Revelations (Mists of the Fae Book 1)

by Jaime Marks

  Reyana looked at his hand. It felt warm on hers. She couldn’t deny the connection she felt to him. Nodding slightly she managed a small smile, “I think I’d like that. I’ve never been anyone’s sister before.”

  He tried to hide the grimace at her words, “I wish I could show you that you once were.”

  “I’m sorry,” She frowned. “I guess this must be hard on you too. Let’s agree to just try to take in one step at a time, day by day. I mean you guys, err we, are immortal or something right?”

  He chuckled again. “We are not immortal per se, we can be killed but we can live thousands of years.”

  “Wow. How old are you?”

  “I have woken one hundred and twenty-eight cycles.”

  “Wow, one hundred and twenty-eight years old?” She asked in shock. He only looked about twenty.

  He nodded. “Had you not passed unto the Light you would have woken one hundred and twenty-six cycles last yule.”

  “Huh.” She mused, “How old is Marcus?”

  Mythos smirked, “one hundred twenty-nine.”

  Her jaw unhinged as she did the math and Mythos laughed again.

  “We do not look at age as humans do. Once a male or female Fae develops their full body of Light age virtually becomes irrelevant.” He looked thoughtful as he spoke about a culture she could not remember ever knowing. “The parents are still protective of their young, but they are free to make their own choices.”

  “What age does that usually happen?”

  “It depends on the Fae, it can occur any time after they have woken twenty cycles.”

  Reyana felt shell shocked as she pondered it. So she was thirty and going through the awakening but her daughter who was sixteen could be going through it in as soon as four years and would be considered on the same level age wise. She was gonna have to work on wrapping her head around that one.

  “Do you think we should worry that they haven’t come back yet?” She stared at the door.

  “No, Marcus is very formidable and he will die before he lets any harm befall her.” Mythos said becoming serious, “Likely he was stalled in making arrangements with the Guardians. I am sure the Council will not be happy with my absence.”

  “I guess not seeing you’re the King and all.” She sighed, “I’ll just feel better when they are here and I can see she is safe for myself.”

  He smiled, “I as well. She is my niece after all.”

  “Huh, I suppose she is.” Reyana thought of her daughter. “Mythos, Sean can’t come with us can he?”

  Mythos grew very quiet, rising to his full height of a monstrous seven feet. He paced slowly a moment before he paused at the foot of the bed. “Reyana, there is no easy way to explain this.”

  “Is Sean alright?” She asked in concern. Yeah he was an asshole most of the time these days but she didn’t want anything to happen to him, especially because of her.

  “Relatively, I suppose.” Mythos sighed, “He is unawakened Shade, Reyana.”

  She gasped, her hand going to her mouth.

  “He is close to the awakening, which explains his cruelty to you. It is who they are.” He walked over sitting next to her and took her hand in his, “I am sorry, but I am afraid once he turns, the man you once loved will be no more. He will still live, still have his memories, but he will be twisted into something Dark, ruled by hatred, anger, and vengeance.”

  She thought about her husband. There were times when he was younger that she had seen him be malicious and cruel. There was a vicious, unforgiving quality to him when someone crossed him. She had often wondered if she hadn’t gotten pregnant if she would’ve agreed to marry him, if she would’ve even stayed with him. He could even be cruel to her, although he had never physically caused her harm. The thing was he could be loving and fiercely protective too, and he was a great Father up until lately. Lately he had just been moody and withdrawn.

  “Sean may be an ass, but he isn’t all bad,” She murmured, “Is there no way to save him?”

  Mythos looked grim, “None that I am aware of I’m afraid, but never before you would we have thought there could be a Fae who possessed both Dark and Light that did not succumb to the evil that Darkness brings. Now there is you, Staryana and Marcus holds both Light and Dark in him as well. If anyone can find a way to redeem the Shade, Reyana, it appears it will be you.”

  She pondered what he said and nodded. The burden of her destiny again weighed heavily on her shoulders.

