‘Don’t you mean lust?’ she corrected, as we crossed the road.
‘Yeah, damn teenage hormones.’
‘I should have known he wasn’t really into me,’ she said, her voice laced with insecurity.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ I stopped on the footpath and grabbed her arm. I knew what she was getting at and I wasn’t having it.
‘Well, look at him. He’s this popular Year 12 guy and I’m just—me,’ she said, staring at her feet and shrugging.
‘Don’t even go there. You are way too good for him!’
‘That’s why I’m the one who got dumped,’ she muttered.
‘Makes no difference, you’re still too good for him,’ I assured her.
‘You have to say that, you’re my sister.’
I reached out and hugged her; the Faeran love of physical contact must have rubbed off. My human family weren’t often tactile and Ashleigh gave me a strange look, reminding me. I released her quickly.
‘That’s right, I am your sister and I don’t want to hear any more of this crap about us being different species. But that’s got nothing to do with it anyway. Jason’s nasty. I don’t care how popular he is.’
‘He was pretty cut when you dumped him.’
‘I had every right to break up with him—nobody owns another person.’
We started walking again.
‘I’m over it anyway. I was just upset about what he did to you.’
‘Have you seen him since?’
‘I have but it’s like nothing’s happened, I don’t even seem to exist to him any more. Not in a bad way,’ she said, glancing my way, ‘but, like he doesn’t even know me. It’s so weird . . . And he’s gone freakishly quiet too. He wanders around at lunch time looking lost half the time.’
I recalled Lorsen sending one of the guards to confuse Jason and knew it had to have been a greater power than his to have caused such a drastic change in my ex. I wondered when Leif had found the time to pay Jason a visit and just how much of his mind had been altered because of it.
‘If I tell you something will you promise not to tell Mum and Dad?’
My sister looked at me. ‘What’s up?’
‘No really, you have to promise because if they find out, they will freak.’
‘Okay, I promise.’ Her face was all impatient curiosity.
‘I wasn’t really at church camp—I was in Faera with Leif.’
‘Oh. My. God!’
‘I know and I got to meet some of my family. Want to see photos?’
‘Yes!’
We stopped in the middle of the footpath under the patchy shade of a gum tree and put our bags down. I took the album out and slowly went through the photos of my family. I reached the last and Ashleigh said, ‘Oh cute, I love twins. Who do they belong to?’
‘That Ashleigh, is a photo of me and my twin brother.’
‘No way!’ she gasped.
‘Way,’ I said, smiling at her surprise.
‘OMG! Does that make him my brother too?’
‘It so does.’
‘I always wanted a brother,’ Ashleigh said, her voice wistful.
‘Same.’
‘What’s he like?’
Heaviness filled my heart. ‘He’s lost, Ash, like I was before Leif found me.’
‘Here on Earth?’
‘I don’t know—probably.’ I packed the photo album away and slung my schoolbag over my shoulder.
‘We have to find him,’ Ashleigh announced, as we started walking again.
‘I know. Got any ideas how we might do that?’
‘Hmm, we need to think about it.’
I left Ashleigh at the school gate and went to find Hilary and Jack. They were sitting under our tree in deep conversation. I had the strangest feeling as I watched them, like I was standing on the outside looking at a scene from the future, of when I was no longer a part of their world. They looked so content that I wondered if I would even be missed.
Finally Hilary glanced up and noticed me standing there. ‘Marla, you’re back!’ Her face wore a smile that included me instantly and I knew that our friendship would endure no matter what. She stood and gave me a hug. ‘Ash said you’d be away for a week.’
‘I came back early,’ I said, suddenly not wanting to be anywhere but with my friends.
‘Don’t suppose you and Leif have broken up?’ Jack asked, getting up.
‘Sorry, Jack.’
The hope slid off his face.
‘Oh, I wouldn’t worry about him,’ Hilary said, with a grin that couldn’t be misinterpreted.
I gave him a surprised look. ‘You’ve been getting busy while I was away, Jack?’
He shrugged. ‘No reason not to.’
‘He went out with Stella the other night and they’ve got another date planned for Saturday.’
‘She still after you, Jack?’
‘Can you blame her?’
‘No, not really,’ I said, smiling. ‘But how did it happen?’
Hilary was looking from one to the other of us, confused.
‘She’s been at me to take her out for years, as it happens. I thought it was about time I made her dreams come true.’ He finished the statement with a grin.
‘And you never told me!’ I was too shocked to make some comment about how much he loved himself.
He looked at me, one eyebrow lifted. ‘You’d be the last person I’d tell, don’t you think?’
