallway, and they jumped, the spell broken between them.

"We should go," Caliath whispered, sitting up, and glancing towards her door.

Morgana's mouth was dry. "Back to the gardens?" She sounded breathless.

Caliath nodded and took her hand. They hurried out onto the balcony and melted into a shadowed part of the castle wall. The chill washed over her once more, and they walked a short while until the willow tree and gardens materialized like a painting come to life. They were back under the tree where it smelled of sodden grass and flowers. Soaked branches dripped rain on them, until Caliath shielded them with his earth magic.

For a moment they were silent.

"I think they found the spy." Caliath sounded worried.

"We'll be fine. The spy won't remember a thing."

"Was the shadow-walk scary?"

"It was fine." Morgana's stomach fluttered because she wasn't thinking about the shadow-walking or the spy that nearly caught them. She was thinking about the moment between her and Caliath in her bedroom.

"At least, I know where to go now when I visit you next." Caliath smiled, and Morgana's breath caught. He was so beautiful it made her nervous.

"Yes, at least you know now." Morgana's hands fidgeted with her gown.

"I guess I'll see you in two weeks then?"

"Right ...Well, I'll head off now." Morgana went to walk around Caliath, but he gently clasped her arm.

"Thank you, for telling me everything," he said.

A hush grew between them.

"It was the right thing to do."

"It was more than that. You've no idea what you've done for me or my court. You've given me hope. Something I haven't had in a long time ... I look forward to seeing you again."

A feeling blossomed in Morgana's chest, like a flower sprouting in an icy tundra. "I look forward to seeing you too."

Caliath's hand trailed down Morgana's forearm, then stilled at the tips of her fingers. His eyes never left hers as he bowed at the waist, then kissed the back of her hand. His lips were warm and soft. He stood back up and Morgana's hand fell to her side, the skin cold where his lips had been.

"Till next time." He smiled, then stepped back into the willow tree's shadow.

Morgana stood there for a while, heart thundering as she stared at the spot where Caliath had disappeared. She couldn't believe he'd kissed her hand. Her face flushed. He was a lot more friendly towards her now that everything was out in the open. She looked up at the branches and green leaves. Why did he ask if anyone was courting her? Why did he kiss her hand? Was she just overthinking this when he was only being polite?

Cold droplets on her face brought her back to reality, and she raised an umbrella of earth magic again. Morgana shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think about such things, she had urgent matters to attend to, like getting back to the ball so that no one could suspect her of the unconscious spy near her bedroom.

Morgana jogged through soaked grass, and onto pathways. She made sure the coast was clear before she slipped through the terrace doors and into the warm ballroom. All the fae danced and whirled like autumn leaves in a breeze. The haunting music curled between the dancers, like a siren luring sailors to the rocks. A pale arm waved at Morgana's left, it was Aelys, waiting at a table laden with pumpkins hollowed into lanterns. Morgana walked over.

"How did you go?" Aelys asked.

"Good. He knows now. I'll tell you the details when we're somewhere more private."

Aelys closed her eyes in relief. "Thank Goddess, I thought you'd gotten into trouble."

"Why?"

"Because a bunch of guards just ran out of the ballroom. Flynn and Valerio left as well. They all looked as if something was wrong."

"Really?" Morgana picked up a pumpkin cake and bit into it.

Aelys stared at her, eyes narrowing. "Why do I get the feeling you know something about it?"

Morgana winked at Aelys, then her gaze flickered over the crowd, searching for Caliath. She spotted him, talking to his parents, and she smiled. Good, he'd made it back safely.

"What did you do?"

"Caliath and I were discovered by a spy on the seventh floor."

"What?"

"It's okay, I wiped his memory."

"It's okay?" Aelys gaped. "Did it work? Is his memory really gone?"

"Yes."

"Well, I hope to Goddess you're right because if this spy remembers anything then we're screwed," Aelys hissed.

Morgana inhaled. "It's taken care of, Aelys."

Aelys looked away. "What we're planning is dangerous. I just hope you know what you're doing."

Damon strode past, wafting dianthus and honeysuckle, his jaw was tense. He looked as if he were on a mission. He disappeared out the door with a guard.

"Of course, I know what I'm doing." Morgana looped her arm through Aelys's arm. "You need to have faith. We just got Caliath on our side and he's a powerful royal like you. I'm a witch who can control all the elements and do magic, and don't forget about Briar who served in the Aeperian Army. We're a powerful team and these lords won't know what hit them."

Aelys and Morgana shared a smile and looked out over the Golight fae, who were unaware that change was on the horizon. 

The end ... for now. 

Book 2 will be coming soon.