by Mindy Hayes
Sakari spun me closer to him. Our bodies flush with one another, nothing could fit between us. His eyes held me in a trance. “Have you enjoyed your evening so far?”
“It’s been interesting to say the least.”
He chuckled quietly, and the hand that held my waist tightened. “I’ve seen the unease in your eyes. I wanted to intervene so many times, but you seem to be able to handle yourself very well.” His head knocked to the side. “Like with Tomas. I couldn’t help but overhear. You held your own.”
My cheeks flushed red. “Oh my gosh, I’m so embarrassed that you heard that. Can you believe him?”
Sakari laughed. “What? You didn’t want to spend the rest of your existence with that charming creature?”
My head fell back as I let out a laugh. “No! Was I that obvious?”
“It’s okay. You handled it graciously.”
With my eyes peering up at him, I said, “Thank you.”
“Feeling a little overwhelmed?”
I peered around us at the thousands of faeries celebrating—all of these unfamiliar faces who knew exactly who I was. All of these faeries that relied on me to make wise decisions and believed that I would never lead them astray. “A little would be putting it mildly.”
“If it’s any consolation, it will eventually get easier. It will all become second nature to you. You’ll wake up, and this will be everything to you.”
“I know that should make me feel comforted—and it does, don’t get me wrong—but, I feel like the day this all becomes second nature is the day I forget about where I came from and who I was.”
He lifted his hand and brushed a curl dangling near my eye behind my ear. “From what I’ve already observed about you, Calliope, you will never forget who you are. You’re strong. You’ll only grow stronger.”
As the song came to an end we stopped dancing, but kept close. He bent his head down, a breath away from my lips. I blinked, but stayed still. With hesitation, he moved closer. His eyes drifted down my face, stopping on my lips. I didn’t feel strongly one way or another. Did I want him to kiss me? I didn’t not want him to, so when he leaned in just enough that our lips lightly touched I didn’t stop him.
“My Queen.”
I gasped and pulled away from Sakari, turning to see Declan. Brushing my hands down my dress, I opened my mouth to say the first thing that came to my mind. He really had to stop doing that.
“Could I have a minute?” he asked before I could say anything.
I nodded then turned to Sakari. “Would you mind giving us a minute?”
“Of course.” He should be glaring at Declan, but he merely politely nodded and stepped back, bowing out of the conversation.
“Seriously, Declan?” I hissed after he walked away.
“I’m sorry, Calliope. This couldn’t wait.”
“What is it?” I looked around and noticed Kai was gone. “Where did Kai go? Is he okay?”
I saw apprehension flash across Declan’s eyes, but it was gone before he spoke. “He stepped away for the remainder of the evening.”
“Why?”
Declan kept a straight face. “He didn’t say. This isn’t about Kai, Calliope. Dugal just informed me there is a situation.”
Chapter Ten
My stomach dropped. “What kind of a situation?”
“There seem to be some very angry elves by the Waking Oak,” he said cautiously.
“Angry elves?” It took everything I had to keep a straight face.
Declan looked at me with a furrowed brow as if he didn’t understand how the situation could possibly be humorous. I cleared my throat and tried to replace my amused expression with a serious face as to not offend him.
I swallowed. “And what should I do about these angry elves?”
“They would like to speak with you.”
“What do they want from me?”
“Apparently they don’t understand why they were excluded from the Awakening.”
“How am I supposed to know, Declan? Maybe its because they aren’t faeries? Evan set all of this up. Ask him.”
Declan looked at me with understanding. “I know, but they refuse to leave until they speak with you. They feel that because the Waking Oak affected them, as well, they should have been included.”
“Are they a bunch of girls? Let them in then.”
“Calliope, I can’t. We have too many other kingdoms here that refuse to associate with elves. You need to calm them down and ask them to leave.”
“Okay. Wow. Fine.” I threw my hands up in the air in defeat. I would diffuse the angry elf situation. “Lead the way.”
• • •
When we reached the Waking Oak I saw a group of tall figures, their hair tangled and wild. It never occurred to me that I wasn’t going to be dealing with a bunch of miniature people with pointed caps. After looking them in the eyes, I knew exactly why Declan didn’t find the situation of angry elves very amusing. Their eyes were dark and deep set, menacing in the worst way. Their ears were pointed like ours, but ended in long razor sharp tips. At that point I was wishing Declan had warned me. It took everything I had not to gasp and recoil at the sight of them. They were what nightmares were made of.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry to have pulled you away,” Dugal apologized. “They wouldn’t—”
“It’s fine, Dugal.” I swallowed.
One elf stepped forward with lips turned up in what I think he thought was a smile. His black hair knotted around his head. “Queen Calliope, we finally meet. You’re a very hard woman to get in touch with.”
I hadn’t realized he was someone I needed to meet. His skin was so pallid it was almost translucent. I glanced at Declan towering near my side. Though it was hard to look this creature in the face, I felt safer knowing Declan was beside me.
I shifted my eyes back to the elf. His knife-like ears stared back at me like weapons ready to stab me at any moment. “I’m sorry that I kept you waiting.”
