"WHERE IS he? Where's Nohx?" Callum stood with Andorra at the edge of the Woodland Forest, his eyes darting around the trees. An eerie chill seemed to blow towards them, causing goosebumps to run down her arms. There was a soft moaning too, something she was sure caused by the swaying of the old trees before her, but nevertheless, she felt a shiver of fear zip up her spine.

It would be fine. She had traveled these woods before, and had done so successfully.

"I'm sure he'll be here. Besides, I've done this before without him, so quit worrying. I'll be fine."

Callum's frown deepened. Shadows crawled across the ground, swirling around her own ankles. His jaw clenched as he forced himself to not explode, right then and there. "No. Absolutely not, you aren't traveling in the Woodland Forest alone."

Andorra put her hand on his arm, forcing his gaze to meet hers. "Callum, I'm fine. I've been training with Vulara, remember? And I went to bat with the Daemonium, which are way more dangerous than anything in here. Plus, I did this before and you never had an issue with it then."

"Yeah, because I didn't care about you then." He stuffed his hands in his coat pockets. "That doesn't mean I can't change my mind."

"I'm going in, and you need to stay here. The Rumplewren will never appear to me if you tag along. And we need this to go well."

Callum wasn't happy, but he didn't have a choice. Even he knew this, no matter how angry it made him to see her step into the woods, alone, without Nohx. Callum had half a mind to strangle the Clan Leader. He watched Andorra snake through the trees until he couldn't see her any longer, refusing to move until she returned. "Stupid Clan Leader," he muttered to himself. "Can't trust any of those snow freaks."

Andorra, feeling pretty confident she was going to be fine, cleared her mind. The only way visiting the Rumplewren and the Prophet worked was to go into the woods with the intention of finding them. Any strange or wayward thoughts could get her lost in the woods, or worse, killed.

The recipe in her pocket felt heavy. She wasn't sure what the Rumplewren would tell her, if he would even take a look at the mysterious list of ingredients. Part of her was terrified she wouldn't even stumble upon his cottage, making this entire trip useless.

The air in the woods felt exactly like it had the first time she had ventured here; freezing against her skin, the sound of its brittle whistle echoing as it blew through the trees. She was in the Autumn Court now, reminding her of the many times she explored her own woods behind her human house in Maine. True, she had moved there in the winter, but the air felt similar, and the chill was reminiscent of her human days.

Feeling nostalgic almost helped take her mind off of the rustling she heard all around her. Animals, she told herself, but that only eased part of her mind. Animals in Anlithamy weren't simple creatures looking for food. She rubbed at her arms, moving forward, trying to spot a pathway between the trees, but finding none.

Sunlight filtered down through the leaves, creating what should have been an inviting colorful hue, but there was something that nagged at her continuously. Something felt off. Something wasn't right.

And Nohx not showing up? That was unlike him. Andorra trusted him, yet something about him flaking on her made her gut churn. He wouldn't do that to her, right?

It was possible he tried to enter the Woodland Forest through the Shadow Clan, just south of his own territory. But it made more sense of him to fly on the back of Viir to the Royal Court and meet her there.

There was a brush against the backs of her calves that had Andorra jumping and spinning, heart pounding in an instant. "Hello?" she called, instantly feeling stupid when nothing was behind her. She spun slowly, but saw nothing. The roaring of blood in her ears made it momentarily hard for her to hear anything, so she took a calming breath.

She waited for a moment, her eyes trying to catch movement. When she found nothing, she crept forward again, her own movements nearly silent. Fear slithered down her throat when she remembered what she was, and how silent all fae could be.

If she was hearing rustling, it meant that something wanted to be heard. Fae or creature, something wanted her to be aware that she was being followed.

"Pyatt," she called out loud. Then, she switched to their communication connection in her mind. "Something is following me."

"Are you asking me to come and find you?"

Was she? Andorra wasn't sure the Rumplewren would like for the Flayre to be there. "Not yet. But be alert and listen for me, okay?"

"I'm always listening for you," Pyatt responded. His words, which were reassuring, echoed in Andorra's mind as she continued forward. She had her powers and her hand to hand combat. She was Queen. She would be fine.

The more she walked, the more the rustling continued, something behind her but other times beside her. Andorra's heightened hearing could pick up the sound of steps, two of them.

Fae, she realized.

Not an animal then, but rather being hunted by a person. Andorra immediately realized that perhaps it was Roseria, although creating a gate would have been easier for her, if startling her was the desired outcome.

"Okay, I can hear you. Come out!" She demanded, stopping between a cluster of trees. "I know you're there."

She was slightly proud that her voice came out strong and sure, but her heart was thundering in her chest. She readied her hands into fists, in case she needed to protect herself in that way. Fire would be dangerous in the trees, and would be a last resort, but she wasn't afraid of trying Vulara's training moves.

Something moved against a tree ahead of her. She honed in on the sound, watching with interest as a creature stepped around the tree. She should have been terrified, but it was intrigue she felt when she saw the bark-textured skin, the knotted dark long hair, and the flash of sharpened teeth.

