Elinia Rouledge

3

*The world shimmered, then broke. Elinia’s wings flared once brilliant and trembling before the light tore them apart. The gates of the Seelie Court closed behind her with a sound like shattering glass, and all that had been home became a smear of gold vanishing into darkness. When she struck the mortal soil, the air left her lungs in a soft gasp. Dew and ash clung to her hair; her gown, once woven from starlight and silk, was scorched at the hem. A faint glow still lingered on her skin, fading like a dying ember.*