by Erin R Flynn
I was smarter than that, but pain made us stupid.
Love made us stupid and grief blinded us. I was learning that all over again, and times four, as I was done with four relationships I’d cared for.
A few I more than simply cared.
I was about to head back when that foreboding feeling swarmed me fast, and my magic ramped up. I turned to find four men approaching me, goose bumps blossoming all over my skin.
And they had glowing eyes.
What. The. Fuck?
I’d never seen a supe do that. What else had I been missing about this world?
And why did I want to run from them? There were only four, and I’d dealt with way more without flinching. Something about them was… Off.
“What business do you have with me?” I demanded, giving a look that it would be their deaths if they came any closer.
They believed me, the one in front holding up his hand to halt the others when we were still fifty feet apart. “Stop trying to reopen Faerie. Your people are gone, and we will fight to keep it that way. This is bigger than you know, unknown. You cannot fight us like your humans or supes. Leave things alone, and we will not come for you.”
Oh, I didn’t believe that. I knew enough to know the moment I caved, bad guys thought they had me and would push or do more. I did what they wanted, and then they’d want the estates or something.
My magic quietly flared from my hand at my side, and I moved it behind my back, understanding somehow what I had to do.
“Why do you want Faerie closed?” I asked, giving myself more time.
“Deal with your problems you have with the supes and fight for your light fairy justice. Leave the rest alone. This is your only warning, or we will kill the last fairy and not care it will destroy all supes.”
I studied them, one in the back almost giddy. No, they wanted that. They weren’t sent to reason or negotiate with me. They were pushing me to fight so they could kill me.
Why? Why not just do it?
A treaty? A rule?
Great, something else I was clueless on.
I felt who I wanted respond to my call and stepped aside so they could see I had opened a temporary portal. “I’m not ever stopping until I save my people and fix Faerie. Apparently, you don’t know who you picked a fight with.”
The Alpha of the fae dog pack who wouldn’t swear allegiance to me came leaping out of the portal. He didn’t hesitate, flaming once he was a few feet away from me and going right for the main guy. The others in his pack were right behind him, all careful not to be too close to me with their flames before attacking.
And attack they did. The men instantly reacted to the fae dogs and tried to flee.
Except fae dogs are ridiculously fast, and they had no chance to get away. The dogs tore into the men, brutal and horrifically majestic in how they moved.
I gasped as the first man seemed to almost deflate and turned into… Something. Sand? No, more like ash.
Oh fuck. The dogs really can burn someone so fast they turn to ash instantly. Gross. Awesome, but gross.
I blinked and all four men were just gone. Holy. Fuck.
The Alpha came and sat in front of me, clearly wanting to talk to me. I turned on my telepathy, my knees going weak as he filled me in.
Demons. Those men had been demons possessing deceased humans.
Holy. Fuck. Me. Hard.
He gave me a quick history lesson that light fairies fight for justice while dark fairies hunt for evil, and that was both parts of the balance we brought to the world. It was also why they wouldn’t swear allegiance to me. They were meant to hunt with dark fairies as they used to.
The Alpha was going to fill in the other packs—especially the ones sworn to me as this wasn’t what they were used to—and let them know to be on guard. Also, that they’d be ready if I called on them again, and would always answer me as I must be protected from this new threat.
Another one. Great.
Though I really wasn’t shocked as the pile of them were getting pretty large.
I thanked them and promised them something extra soon, which they appreciated. They dipped their heads to me as they left through the portal, but then the Alpha hung back. He told me I needed to clear the area where they’d burned the demons with salt so that evil didn’t contaminate the land and energy of the property.
I promised I would, not even flinching at something so weird as it seemed to be my life now.
As if to prove my point, he also lectured me the next several minutes about how stupid I was to leave the party and the safety of my guards. I was being chastised by a fae dog who had just killed the demons who had come after me.
Why was I not old enough to drink yet?
I thanked him and assured him I agreed. It was a momentary lapse in judgement, not my normal, and I had already been chastising myself. He seemed to accept that and went through the portal with thoughts of wishing for my safety. That was nice at least.
I quickly put a barrier up around the area where they’d killed the demons and hurried back. Hopefully, the kitchen had some salt I could steal.
How much salt did one need to take care of demon remains?
“Where have you been?” Mel called out when I was about halfway back, a few of her family with her.
I held up my hand to stop the lecture that was coming. “I just got a lecture from a fae dog. I was wrong. Yell later, or my head might fucking pop.”
Her expression immediately changed to worry. “What happened?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but then closed it. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you.” I huffed, hating the secrets, but understanding them. Everyone couldn’t know about everything we were learning. That would be a disaster.
So might this. But the Rothchilds protected me… So didn’t they deserve to know?
I blew a raspberry and settled with my decision as I saw Mr. Rothchild and Colton come jogging over to join up with Mel’s group. “Clan-only answer. I’ll tell Geiger, but I think the loop on this needs to be extra small. I don’t know.” I waited until they all nodded. “So where do we stand on if demons are real? Because I just met some.”
