Fae Like Me: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy (Selena Pierce Book 1)

by Lucy Auburn

  “More than anything.”

  “Okay.” I cleared my throat. “So, this is going to sound a little crazy. But you were... possessed by a demon.”

  I didn’t know what reaction I had been expecting, but when Talia sighed with relief it was a shock. “Thank God you said it first. That’s what I thought it was. I mean—I’ve never been one to believe in those sort of things, but this? It was like evil itself was inside me.”

  “Yeah.” Reaching over, I took a piece of her hair in my hand and played with it a little, thick strands slipping through my fingers. “It was scary, seeing you like that. Your eyes weren’t your eyes, and you... it was just really scary. I thought I was going to lose you.”

  “And then they arrested me and put me in jail.” She reached up and twined her fingers with mine, her hair dropping out of my grasp. “It was awful, Selena. It was just a few days, but I saw myself spending my whole life in there, and I just...”

  Her voice choked up with emotion, Talia didn’t say anything else. And she didn’t have to, because I understood. I’d been frightened of just the same thing as her. “There’s something else that happened that night.”

  She craned her head up to look at me. “What?”

  I cleared my throat. “Well... remember how I told you I thought I might be adopted?”

  “I remember.”

  “It turns out I was right.” There was something about telling someone that made all of this feel that much more real. “My parents weren’t my birth parents. But there’s even more than that.” Taking a deep breath, I told her, “I’m not entirely... human.”

  Talia’s eyes went wide. “Oh my God, did you fall from the sky like Superman?”

  I snorted at her. “No, Talia. Very funny. But the truth isn’t exactly that much further from fiction. It turns out I’m part fae.”

  “You mean Thumbelina? Tinkerbell? Do you have butterfly wings?”

  Despite myself, I started to giggle so hard that tears ran down my face. She joined me, her voice rising almost hysterically. For a moment the room was full of nothing more than the sound of us going mad with laughter.

  Later, when I stopped giggling hysterically, I told her the rest: about being a succubus, how scared I was, how I tried my best to be strong. She told me about jail and then her brief time being transferred to prison. I listened soberly, trying to imagine myself in her place and choking up at the thought of all she’d been through.

  Later that night, when the sky was dark and we were both out of words, Talia asked me one key question. “Who are your birth parents? Do you have any idea?”

  “None,” I admitted. “But I’m going to do anything I can to find out.”

  When I went to sleep late that night, I felt at peace.

  And then I woke up with a terrible hunger inside me, my dormant powers screaming at me that they wanted to feed.

  It turned out peace didn’t last for a fae like me.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Try it one more time.” Despite the pain, I held my hands out to Maggie and tried not to show on my face how little I meant what I was saying. “I can bear it. I’m sure of it.”

  She gave me a good once over, her expression skeptical. “One more time. And then that’s it.”

  I was sitting in her house, having my powers rebound. When I woke up late that morning with the hunger, I knew I had no choice but to go to my foster mother to have it taken care of. She was at work—she owned and managed a craft supply store—but she put the sign on the front door to “closed” just for me so that she could take care of my problem.

  Except even her new binding spell wasn’t working. This thing inside me that wanted out, the fae part of me, just wouldn’t be kept asleep. And after being warned so many times by everyone around me that it was dangerous, I didn’t know what I would do if it was free. It felt like I would never be able to conquer my powers.

  “Get ready,” Maggie said, reaching out to grab my hands with a grimace. “I’ll do my best to be quick.”

  I nodded, holding back tears and reminding myself to be strong. “Do it.”

  She started the spell. I bit my lower lip and closed my eyes, trying to refocus on something besides the pain. I thought about Talia, and how happy I was that she was free—even if there were new shadows under her eyes that spoke to what she’d been through in her time being locked up. Thinking about Talia reminded me of my hunt for the real killer with Naomi, and how invigorated I’d felt once we closed the case. It wasn’t just the fact that we’d freed my best friend; something about being useful with my powers had given me strength.

