by Mindy Hayes
Cameron hadn’t said anything, so I looked to him for confirmation that this wasn’t going to be his breaking point—that this wouldn’t be the point where he would officially flee from the sight of me.
“You’re beautiful.”
I couldn’t stop the blush.
“We’re going to need to make you some shirts with slits so they can be free more often.”
“What would be the point? I couldn’t show them off anyway.”
“For moments like this,” he said as if it was obvious. “Don’t tell me that when you go to see Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb that you keep your true self hidden.”
I chuckled, but didn’t deny his accusation.
“Callie.” He shook his head. “No wonder you’re so on edge. You can’t let yourself be you anywhere you go. Even in the presence of your own kind. And look at you. Why would you want to hide?”
I sighed. “Because Cameron, I’m not who I thought I was. Nothing about what I knew has been true. Every time I turn around someone throws another grenade of information at me. I’m a freaking faery princess!” The words gushed out of my mouth like word-vomit. I couldn’t hold them back. And they sounded ridiculous.
His mouth dropped. “What?”
I fell against the trunk of the nearest tree and slid down, too exhausted to stand any longer. “Yeah. My father was supposed to inherit Faylinn when he met my mom. I’m apparently the rightful heir now.”
He chuckled. “Do you realize how many girls would kill to be you right now?”
I tossed my hand in the air, brushing him off. “If girls really knew the pressure it put them under they wouldn’t feel the same way.”
“Maybe, maybe not. But you’re here moping because you’re royalty.”
“I’m not moping because I’m royalty,” I countered. “It’s all just a lot to take in, okay? What if your mom came up to you and said, ‘Oh, Cameron, by the way, your father is an elf from Santa’s workshop and I’m an alien from outer space, so that makes you—”
“Something really messed up,” he cut in.
That stopped me in my tracks and the laughter bubbled over. I really laughed, freely. He joined in and sat beside me, nudging my shoulder.
“There you are.” He smiled warmly. “I knew you were in there somewhere. You’ve really got to loosen up, Cal. You’re too young to have a heart attack.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder, basking in his familiar company. He reached his arm around me, being careful of my wings, and let me relax under his friendly embrace. We sat there without speaking for a while. It was exactly what I needed. Just to have a silent support system. To know I wasn’t alone in this.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves above us, fluttering patterns in our laps. Cameron reached over and traced the lines dancing on my bent knees, tickling my stomach.
“Do you think I can still have a normal life? Do you think I can stay here and live like everyone else? Go to college. Get a job. Get married.” I paused. “Have a family?”
When he didn’t answer I gazed up at him.
Cameron’s eyes moved from my legs and scanned my face, making my feelings for him rise to the surface. He bit his bottom lip. “I don’t see why not,” he said. “You’ve mastered your tactics for covering up so far. If you want to keep it up, I don’t see why you couldn’t live like a human if that’s what you really want to do.”
“I do,” I said earnestly.
He broke our eye contact and looked to the ground. “Yeah. . .I don’t really think you’re cut out to be royalty anyway. You’re too much of a commoner.”
I shoved his shoulder, untangling myself from him. “Will you take me back home? I really need to talk to someone.”
Cameron sighed. “Back to Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb, huh?”
“Well it depends on who is who,” I said, getting easily to my feet.
“Well, I haven’t met Dee yet, but Dumb is obviously the one who thinks he knows everything.”
I chuckled. “Dee it is, then.”
When we pulled up to my house my mom’s car was parked in the driveway, which did not ease my burdens. What was she doing home already?
“Does your mom know yet?”
“She found out last night.” I looked to the house, already dreading having to face her after last night. “Saw me walking out of the trees just before dark.”
“Ooooo,” he sucked in air. “That must have been a fun one to explain.”
“You have no idea.”
“See you. . .later?” He was about to say tomorrow when he realized it was the weekend. “That is if you live to see another day.”
I smirked and lifted my hand to wave, but stopped. “My car,” I realized.
“Isla and I will go get it and bring it back to you.”
“She won’t be mad that you ditched school with me today?” I know I would be if I were her.
“If she is, she’ll have to get over it.” He shrugged.
I smiled again. “Thanks, Cam.”
“Anytime, Callie.”
When I walked in the front door, my mom stepped into the entryway at the sound of the door closing.
“I got a call from the school,” she said. “You weren’t in your last period class. I tried calling your phone, but it kept going to voicemail. I was worried about you.” She looked like she was trying to control her distress. I appreciated it, but I knew I deserved whatever lecture was going to be sent my way.
“I was with Cameron. We were up the canyon so the reception must have been bad.”
She nodded. “And you ditched because. . .?”
“I needed to get away. Ever since. . .this.” I gestured to myself. “I’ve been a little overwhelmed and distant from Lia. She got really upset with me today, so Cameron took me to get some fresh air.”
“And you couldn’t just come to our backyard?”
I shrugged. She nodded. The silence carried on between us, neither of us really knowing what to say.
“Cameron knows?”
I nodded again.
“Does Dad know he knows?”
I answered with the shake of my head.
“Does anyone else?”
I shook it again.