  “Just promise me something, mine blooded sister.” He requested as he watched her.

  “What?”

  “That you will not rush out alone to do so.” His eyes took on a stern regal look, “I will not command you because I know that is folly. You have always done exactly as you wish. I know you are not a child, but our world is new to you again. You have already been through so much, and I fear Lazurys will never stop hunting you. I do not seek to restrain you, Reyana, only to protect you. Please include me, and if not me at least Marcus before you act?”

  “I will, Mythos. I may be stubborn and foolish at times, but I know when I’m in over my head and to be honest, your world, my world, scares the shit out of me. Not only would I not want to face it alone, but I would never want to leave Star to go through all this alone.” She couldn’t even imagine if Star had to lose her and try to find her way through this craziness.

  “I promise you, Reyana, no matter what the future holds, your daughter will never have to be alone. She is mine blooded niece and as such, I will always look after her and be there for her as much as she allows.” He paused and grinned slightly, “And Marcus loves the girl as if she were his own. He will always care for her and protect her.”

  She thought of Marcus and the image she had seen of them dancing together in a ballroom while a King looked on proudly. “What were we Mythos? Marcus and I? What is he to me?”

  “I think that is a question best left to him to answer.” He spoke solemnly. “I will only say that he loved you greatly and he loves you still.”

  She nodded trying to focus on the images she had seen earlier of the life she sensed they shared but that she couldn’t reach in her mind. Images began to roll quickly before her eyes as they squeezed shut. They were a jumbled blur as a pain shot through her. The images faded and all she saw was Light as she groaned in pain.

  She felt Mythos’ grab her hand as he brushed the hair out of her face, “Shhh, breath slowly, Reyana, it will pass. The awakening comes in waves. You need to breathe through it.”

  She strained to take slow deep breathes. She was scared. It felt like she was tearing apart again. She shut down her mind and closed her eyes in an attempt to gain control of the spasm that had seized her body. The only thing she could think was that she needed Marcus. She hoped like hell he didn’t take much longer.

  Chapter 12

  Byryn sat on the couch with Staryana doing something he had never done; watching a funny movie and eating popcorn. He had called room service shortly after Grifyn left and ordered American Pie and some popcorn and sodas. He had never watched a movie and he chose randomly so he had hoped it was funny. All he knew was he needed to distract Staryana because she looked like she was about to try to sneak out of here and he knew this was the best place for her. It turned out it was hilarious. They had spent the time laughing at the TV commenting on some of the odd things the characters did. Every now and then she would throw popcorn at him for something minorly inappropriate he said but then she would cuddle up to him. It felt oddly…human.

  Normally he would consider this a waste of time and effort, but he was actually having fun. It scared him in an odd way. What was happening to him? Why was he acting this way? His Father had raised him since he was five, when he had apparently tired of his Mother. His life had been spent learning his abilities and cultivating the Darkness within him. He couldn’t even remember what it was like to have fun, but he enjoying himself at the moment. As much as it all felt confusing and disorienting as if his world h
ad flipped somehow, it also felt oddly good. It was as if some pain he didn’t know he suffered from had been alleviated.

  He looked down at her leaning back against his chest with a smile on her lips. She was radiant. Those mousy brown coils of her curls rested just above her chin, framing her delicious mouth. Her hazel eyes seemed to have hues of blue and green and they sparkled when she smiled. Her essence was warmth and sunshine, but it didn’t burn him as the sun always had in the past. It felt relieving like a balm on a wound. And when she kissed him, the sweet honey of her lips left him craving more and he swore a flare sparked inside of him that only she controlled.

  When he had heard his Father’s message he’d been so angry and enraged. First, at himself, because he should have known better than to play it out loud with her standing there, but he needed the Fae to know he wasn’t hiding anything from them. Second, because his Father thought to manipulate him as if he were a fool and even dared to hint of taking Staryana if he defied him. He had been training under Trevyn as long as he could remember. It was classic of the Shade. A tempting lure dangled in front of the victim to draw him out. Even if the promise was true, his Father would pace him slowly through as much pain as his body could withstand, likely multiple times, to ensure he never even considered betraying the Shade again. Then he would start in on repaying him for disgracing him.