  But that was the problem now, wasn’t it? If I’d never used my powers in the first place, maybe they wouldn’t be so troublesome now.

  My mind wandered back to the present as the sharp pain started in my hands. Maggie grabbed me tight, chanting in that unfamiliar language again. Only this time the pain was so unbearable that I was sure as soon as I opened my eyes I would see my skin flying off of my bones, tendons and muscles flayed apart.

  I couldn’t hold it in any longer. A cry of terrible pain escaped my clenched teeth, and Maggie’s chanting halted. Tears in her eyes, she shook her head. “I just can’t do it, Silly. Even if it wasn’t torture hearing you in pain and knowing that I’m the one causing it, I can’t finish the spell. It falls apart every time I try.”

  Pulling my hands back to me, I clutched them together and sighed deeply. “It’s okay. You warned me that this would happen, after all.”

  “I did. But it’s happening far faster than I ever could have predicted. I thought we had weeks, maybe even months—not just a few days.”

  “Maybe it’s time you showed me about that meditation you talked about,” I said, trying to keep my tone light even though it felt forced. “That should help things, right?”

  Maggie grimaced. “It can only help so much, Silly. And I’m a witch—not a fae. You need to learn from someone who knows what you’re going through.” Studying me, she added, “I’m going to extend my lunch break and take you back to the Collective. We need to find a better solution for what’s happening to you now that the spells obviously aren’t going to work anymore.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” I said, feeling bad that I was such a burden on her.

  “Hey.” Reaching out, my foster mother press two fingers to my chin and smiled at me as she tilted my head up to meet her warm gaze. “I never have to do anything when it comes to you. It’s a choice. I’m in your life because I love you, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Blushing, I glanced down at my hands, which were still smarting from the failed spell. “I love you too, Maggie.”

  “Now. Let’s go see the fae about getting you matched up.”

  I stared at her in confusion as she stood up, my brows knitted. “Matched up?”

  “If you’re going to survive in this world as a succubus, you need someone to feed off of,” she explained. “That’s where the fae come in—and the ambassador to the Realm of Light, who you met already.”

  “Petyr. What about him?”

  “He’s going to help you get engaged.”

  The word “engaged” was still swirling in my mind as Maggie pulled her car up to the Collective and parked outside. I fiddled with the laminated paper I.D. she’d given me; apparently, part of registering with the fae meant getting a fae license, and now I had a temp version.

  My stomach was unsettled at the thought of all the things she’d told me on our way over: how fae like me often got married to another fae, but it wasn’t a traditional marriage; that the engagement would be years long, that fae marriages were often lifelong but rarely monogamous—and that the ancient fae Elders would be the ones to pick out a spouse for me.

  I didn’t know how I felt about being married off by a bunch of old men, but as Maggie had told me they weren’t all men, and they definitely weren’t old in the fae sense.

  “Pureblood faes like the Elder families live so long that they�
��re nowhere near the end of their lifespan at a thousand years old. Most of the Elders are in their thirties and forties by human standards.”

  So they weren’t old in their minds, but they were to me. They’d seen entire empires rise and fall. They no doubt saw humans, with their short lifespans, as little more than flies. And now, apparently, I was supposed to go with Petyr to meet them so they could make a good match for me.

  “I’m not sure about this,” I said as we got out of the car and headed towards the front steps of the Collective. “Aren’t I a little young to get married?”

  “Engaged,” she swiftly corrected me. “And you can turn their suggested pairing down if you’d like—though that comes with the risk of offending the old families. But, Selena, do you have any other options? The last time I checked you don’t even have a human boyfriend, much less a fae one.”

  I kept the two kisses with Naomi to myself; they didn’t seem relevant right now, and she’d already made it clear she was just kissing me to take the edge of hunger off and would sooner stab me than date me. As we stopped in front of the guards and pulled out our I.D.s, it occurred to me that I could always find my own fae boyfriend to... feed off of, as strange as that sounded.

