“Was this definitely the spot?” Ezra asks, frowning. He has his hands pressed up against the tree the fireflies disappeared into. There is no door, no portal. Nothing.

“Yes, it is, I am certain of it. I don’t understand.”

“Perhaps we are mistaken?” Ezra moves away to the next tree and begins running his hands over the surface of the bark. I’m not entirely sure what he is looking for, I don’t think he knows either.

“Shit.”

“What is it?” Ezra rushes to my side.

“The stone, it’s going mad,” I say as the locator stone vibrates wildly within my hand. Bringing my fist up, I uncurl my fingers slowly. A light erupts, so dazzling I have to shade my eyes from it.

“Well, Lights be damned,” Ezra says loudly.

The light withdraws into the stone almost instantly and I find myself staring at an opening carved into the very tree itself. When I peer inside I can see nothing but the beginning of a set of stone steps leading down into darkness. I turn to Ezra, my mouth dropping open in shock. None of this makes sense. My scientific brain is reeling from the absurdity of it all.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Before I am even able to protest, he places his hand on my lower back, guiding me through the doorway. The moment we step inside the hollowed-out tree, the entrance seals shut behind us. It has the same earthy smell as Clover and, somehow, I find comfort in that. She is down here somewhere, and so too are Rhain and Devin.

“Looks like the only way to go now is down,” Ezra says.

“How will we get out?” I say, unable to hide the tremble of fear in my voice.

“I have no idea, Accacia. But if there is a way in to the fae realm, then there must be a way out. Do not be afraid.”

“I’ll try.” If I can survive a curse upon my head, being kidnapped by Roland, and the halflings’ attempt to kill me, then I could conquer my fear of confined spaces too. “So, the fae live underground?” I say, placing my hand on the wall of the tunnel to steady myself. Dirt falls away as I run my fingers along it. Beneath them I can feel the smooth curve of something embedded within the wall itself. The light from the stone is still glowing, so I hold it up against the wall, trying to see what I am touching. My hand falls away quickly as a vine as thick as my arm starts to pulse. Within seconds the walls light up with luminous green vines twisting and tumbling over each other, highlighting our descent into the earth below.

“Shall we?” Ezra says holding his hand out, and even though I don’t need him to show me the way now that I can see, I take it anyway.

We step downwards, following the winding stone staircase as it twists into the depths of the earth. The green vines in the walls glow as thousands of tiny orbs of light pulse beneath the surface. They remind me of how blood cells would look moving through a vein.

“Do you see that, Ezra? I have a feeling these vines are more than just a way to light the tunnel.”

“Yes, I was thinking along the same lines, Accacia.”

“Oh, how so?”

“When Queen Adrielle cast the curse, she trapped the people of Clan Terra within the forest itself. Tying them to the earth they once loved, making it their prison. Like we are prisoners of the light, they are prisoners of the earth.”

“What are you saying, that these vines are the people of Clan Terra?”

“In a manner of speaking.” Ezra frowns, placing his hand against one of the vines. It seems to brighten under his touch.

“But what of the fae you saw taking Rhain and Ezra? They could move freely. They’re human still, or at least part human like the wolf-shifters.”

“I am not saying the vines are the people of Clan Terra, but the lights that float within them. I don’t know how to explain it…”

“Try. It can’t be any crazier than what I am thinking.”

“Could it be possible that each of these lights represent the consciousness of each member of Clan Terra?”

“You mean that a part of their soul is trapped within these vines?”

“Something like that…” Ezra stops, the look on his face thoughtful.

“What is it, Ezra?”

“Something has been puzzling me ever since I saw the pods in your friend’s greenhouse.”

“Go on.”

“If the people of Clan Terra truly are confined to the Forbidden forest by the curse Queen Adrielle cast, how did those three pods come to grow in her greenhouse?”

“Hold on a minute,” I say, remembering the conversation I’d had with Clover a few weeks ago. “The last time Clover and I talked, she told me about these unusual saplings that she had found in her forest. She had been so excited about them. She explained how she thought they were a new species. Those saplings must have come from the Forbidden forest. They must have grown into those pods.”

“Yes, that would make perfect sense. The portal opened up on the edge of the Forbidden forest. Clover must have entered, seen the saplings and taken them back to her greenhouse, cultivating them there.” Ezra grins. Something inside my chest does a little flip-flop at the way his grey eyes light up. It’s like watching the sun emerge from a storm cloud.

“Then it would appear that the fae have found a way around the curse.”

“Yes!” I exclaim.”

“Which means…” Ezra starts, clearly thinking along the same track as me.

“Which means the fae must have believed Nostra, that they want to try and break the curse too.”

As suddenly as it appeared the smile slips from Ezra’s face, the storm cloud returning. “Perhaps not all. Clover came to you in your sleep. She warned you away, Accacia. She wouldn’t do that if all the fae were in agreement. Not to mention the fact that Rhain and Devin have been taken. There might be a faction within the fae who want to break the curse, but I suspect many more are not so keen about the idea.”

“But don’t they want their lives back?”

“You have to remember Queen Adrielle is powerful. Breaking the curse is dangerous for everyone involved. There will also be some who have become accustomed to their gifts, who enjoy the life they lead, and there will be others who simply cannot remember life before the curse or the freedom they once enjoyed.” Ezra sighs.

“Then Clover could still be in danger?”

“Yes, very much so. As are my brothers.”

“Then we should hurry,” I say, rushing down the steps.

Eventually we reach the bottom and find ourselves in a small, stone room. The shape of the room is odd, not square or even circular. In fact, if I am not mistaken, it is in the shape of a pentagon. Set in each side of the pentagon are five wooden doors. They all have a different flower or plant carved onto the surface. One has a rose, another ivy trailing across the surface. There is a bluebell carved in the third door, then a sunflower, and finally a dahlia. How strange. Perhaps this is a fae thing? I walk towards the centre of the room, stopping at a stone dais. Engraved upon it is a symbol. It is a pentagon again, but within its centre there is a circle. Lines divide the shape into five and meet the central circle. Each line has another circle centred upon it. I run my fingers over the grooves, wondering what on earth it all means.

“What now?” I ask Ezra, feeling completely bemused.

He scratches his cheek. “I haven’t the faintest idea,” he says, moving from door to door. He gives each of them a gentle push to see if any will open. None of them do.

“I feel like Alice in Wonderland,” I mumble, half expecting to see an ‘eat me, drink me’ sign.

“Alice in what?”

“Nothing, nothing,” I say, feeling slightly hysterical.

“What about the stone? It opened the door above, perhaps it will open one of these too.”

“Good idea,” I say, walking over to the nearest door. It is the one with the sunflower. I hold the stone up and wait. Nothing. I push against it, still nothing. I do the same for each until I am finally faced with the door that has the rose carved into its surface. Ezra is standing behind me, peering over my shoulder.

I hold the stone up, but still nothing happens. “Now what?”

“Honestly, I have no idea, Accacia.”

“Damn it,” I say, slamming my hands against the door. I don’t know who’s more shocked, me or Ezra, as the door swings open with a gentle click.