“Of course, you must have been busy celebrating. We’re just very dismayed to hear that we were purposefully excluded from this obviously celebratory occasion.”
“There was nothing done on purpose,” I tried to assure, hoping I was right.
“That isn’t what we were informed.”
“Well I’m not quite sure who you spoke with, but I wasn’t aware anyone except for the six other faery kingdoms were supposed to be here.” I tried to make extra emphasis on faery so he understood.
“Gurthon,” Declan interjected, “you know Mirrion and Rymindon are here. Even if she did extend an invitation, we don’t need any added tension. This celebration was meant for Calliope to become familiar with the kingdoms. Not be tossed into a cyclone of storybook revelations.”
“I’ve noticed she is not all fae, but surely she knows about the existence of the rest of us.”
“I do—” I tried.
“But she’s still learning,” Declan interrupted me. “We’re trying to ease her into our world not throw her into it. May I ask who you spoke with who informing you of this supposed exclusion?”
“I’m afraid I cannot do that,” he sneered. The deep set of his eyes made me feel like I was falling, and the longer he stared at me the farther I was going to fall.
“Why not?” I asked.
“It would not be in my best interest.”
“May I at least ask if it was someone inside of Faylinn?” Declan questioned.
Guthron looked thoughtful as he debated answering Declan. His lips turned into a sly smile as if an idea sparked inside his brain. “I will give you a little bit of advice. Add an extra Keeper or two to your new little Queen. I doubt she is as safe as you think.”
“Why do you say that?” Declan’s voice turned stony. I’d never heard Declan sound so heated before. I didn’t like it.
“If we, elves, know anything about being conniving, we know when someone is toying with us. If we were lured here on false pretenses, we were lured here for a reason.”
“Which is?” Declan pressed.
“Most likely to be a distraction.” Guthron looked all too pleased with his revelation.
Declan went still. “Calliope, we should get back,” he suggested quietly, but it was not a suggestion.
“But what about—”
“I assume we’re done here?” Declan interrupted, looking pointedly at Guthron.
Guthron attempted a smile once more, my insides coiling as if they wanted to hide from him too. “For now.”
Declan grabbed my hand and raced us back toward the Awakening. If Declan was concerned, I feared what we would stumble upon when we reached everyone else.
Before we could get there, Kai intercepted us. “What’s going on? I heard Caden and Romian say that Guthron was here.”
“Calliope isn’t safe.”
“When is Calliope ever safe?” Kai grumbled.
“We don’t know that,” I said. “All Guthron said was that he assumed they were a distraction.”
“He also advised us to add more Keepers to guard you.” He shifted his attention. “Did you notice anything strange when you were leaving?” Declan asked Kai.
“No. I just overheard Caden and Romian so I came to find you. Everything seemed fine.”
“Guthron said elves were conniving. How do we know that he wasn’t just trying to cause problems? What would he even gain from helping us?”
“She has a point,” Kai said. “Guthron has never cared for us. Maybe he just wanted to rile Calliope up.”
“Kai, it doesn’t sit right with me. Someone made him believe that the Awakening was for everyone, and they were the ones excluded. I’m not worried about Guthron. I’m worried about the insider who fed them that information. Someone wanted us to leave the celebration for some reason, and I’m going to find out who.”
When we arrived at the meadow nothing seemed awry. Everyone carried on with eating and dancing and talking as if we had never been gone.
“See? Declan, it’s fine. I’m safe. Everyone else is safe.” I attempted to pacify him.
“Well, I’m glad you’re satisfied, but I’m not. Maybe we should add Dugal to your personal Keepers.”
I already began shaking my head. “It’s bad enough to have you two watching me eat, sleep, and pee.” Their eyebrows rose. “It’s an exaggeration,” I clarified. “I just don’t want to add someone I don’t know. You guys have done a great job so far. I see no reason to change things now.”
“We’ve got this, Declan,” Kai backed me up.
Declan didn’t say anything as he stood tall, scanning the gathering. His face set seriously. “We may have this, Kai, but that doesn’t mean we relax in our guard.”
“I have no intention of being sloppy. But we have no idea who we can and cannot trust. There are still Favner followers amongst us. It could be anyone. You and I are the only ones who could protect Calliope and know she is in safe hands.”
Declan exhaled through his nose in heated defeat. He knew Kai was right. I knew Kai was right, and that frightened me more than anything. No matter where I was, no matter who I was with, I had to always be on my guard.
“I’m going to check with Ryder and Luka to make sure we didn’t miss anything.” Declan stepped away.
Kai grabbed my arm and waited for me to look him in the eyes. He leaned in so no one could hear us talking. “Be careful, Calliope. I know you’re not stupid. Just be smart, okay?” He wasn’t being bossy. In his eyes I saw he really just wanted to look out for me. Though he had a funny way of showing it, he cared.
“I will, Kai. I promise.”
Chapter Eleven
A few weeks passed. I woke with the morning light and ventured outside. It was the first moments of my day when I could be alone without having to ask for it. I knew it wouldn’t be for long. Kai and Declan were already probably close by.
