Finding My Mate

by Rylee Winters

  “Left at the light…” Muttering the directions to my place of work, I took in the pretty scenery around me through narrowed eyes. There was no ethereal glimmer – no beautiful hue to the air that shimmered in the light – but the human realm wasn’t without its attractiveness. After so long, I could appreciate the harsh greens and bright colors slathered on houses and businesses; such things just didn’t exist in the faery realm. Blues and purples in the sky were replaced with yellows and whites, and even the trees were smattered with colored birds and critters.

  Pausing my trek at the end of the block, I glanced around for any cars before stepping carefully onto the vivid, white lines along the asphalt. My leg tensed at the memory of being crushed under the hulk of car steel and rubber tyres, and I reached to rub my outer thigh absently.

  That accident when I was first hurled into this realm had started a chain reaction that I was powerless to stop. I’d developed a scar – an ugly, discolored patch of flesh that would forever remind me of that day.

  And with that scar came other changes deep within my body.

  Reaching the other side of the street safely, I released a breath of relief and forced the unnerving thoughts away. For all my magics, I couldn’t revert what had happened to me without going back to my mother – realm. There wasn’t enough wild magic in the human realm to allow me to get back on my own, and Muss had reported several times that no one was going to help me from the other side.

  I was alone here, and somehow, I was proud of what I’d made for myself. My job now wasn’t glamourous, or even remotely as dangerous, but I’d gotten it all by myself. The human Chad had hired me not because of my magic talents, but because of my own merit. He, at least, liked me for who I was.

  Then again, the human Chad had no idea about my magic or my wings, and our relationship was built on a mountain of lies. He couldn’t see my feathered appendages – couldn’t sense the magic coursing through them – couldn’t tell when I was using magic.

  Because humans are primitive and stupid… just like their entertainment.

  “Morning, Linne.” Living only a few blocks from my work had benefits, and I plastered a semi-genuine smile on my face. The human Chad was always early, and I wandered through the short, dense maze of bagged dirt and stones and other things he sold here. His clothes were already dirty, and sweat caused his forehead and neck to glisten in the baking sun on its way below his shirt.

  According to the women that worked here, he was very handsome with his muscles and kindness, but to me, he was just the human – Chad.

  “Good morning.” Pausing a good few feet away, I watched Chad haul a bag of small, beige rocks onto a flatbed attached to a cart. Clapping and rubbing the dust and dirt from his hands, he straightened to turn his attention to me and smile.

  “We got a big order to fill, so why don’t you go grab a pair of gloves and help me load the bed.” Nodding silently, I made my way past him and into the warehouse that smelled of nothing but dirt and earth. Tall stacks of pots leaned against the wall, and the walkway to the offices was lined in yet more pots filled with flowers. Water streamed along the concrete in shallow rivers, and my boots left footprints behind me.

  The human Chad and I were usually the first to arrive at work, and we spent a good amount of time just working in companionable silence. He was as close to a friend as I had, and I’d learned a lot from him over the past eight months.

  Ducking under an archway, I turned a sharp left to make my way to the line of lockers on the far wall. The old, squeaky metal had lost its paint long ago, and I hooked my finger under the worn mechanism to pull open the thin barrier with my name on it. I took out my gear.

  “Hey – good – uh – can you finish doing this while I go get the other pallet?” The human Chad asked. Nodding as I worked my gloves onto my fingers, I rolled my jaw as the human Chad jogged off. Grabbing the topmost bag off the pile, my body strained to carry the heavy mix of fertilized soil, and my harness creaked slightly under the pressure against my chest.

  My wings twitched in their sheaths, and the familiar tingling sensation of magic coursed through my veins. The bag suddenly became lighter, and I furrowed my brows in concentration as I adjusted my grip on the plastic.

  This was not an ability I thought would help me in the human world in this way, but I was beyond grateful I had the opportunity to practice. Bags so heavy weren’t something my body could handle by itself, so magic was necessary for me to succeed at this job.