  His older brother Michael had been raised human for seventeen years before Trevyn had learned of him, and he was weak. The essence in him barely noticeable. He had been a good kid before his Father had taken him. Good grades in school, worked on the school newspaper, volunteered at the area homeless shelter. The kid even went to church on Sundays, all devout Catholic and shit. He rejected his Father’s teachings no matter how much he was beat at first. After a while though, as they all did he fell in line and did as Trevyn asked. From time to time he would send them to complete minor tasks, which was probably why Cymeryn had trusted him in the first place. It wasn’t the first time he had been tasked to retrieve an unawakened, or find women to entertain his Father or the Supryn. None of them had ever dared disobey. Michael though, he saw the things that were done to the women. He despised it all.

  On his twentieth birthday his Father had obtained a woman and instructed Michael to take his fill of her. Byryn had to watch as he was sixteen. He didn’t just want him to fuck her, he wanted him to give in to his Dark desires, using the woman any way he saw fit until he broke her. Michael tried to shy away but their Father held a blade to his throat drawing blood. He had fucked the woman but he wouldn’t hurt her any further. He kept apologizing to her as tears streamed down his face. Trevyn had made Byryn take over while Michael watched. Trevyn whipped him anytime he saw tears on his face which was often. Byryn shuddered at the violence he had been instructed to inflict on the woman. The thing was though, he had never known anything else. Michael had confused the hell out of him. He couldn’t understand why he felt such pain for the humans. Byryn had been taught they were inferior to the Shade. They were nothing more than chess pieces to manipulate and toys to be played with. He had even felt it as the Dark essence flowed through him. He knew his brother was close to awakening, he felt the Darkness swelling within him, but still he refused to give into his desire. He never acted cruel, had no perverse whims, had never acted in malice or anger, and he had no thirst for power. It was foreign to Byryn.

  When they had finished that night both the woman and his brother were left in a bloody heap on the floor to rest and heal. The woman was chained by her neck to the wall as the women his Father took always were. He would keep them until they birthed him progeny or until he bored of them and then they disappeared. He had heard that he left them alive so he could visit his favorites if he desired their flavor, in fact that was how he had found Michael. That night when Byryn left the room Michael had been just lying there staring at the woman. In the morning both he and the woman were gone.

  There was of course nowhere to hide from his father. Trevyn brought them back that very night. His punishment was brutal. All thirty of his brothers, both Shade and unawakened were made to watch regardless of age. Father wanted to be sure his Brood as he called them knew the cost of betrayal. Michael had been chained down while his Father had taken the woman carnally over top of him, in the most debased ways, making what Byryn had done to her look like child’s play. When he was thoroughly sated he slaughtered her there, on top of him, leaving her body lying there as he taunted him. He told him she would have lived a long life had he not intervened, but now she paid for his betrayal. Then he had flayed strips of flesh from Michael’s body leaving raw patches all over him. Eventually when he had passed out from the pain Byryn had thought it would be done. Several hours later, however, Trevyn called them back to watch his brother’s forced awakening which appeared to be excruciating. He had ripped and tore at his flesh reopening the still raw wounds where Father had cut him. When the awakening was completed he had fashioned a leash to Michael and handed him over to Crytos, who was known to have proclivities for both sexes. Money meant nothing to the Shade but slaves, toys and favors meant everything. Crytos had brought a beautiful young woman with a flat stomach, round ass and plump breasts which he turned over to Trevyn along with the promise of a favor to be later determined in exchange for Michael. Again Byryn thought it was finally over, but they were instructed to remain and watch so that all his progeny knew the existence their brother would suffer. Trevyn took the woman and retired to his chambers while they witnessed the brutal rape and beating of Michael over and over. When Crytos finished, Trevyn returned and dismissed him. He took Michael with him. Trevyn had made it very clear Michael would be kept as Crytos’ slave until he either killed him or tired of him and traded him to another to be used and that Michael’s fate would be nothing compared to the progeny who was fool enough to betray him next.