"How can I be of service?" She asked, keeping distance between them. Despite the creature being unknown to her, she was still its Queen.

"You're the one he wants," the creature growled. It hugged the side of a tree, eyeing her, flashing its teeth at her. "The demon creatures hiss about you."

Dread was heavy in her chest. "Who wants me? What are you?"

Before Andorra could blink, another creature stepped from around the base of another tree. This one was larger in size, blinking at her with wide set eyes. "The Deathwringer. His creatures have combed this wood for many weeks, looking for you." The sound of its voice was not pleasant to Andorra, but neither of them moved towards her. "He wants you."

This, Andorra knew. "He'll have me when I'm ready." Then, she looked around the woods, trying to spot more. "How many of you are there in these woods?" They themselves looked like trees, which aided them in their camouflage.

"Dryads." The first one cocked its head. "You do not know of us? We protect the wood, guard the nature around us. There are many of us here, watching always. You came here before. But now the Deathwringer wants you. Sends his demons up here, which makes it unsafe in the wood."

Andorra held her hands out. "I'm not dangerous to you or the wood. I'm trying to find the Rumplewren."

"The Rumplewren does not wish to be bothered."

Andorra found she didn't quite care if the Rumplewren didn't want to be found. "I'll find him, don't you worry."

"You're our new Queen. Perhaps you should meet our leader, Fraseri."

"Perhaps after this trip, yes. I would love to meet him." And she wouldn't be alone, either. She would definitely bring Callum or Oberon for that meeting. She was already feeling a tad bit foolish for being there alone in the first place.

"Perhaps now. Your friend is already there with him. And we'd hate for anything to come of your friend."

Andorra's mind immediately went to Nohx. Was this where he was? Was this what had happened to him? The Dryads didn't appear to be all that violent and vicious upon first meeting, but maybe she was wrong.

Maybe Nohx was in trouble.

"Alright. Then lead me to him." She felt the telltale heat at her fingertips, but she willed the flames away as she followed the Dryads. Both of them moved from tree to tree, slipping behind and around them fluidly. It was almost as if they didn't walk the forest floor like she did. There must have been magic in their movements. She followed clumsily, but kept up their pace.

She was finding it hard to believe Nohx could be in trouble; he was never in trouble. But she wasn't taking any chances.

As they trekked through the wood, she found that when they wanted to be, both dryads were silent. "Pyatt?" She spoke into her mind. "There's been a change of plans."

"What change?"

"The Dryads accosted me in the wood. They're taking me to meet their leader. I think they have Nohx."

There was a beat of silence for a moment in her brain. She waited for Pyatt's response, ducking under branches, eyes tracking the Dryads in front of her. "Pyatt?"

"I'm here. I'm flying overhead. I don't like the thought of you going to the dryads leader. Something is not right."

Andorra didn't have time to make a comment back to Pyatt. The Dryads led her to a large tree, several yards wide in width. It reminded her immediately of the tree in an animated movie she had seen as a child. Would Fraseri look like totoro?

"Come. We enter in here."

The first Dryad moved into the tree, slipping under one of the roots in a seamless maneuver. Andorra hesitated for a moment, wondering how they had just done the impossible. She looked to the second Dryad for help.

"I'll go in after. Just slip in, right there."

Andorra took a step closer to the root. There wasn't any opening that she could see, and when she looked back to the dryad a second time, she could see the frustration clear on its face. "Step closer."

She did. The moment she put weight on the ground, she felt it give beneath her, almost as if there was nothing there. She fell onto her bottom and slid beneath the root, free falling for a moment. There wasn't even enough time to scream as she hit the ground, her fall broken by soft moss.

"Not very graceful, but it'll do." The dryad picked her up by the armpits, steadying her into a standing position despite being close to two feet shorter than she was. She blinked at the dryad, soft floating lights illuminating its face.

"Thank you," she offered, unsure of how she should react.

"Follow. We head to the main chamber."

Andorra didn't have much of a choice as the second dryad landed behind her, following Andorra through the dark, earthy tunnels. She wasn't even sure how this space was made, and at one moment, she reached out to touch one of the floating lights, unable to shrink the space between them.

"Will-o-wisp," the second dryad explained. "Do you not know of those either?"

Andorra was embarrassed to say she didn't. And even if it wasn't her fault, she felt that every shortcoming was beginning to stack against her. Going back to Hornwell was beginning to sound like a necessity.

"I spent most of my life amongst humans. My knowledge is limited as of right now."

"Ah, a changeling. Yes, we knew our Queen was one."

The passageway led the three of them to a large door made of bark. When the first dryad opened the door, it fit perfectly through the space. Andorra found herself bending down to step through the doorway.

When she straightened, a throne room sat before them. On the only throne sat a Dryad with a crowd made of weaved twigs and leaves. Fraseri was laughing with the person beside him, and Andorra's eyes widened in surprise.

It wasn't Nohx that stood there, but instead it was Roseria. And her eyes were honed in on Andorra.