  Even if it was cheating.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Linne

  “Human Chad, where is this going?” Adjusting a box of potted plants carefully, I scrunched up my nose as the smell of them curled my nose hairs. The human Chad, straightened to rub his hand across his forehead, and I frowned slightly at the slight discoloration of his skin. Over the past months, I’d found that humans didn’t stop working – ever. Even when the job was done, they found new, more tedious, and additionally draining things to do.

  “Uh – those are going into that truck –” Pointing to the pick-up at the end of the row of five, the human Chad raked his hand through his dark hair and heaved a breath. “That should be it for now. I’m going to call lunch, and then we can get to the deliveries. You’ll be riding with me today while Jon and Kevin do their solo drop offs, and then we’re taking the other two trucks to the site to start the landscaping.”

  Arching a brow at the frustration that flittered across the human Chad’s face, I flexed my fingers around my burden. He only glanced around absently, as if he didn’t want to look at me and see the question burning against the backs of my eyes. Cocking my head slightly, the little action drew his gaze, and he offered me a grim half smile, half frown.

  “I wasn’t going to take this landscaping job, you know…” Starting his explanation, he leaned on a pallet of bagged soil to shake his head while my curiosity hit a new high. “It’s over in Oakstand, and the shifters there are real assholes. Super purity types that look down on anyone that aren’t one of them. It’s incredibly annoying to know they’re looking at me and my crew like we’re work monkeys. I mean – they’re paying me almost double for the work because they know we’re the best in town, but still…”

  “You are not work monkeys.” My skin crawled at the people the human Chad described, and I set my burden on the floor as he cracked a genuine, grateful smile at me. “Humans can survive without magic, human Chad – it is the magic that cannot survive without the creatures that wield it. With disuse comes chaos that humans just…”

  Pursing my lips together, I fell silent as my mind churned; I still wasn’t familiar with some human terms, and the lack of knowledge caused frustration to tickle my chest.

  “…Electricity through…” For the first time all morning, the human Chad laughed a hearty, loud sound, and I furrowed my brows over a slight frown. Waving off my confusion, he swiped both palms down his face as he reigned in his mirth, but his amusement was still evident in his voice when he spoke.

  “Power through, Linne. Power through. I get that – I really do…but that doesn’t mean I won’t feel degraded by the fact that shifters think they’re so much better – at least, those particular shifters. Also, I was kind of hesitant to bring you, but I need my whole crew for this.” Nodding at the correction, I stored that little piece of information away while the human Chad rolled his broad shoulders. “I don’t want them to treat you some crazy way because you’re from a different realm. They can see your wings without that thing you put in my eye. I worried a lot over this job.”

  Affection blossomed in my chest, and I smiled broadly as memories floated into my mind’s eye. Three months after I began here, the human Chad realized I wasn’t human, and he confronted me. At the time, it’d been incredibly unnerving, but I was surprised at how understanding he was.

  He even let me put a magical parasite in his left eye, so he could see my true form, wings included. In fact, he could see much of the magic that surrounded magi
cal beings in this realm, which he said would help him with his business. I wasn’t sure how even now, and I wasn’t going to ask.

  “Yes. Do not forget that I can control what they see, human Chad. My wings may have shrunk, but my magic is still very powerful.” My assurances seemed to calm him, and I picked up my plants again to stride past him. The tickle of magical tendrils that weaved through my veins made hauling the heavy dirt and flowers that had yet to bloom easy while my mind wandered. That was how the human Chad figured out I wasn’t human, supposedly – I did far too much work and didn’t show it.

  Although, this tiny exercise was about all I could accomplish as far as what was called telekinesis in this realm.

  “Here, let me help you with that.” Jogging up next to me, Kevin flashed me a boyish grin that showcased his deep dimples. He didn’t wait for an answer, his lithe, young body hopping easily into the bed of the truck to crouch tightly. The human Chad and Kevin were cousins, separated by a dozen or so years in age, and he held out his hands for my plants with a smile.

