A Faerie Wedding

by Stephanie Keyes

  I lifted the biscuit top, which had already been sliced open. There was a small orange piece of paper with a name, Sheila, and phone number on it. I pocketed it, more to be polite than anything. I hated getting messages in my breakfast. "See. I can pick up women."

  "Only when you aren't trying," K said. "Listen, I'm not going to just sit here and watch you get weaker. Not when you're needed in Faerie." He stared in my direction, probably trying to get at the story behind my eyes. "And Singer loves you, man, no matter what she said. Plus, I know you're hurting–"

  I held up my hands. "I thought we agreed. No trying that feelings-sensing deal on me. And honestly, Dude? You didn't hear her. You didn't see her face."

  I squeezed my coffee cup, my white knuckles standing out against its dark red color. The cup cracked, then shattered. "Crap."

  K reached out, then waved a finger over the cup. The pieces floated into the air, spinning around in a tiny tornado before aligning themselves and reassembling into one whole cup again. Another wave of K's finger and the coffee slid along the table top like a snake, gliding up and into a potted plant that looked like it had seen better days. Or maybe many discarded cups of coffee?

  "This coffee tastes like ass," K said, after he'd finished.

  I rolled my eyes. "If the magic show is over, how about the lecture ends, too?"

  K raised an eyebrow. "No chance. What about what I just said, pre-Sheila? The council?"

  "No chance." I took some sort of weird pleasure in throwing his words back at him.

  The smile vanished from K's face. "Gabe, what the hell's going on with you? Why are you just wallowing? This isn't who you are. You should be going after Singer, not flying to different time-zones."

  My plate scraped the table as I pushed it, untouched, across the brown Formica top. "It isn't any of your business. Find your own way home, man. I'm gonna go fly."

  I'd almost reached the door when K's voice echoed in my head. Then go fly. Gabriel Stewart, I respectfully relieve you from your duties as my Protector.

  A ringing sound built in my ears. I slammed my fist into the door. Sheila jumped. Maybe she regretted giving me her number?

  K was beside me in a flash. “Now, Gabe–”

  "Get us out of here. Now."

  "Fine." K grabbed my arm with enough strength that he could easily shatter it if he wanted to. In the next instant, I got caught up in the dizzying feeling which always went along with teleportation, as the diner and my uneaten waffle faded before my eyes.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Duties

  The sensation that my belly button was gonna get pulled through my back overwhelmed me for one moment. The next, we were back in my apartment. I glanced around and then back at K. "Not good enough. I'm gonna yell and I don't wanna wake the neighbors."

  "It's the middle of the afternoon."

  "This is a private conversation, K." I ground my teeth together.

  "Fine." K shook his head. When I blinked again, he'd taken us to some snow-capped mountaintop.

  "Where the heck are we?" Standing in a foot of snow on the top of some remote mountain wasn't my idea of a party.

  K shrugged. "Everest."

  "Really? Now you're just showing off."

  He took a step forward and laughed, like he thought breaking our connection was a joke. "You wanted privacy. You got privacy."

  "Well, thanks for that." Drawing back my fist, I landed a punch straight on the side of K's jaw.

  The funny thing about punching someone immortal was that they didn't feel immortal when I hit them. They weren't solid like a brick wall. I could still break their bones. Still watch them fall, even. Still wound them.

  And my solid hit knocked K on his ass.

  K glanced up at me, shock written on his face. He would have had a shiner if he hadn't been immortal. "I'm not going to fight you."

  I reached down and picked K up by his shirtfront. "Yes, you are. Now get your fists up."

  K dropped his hands to his sides, palms open. "No."

  "Freaking hell, K. Don't be such a pacifist." I raised my fists, ready to punch him anyway.

  "I am a pacifist. You are, too." He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets, his eye already healing. "Or at least you were."

  "Not today." The wind stung my face. The snow seeped into my shoes and through the backs of my pant legs. "Get ready."

  I drew back my fist and swung.

