Revelations (Mists of the Fae Book 1)

by Jaime Marks

  “As Trevyn’s son, I heard a lot of things. I was expected to transport information, people; both human…and Fae.” The boy gulped as Mythos felt his eyes flash. “There is something I became privy of, my lord that I think you should know. It pertains to what you and Grifyn were discussing.”

  “Go on.”

  “There is a way the Shade have begun to infect fallen Fae without leaving any sign of infection, Lord Mythos. They have instilled them in some of the highest rankings, including in your Council. To be honest, it is Cymeryn who rules your Council. Trevyn said that when the time was right they would dismantle the Fae from the inside out. I don’t know how many are infected and I don’t have any names but they have been discussing it on and off for at least five years that I’m aware of.”

  Mythos cursed. If he did not already suspect it after his own dealings and everything Alysse had revealed he would have interrogated the boy. In a respect he was actually impressed the young had the guts to admit to his face who he was, what he knew, and the ways he came unto the knowledge. He knew the unawakened were heavily poisoned against the Fae.

  “I trust the boy, Mythos. I’ve placed him under my protection and as you are here, I would ask you witness the decree. I would claim his as my own through the rites, would you allow it.” Grifyn bowed at the waist.

  “You understand what that entails?” Mythos raised a brow. “You will complete the ceremony still, despite his blood?”

  “If you will allow it my lord.” Grifyn reiterated.

  Mythos nodded. “We will discuss it once I see the effects of the prolonged shared essence between Marcus and Reyana, myself. It is not that I do not honor your word and I see the quality in the boy that has led you to this decision, but for both of your safety we should take pause to consider the repercussions. Byryn you should discuss this fully with Grifyn so that you are aware of what the oath you are making means and apprised of the possible repercussions of the ceremony due to your birthright.”

  The boy only nodded.

  Mythos took in his niece having been so close to her for the first time. He could sense the suspicion in her, the anger at some betrayal she perceived. Her Father had gotten to her. She held distrust for them in her heart.

  “Staryana, my name is Mythos. I am King of the Fae and your Mother is…my sister.” He began slowly. “I know this is confusing to you. Your Mother is healing and she will be out shortly. I know you have fear and doubt. Please, young, ask whatever questions you have and I will answer them as best I can.”

  She looked him over. “What exactly is a Fae? And what is a Shade?”

  He sighed feeling like he was starting all over with Reyana. “The Fae are beings of Light. Humans know them as the spirit peoples. We are tasked with guiding humanity to Light and love, and protecting them from the Darkness. Unfortunately, we have been failing as of late due to complications in the war.”

  “So you are supposed to do what exactly?”

  “Well,” He pondered how to explain this. “Humans would think of the tasks we do for them in several ways. Sometimes we might act as what you would think of as a guardian angel, others perhaps the muse. Some might say cupid although we cannot make someone see love that was not already there. We may give them the courage to act on it however, or the wisdom not to take it for granted.”

  “Ok,” She nodded seemingly appeased by that for now. “And the Shade?”

  He notice Byryn tense. “The Shade are beings of Darkness. They feed on emotions like hate, anger, fear. They insight war and intolerance. Breed repression and discrimination.”

  “They also commit these acts, Staryana.” Byryn spoke going to her. “They inflict pain on one another and on humans as it suits their needs to fill their desires. They trade the weak among them as slaves and they manipulate and lie to achieve anything they want.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” She studied him shrewdly.

  “Because that was my life Staryana. I feel what you question. I sense the doubt your Dad has placed in you. I never want you to see me that way.” Byryn searched her face as if trying to commit it to memory. “But I won’t let you fall prey to that world. I can’t do it. It would kill me to see you go through what they do to their women; to see you become what they become.”

  “And you think just because you say it I should take it as the truth?” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him, but Mythos felt the conflict within her. She wanted to trust him. Part of her needed to believe him desperately. She had begun to fall in love with him and her heart ached at the very notion that he would deceive her.

