Osric couldn’t see, but he heard Lavender’s voice calling his name. He heard the chimes of her wings flapping and felt something cool and smooth touch his lips.
“Eat this,” she said.
He took a bite. It was one of her small apples, tart at first, enough to snarl his face in an involuntary grimace, but then the taste changed to sweet, and it was delectable, as if the apple blossom had been honeysuckle. With each bite, his mind cleared, becoming more awake and alert. His vision restored, he could see the sparks from her wings but nothing else.
“Where are we?” he asked. “Why did you come back?”
“I looked before I left the chamber, and the ghost had overtaken you,” she said. “I couldn’t leave you there. But the ghost disappeared, and the floor opened beneath you. You fell, and I followed you. We’re in a tunnel beneath the palace.”
“Do you know where it leads?”
“Not yet,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for you to awaken.”
“Those apples are quite tasty,” he said. “Are they magic?”
“To you, yes, as everything in my realm is magic to you,” she said. “But they have no special powers beyond their flavor.”
“May I have another?” he asked. She nodded and handed him one, which he ate in two bites.
“Can you use your web to escape like you did with me?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “Elven magic blocks my powers.”
“It looks like we’re walking, then,” he said.
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