  He was gone before I could land the punch. I turned and found him behind me. I swung again and it was the same deal. He vanished only to reappear behind me. He kept moving so I couldn't hit him.

  "Agh!" I screamed, my cry raging back to me in an echo.

  "I wouldn't do that if I were you." K's voice made me turn.

  "Why the hell not?"

  "Well, you don't want to cause an avalanche."

  "Really? I mean really, K? You just commanded me not to be your Protector and you're worried about an avalanche?"

  "Gabe, we all have a responsibility to the mortal world. You know that. It's never just been about what we want."

  "Go to hell."

  "There's no such thing and you know it."

  I took a breath. What the heck was I doing? This wasn't me.

  But all I felt was anger anymore...

  "How could you do this to me? Here I was, going along with my stupid life and I find out it's been about you. It's all been about you. My own life hasn't been mine."

  K stood, somehow able to stand on top of the snow, completely dry. "And you think I don't freaking know that? Why do you think I said what I did? You can't live your life when you're constantly stressing over mine.

  Do you know what I found out about your Mom? About Ella? She lost the person she was trying to protect, one of Lugh's sisters. Her charge died when a group of Danu's children tried to escape Faerie. Arawn destroyed them all. It devastated Ella. She hid on mortal Earth, to get away, to heal. That's how she met Michael. She does love him."

  "And how do you know that, K?"

  He shrugged again. "I asked her. I could have easily gotten the information from Ghárda, but I thought I'd start with the source."

  I glared at him. "I didn't want you to ask her."

  "You can't spend the rest of your life avoiding her. You have to deal with it." K glared at me. I heard the truth in his words, but they triggered other questions, ones I hadn't even thought to ask yet.

  "What about Nate and Sarah? I didn't even ask. Are they..." I held my breath. The funny thing was, I'd still been thinking about them as my brother and sister. They weren't. They were my cousins.

  "No. They aren't shifters. There was a fifty-fifty chance since Michael's a mortal," K said. "I'm sorry."

  I nod. Just another thing to make me feel isolated.

  "Ella, Ghárda...they've known you were coming all their lives, since the prophecy. They planned this to keep you safe. There were threats everywhere, on Faerie and Earth. They basically hid you," K said, sitting down on a rock across from me.

  "What does any of it matter, now? I mean, you don't even want me to look out for you anymore. So what's the point, K? Of any of it?"

  "You're still my Protector. All I did was free you. You have to decide to renounce this link between us in order for it to be final. So it's all in your hands."

  "What am I supposed to do then, K? If I don't protect you and I can't have..."

  Singer.

  K sighed. She'll come back to you. I know she'll come back.

  Then where the hell is she? Tell me that.

  He shook his head. "I'm not going to sort out things with Singer. That's for you to figure out."

  "Which I'm doing such an awesome job at."

  "You'll figure it out. I know you will."

  "Just not as your Protector?" Why did it feel like I was getting dumped a second time?

  "I want you to have your own life. You're the best friend I've ever had. I just want you to be happy. How can you be when I'm the third person in your relationship? It's t
ime you were free." K's argument sounded so logical. It set off another round of pissiness inside of me. Screw logic.

  "You want me to be free?" I forced my voice to sound casual. "Watch me."

  Turning, I sprinted across the rocks and jumped off Mt. Everest.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Broken

  Part of me wanted to scare the crap out of K, so I let myself drop, free-falling hundreds of feet before I shifted. Gliding over the snowy cliffs. His words drifted in and out of my mind.

  The nerve of that dude. I mean, yeah, he was my best friend, but my life was screwed up even more because of him.

  Where was I supposed to go now? I couldn't go home.

  Singer wouldn't be there. Ever since she left, the apartment had altered from a cool guy's haven to an airless tomb. Everything was better with Singer. Everything was way worse without her.

  I tried to let go and just focus on flying. K had a lot of nerve transporting me on the other side of the world. I hadn't even eaten my waffles. Now I'd have to spend the entire day flying back. I was like, way faster than a commercial airliner, but it’s not like I could teleport or anything. No way was I messaging K and asking for help.