It was hard not to laugh when all of their eyes bugged out, not only showing they were related, but they clearly didn’t know of them. Glad I wasn’t the only one behind for once.
“We don’t believe in angels or demons as humans do,” Mr. Rothchild answered, finding his voice first. “Yes, there are agents of Hades, but they are in Hades.”
I shook my head and filled them in on what just happened. They seemed hesitant and I sighed. “Their eyes glowed, and I’m not kidding you, the vibes I was getting from them made me want to flee. Fast.”
That registered with Mel. “You’ve gone up against so many guys bigger and badder than you, groups, and never blinked. These guys triggered your instincts like that?”
“Yeah, Mel, it was freaky. I’m talking goose bumps and like, a panic to flee. I think I just felt serious evil. I believe the fae dogs.” I rubbed my tired neck. “Honestly, I’m not sure they can lie to a fairy. We might need to ask the hobgoblins on that or see if we can find some dark fairy journals I can read.” I blinked at her as something hit me. “Fuck.”
Colton snorted. “What now? We weren’t already there with demons being real?”
“The maps,” I whispered. “I bet that’s how all the maps of Faerie went missing. No one can find one, and Geiger isn’t a man who loses things. What if Faerie was closed by fairy magic, but the demons took steps to make sure it stayed closed?”
“It tracks,” Mel muttered, several of her family nodding. “What now?”
“I’m supposed to salt the area where they burned the demons so the evil doesn’t spread.” I snorted when they gave me freaked out looks. “Yeah, I feel that too, but I believe it. Come with me to the spot and… It feels off. It was worse being near the demons.”
“I think you need to consider telling more than our clan,” Mr. Ro
thchild suggested, holding up a hand to hold me off. “We don’t know how many. We don’t know their powers, but thinking like normal bad people, a party was sent to deal with you and won’t come back. Assume they weren’t free agents. If you’re protected—who would they go after to get to you?”
“He’s not wrong,” Mel agreed.
I did too and nodded. “Let’s take the night to think on it though. I don’t want to just fill in anyone who knows about me. Von Thann does not need to know any more secrets, but White should know.”
“Smart,” Mr. Rothchild praised. “Yes, agreed. We’ll put together a list, and we can also help find more journals faster than you’re currently doing. I agree that needs a higher priority.”
There went my summer vacation. I was already learning as much as I could and taking extra classes, but… At least I could read at the pool or pretend I was taking a break.
Probably not.
3
After I finished my task and it was clear the Rothchilds believed me, I opened a portal and went home. Mel was happy with the idea of me leaving the chaos, but tried to object when I didn’t wait for any security.
And she didn’t even know I wasn’t going to Spain.
She’d live.
The dogs were waiting for me, and I let them in the house since I also wanted to be in Faerie. I only had my phone with me, but that was all I needed. When I reached the portal, I activated it and let the dogs hurry through before entering. It was night there as well, and I hadn’t thought of lights.
A few of the dogs took care of that by igniting. Okay then.
I finally pulled up the breakup songs playlist Izzy had made for me. I hadn’t wanted to be that woman who played sad songs and downed ice cream for every meal… But I no longer judged them. I hurt. I grieved, and part of my soul felt dead.
Ice cream wasn’t enough, so I’d try anything.
Kameron Marlowe’s “Giving You Up” came on first and I started dancing to it, listening to the words with more than my ears. Tears trailed down my cheeks as I tried to soak up the strength of Faerie, as if reminding myself of all those who stood before me, stood where I was once. I was part of something bigger than a stupid relationship with dipshit men.
Now, if I could truly convince myself of that and make the pain stop.
I listened and danced to the song a dozen times, three for each asshole. Wiping my tears, I let out a long, shaky breath before glancing at Chief and his pack. “Thanks guys. Let’s eat.”
They were always game for that.
I found a gigantic wheel of cheese and a bunch of cured meats, and brought them out to the garage. Luckily, I remembered a knife, or they would have all been gone if I’d had to get one. There were several things we couldn’t leave around the fae dogs and trust them. Cheese was a big one, sort of like normal dogs. Most everything else they regulated well, but cheese and several other things, they would immediately eat.
Sort of like me at times.
I cut blocks for them in between normal chunks for myself. It didn’t take long for us to polish it all off. I brought the knife back inside and washed it before saying goodbye to the pack and activating the portal to go back to Spain.
And Mel was standing there waiting for me. I braced for impact, but she simply hugged me.
“Craftsman was asking where you were, trying to speak to you,” she muttered.
“I saw him and that’s why I ran off,” I whispered, hugging her back.
“The others were there too.”
“I didn’t see them.” If I was honest, I might have guessed Hudson since his parents had attended. Maybe I’d felt him and hadn’t realized it? Had that been part of what had upset me so much?
Like I needed another reason to validate my being upset?
“I’m heading to bed.”
Mel kissed my hair and let me go. “You looked amazing tonight, Tams. You’ll get through this, just like we do everything else.”
