Earth is an interesting mix of beauty and stench.
Suddenly, loud barking comes from right in front of me. Startled, I fall back, and the hound continues with the obnoxious sounds. Damn dogs and their sixth sense.
I have to leave, and I hate that I won’t be able to see Quinn today.
I heave out a deep sigh.
Not much I can do about it. Except wait.
Quinn
Telling my parents about a blind boy I saw in the woods was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made.
After explaining how I met my new friend, they called the sheriff. Then the sheriff sent out a search party. No one could survive the cold, they’d said. Especially not a disabled person who was lost in the wilderness.
I’d gotten the scolding of my life for leaving a helpless person out there to die, for being so irresponsible and inconsiderate.
Yesterday, when I was supposed to be meeting up with Kirian, our land was being scoured by police who were on the hunt for a mysterious—and possibly dead—kid. They didn’t find him, and no matter how many times I’d argued that Kirian seemed totally fine when I left him there, they wouldn’t listen.
I finally had to tell everyone I must’ve fallen asleep on the dock and dreamed the whole thing.
And maybe I did. Maybe none of it was real. Or maybe the woods really are haunted.
Of course, this doesn’t do anything to help my reputation of being a weirdo. The whispers at school today were off the charts.
Oh, and my nickname has been upgraded from Freckle Face to Ghost Girl. So, that’s fun.
Laughs and taunts make their way to my ears as I hop off the bus at the end of our lane. I don’t turn around—ignoring them is the best tactic.
Instead, I glare at the woods.
If Kirian was a hallucination or a dream, then where the heck is my other marble?
I decide to go look for it. I can retrace my steps, and possibly get some answers. Hoisting up my backpack, I trek through the trees.
I spy my fishing pole. It’s still on the dock where I left it. I kick around some leaves and rocks, in search of a blue swirl.
Maybe it fell into the creek.
The old wood of the dock creaks under my sneakers as I peer into the water. The level is a little lower than it was the other day, but the current is still fast. It makes the water muddy. There’s no way I’ll be able to see my marble at the bottom.
“Why the shenanigans yesterday?” The voice comes from behind me.
Kirian.
Smiling, I pivot toward him, but I yelp when I see a guy at least six inches taller than the boy I met. He’s wearing similar clothing, but his shoulders are broader, filling out the shirt in an attractive way. His hair is longer too, falling several inches past his shoulders.
“Where’s Kirian?”
He spreads his arms. “I am he.”
“Nope. Your voice is deeper than his. You’re obviously older.” I have to admit he looks just like him, though. “Are you his brother?”
“A day in your world is a year in mine.” He holds something up in his fingers. My marble. “I’ve kept this safe for you for a long time. I wanted to give it back last year, but there were people and—” He wrinkles his nose and his tone is distasteful when he adds, “—hounds.”
Okay, so either he’s who he says he is, or I’m insane.
“Cadaver dogs,” I tell him, putting a hand on my hip. “They were looking for your body.”
“Apologies.” He gives me a slight bow. “If our conversation hadn’t gotten cut short, I would’ve told you I’m not human. I’m fae. And before you ask me if that’s real—yes, it is. I also should’ve instructed you not to tell anyone about me. I was a little out of sorts that day. I’d just lost my sight the year before, and I wasn’t coping very well.”
I scrape the toe of my sneaker over the wood. “I’d convinced myself you weren’t real.”
“I am.”
Just to test it again, I flip him the bird.
He tilts one of his pointy ears in my direction. “Why are you showing me your finger?”
I drop my arm. “You can see?”
He laughs. “Unfortunately, no. Still blind. Just guessing, based on how you’re waving at me and how a single finger sounds when it cuts through the air. I’ve learned a lot about gauging movement and distance by sound and smell. For example, the way the wind glides over the closest branch.” He points up. “If you were to measure it, you would find it to be about one hundred and sixty-nine centimeters from the tip of my finger. And you. Judging by the potency of your smell, you’re eight and a half feet away.”
Well, he’s certainly honed his other senses. I discreetly sniff my shoulder. “I smell?”
He nods. “Still sweet.”
I try not to let the compliment go to my head, but it does anyway. “Thanks.”
“I’ve come a long way since we met,” he boasts. “Faeries already have heightened senses, but without my sight, I can hear better than anyone in all the realms. If I’m listening for it, I can even tell facial expressions, like a smirk or when someone rolls their eyes at me.”
Happy for him, I smile. Responding to me, he grins back, and I get hit with the same emotions I felt the other day—compassion, giddiness, and excitement.
Only one person has ever made me feel that way, and it’s Kirian. If this guy’s telling the truth, then he’s still him, just older.
“Wait. So, a day here equals a year in your world?” Thinking, I look to the trees above. “That means the last time you saw me was… two years ago?”
“That’s correct.”
“According to time here, you were born, like, two weeks ago,