‘So . . . do you like her, then?’ I asked, doing my best to deny the tightness in my chest.
He was quiet for a minute, holding my gaze as he considered. ‘I do, but ask me how much after Saturday. She has a lot to live up to.’
I smiled at the compliment.
I told Jack and Hilary the story of my kidnapping and short stay in Faera during the morning’s double English period, and later, when we sat under our tree looking at the photos of my Fae family, we considered how we might find my twin. We spoke of contacting adoption agencies and looking up old newspaper articles and lurking around allergy clinics, but we all agreed that the logical first step was to contact Lena. I made the call then and there, only to discover that she was away for two weeks and I would have to be satisfied with making an appointment for when she returned.
I couldn’t think of my brother without feeling like a squally mess and it must have shown because after the disappointment of the phone call, Hilary changed the subject.
‘What do people do in Faera, anyway?’
‘Whatever they want,’ I told her.
‘What do you mean?’ Jack asked as he plucked bits of grass from the ground and made a tepee from them. ‘What about work, survival—all that?’
‘It’s different from here; when something needs to be done, everyone just pitches in—if they want to that is—they don’t have to. And survival’s not a problem because everything is shared—not that the Fae seem to need much.’
‘So if you wanted you could sit on your butt all day and still get everything you needed?’ Jack asked.
‘Well, I suppose . . . but who would want to?’
‘Plenty of people do,’ he pointed out.
‘Maybe, but I don’t think they want to. I think if the pressure was taken off and people had the means to do what they enjoyed, they’d soon get busy. Besides, there’s no such thing as unemployment in Faera so you haven’t got all these people feeling bad about themselves because they haven’t got a job.
‘What will you do, Marla, when you go to live in Faera?’ Hilary asked.
‘If I go to live in Faera,’ I said, trying hard not to think of it as a given, ‘I guess I’ll do the things I’d like to be able to do here—art for sure. But there’s no formal education, so I wouldn’t go to uni to do it.’
‘How would you learn then?’ Hilary asked.
‘When I said everything is shared in Faera, I meant everything. Experts teach novices and enjoy doing it because the only students they have are the ones who actually want to lear
n.’
‘Wow.’
‘Faera’s an amazing place . . . But what about you? Make any decisions while I was gone?’
‘You were gone for three days,’ Jack laughed.
‘A lot can happen in three days,’ I pointed out.
‘I’m thinking law,’ Hilary said.
‘You’d be an awesome lawyer, Hil.’ Hilary would be willing to defend the most hardened criminal.
‘Well, it’s something mathematical for me,’ Jack said with a perfectly straight face.
‘Oh, come on,’ I laughed. ‘What about your dream to be on the stage?’
‘I came first in the class for that maths test we had a few weeks ago. The teacher stuck one of those scratch and sniff stickers on my work—peach, quite delicious. Took me right back to those halcyon kindergarten days.’
‘Who says “halcyon”? You’re a born performer, Jack. Maths—as if!’
‘I dunno, accounting’s tempting.’
We spent the rest of lunch time talking about life after school, and the more we spoke of it, the more I knew my future was in Faera. I didn’t want to think about what would become of me if King Telophy kept me out.
But Leif’s father aside, I still had one major challenge—convincing my parents to allow me to go to Faera for the assembly. I knew Leif could confuse them into giving me their consent in a heartbeat, but I wanted them to mean it. So that night I raised the subject over dinner. Keeping my eyes on my fork as I skewered a lump of cauliflower, and directing the comment to no one in particular, I said, ‘You all remember that the assembly is only a few days away, right?’
Apart from a raised eyebrow from Ashleigh, there was no response for a couple of seconds, then Dad said, ‘Yes, well, your mum and I have been talking about that and we’re not convinced it’s a good idea for you to go.’
I looked up and caught my father’s eyes. ‘But Leif says Faera will be good for me. He says I won’t be sick all the time.’ I could hardly tell my parents just how well I was in Faera when neither of them had any idea I’d ever been.
Dad sighed. ‘But his father, Amy, I just don’t think we can trust him.’
‘If King Telophy wanted to, he could turn up right now and take me and there’s not a single thing anyone could do to stop him.’
‘How can he? He doesn’t know where you live.’
‘Leif said he could find me in a minute . . . you heard him.’
‘But still . . . ’
I took a deep breath, let it out slowly, ‘Leif’s managed to find some of my family—my grandparents.’
Mum made a choking noise. I looked at her. ‘They want to meet me, Mum. That’s fair isn’t it? Wouldn’t you want to meet me if you were them?’