  Why do I call the human Chad ‘the human Chad’, but Kevin is Kevin? The thought stuck to the forefront of my mind as I passed off my burden. Maybe because the human Chad was the first human I came to know…

  “Do you want to come to lunch with us?” Every day, Kevin asked me this question, and every day, I said ‘no’. Backing up as he sat on the tail of the truck, I rubbed my tongue against the roof of my mouth as I contemplated giving in. Part of me had always wanted to go, but I couldn’t find the courage in me to eat human food. Everything looked and smelled so different than my home realm, and any time I thought I would try something, I backed out.

  “Yes.” Kevin perked up considerably at my acceptance, and I absently reached to adjust my harness. “I will.”

  “Great! We’re going to this place – Casna’s. They serve great Afghan food, which is kind of bias because they’re the only Afghan place in town. We just don’t want pizza or subs again.” Staring at Kevin dumbly, I blinked slowly as I tried to decipher what he’d said. ‘Pizza’ – ‘subs’ – what was Afghan, and why was it different?

  Maybe it was a spice.

  “You’ve never had Afghan before, Linne?” Sliding off the tail, Kevin dusted his pants roughly before answering his own question without even so much as a nod from me. “It’s okay. Not many people have. It’s really amazing once you get a hang of it, and it’s super authentic – like, the owner barely speaks English, and she only moved here, like, four years ago with her son and two daughters – who are way hot.”

  “Okay.” Answering simply, I hid the slither of regret that snaked out from my heart. If Kevin talked so much now, I could only imagine what would happen sitting across a table from him for an hour. “I have to go finish loading, now…”

  “Yeah – sure. Meet us back here in, like, twenty minutes.” Turning on my heel, I made my way through the yard and the seemingly endless stacks of bags, pots, and heavy machinery. “Oh – and don’t bring your wallet! My treat!”

  “Alright.” From behind furrowed brows, I wondered how this particular food could be considered a treat. Did that mean Afghan food was sweet? Was Afghan like sugar? Reaching to rub the butt of my palm against my temple, my lips twisted into a grimace at all of the confusion Kevin seemed to single-handedly bring on. He clearly needed no help to carry on a conversation.

  While that was a particularly good skill for distracting enemies, I didn’t much care for it turned on me.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Linne

  “Well – what do you think?” Chewing slowly, heat crept up my neck at the five pairs of intent eyes trained firmly on me. My heart thudded hard in my chest at the anxious expectation bearing down on me, and I swallowed roughly through a tight throat. Whatever the human Chad had ordered for me was honestly…

  Delicious.

  “It is very good.” Flames licked my cheeks at the loud cheers that filled the restaurant, and I scooped a damp, flimsy thing filled with onions onto my fork. The men and woman around me started in on their plates, and I watched the human Chad prop his chin on his fist out of the corner of my eye.

  “You know Linne, I’m glad you finally decided to come out with us. It’s good to socialize, and there’s nothing wrong with having friends at work.” Ripping a piece of meat off a stick, the human Chad ate quickly as I pushed my forkful past my teeth. Flavor exploded on my taste buds, sweeping all along my tongue on waves of saliva, and I ducked my head to bite back a groan. “Even if it’s not often, you should come to lunch.”

  “This is my first time eating food. I would like to come again.” Answering listlessly, I swallowed my bite before several gazes turned back to me, and I stiffened as my blunder came to my attention. Glancing around the table, my eyes narrowed and lips pursed, and I looked to the human Chad while my mind came up blank. Swiping his mouth with a napkin, he waved his free hand and cleared his throat to help me out of the shallow hole I’d dug for myself.

  “Not a lot of people have tried Afghan food, either. It’s just a matter of taste. Besides, we don’t come here often – just when we get tired of the usual.” Relief slumped my shoulders, and I shoved my forkful into my mouth as Kevin groaned animatedly in the seat directly next to mine.