Mom walked over to me and rested her hands gently on either side of my shoulders. “I want you to know I’m not mad at you. I was upset last night because it was a shock and I am upset that your father kept it from me, but I can only imagine how scared you must have been.” My shoulders fell; feeling the weight of everything settle further in. “I wish I could have been there for you. Can I be there for you now?” I nodded and she took me into her arms. “I’m scared too, you know,” she whispered into my hair. “I don’t want to lose you.”
Being hugged by my mom was exactly the strength that I had needed. There was something about her touch that even on my worst day could comfort me and make me feel like everything would be okay. Of course, eventually it would. Even if it didn’t feel like it right now. In the distant future we’d look back at this time and laugh at our misfortunes because that’s just what you do. That’s all you can do. At least that’s what I’ve been told.
When we pulled apart I asked, “Do you mind if I go?” I pointed to the forest, anxiousness beating in my legs.
She pursed her lips. “Who are you visiting with in there anyway?” her motherly tone back in place.
“Declan and Kai.”
She pursed her lips. “I don’t think I know them.”
This seemed silly. I had been spending time alone with them for months now. And they were the ones that have been keeping me alive. If there was anyone that I should be allowed to hang out with it should be them. “Dad does.”
“I guess that’s good enough,” she said, skeptical.
“I promise that you can trust them.”
She nodded, though I could still see the concern in her eyes.
I kissed her cheek and headed to the back door. “Thanks, Mom.” I knew she knew it was for more t
han letting me escape.
Chapter Twenty
Entering the trees was becoming such a natural thing. I didn’t have to bother to watch where I stepped or even call out to Declan. I knew where I would find him if he wasn’t in Faylinn. The familiar roots wound in and out of the ground like a serpent. And there he was, sitting in the crevasse of giant roots, stringing a new bow. It was comforting to know I could find him.
Could I have both worlds?
I refocused and remembered why it was I had come in the first place. Though I could have been subtler, I didn’t want to beat around the bush. I was so tired of beating around the bush. “You were supposed to kill me?”
Declan looked up then glared into the trees and sighed, knowing Kai must have been the culprit.
“Why does everyone keep hiding things from me?” I said heatedly. “I can handle the truth. Tell me the truth, Declan. Please,” I added.
He didn’t look up at me, but he had stopped stringing his bow. “Remember when I told you that the Royals have a special ability? One that no regular faery has?”
I nodded, recalling that day he first told me about Favner. It felt like a lifetime ago. He hadn’t gotten a chance to tell me about it since Kai had so conveniently interrupted us as usual. When I realized I nodded and he hadn’t been looking at me I said, “Yes.”
His head stayed bowed, glaring at the forest floor. “Favner has the ability to command us without giving us a choice. It’s an ability that can be controlled, but he chooses not to. It’s how he’s gotten us all to be divided as we are. Whatever he says we are forced to do whether we want to or not. It’s called Supremacy.”
“So he controls your minds.” He lifted his aquamarine eyes to me and nodded. Their vibrancy took away my breath. “But, if he commanded you to kill me how am I still alive?”
Declan exhaled. “There was a group of us. Three of us. Foster, Warren and myself. The three of us were in Favner’s chamber when he ordered us to find you, but he commanded Warren to do the actual deed and bring your body back to him.” Declan paused, stood and began to pace slowly in front of me, peering up at me occasionally. “When we found you, you were with Finnian and he was pushing you on that tree swing in your backyard. You were about thirteen and the life inside of your eyes was so full. You were just starting a life.”
His loyal gaze connected with mine and his light oceanic eyes consumed me before he turned from me as if he couldn’t say this to my face. He strode over to a log and sat facing the opposite direction, the light shining through trees, cascading shadowy figures on his back. “I couldn’t let Warren finish you off, especially in front of Finnian. Back in the day I knew Finnian to be the strongest warrior, but as a human he would have been defenseless against us. I couldn’t bear the thought of ending you and seeing the look on his face as it was done.” I saw his shoulders rise and fall as he took a deep breath. “So, I turned on Warren. He was stronger than me, but by some miracle of the fallen fae I was able to defeat him. I remember the look in his eyes as he lay on the ground. It was as if he wanted me to kill him.”
I was about to speak, to comfort him or thank him, but he continued with guilt in his voice. “Getting rid of Warren wasn’t the worst part. Foster saw the whole thing and stood by. He was only about fifteen, if you compare it to human years, but he was loyal to Favner. He was about to run off and reveal what I had done, so I did what needed to be done.”
Declan didn’t need to explain. I went to be next to him. He stared off at nothing, only the stillness of the woodlands, so I grabbed his hand in mine. Words wouldn’t suffice for what I wanted to say, so we simply sat there as I held his hand and stroked my fingers over his. He didn’t react, merely sat still, the only sound between us being his quiet breaths.
“How did you get away with it? When Foster and Warren didn’t return with you and you didn’t have my body, how did you explain that?”