  “No, I don’t. I want you to reach out with your essence like we did in the park, but I want you to feel that place where we connect and see the things I hide. I want to open myself to you so you can see the life of the Shade with your own eyes.” He knelt before her with unshed tears glistening his eyes. “Do you remember when I said if you knew the truth you would feel very differently?”

  She nodded hesitantly. “Yeah and I told you I would still remember what you did for me.”

  He cupped her face in her hands and kissed her head. “Then do it. I only pray you can forgive me for who I was.”

  Chapter 15

  Star stared into Byryn’s eyes and saw the pain and fear in them. She knew that he was afraid he would lose her. She was scared herself. Did she really want to know? Her Father had said not to trust any of them, but she had felt each of them and she hadn’t thought that any of them meant her any harm. Now she wasn’t so sure. How did she know she could even trust herself? She felt like she was losing her mind.

  It felt like Byryn was a piece of her now, and logically she knew that was insane. Yeah she had known the guy. They went to the same school, even shared a couple classes, but aside from her first day at Hamilton High they didn’t even talk. Actually they didn’t talk because Star didn’t particularly like him. He was a jerk. Now suddenly she couldn’t keep her hands off of him and people were throwing around words like love? It just didn’t make any sense. Dad’s version was actually a bit more believable if she thought it through, but even that was ridiculous. What made the most sense was that none of this was real and she was still asleep in her bed. Today had never happened and this was all just some intense terrible nightmare.

  “It’s alright, Staryana.” He spoke softly breaking through her thoughts as he knelt before her. “I know how hard this is to understand. I was five when the world that was supposed to exist only in nightmares became real. I may not fully get how hard it is to accept because I wasn’t old enough to even think it wasn’t real, but I get the fear and confusion.”

  “Do you? Because none of this makes sense. You and I, we don’t even make sense.” She felt exasperated and a tear rolled down her cheek. “If someone told me yesterday that I would’ve been anywhere talking to you, let alone kissing you, I would’ve laughed and told them it would never happen. You’re an ass Byryn. I see how you treat people at school. My friends, anyone, everyone. Everyone but me anyway. Me you always just watch. I catch you staring all the time. It used to creep me out, but…” She trailed off.

  “But?” Byryn asked encouraging her to go on unfazed by what she had said.

  “I don’t know.” She lied not really wanted to address the odd emotions he was capable of calling out of her.

  “Hmmm,” He smirked, “I think you do.”

  “Oh really, Byryn? I don’t even know what I think so why don’t you tell me what exactly you think you know.” She snapped irritated that he seemed to read her better than she wanted to admit.

  “I know that you started to like me watching you.” His mouth lifted in that devilish half grin. “I know that over the last few months, I wasn’t the only one doing the watching. I know that when that idiot John was cornering you last week you looked to me for help, not your friends; though Steph got to you first. So why don’t you tell me why, Brightness.” He taunted back.

  She felt the heat rush to her cheeks, “I, I don’t know wh
at you’re talking about.”

  “You don’t, hmmm? Come on Staryana, your friends aren’t here.” Byryn replied seemingly irritated, “They aren’t going to find out. Tell me, why did you look for me, make eye contact with me of all people, when John grabbed you by your locker and boxed you in. You didn’t look down the hall for security. You didn’t look towards Steph’s locker. You looked directly to mine, to me. You met me right in the eye and you called to me. Actually you reached out with your mind and I felt your fear.”

  A low growl sounded from Mythos, “A boy attacked you?”

  She glanced to the King, her uncle. She knew the shame was evident on her face before she turned back to Byryn ignoring his comment. “I, I don’t know, ok,” She felt tears streaming down her face as she thought back to the way John acted. She was afraid and she had looked to him. It was some instinct she didn’t understand. It was like she knew he would step in and help her but only if she asked and in her mind she pleaded for him to help her. “I, I just wanted you….to help me.” She stammered out the half-truth.