  Byryn shook himself from the horrors of his past as Staryana laughed at something on the screen. He smiled at her and gently tugged one of her curls. She beamed up at her with those sparkling eyes. He didn’t know what would happen to her, but he would keep her from the Shade at all costs. Simply by helping her he had sealed his fate. There was no turning back, but he would be sure whatever evil awaited him would not be her future.

  He thought back to Grifyn’s words as he had left. He had placed him under his protection. It was something the Fae did not do lightly. He didn’t know all their ways but that was part of their history he had been taught because it was useful in turning the Fae. They were fiercely loyal to their blood and their wards. They took the loss of them very hard. Why would any Fae do that for an unawakened Shade? Did he really think there was hope that he could escape the fate he had been consigned to at birth? He didn’t know how he felt about all that. No one had ever looked out for him unless it suited their own purposes or they intended to hold it over him to force him to submit to some act or will they wished done. That wasn’t the way of the Fae though. He had no idea what Grifyn expected of him or planned to do with him.

  He looked back at his Brightness, as he had taken to calling her. She was his guiding star; the Light leading him out of the Darkness. He was unsure about a lot of things, but he knew one thing. He would follow her anywhere. He would give her anything within his power and he would die for her if that was what it took to protect her. He didn’t know what love was. He had never been shown it, never felt it, but if he had a heart, it was hers.

  His thoughts were broken by the sound of the door bursting open. He didn’t sense any Shade but the man who rushed at him looked exactly like Cymeryn; there wasn’t Shadow swirling around him. He had to be masking somehow. He jumped up and threw himself in front of Staryana. “Run Staryana!”

  He heard her rushing away as Cymeryn misted directly in front of him and took him by the throat, slamming him against the wall. His breath caught in his throat as he met his Supryn’s glare head on. “Call the girl to you, boy.”

  Byryn struggled to break free, “I won’t let you take h
er!”

  He was lifted and slammed back into the wall. “I will rip you limb from limb if I have to boy, call her to you. Now.” He hissed.

  “I don’t care what you do to me Cymeryn. I won’t let you hurt her.” Byryn spat.

  “It is your choice boy! Either call her to me so I may use her to obtain what is mine, or I will find her myself and let your sire break her when her purpose is finished! Do not be foolish she is yours when this is done if you obey.”

  “You will never reach her while she is in the grasp of the Fae. You can do what you want to me, it is your right by virtue of my blood, but I’ll see to it you never have the chance to harm a hair on her head!” He felt his rage rise as he thought of the evil Trevyn would inflict on her if he could. His essence began to surge.

  “Right answer kid.” Light slowly flowed from the hand around his throat into him. It pushed down the Darkness within and he was suddenly released.

  He gasped taking a breath of air into his lungs and felt strong hands pull him to his feet. He met the Fae’s eyes, “You’re not Cymeryn.” He murmured in shock. “Who, what?” He scanned the room. Trina was holding Staryana gently by the shoulders whispering to her by the bedroom of the suite. Grifyn was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed looking both annoyed and somehow proud at the same time. Neither of them seemed alarmed though. Ryo even stood in the doorway looking amused. What had just happened?

  The Cymeryn look alike led him over to the couch. “My name is Marcus, Byryn. I apologize for deceiving you, but I needed to be sure you could be trusted.”

  Byryn studied him still confused. He looked to Grifyn but he only nodded. “You, you look just like him.”

  Marcus nodded grimly. “Cymeryn and I are twins. He was not born Shade.”

  “I see.” He looked him over. He could see minute differences. Marcus’ hair was black like his brother’s but there were highlights of red and gold in it and his skin was a golden tan where Cymeryn’s was pale. His eyes held a blue-gray color and emitted a soft glow. Everything else was exactly identical.