After the Awakening nothing happened. No one tried to kill me or kidnap me. No one invaded Faylinn. Declan began to finally ease up a little. He had been paranoid for the first few days, literally standing no more than ten feet away from me at all times. I didn’t even get my hour breaks for those first few days.
Now Kai and Declan had begun changing shifts. They never kept it routine, so it was always a surprise to see with whom I was going to spend the day. It didn’t escape my attention that Kai rarely took a shift alone unless it was during the night while I slept, and he didn’t have to make contact with me.
When I emerged from the castle I saw Kai and Violet sitting with their backs to me on the steps leading down into the meadow. He was probably waiting for Declan. The rising sunlight streamed through the branches, casting dancing rays across their backs. A delicate wreath of little purple flowers had been woven and placed like a halo around Violet’s head. She swayed back and forth, nudging his shoulder. He’d nudge her back, and then she’d giggle and nudge him again. I silently watched them for a few minutes.
She was the future of Faylinn. Didn’t she deserve the opportunity to pick what she wanted to do and to whom she wanted to be bonded with? I could never force Violet to marry just another Sower—some arranged marriage. I couldn’t imagine Lorelle wanting to encourage Violet or Allura or even Kai to be with someone they didn’t love. It was a load of crap in my mind that you would learn to love your partner. Why should you have to learn to love anyone? Violet deserved more than that. We all deserved more than that.
Violet tilted her head and peered up at Kai, asking him a question I couldn’t hear over the rest of the lively faeries who were busy at work. He nodded once and reached his hand to scratch her back, drawing little circles on her shoulders. Violet shivered and peered up at him with her big lavender eyes and sweetly smiled. Kai smiled back without a hint of irony. As it spread on his face, full of tenderness and warmth, my knees nearly gave beneath me.
Faint breath tickled my ear as a voice spoke next to me. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”
I looked up to see Declan’s smiling face. “Declan,” I greeted. How had he been so stealthy? I must have been in a trance. “Good morning.”
“My Queen,” he said and bowed with a playful smile.
“Call me Queen one more time. I dare you. And stop with the bowing for the love of all things. It’s driving me insane. I think you’re just doing it now because it gets a rise out of me. I think Kai is rubbing off on you.”
He chuckled. “No. Okay. Maybe a little. My apologies. That will be the last time.”
“Thank you.” I looked back to Kai and Violet who stood from the steps. She reached up, and her hand disappeared inside his as she held onto it. They headed east in the direction of their home, the top of her little head barely reaching his hip as they walked.
“She’s an angel, isn’t she?”
I nodded. “I can see why Lorelle wanted to keep her. I’m surprised Favner actually let her.”
“Oh, he never cared who took care of the seedlings after they were born. As long as they survived and were trained to be good workers, he didn’t care much about anything else.”
Every day I was grateful Favner was gone, but every day I wished it wasn’t me who took his place. I didn’t say that out loud, but I knew a trace of it was apparent on my face when Declan comfortingly said, “I’m glad you’re here, Calliope. It really is good to finally have you where you belong.”
I shifted my gaze to him. I knew I could always count on Declan for unwavering support. He had a way about him. He knew just the right things to say and when to say them. “Thank you, Declan. I really appreciate you saying that.”
He lips lifted gently, fluttering little butterflies in my stomach.
“Is Kai coming to join you for a later shift?” I thought Kai had mentioned he would be with me today, but I realized while watching his retreating figure that had changed.
He shook his head. “Kai asked for the morning off.”
“Why?”
Declan chuckled. “I believe he and Dahlia were getting together.”
&
nbsp; “Oh.” I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice and hoped I didn’t fail completely. Since when did Kai and Dahlia hang out? “Well, would you like to eat breakfast with me?” I still hadn’t gotten used to eating without my dad or mom. Mealtime was lonely here. I was going to have to bond soon just to have someone to share the castle with.
He raised his eyebrows and lifted an elbow. “Shall we?”
I offered a grateful smile. He must have known how much I hated to eat alone. “Thank you.”
We took two end spaces at the table where breakfast was already set up. Another challenge of living in Faylinn was getting familiar with the food, especially the meat. It was never cow or chicken or pig. Of course, it couldn’t be something I used to eat regularly. It was rabbit and deer and quail or whatever animal the Sowers could find in the forest. Sometimes it was an animal I knew didn’t exist in the real world. We seemed to eat radik a lot. Sometimes I ate chocat, which was similar to deer. They didn’t taste bad; actually, they were starting to become my favorite.
Thankfully, for breakfast it normally consisted of an array of fruits and sweet breads, nothing too out of the ordinary. Platters of them were placed in the center of the table.
“You’re awfully quiet.”
I found myself pushing the food around on my plate. “What?” I peered back at Declan’s concerned face. “Oh, sorry. Just zoned out I guess.” I cleared my throat. “Must still be a little tired. You know, it’s been a while since I’ve had a little Faery 101. And I probably need it now more than ever.”
His face brightened with a chuckle. “You’re right. What should we talk about today?”
