Free Field of Innocence (The Euphoria Series) by Lainy Lane

even knew where to go. She didn’t tell him anything about the location of the spot other than the general direction. Yet somehow, he had purposely walked straight to it. She takes a deep breath, looks down at the dragonfly that is still perched ever so faithfully on her shoulder, pulls the vines aside, and walks through the opening.
     
    The buzz from the friend on her shoulder stops instantly. In fact, there’s no noise at all. Everything seems so different and feels totally empty here without Jarreth, but it looks just the same. There’s something about being here that sends a sudden peace through her. She looks around, and that peace and serenity disappears when she sees where Tristan is going. He’s walking straight toward the ring of mushrooms and flowers, the ring that is the portal into Faerie.
     
    “Tristan!” she yells louder than she means to, and instantly realizes it feels wrong in the beauty of this place.
     
    Calandra closes the gap between them and takes his arm to stop him. He turns on his heels to face her, but there is no recognition. His eyes and face are still just as blank as they have been since the moment he stood up from the spot in her sanctuary. His cheeks appear to be sunken in.
     
    “Just let him go.” Tristan’s mouth moves and his voice comes out, but the words aren’t his.
     
    “Him? Him who, Tristan? What is going on with you?” Calandra asks frantically.
     
    Without another word, Tristan yanks his arm from her and walks straight into the ring. The moment he crosses over the ring of flowers, he is suddenly back to himself. His eyes fill with warmth and brightness again, his face finally shows recognition, but those things quickly fade into fear and confusion.
     
    “Cal! Cal!” he calls from the circle and tries to walk back toward her. Before he completes a full step, the glow that Calandra still wanted to believe was an odd reflection from the sun expands and lifts over him. With a flash, it is gone … and so is Tristan.
     
    Calandra screams and collapses onto the ground. The dragonfly continues to rest motionless on her shoulder. Jarreth’s words go through her mind, no mortal is supposed to be able to go into Faerie without being accompanied by a faerie. So how had Tristan just crossed over?
     
    “Was it because of me?” she asks, even though the dragonfly is her only company. “I didn’t actually accompany him, though. I was right here, unable to help him. He didn’t even want to go … so why did he?” The dragonfly buzzes. Calandra wonders if she had really expected some kind of a response out of it. Somehow the noise is enough to soothe her momentarily and allow her clouded mind to clear slightly. “I have to go get him,” she tells the dragonfly. It takes her a moment to gain the confidence to do what she knows she has to. “If I’m really part Fae then I’ll be able to go, the same way I somehow sent Tristan there.”
     
    The reality suddenly hits her hard; she feels it slam into her chest. Being part Fae is already causing problems and she only found out this morning through what she now wishes had actually been just a vivid daydream. Her thoughts start to flood through her, and they mix with the questions that her subconscious tries to find answers for. The buzz on her shoulder reminds her that she isn’t helping Tristan in any way by sitting here wasting time. She stands and takes a deep breath before she walks toward the ring.
     
    Just before she crosses over the line of flowers, the dragonfly flies away. The glowing ring expands and lifts above her. Her head swims around and she suddenly sees a flash of lavender. Her feet leave the ground momentarily and she is falling into something. Her feet land on hard ground again, but it is still dark, or her mind is at least. She closes her eyes to try and focus herself. When she opens them again, she realizes she’s in a field that looks almost identical to the one she just left, only this one is much