That second night, there was no question if I was dreaming.

  The moon hung high overhead, its light almost entirely blocked from the bedroom, when the bed shifted next to me and someone laid down. Again, he didn’t touch me or look at me or speak; he fell asleep within minutes and began to snore softly. My joking theory in the woods to my father- that the Stag was perhaps some poor cursed prince- suddenly didn’t feel so jestful anymore. At least, a weird part of me hoped it was Cervis, and not a complete stranger.

  Still, after hours of laying restless and worried, sleep claimed me once more, as I accepted whoever this stranger was had no intent to harm me. Perhaps I could ask Cervis or Nyx about it in the morning.

  Come morning, however, there was a new adventure.

  I had learned my way to the dining hall and to my tower if I used the opening staircase as a guide. Sol followed me as I journeyed to the opening staircase, chirping softly at my shoulder. I reached the staircase, however, to find someone lurking in the gardens.

  I barely suppressed a gasp, ducking behind the railing. He was twice the height of any normal man, and thus couldn’t be the man who came and slept next to me at night. He was narrow in build, and his skin was a hazy lilac shade, his face punctuated by great yellow eyes. His nose was long and narrow, as much of him was, and his mouth wide and thin. He wore elaborate, gauzy robes and pointed boots.

  I turned over my shoulder to Sol and whispered, “Take me to Cervis- now.”

  Sol bobbed once in a nod and hurried off to follow my directive, while I scurried after him. Hunched down, I ducked back along the bridges and towers, until Sol led me to the dining hall. I straightened up once through the archway and breathed a sigh of relief to see Cervis standing at the end of the table with his usual plate of leaves. I had never been so relieved to see the Stag.

  “Cervis! There’s someone in the garden!”

  He looked up sharply from his meal. “Really? What did they look like?”

  I recounted the stranger’s appearance, and alarm flashed on Cervis’s face.

  “That sounds like Oto- but it can’t be… Well, let’s go see, then.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “You want me to come with you!?”

  “Well, of course. If he’s an amiable visitor, then the household should greet him. If not- well, I may have to quickly give you instructions to get you out of here.”

  “Can’t you take Nyx instead, and I’ll just hide out somewhere?”

  Cervis chuckled. “No, dear. That won’t work at all. Come with me.”

  Reluctantly, I followed him back along the bridges and spires, till we came back to the grand staircase. Cervis measured our visitor, and then began to lead the way down the stairs, gesturing that I should follow, and called out, “Oto! What brings you here?”

  “My god-daughter,” answered the stranger, in a vapid, eerie voice. Hair prickled along my arms and the back of my neck. The stranger came to wait at the bottom of the stairs and we reached him in due time.

  “God-daughter?” Cervis repeated. “And who might that be?”

  “Aster Fallowfall,” he said, and turned to me, bowing gracefully. “I am Oto, the West Wind. When we caught that you were being held captive here, we felt it our solemn duty to investigate. As I was closest-”

  “Wait,” I said. “We? And how am I your god-daughter? The West Wind?”

  I met Cervis’s eyes, but he looked as lost as I felt. Oto chuckled lightly. “You’ve a touch of heroine about you, Aster. Your mother, being faye as she was, sensed it with ease. This is why she blessed you with Courage- and named me, my brother, and my two sisters as your godparents.”

  My eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

  “You’ve heard the great tales of heroes and heroines,” Oto explained. “There is a shift in the atmosphere when one is born- just as lovestruck maidens have their own energy, and sorcerers and sorceresses know whether they are destined to be good or evil. It is a sense we all have, though we remain most often unaware of it until our own story begins. But that is not why I’m here- I can give you a folklore lesson later.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  I found I was subconsciously leaning toward Cervis and straightened up, clearing my throat. “Why are you here, then?”

  “As I said: you’ve been taken captive, and my siblings and I felt the need, as your godparents, to investigate.”

  “Oh- well, I’m quite alright,” I said, surprising both myself and Cervis. The Stag looked at me with widened eyes and Oto’s eyebrows rose.

  “Are you sure of this? We can get you out-”

  “No, really; I made a deal with Cervis. My imprisonment is of my own doing.”