  “What if I meet someone during this engagement?” I asked her as we walked through the front doors and into the elaborate underbelly of the fae stronghold. “There are other fae, after all. Hundreds in this building alone.”

  “Most of the fae here are already paired off,” Maggie pointed out. “Though I’m sure there are plenty who are single—or non-monogamous. But the pairing the Elders make for you will be with someone your own age, who is an advantageous match. It’s the best option for you—unless you have other ideas. How many single fae men do you know?”

  Briefly, I thought of Leon—and Petyr, and Tae Min. But one hated me, another was a professional dignitary who hadn’t shown any interest, and the last one was the mostly human man who I’d nearly drained with my powers. I needed to find someone to feed off of, and soon, before I hurt somebody with my powers.

  “Let’s do it, then,” I said, resigned, as we stopped outside Petyr’s office to wait for him, settling into the chairs there. “Take me to this faerie realm and make me a match.”

  “Oh, I won’t be going with you.” Maggie reached out and gripped my shoulder to give me comfort. “Humans aren’t welcome in the Realm of Light. Petyr will take you to the Elders himself.”

  Even better: a fae man I was attracted to would be carting me off to marry me to someone, and he probably wouldn’t even care that it wasn’t going to be him. I didn’t know why that bothered me so much; I’d only briefly met Petyr, after all. But this new, hungry part of me that was alive now seemed to want to claim eligible men and make them hers. She wanted to seduce them, to enthrall them the way I’d enthralled those two humans so they answered Naomi’s questions. The thought of kissing Petyr, of tasting his strength, made the hunger that much sharper and more real.

  It was a little disturbing, and also exciting. Everyone kept telling me that it would be different if I used my powers on fae, that they were more equal to me. I wondered what that meant—if I fed from someone like Leon, would he enjoy it just as much as me? Could I be something better, and less disgusting, than the incubus I’d seen with the harem of enthralled humans?

  I didn’t have much time to think of it before the door to the ambassador’s office opened and a group of strange, pale women with silver hair walked out. They giggled as Petyr escorted them out of his office, a charmed grin on his face. “Come back soon, ladies!”

  With a voice that echoed as one, the women said, “Oh, we will, Petyr Kennedy of the Anyana. Thank you for showing us a good time.”

  I watched them as they walked out, fascinated by their presence. They were each nearly identical, but they moved with the same smooth grace and spoke with the same voice that tinkled like water spilling over a crystal glass. I wondered if there were more fae like this in the Realm of Light, and suddenly started to look forward to my trip there.

  “Hello, Maggie.” Petyr smiled and walked over to my foster mother, taking her slim hand between his and pouring the same charm over her that had worked on the silver-haired women. “I’m glad to see you again so soon, even if it’s under rather complicated circumstances.”

  “I’m just glad you were able to rearrange your schedule to see us,” Maggie said, rising with her hand still between his. I stood up awkwardly, hovering right behind her as she looked up into Petyr’s handsome face. “Thank you so much for meeting with us. I know how busy you are these days, ambassador.”

  “Some things are more important than meetings.” Petyr’s eyes moved over towards me, and I blushed as I was assailed with that signature charm. Resisting it was impossible; there was something about his smooth, calm presence and easy smile that made me want to lean towards him. “Selena.”

  “Petyr.” I smiled at him tightly. “So, did Maggie tell you it’s time to marry me off?”

  “She did. It’s a little faster than we expected, but now that your powers are coming unbound its best to get the process started.” He smiled and reached out to put a hand on my lower back, ushering me smoothly into his office. “Though I do have to correct one thing: it’s not a marriage. Not yet, and maybe not even for years or ever, if you don’t want it to be. It’s just an engagement.”