  “And?” He demanded not letting her off the hook.

  She groaned in frustration standing as she wiped her eyes. Pushing past him, she walked to the only window in the place as she blurted out, “And you were the only thing in that moment that made me feel safe, alright! I don’t know how but I knew if I asked you would stop it. You would make John leave me alone.”

  “I did.” He stated rather matter of factly.

  “What are you talking about? You said it yourself, Steph got there first and was all up in John’s grill before you were halfway across the hall.” She huffed turning back to him.

  “Right, but I know for a fact he hasn’t bothered you since.” Byryn looked at the floor, “In fact he hasn’t even been in school.”

  “Yeah, the team said he had an accident at a game he was playing in with some of his brother’s friends.” She replied watching him carefully.

  He laughed meeting her eyes but there were no humor in them, “If that’s what he wants people to think. A broken arm and two broken ribs can be an effective silencer.”

  Star gasped, “Are you saying?”

  “Yeah, Brightness, I’m telling you that he left you alone because I made him pay for laying even a single finger on you against your will. He won’t ever even think of doing it again because I told him if he so much as breathes in your direction not only will I break his other arm but I will personally see to it that he learns firsthand exactly how he made you feel.” His eyes held a cold edge as he cursed in confused frustration. “I’m unawakened Shade. I should’ve made him pay, but not for hurting you. As Shade by right I should’ve watched him make you suffer then destroyed him for daring to touch what’s mine. Because make no mistake, Brightness, something in me has claimed you. But the Shade don’t love, they don’t protect. We destroy and break and reveled in your pain, but I couldn’t even stand the thought of it. I hurt him because he hurt you and I made an example out of him so anyone else who even considered it would know the consequences.”

  Star stood there watching him in shock. “I, I don’t know what to say.” She ran her hands through her hair. “I’m so confused.”

  “I know, Brightness, and I’m not trying to make this harder. All I am trying to do is show you that this didn’t just start today.” He walked over and brushed the tears from her cheeks. “This isn’t something new that came out of nowhere. This is something you felt since that first day. Something we both did. I’ve been looking out for you, protecting you since the first time we met.”

  “What happened that day?” Grifyn asked filling the sudden silence between them.

  They both looked up in surprise. They hadn’t really been paying attention to anyone else in the room.

  “It is not that we want to pry in your private affairs, but we need to better understand what is happening between the two of you. Not the feelings you share, but the physical changes. It is not normal for the Light and Dark to mix in such a way, or for a Shade in any form to break the hold the Darkness has on them for that matter, yet it is happening.” Mythos offered as he stood there studying them with his arms folded across his chest.

  “I was trying to make sense of something that had happened with my brother.” Byryn spoke hesitantly and turned from them all taking a few steps away from her again. He folded his hands behind his back as he spoke seeming to stare off into the distance. He suddenly looked so much older than she knew he had to be. “I couldn’t understand why he made a choice that he had knowing the punishment he would take. I’d gone to his human home, met his Mother. I was trying to understand why any unawakened Shade would make such a choice. She tried to reach me, even gave me his bike and told me how he snuck back to her on occasion. That when he did he spoke of me, and how he felt sorry for me because of the life I’d been forced to lead. She cried. She knew if I was there something had happened and he’d be lost in our world. She loved him despite what he was, and what had happened to her during his conception. I couldn’t understand it. It was….frustrating and confusing. I was sitting on the bike in the parking lot, trying to reign in my emotions; to gain control in case Trevyn called to me.”

  “That’s where I found you.” Star cut in softly. She met his eyes as he turned back to her. “I was having a really bad day. It was the first day of school. I got lost three times. I didn’t know anyone in any of my classes. Then I bumped into Shannon and accidently dumped both of our books. She tore me apart and made an ass out of me in front of everyone. Everyone was laughing at me so I picked up my things and decided it was too much. I ran out of the school and there you were.”