  Oto turned to Cervis. “Will you grant me the honor of allowing me a turn about the garden with Aster? In private?”

  Cervis stepped back, causing me a twinge of alarm, and nodded. “If that is what you desire. I’ll… Finish my breakfast.”

  He turned and cantered back up the staircase, and Oto turned to me, towering overhead. “Shall we, then?”

  “I suppose,” I sighed, looking after where Cervis had disappeared. It was only my third day here, but I trusted him more than a purple stranger who walked in and claimed to be my godfather. And the Wind.

  We started through the garden, quiet for a time. Oto kept glancing up at the palace and then back around the garden. At one point, he noted, “Ah- korrigans. Nasty little things.”

  I didn’t feel a need to tell him of my encounter with them the day before.

  Once Oto was satisfied that Cervis was far enough away through the palace, he finally began to explain.

  “As I was saying, you were born with a touch of destiny about you. Your mother being half-faye allowed her to sense it, and the interest of the Fates only confirmed what she already knew.”

  “The Fates?”

  “The Three Sisters of Time- Past, Present, and Future. They could sense change you would bring about.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “That’s a lot to take in.”

  “Yes- it was for your mother, as well.” He cleared his throat. “She had heard the legend of the four Winds when she was a young girl, and she could think of nothing else to do but to name you as our goddaughter, so you would always have powerful allies.”

  I looked up at him. “What are the names of the others? Why did you come instead of them?”

  “My one brother is the North Wind, Inu,” Oto answered. “He is as vicious and cold as he is spoken of in the stories of the forest-folk. Call on him only as a last resort. My two sisters are Nava, the South Wind, and Iro, the East Wind. Iro is the sweetest, and the laziest. Nava is the warmest and the most energetic. Inu is the strongest. And I am the wisest. This is why they sent me here to get you- Nava is busy in summertime, Iro claimed she had business to attend, and Inu felt he would frighten you more than reassure you.”

  “I’m glad I got you, then,” I said, without thinking about it. Oto smiled pleasantly. “But then- how does it work? How are you the ‘West Wind’?”

  He glanced down at me, and then helped me across one of the stream runlets. “The form you see now is a temporary physical form. More often, I am the invisible, howling force you would call wind. To your kind, I take that name.”

  “What is your real name, then?”

  “It is too long for your tongue to remember. The names I have given you for my siblings and I are shortened versions of our true names. Now then- have I answered your questions?”

  None immediately came to mind, so I nodded.

  “Good. It is my turn to ask questions, then: what are you doing imprisoned to Cervis?”

  The use of his name rather than a vague description of the Stag made me wonder more at his identity. I explained the deal my father made that I agreed to, and how of all my sisters I was best suited for the task. I was the only one to willingly volunteer.

  “That was very brave indeed,” Oto said, “And speaks well of your compassion. You were right that you would be the best for this quest- but I do not think you knew all the details.”

  “I knew almost none,” I said. “I still don’t know most of what’s going on.”

  “It will take time to adjust to this world, but it is no longer in my hands.” Oto sighed. “Accepting the deal makes you Cervis’s rightful companion, and I have no ability to free you- nor do I think you want me to. But I will advise you to keep a watchful eye on your surroundings; just as you were claimed to become the hero of a tale, others fill different roles. Be cautious in your adventuring, and in who you trust.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “You say that so cryptically- almost sounds like Cervis.”

  Oto smiled. “It is not the way of beings of Magick to expose all our secrets or knowledge at the first opportunity. Most of us once did so, and learned the dangers. Go and read your books, and take heed of my warnings. In times of distress, I shall check on you.”

  “Wait- that’s it, then? You’re leaving?”

  “My job is done,” he said, turning to face me fully. “You are safe, here of your own will, and in admittedly good hands. Cervis may be prickly at first, but he stops at nothing to care for his charges. Thus, I have nothing to save you from.”

  I nodded. “Very well. I can’t argue with that.” I looked up at him, meeting the distant yellow eyes. “Farewell, then, Oto.”

  “Goodbye.”

  With a sigh, the form in front of me spun out of view, vanishing in a gray haze up and over the wall.

  “My godfather’s a breeze,” I noted, and turned to walk back to the palace.