Sometime later, Killian makes a turn and the movement jolts me from my nap.

“How far was this airport?”

“Wow, you must have been exhausted, girl. We are already in Faerie. You didn’t even stir while we moved you,” Mor says.

“Sleeping is my talent,” I reply, looking outside, realizing that it was almost dawn.

Wide awake now, I take in my surroundings, not that there was much at first, just trees, lots of trees, gigantic ones.

“hold up, you guys even have roads? And streetlights?”

“And a lot more than that,” Killian says speaking for the first time since we left.

There is pride in his voice, I notice he’s also a lot less tense. I can practically hear Mor humming in her seat at the front.

We crest a hill and I’m distracted by the view before me.

“wow.”

“Beautiful isn’t it.”

“No, you guys are beautiful, this is breathtaking, it’s like Meet the Robinsons with a touch of Wakanda with a lot more trees.”

Even Blue is up and taking notice, the twinkling lights from the slowly waking up city only add to the appeal, making it more ethereal.

“We were stuck in the medieval times but with new leadership, we progressed, surpassing human technology and developing but still maintaining our culture and nature,” Killian explains.

That’s more words than I’ve ever heard from him, he must really like this place.

Busy gawking at the sprawling city, I can see how well modern and medieval blended and it is a sight to behold.

“Woah! Please tell me that’s the school, I say indicating an enormous castle on top of a hill, the rising sun cast its rays on the turquoise stone, making it glimmer with an amber glow.

“no that’s the royal residence, the school is behind the hill, you’ll see.”

I stared at the castle some more, then we turned and I noticed that the hill it was on was floating.

“what in the voodoo shit is that?”

“believe it or not, that’s just nature, science.”

“that’s so cool.”

“oh, my word you should see your faces,” Mor says with a laugh.

I know I have a goofy expression but I don’t care, this place rocked, though we all know what they say about beautiful things.

We went around the hill, and my jaw dropped literally.

“That is one monster tree, if we can call it that.”

“That is the Mother of Faerie, she is the source of everything in here.”

The tree stretched to the clouds, her trunk could possibly be a few hundred feet wide, in short, she was huge.

“if she falls or is struck by lightning, you guys are fucked.”

“a good thing that will never happen.”

I was so distracted by the tree I didn’t notice the structures in all colours of the rainbow and possibly more scattered around it.

“why so many colours.”

“each colour signifies a certain house or dorm then the grey buildings are the lecture halls and the administration buildings.”

As we neared the school, Killian slowed down and we finally stopped in front of a glimmering barrier that I hadn’t noticed before.

“Ok, so we have to go through the ward individually so that the school can assess you, fair warning, evil and anyone who means harm is burnt to crisp.”

Blue flies towards Mor and wraps himself around her neck.

“nice show of trust boy, now I don’t really want to go through.”

“But you have to.”

“yeah yeah I know shut it,” I grumbled.

Killian goes first and if his black soul didn’t get fried I must be safe, at least that’s what I thought.

I step through the glimmering ward a tad reluctantly but nothing could prepare me for what happened next.

One minute I was on the ground the next I was hurtling through the air landing on my ass at the front steps of the administration building.

“what in the actual fuck! Was that supposed to happen? Like an initiation…

I’m cut off as a force pulls me from the ground and leaves me hanging in the air…upside down.

“Oh, very funny, thank the fates I despise skirts and dresses or I would be flashing the whole of faerie by now!”

“Will you calm down, you’re making it worse,” Mor says once she catches her breath, even Killian is clutching his stomach, I didn’t even know the fucker could laugh.

“don’t tell me to calm down, I am hanging upside down several feet from the ground!”

“Oh! My God, I’m hanging several feet in the air, oh please tree mother I don’t wanna die like this.”

At this point, Mor and Killian are on the ground in pieces, at least Blue looks as panicked as I feel.

“what is happening to me? Get me down from here you assholes!”

I’m hurtled a few more feet upwards.

“ok got it, no cursing out your people, never again please let me down.”

I’m lowered a few feet, “fuck yeah it's working. Thanks for nothing, idiots.”

I realise my mistake as soon as the words leave my mouth.

I let out a screech as I’m yanked through the air again.