  “So that was the reason for the tears,” He stroked her cheek a moment a if remember them on her face. “Shannon is as Dark as they come.”

  “Shade?” Mythos interjected.

  “No, but she has the affinity for it.” Byryn frowned. “She has a strong connection to the Darkness. I believe her parents were minions. She always tried to get me to take her out, but she wasn’t really that interesting. She seemed to think that if she was somehow attached to me it would grant her some sort of favor. She always wanted to get closer to the Shade. Stupid girl didn’t know what she was asking for.”

  “Please continue,” Grifyn implored leading them back to the topic.

  Star nodded, “I saw him there by himself and he looked so upset. I didn’t know who he was, but for some reason seeing you there Byryn, it calmed me down.”

  Byryn smiled a moment addressing the Fae before turning to meet her eyes. “She came up behind me. I was so lost in my own head I didn’t even feel her. It scared the shit out of me when she touched my shoulder and asked me if I was alright. I sort of fell off my bike.”

  She laughed, “Yeah I felt kind of bad about that.”

  He moved closer to her. “When you helped me up all I could think about was kissing you.”

  She felt her cheeks flush again. “I…you were the most gorgeous guy I’d ever met.” She relented to the truth breathlessly. “I wanted you to kiss me. But you only said hi and asked what my next class was, so...”

  “I didn’t trust myself to say anything else.” He smirked. “I wasn’t exactly in complete control of my emotions and …” He trailed of glancing cautiously to Mythos, then Grifyn before turning back to her with a wink. “Let’s just say even unawakened can be teenage boys sometimes.”

  And there it is was again, only this time she felt like her whole body was blushing, amongst other things. “I didn’t know how to take you. I just handed you my schedule.”

  He smiled warmly at her a moment before he turned back to the others. “I brushed the tears from her face and when she was ready I walked her to her class. I also made sure everyone in that school saw I was with her so they wouldn’t even think of messing with her again. I suppose it would be similar to how the Fae place someone under their protection, but with the Shade it’s kind of more a declaration of ownership. They calling it marking their posses
sions.”

  “Yeah except then you ignored me in front of everyone when I tried to talk to you in the cafeteria.” She scoffed.

  He shrugged, “I didn’t actually want to own you. I just wanted everyone else to leave you alone and I didn’t need to actually interact with you to make that happen. The closer you were the more I wanted to…..make you mine but I knew I didn’t want to hurt you so I kept my distance while I tried to figure out the odd feelings I had for you.”

  “Wait,” Star pondered something and pointed at him with accusation lacing her voice. “You didn’t have anything to do with why Matt stopped talking to me did you?”

  Byryn sighed as he studied her. “Look, you’re gonna be really pissed off at me if you start going down that road, and maybe a little hurt. I always tried to stay out of your relationships, until I felt that it was necessary anyway.”

  “Necessary?” She huffed, “Matt was really sweet. What exactly did you do to him?” She accused.

  “Fine,” He huffed obviously annoyed and cold steel laced his voice. “I tolerated the idiots you dated, if and only if they treated you with respect. I knew you really liked Matt and that you thought you were dating, but then I caught him with his tongue down Lizzie Manchester’s throat. Let’s see, how did the bastard put it when I talked to him? ‘Oh Lizzie, she’s just a quick piece while I work on Star. The team’s got a bet on who will get her to let ‘em pop that cherry and that bitch is fine. There’s a party at my house this Saturday, I bet after a few drinks I get her to loosen up real good. Why did you want in on the pot? It’s up to $200 now. The more the merrier, right?’ He thought because of my reputation I’d be cool with it. There was no way after that any of those assholes were allowed to talk to you as far as I was concerned.”

  Star gaped in horror and outrage. “They had a bet on who was going to ...” She couldn’t even say it. Suddenly she realized everyone else was still in the room and she had to turn away as her face flushed and tears began to fall.