  The first couple times I shifted, my chest would burn. It didn't anymore–the shift was a thought and then it happened. But the whole burning thing...what it felt like to make the change? That was one of the memories they'd tried to keep from me. My father, Ghárda, and my sister...

  My vision blurred and I had to land. The last thing I needed was to crash. What the hell was happening to me? Did Shifters cry harder, feel more?

  My mind kept replaying the memories I'd recently gotten back from childhood. Me on a playground shielding K...I'd used my power of invisibility way back then and never remembered it. Could I alter people's memories, just like my mom? I couldn't imagine using that power. I'd never manipulate someone that way.

  Then one of those moments I'd just regained sped across my mind. A reminder of K and me when we were kids. I'd made him forget me, forget I ever existed. I'd already messed with someone's mind without knowing it. That didn't make it any better.

  My wings drooped. They were getting harder for me to hold up. I hadn't eaten in an age–and certainly not any of that waffle. It'd looked really yummy, too. Bummer.

  The instant I'd touched down on the ground, my knees buckled. I couldn't hold on. Not anymore. Changing back, I fisted my hands in my hair and choked out these awful sobs. My whole life up until now hadn't been my own. I'd become a pawn in the games of Faerie. Again.

  And yet, even now, I could feel the pull of Faerie. K had been right. Once I made the shift for the first time, I’d become tied to the land whether I wanted to be or not. Now, it was like mortal Earth was conspiring with my family to drain my energy.

  The gorilla-like weight of my shattered life pressed down on my chest. If I didn't do something, I could maybe die or at least suffer a whole heck of a lot.

  "Screw that." Reaching out my hand, I traced a lone symbol on the ground; the Protector's symbol with a circle and a line veering out from it at an angle. An instant later, a portal opened up beside me. It was only temporary, a fast-track to Faerie which would close up in moments. Shutting my eyes, I rolled over and let myself free-fall through the opening.

  Down, down, I fell into darkness, before slowing and landing in a field of tall grass. My vision blurred in and out of focus before a burst of energy filled me, like someone re-charged my batteries. One moment, I'd been practically blind, the next my vision heightened. I could make out everything, like the details on the leaves in the trees hundreds of yards away...the minute wings on the purple insects buzzing around the flowers...the texture of the ears of pink cows grazing in a distant field.

  And the very sharp arrows carried by a group of Trooping Faeries riding in my direction with their weapons aimed straight at me.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  King Stephen

  Freaking Trooping Faeries were nothing but trouble. I jumped and started to shift, but they had a net over me before I could make the change. "Dudes, you don't understand. I'm Ghárda's son. The Protector of Prince Kellen." I pulled at the net, trying to find a way out, but it coiled around my wrists, binding me.

  The lead faerie, an extremely short blonde with bright blue eyes moved closer. "You make some strong claims, mortal. Prince Manuel does indeed have a Protector, but if you are as you claim..."

  "Who the frig is Prince Manuel?" I stared at them. "Don't you remember me? Gabe Stewart? From the Battle of Dublin? I was kind of a bad ass?"

  She raised an eyebrow. "We, true inhabitants of Faerie, did not fight in the battle, but preferred instead to see who would hold the title of victor."

  My anger kicked back into high-gear. "Listen, Smurfette. If you don't let me out of this net right now, you're not gonna be on the winning side any longer."

  "The name that you speak of was incorrect. I am called Dagné, and you have trespassed. Take him to King Stephen!" She turned and led the riders in the opposite direction. The next thing I knew, I was hoisted into the air and carted off to the castle. Let them. Little did they know, I knew the king pretty darn well.

  The ride to the castle took minutes. As we approached, I couldn't help but feel relieved Stephen hadn't stayed in the digs he'd been held hostage in since he was a kid. That place had been filled with traps and surrounded by a moat, which contained the embodiment of all the evil on mortal Earth: The Scourge. Fortunately, we'd vanquished it, but I still wasn’t too eager to head back.