“Yeah, I will.” The words sounded hollow to my own ears, but I’d try my best to make them true.
I headed to my room and decided I wanted to wash off the night before crawling in bed. I leaned my head back under the water and more tears fell, even if I pretended they didn’t. I also wouldn’t have admitted I missed them, even Lucca.
And I hated myself for it. I hated being that weak and longing for them, needing people who had hurt and betrayed me. It was triggering me and the traumas I’d had when I was younger.
Drying off, I turned on some softer, more hopeful music before sliding between my sheets. I didn’t bother with pajamas anymore, having gotten used to sleeping naked after sexy or fun. It made sense in my head, but going back to pajamas was like admitting that part of my life was over and I wouldn’t have it again.
Which was stupid, as I would meet other men and date them. Apparently, it was part of who I was as a comitissa. Fuck, I could not even deal with that right then. It would have to wait.
I needed it to wait.
I fell into a restless sleep after lots more tears and woke when my alarm went off, thinking I might have been better off not sleeping at all. As I’d been doing for weeks, I used my magic for a healing rune to help the puffy eyes I knew I’d have and tried to push past the hard time sleeping.
It might be time to talk to White about those sleep draughts she mentioned.
My mind drifted back to last night as I got ready for the meeting I’d set up. There had to be something to the “dark fairy” fae dogs working with me. Protective, I understood, as I was their only shot at getting back home. But, if light and dark fairies kept warring and had a history of fighting, I could only assume they were like oil and water.
So why did these fae dogs take orders from, and work with me? Maybe they didn’t care, but it was more like family ties?
Or, I’ve got a parent from each side. I’m half and half, even if I present as a light fairy. That has to be it.
That settled the swirling thoughts a bit, and I got my ass in gear when I checked the time. Five minutes later, I was ready and heading out in a sleek pantsuit.
“You ready for this?” Mel asked quietly as she fell in step with me.
I shrugged. “You’re nervous because of your family and name. I don’t have that. If they say no, they say no.”
“Fine, then you do the talking because I want to puke.”
That shocked me given how confident and kick-ass Mel was, but now that she was on better terms with her family… She was a representative of them.
We went through the portal to arrive in the teachers’ lounge, White waiting for us. She seemed solemn as she greeted us and I worried something had gone wrong at the party after I left.
“I don’t like the auras of some of the guests here today,” she explained, answering my unasked question. “I don’t like them at all.”
“I’m just going to start bringing my dogs everywhere,” I grumbled. Mel snorted as White gave us both an exasperated look.
We quickly made our way to the auditorium. It should have been a simple meeting in a conference room, but everyone wanted to posture and act special, so that meant a posse came with them. Gag me.
All eyes were on us—well, focused on me—as we walked into the main area. I swallowed down my feelings when I saw Dr. Craftsman among the Artemis faculty. I hadn’t even considered he’d be there, given he’d only been teaching a few years. Why was he involved when he wasn’t even a dean?
Then my other issue was seeing Dean Collins for the first time since he’d “saved” me at my party. If looks would kill, he’d be dead.
And I didn’t just mean my glare, but the one Mel was undoubtedly giving him too.
Headmaster Edelman took the lead, welcoming everyone and acknowledging all the schools and their headmasters—stroking egos and playing nice. It was good he would do that, because I wouldn’t. I wasn’t trying to pick a fight, but playing nice wasn’t my strong suit.
I thanked Edelman after he introduced me and mov
ed to the center of the stage so I could see everyone. “As I’m sure Headmaster Edelman has told you—or the rumors that fly so fast among supes—I started a scholarship program that changes the way Artemis treats scholarship students. It’s gone over well, extremely well. The good parents were upset to learn what they were donating to and—”
“Are you saying you’re going to set up scholarship programs for all our schools?” a man called out who was sitting with a rather large posse compared to the others.
I gave him an amused look. “Do I have to? Are you incapable of doing it yourself after I’ve outlined a program that works?” I kept going when he opened his mouth, and steam about came out of his ears. “I was outlining what we’ve found as you now have all the leverage you need to make it happen in your own schools.”
“Please, enlighten us what that could be?” he drawled.
I raised an eyebrow, making it clear I was mocking him for not having figured it out for himself already. “Not every elite goes to Artemis. Every school has them, or the next level below them, that want to be like the elites. That’s your leverage.”
“If the best school does it, of course we should too, and keep up,” a man from a different group surmised. He waited until I nodded. “You might not have known you were a supe very long, but you certainly understand the politics of our world.”
I tried to swallow a snort, but failed. “Thank you for the compliment, but before I came here, I was dealing with criminal and corrupt humans. I realize you didn’t mean it that way, but it sounded… Amusing.” I shrugged, leaving it at that.
His lips twitched. “Yes, lots of the elite families act more and more like human mob families the longer the fairies are gone, instead of noble as they should.” He was studying my aura as he said it, but I’d made sure one of the runes I’d prepared was the one to keep my aura muted and calm. I had expected someone to poke me and see if I gave anything away after the dragon royals said I was like a fairy.