  “Right.” I cleared my throat as the door shut behind us, heavy and final. “I’m not sure I get that part, though. Isn’t the marriage sort of... the point of an engagement in the first place?”

  “It is, in modern human society,” Petyr explained as he walked over to his desk and searched through his desk drawers for something. “But among the fae, an engagement is an alliance as much as anything. Marriage usually follows—but sometimes an engaged couple will spend an entire human lifetime together before the wedding. Other times, the engagement ends when it’s no longer necessary, but the alliance stays in place.”

  “So it’s like a... peace treaty. Or a company merger.”

  “Exactly like that.” He smiled at me, pulling out a thick gold ring and placing it on the ring finger of his right hand. “When you become engaged to the fae of the Elders’ choosing, you’ll be able to visit each other whenever you’d like—and feed off him if you need.”

  “And that won’t... hurt him?” I asked, disgusted and ashamed that I even had to ask the question.

  “No, of course not.” Petyr stared at me with those deep brown eyes, and I got the feeling that he saw more than just what was in front of him. “Your powers are common among the fae, Selena. They’re nothing to be ashamed of or deny just because they were hidden from you for so many years. When you feed off your intended, it will not harm him any more than rain harms the oak tree.”

  I hesitantly returned his smile, feeling peaceful at the picture he painted. “I guess your heritage makes you familiar with what it’s like to be a tree.”

  Petyr chuckled. “Sometimes, knowing the secrets of the forest is a good thing for a diplomat.” Walking around his desk, he reached out and took my hand with his ringed one, glancing over at Maggie. “Ready for us to go?”

  “I’ll be waiting,” she said, picking a chair in his office and sitting there. “Maybe I’ll borrow a few books while you’re gone.”

  “Feel free.” Grasping my hand tight, he stared deep into my eyes and murmured, “Don’t blink, or you’ll miss it.”

  “Miss what?”

  The instant the words were out of my mouth I understood what he meant. All around us, color and light changed the office we’d been standing in into something entirely different. I held on tight to Petyr’s hand as I whirled around, looking at the changing scenery. Trees sprung up, flowers bloomed, people laughed—and it all went by in a blur, disappearing in an instant. Because we were moving, not with our legs but with magic somehow, surging towards a city made of marble and light.

  I gasped as it rose in front of us, the most beautiful thing I ha
d ever seen. It was a crystal clear white, unsullied by pollution, springing out between a thick forest and two beautiful mountain peaks. The buildings in the center of the city were taller than the rest, surging up towards the clouds like the mountains they stood next to. Cascading down around those tall spires were more ordinary buildings, but even the ordinary was more fantastic than anything I’d ever seen. Arches swooped, windows rose towards the sun, and people of all colors and types walked down the stone pathways.

  We moved through the streets, isolated from the rest of the world. They didn’t seem to see or hear us as we passed. Near the center of the city there was a bright, beautiful building that sprawled several city blocks. Unlike the buildings I’d grown up around my entire life, this one hadn’t destroyed the nature all around it. Instead it flowed around tall trees and hugged beautiful gardens, its walls encircling trunks but never cutting them down.

  “Wow,” I gasped, as we came to a stop. It had all taken only seconds, but somehow I wasn’t dizzy or confused at all. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It’s home,” Petyr said. “Part time or full time, this is where the fae have lived for thousands of years. This is the place your Lightblood ancestors built for us when we left Earth.” With a dazzling smile, he dropped my hand and gestured to the beauty all around us. “Welcome to the Realm of Light, Selena. You’re among your own kind now.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  A pit formed in my stomach as we approached the building. I stopped, hanging back in trepidation.

  “What is it?” Turning towards me, Petyr cocked his head. “If you’re intimidated at the thought of meeting the Elders, I can reassure you that it’ll be a small, informal meeting.”

  “It’s not that,” I said, though now that he mentioned it, the thought of meeting fae thousands of years old added to my current worry. “It’s just... this engagement. Is it really my only option?”