  “I know! I needed a break from the pizza. Maybe tomorrow we’ll go to that chicken taco truck downtown.” The conversation got back on track and, more importantly, was off of me, and I sunk back in my seat to eat quietly. My eyes couldn’t linger on any one person as they went back and forth, and it didn’t take long for me to settle on Kristy across the vast, smoothly polished table.

  If she had been born in my realm, her looks would’ve made her extremely popular with the Court. Every prominent man would be clamoring for her, trying to become her consort, and they’d all probably fail miserably. Kristy was very strong willed, and I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of magic she would have if she wasn’t just a regular human.

  Thick, bright hair the color of fire hung down over her shoulders in waves, and her eyes were a vivid blue. The combination was striking despite her clean, long face, and I blinked hard when that gaze suddenly connected with mine. Kristy didn’t seem unnerved by my staring, and I cocked my head before opening my mouth.

  “You are very…pretty…” My voice faltered slightly, and I licked my lips absently as Kristy shot me a smile to reveal two shallow craters in her cheeks. Silence surrounded us, and my eyes flittered around as nerves settled deep in my belly. I had never said so many words to Kristy; normally, I only greeted her in the morning – nothing more.

  “Thank you. You’re very pretty as well, Linne.” My pupils widened at the sincerity in Kristy’s voice, and I reached up to touch my face automatically. A cotton sensation attacked my inner cheeks, but she only smiled wider with a twinkle in her eye.

  “Uh – so…” Breaking the awkward quiet, the human Chad tapped his fingertips on the table absently and shot me an amused glance. “No inter-company dating – it’s policy.”

  “You know very well that I’m not into women, Chad – no offence if you are, of course, Linne.” Flying quickly to answer Kristy, I nearly choked on air as I shook my head wildly.

  “No – no – I just…think you are…pretty…” Furrowing my brows sharply, I propped my forearms on the table to nudge my plate back. “Why can I not compliment you without it being seen as sexual in nature?”

  Confusion laced my tone, and Kevin really did choke on his mouthful at my question. Rubbing my tongue against the roof of my mouth, I kept my eyes on Kristy while he banged on his chest roughly. He was just a child; the youngest of everyone, he probably wasn’t comfortable with such conversation.

  But I needed to know, and Kristy shrugged absently as she scooped rice onto her fork.

  “Because we live in a society that doesn’t believe in just friends. Not to say that being in a relationship is a bad thing, but any form of even the slightest kindness is seen as attraction. You didn’t grow up wi
th a custom of compliments?” Sucking my bottom lip between my teeth, I thought back to my home world and how best to answer such a question.

  “There is not much kindness where I come from…” Frowning slightly, I curled my fingers into loose fists against my inner elbows even as Kristy ducked her head in understanding. “If someone was nice, it was because there was a reason…not essentially sexual, but some ulterior motive.”

  “That’s fucked up – ” Rasping his opinion from beyond the rim of his drained glass, Kevin coughed harshly as I trained my gaze on him. “Where do you come from, anyway? You never told us.”

  “She doesn’t have to tell us, Kevin. It’s called being respectful of a person’s privacy and not being a nosy asshole.” Speaking up for the first time since the turn in topic, Jon set his spoon in his empty bowl to lean back in his chair. Cradling the back of his head with laced fingers, he glared hotly at Kevin for a long moment before his softening gaze flickered to me. “He’s too young to know what the definition of ‘boundaries’ is, Linne. Just ignore him.”

  “I am not.” My mind worked slowly as Kevin’s whine filtered through my ears; just as he and the human Chad were cousins, so were Kevin and Jon. But the human Chad and Jon were not related, although they did work well together as if they were. “Don’t give her a bad impression of me.”

  “You do that all by yourself, kiddo.” Kristy’s tease caused Kevin to huff, and she flicked back her hair as they moved on from Kevin’s question, the weights lifting from my chest. Breathing became easier, and I adjusted my grip on my fork even as she continued. “You’re only 17 – it’s to be expected that you just can’t control what you say.”