“Where did you come from?” Zephen growls, his eyes glowing bright and his body pulsing with magic, the wind picking up around him.

It grows stronger, faster, a tornado forming around him just like when he saved me the first time.

But this Shadow seems smarter, and stronger too, as it swirls around Zephen’s tornado, getting swept up along with the current and joining in with his magic, creating a dark vortex.

The tornado is becoming smaller as the Shadow suppresses Zephen’s magic.

“No!” I cry, scrambling to my legs. I want to help but I’m not sure how.

I don’t know what to do as I stand there, eyes dancing between Zephen and the Shadow.

A million thoughts run through my mind.

Should I grab a stick? A rock? Should I call for its attention? Would anyone hear if I screamed?

“Do not move!” Zephen hisses sharply. “Its target is you, and if you move it’ll sense you.”

“But—” I feel tears prick my eyes, panic choking me in the throat.

I search frantically for anything I can do, for someone who might be walking past.

The bird lets out a loud cry, flying to circle the Shadow before opening its beak and slices at the Shadow with its wings.

The Shadow shrieks, letting go momentarily of Zephen’s tornado. It aims at the bird, trying to knock it away.

The bird manages to avoid it several times before the Shadow outsmarts it by splitting itself in half so that the bird is in the middle, and slams the bird painfully to the ground.

The wind rises, becoming so powerful I can barely breathe in the intensity of it. My breath is being stolen from my lungs.

The Shadow shrieks again in pain, and it starts to back away as the wind broadens to meet it.

Zephen’s form emerges from the mixture of wind and darkness, his eyes blazing a wild bright green, a furious scowl on his face.

His tone is eerily icy as it cuts through the air, “Enough.”

His voice mixes in with the screams of the wind as it starts tearing away at the Shadow, pulling it apart piece by piece.

It screams out in agony, the sound making me cover my ears.

This continues for another extruciating minute, before the entire thing is eradicated and Zephen lets go of his powers, releasing the wind around us.

The air is suddenly calm and overly quiet.

“Kay.” I still had my palms pressed against my ears, my eyes squeezed shut, body folded in on itself.

“Kay.” Zephen gives me a violent shake, but his touch familiar and reassuring.

When I finally bring myself to open my eyes, I find his worried ones examining me, searching for any injury. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

I shake my head. I look past him to the bird who lies motionless on the ground.

Tears pool in my eyes at the sight, and I quickly make my way to it.

Crawling, because my legs have given way and I can no longer find the energy to stand. “Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Zephen, what do we do? It’s hurt—It’s dying! No, please don’t die—”

By this point I’m near hysterical, tears streaming down my face as I clutch the bird close to my chest, cradling it as I hiccup. I’ve never seen death before—never even had a pet for this exact reason.

“Hey, hey. Calm down. It’s alright. Familiars don’t die so easily—they have magic too.”

I look up at Zephen with teary eyes before looking back down at the bird, whose chest is rising and falling steadily. It feels warm.

I watch in disbelief as it seems to heal itself, its broken feathers mending and becoming flawless once again.

In a few short moments, the bird is blinking at you again, letting out a soft chirp. I bring myself to smile through my tears, relieved as I pull the bird close, letting it bump its head against my cheek again.

Thank goodness. I don’t understand why seeing the bird almost die affected me so greatly, and I might’ve overreacted a bit.

I let out a teary sigh. All I want is to live here in peace so that one day I can go home and have everything return back to normal.

Why is it that wave after wave of danger is thrown at me?

“We should go.” Zephen tells me with a hint of urgency, pulling me up from the grassy floor. “Hold my hand and don’t let go.”

I know what’s coming, and I feel my stomach churn.

I grab onto his hand, squeezing my eyes tight as I mentally prepare myself for the trip to come. In seconds, I feel the ground dissolve from underneath me, the terrifying weightless feeling returning, wind blowing all around me.

The trip lasted merely a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity before I finally feel solid ground again, the house spinning around me. 

“Zephen?” I find myself calling out, his presence the only reassurance I have.

I blink away the dizziness, instead focusing on Zephen’s pacing form a few steps away from me.

A deep frown is etched on his face, a faraway look in his eyes as he thinks. “Zephen, are you okay?”

“No.” Comes his curt reply, running a hand through his short silvery hair. “I don’t understand. Shadow can’t get into the Land of the Fay.”

“They can’t?”

“No,” he shakes his head, a sigh leaving his lips. “They can’t. They exist in the human world because negative human emotions give them life. Humans are their creators. In the Land of the Fay, such emotions exist to a minimum. Unlike humans, we are not easily affected emotionally.”

“So…” I frown, trying to piece the information together. “Why was there a Shadow?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He moves towards me, his eyes trained on the bird.

It lets out an alerted squawk, but doesn’t harm him. “Having a familiar will be helpful, since you cannot defend yourself with magic yet. At least familiars have small amounts of magic.”

Zephen reaches out, hovering over the creature, waiting for permission.

It doesn’t attack, but continues to blink at him. Zephen strokes its feathers gently.

“I need to go.” Zephen murmurs after a moment, already at the door. “There’s a barrier around the house, so you are safe in here.”

“Where are you going?” I ask, alert as I attempt to follow him.

I haven’t been left alone since coming here, and it makes me uneasy. I feel like a child again, desperately clasping dad’s hand as the sun begins to set and I’m convinced monsters will get me. 

But now, the idea of monsters is much more vivid and tangible, not longer creatures from a children’s book.

“To the Queen.” He answers.

“Stay here.” Then, with a great gust of wind, he’s gone.