“I told him that on our way back we were attacked. Favner’s biggest rivalry kingdom is the Rymidon Kingdom. Kai mentioned he told you about the other kingdoms?” I nodded. “Honestly, they are not truly our enemies, but it was my only out. Favner believes they have a grudge against us for being the largest kingdom with the most power since we are the homeland.” Declan shook his head in exasperation. “I told him that we were ambushed. I obviously didn’t go back unscathed after battling with Foster and Warren. I had my fair share of cuts and bruises so my lie was believable.”
I swallowed. “And what did you say about my body?”
“I told him they took it. It was my life or nothing. I said they would have finished me off too if I had tried to escape with you.”
“And he never once questioned you?”
“I saw the uncertainty in his eyes, but he didn’t see what I could possibly gain by killing my fellow fae. I had served beside Warren for many years. He didn’t think I had it in me.” Declan exhaled and murmured softly, “I didn’t think I had it in me.”
I thought I saw a tear escape, but neither of us bothered to brush it away.
“So, you’ve traveled from Faylinn every day and protected me for the last five years to keep me from a man who wants me dead,” I clarified, feeling overwhelmed by his dedication and bravery. The risk he had taken to be here after all this time.
Declan gazed over at me with his electrifying green-blue eyes glistening. “I could never let anything happen to you.” His eyes trailed over my face, from my lips to my eyes and back. Our faces inched closer and closer. There was no thought to our actions; his lips were about to graze mine and I had no thoughts to stop him. Did I want to stop him?
“This is where the two of you have run off to?”
Startled by the female voice, I let go of his hand and we both turned to face the voice. I not only saw Kai who stood with his arms at his side, an unreadable mask on his face, but a woman. No. Another faery. She was beautiful. Her lengthy light brown hair was rolled into dreadlocks and flowed all around her. A thin cream band wrapped around her forehead, keeping the hair from her flawless face. She was fierce. Her eyes were golden. They even sparkled like gold.
How long had Kai been standing there?
“Kai, if Favner even knew. . .no, forget Favner. If Mom knew that you were leaving Faylinn on your free time, that this is where you have been. . .” She trailed off, too exasperated to continue. “They are going to kill you.”
Kai’s face changed back into his indifferent guise. “Who? Favner?” He swatted his hand. “I already knew that.”
“Then how could you be so foolish? And Declan. . .I thought better of you.” She looked pointedly at Declan who actually looked ashamed.
If she hadn’t looked so young I would have mistaken her for their mother. But she was obviously not a mother. She was Kai’s. . .sister?
“And who’s she?” She darted her hand at me, accusingly. I cowered behind Declan. This girl was going to tear me to shreds with one look.
Weren’t faeries supposed to be all colorful and sparkly? She was anything but. Her clothes were all neutral with only slight color accents here and there. Declan had scolded me several times before. I was mixing them up with Pixies. Us. I was mixing us up with pixies.
Declan spoke now. “She’s none of your business, Allura.”
Allura looked hurt for a split second before plastering the lethal looks back on. “It is my business if she means you two are being put in danger. Is she human?”
“How did you manage to get away, Allura?” Kai asked impishly, dancing around her, flicking her hair. She swatted him off.
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that if you two don’t come back to Faylinn and stay in Faylinn there is no hope for either of you.”
“There is no hope if we do go back, Allura. You know that,” Declan said. “We’ve been gone for too long.”
“Wait. When was the last time you guys went back to Faylinn?” I asked, stepping out from behind Declan.
“It doesn’t matter,” Kai said.
&n
bsp; “It does too!” I replied.
Allura’s amber eyes locked on me and changed instantly. It was as if Allura had truly seen me for the first time. She gasped. “You. . .you’re. . .” For the first time since she opened her mouth, she was at a loss for words.
“Go ahead, Allura. Spell it out,” Kai taunted. “Would you like me to spell it out for you?”
“She’s. . .” She pointed with a hand clasped over her mouth. All of her fingers had twine laced between them and woven down around her wrist, adorning them with dangling tiny blue flower petals—faery jewelry, I could only assume.
“Yes,” Declan finally put her out of her misery. “She’s Finnian’s daughter.”
“How did she know?” I asked timidly.
“It’s hard not to, princess,” Kai said, turning his wry gaze on me. “You’re practically the female version of him. Just twenty years younger.”
The moment he said princess, his nickname for me didn’t seem so snarky anymore. I still didn’t like it, but he hadn’t been doing it simply because he thought I was a priss or to annoy me. Well probably to annoy me a little bit.
“How—” Allura sputtered, still unable to string a sentence together. I assume she didn’t know what to ask. She wasn’t anything I had pictured the women would look like. Allura was draped in what looked like a tweed romper and a dark brown burlap vest. A strand of pale green vines was tied around her waist, accentuating her figure. Her delicate wings peaked out behind her. They weren’t much different from mine: four delicate petal-like wings, but Allura’s were a faint dusty blue.
“Well, you see, Allura, when two people love each other very much, they get together and—”
“Shut up, Kai!” Her heated gold eyes glared at him. I understood her frustration. Apparently I wasn’t the only one he could infuriate in less than two minutes. That was truly a talent. “I know the process. What I want to know is how it’s possible that she’s a faery.” She pointed at me once again.
Declan stepped in. “We think it’s the royal bloodline. Faylinn wants its true heir back.”