  Stephen's new place was bright, pleasant. A tall castle of white stone that gleamed in the Faerie sunlight. There were a bunch of those turret things and flags everywhere–flags representing each of the families in Faerie. There was a drawbridge and a moat. Blue hippos floated in the water, munching on grass alongside the embankment. I shook my head. You never knew what you were going to get in Faerie. Or who to trust.

  We crossed the bridge and moved into the courtyard where Dagné announced our arrival to one of the guards. He glanced in my direction, and a shot of recognition streaked through me. "Ewan!"

  "Gabe!" Ewan's face lit up with a smile. He turned to the faeries. "Release him. This is Gabriel Stewart, Prince Kellen's Protector."

  "But he's not in form–" Dagné protested.

  "He's new. We must make allowances," Ewan said. "Release him."

  After a moment, Dagné nodded. The ropes fell away from me and I dropped to my feet, feeling like I'd had a good night's sleep and eaten my Wheaties. "Thanks."

  "Don't mention it." Ewan smiled and turned to the Faeries. "Join us for a meal and dance. You are all welcome here."

  Dagné curtsied. She glanced in my direction. "My apologies, Master Stewart."

  I shrugged. "It's no big...just don't tie me up next time. Unless, I ask you to."

  Dagné smiled, her eyes brightening. Clearly, she wasn’t immune to the Gabe Stewart charms. Maybe I struck out with Earth girls, but had a thing for picking up Faeries?

  Once she’d led the rest of the Faeries away, presumably in the direction of the kitchen, Ewan hugged me, thumping me on the back. "So, how have you been? King Stephen will be pleased you're here."

  Ewan and I had fought alongside one another. He'd been among the first to stand up for Kellen and Stephen when the curse on Faerie had been broken.

  Yet, another memory competed with that one, now. A new memory, one I realized I’d been forced to forget. An image thrust itself into my mind. A memory of me spying on a green-skinned Ewan from behind a bush. He'd wanted to kill Kellen.

  "You tried to kill Kellen." The words shot out of my mouth like a snarl.

  Ewan blinked. "What?"

  "I was there. I was there and I didn't even remember. You were green. You and some sidekick were going to take K and keep him from gaining power." My anger intensified. The urge to protect Kellen still ran in my blood. It would, until I accepted his offer of freedom.

  Like that was going to happen.

/>   Ewan's expression changed, worry creasing his brow. "You don't understand, Gabe. That was before, when Arawn's magick still bound me to Faerie."

  Arawn was the big-bad who'd trapped K's father, Stephen and almost killed Kellen. I clenched my fist, but then a different memory of Ewan being the first to raise his sword for King Stephen came forward. Ewan had even stood between Cali and me and the Scourge. Keeping us safe.

  Was it always going to be like this? How much had I lost? Would all of these recovered memories suck? "I'm sorry. I'm just getting some memories back."

  Ewan gave me a look that bordered on pity. Like he knew. Or did he? Did everyone in Faerie know about the idiot Gabe Stewart, who didn't even have control of his own life? "I see. A visit with the king is needed. Follow me."

  "Fine." I let out a slow breath and tried to force thoughts of bad Ewan away as I trailed him through a side entrance and into the castle.

  Gold curtains and paintings of people I didn't know hung on the pale stone walls. Well, at least some of the people, I didn't know. Stephen, Kellen, and Cali's portraits were here. If I walked a little further, I'd see a dedication to the Protectors and my own likeness. Singer's picture was there, too. They'd even had a little ceremony the last time we'd visited.

  I couldn't look at Singer's picture, though. Even from inside a frame she had the power to hurt me.

  Ewan and I passed through a large sitting area, where a fire roared in the enormous hearth. The sound of music drifted in from another room. I would have expected it to be Faerie music, something with a harp. It was Led Zeppelin.

  We crossed through the room, only to come to a stop outside another door. I peered in to find Stephen playing air guitar in the corner. I shook my head. I didn't want to like the guy, to like any of the people of Faerie. But I did.

  "Excuse me, your Grace?" Ewan said.