Unable to deny it, my mother said, ‘But you’re talking about going to another world, Amy.’ Her fingers were picking at the tablecloth. Dad reached out and covered them with his.
‘It’s only for a few hours—I’ll be home in time for dinner.’
Mum’s face showed her conflicting emotions.
Dad picked up a serviette and took his time wiping his mouth—his usual stalling tactic. ‘We’re going to have to give it some more thought, love.’
‘I hate it when you say that, besides, you’ve already given it thought. I have to know, and . . . I really have to go.’
Dad looked at me, held my eyes for a moment. ‘You say it will be just a few hours?’
‘It will, I promise.’ I gave him my sweetest, most pleading smile. ‘Please, Daddy.’
Ashleigh rolled her eyes. ‘What a suck up.’
I ignored her and kept my eyes on my father.
Dad looked at Mum. She gave him nothing, her expression completely torn. The decision was his alone. He looked back to me and sighed. ‘I suppose if it’s only for a few hours.’
I jumped up and ran around the table, threw my arms around his neck and covered his stubbly cheek with kisses.
He smiled and caught me for a hug.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Without Leif, the days passed at the pace of a double maths period. I loved the time with my family and friends, but I missed my betrothed horribly. I wanted his arms around me, his body pressed to mine, his lips—their kisses and smiles. I wanted his velvet voice and I wanted his hands. I felt incomplete and wanted my other half. Had I ever felt whole before him? I couldn’t remember.
He didn’t come to me in my sleep. Every night I went to bed praying that he would. I knew he couldn’t afford the energy, but I wanted and so I hoped. As the days passed, my Faeran food supply ran out, my skin deteriorated and the familiar congestion returned to my lungs. I marked the days on my calendar, becoming more and more certain that his father would not allow Leif to come back and get me. When the sun began to set on the eve of the assembly I started to panic. And when night came and I knew Leif couldn’t possibly come to me, I went to bed and didn’t even try to stop my tears.
‘Maybe he was busy and couldn’t get back in time,’ Ashleigh said from her bed on the other side of the room. ‘I mean, what does it even matter if you’re not there for the assembly anyway?’
‘He promised me . . . on his honour.’ Tears of self-pity drenched my pillow.
‘So he’ll come tomorrow, or the next day.’
‘He won’t! If he was coming at all it would have been today. His father’s stopped him, I know it. He’ll never let me be with him.’ My whole body shook with my sobs.
‘He’s been held up, that’s all.’
‘You didn’t see his father. He’s so powerful, and so . . . angry. Leif doesn’t have a hope against him.’ The memory of Leif crashing into that tree trunk and falling lifeless to the ground assaulted me.
‘Well . . . you could always hook up with Jack if Leif doesn’t come back. He’s been making it pretty obvious how he feels about you, and he’s so cute.’
Ashleigh started listing Jack’s attributes, but her words just slid through my mind and out again. She just didn’t understand—there was no one but Leif.
At sunrise I woke to a tapping at my window. I turned to the sound that could only be my prince. He was watching me, and as our eyes met, a wide smile spread across his beautiful face. His skin was aglow with his power and his dazzling wings twinkled in the early morning light as though they were coated in dew. I leaped out of bed, threw the window up and dived on him as he flew into the room.
‘Got you,’ he said, catching me and sweeping me up into his arms. Immediately I became warm as he released his sun to me in a great delicious wave. Wanting to catch all of it, I wrapped myself around him, arms and legs. I would never let him go. It was impossible to speak through the lump in my throat so I didn’t even try. I just clung to him and rained a torrent of kisses on his neck and face as tears poured out of me. Oh, how I’d missed him! He remained quiet, just holding me in his arms. I could feel his breath in my hair as he kept me there until I’d stilled.
‘Are you well, Marla?’ he asked after the intensity of my frenzied kisses had died and my breathing returned to normal.
‘I thought you weren’t coming.’ I burrowed my face into his neck. I’d forgotten how amazing he smelled—I nuzzled my nose into him and inhaled until my head whirled.
‘How could I not come for you?’ His voice was full of something incredibly sweet. I looked up. He was smiling, just a little bit—like he couldn’t help it, and his eyes were glittery and smouldering. He looked so in love. How could that be for me? It couldn’t—it wasn’t possible. I would wake up eventually. Leif bent his face to mine, sprinkled my eyes and temples with kisses.
‘I thought your father must have stopped you coming.’
‘He could not,’ he whispered, before bringing his mouth to mine, touching softly, nipping at my lips with his. I could taste the salt from my tears, but it soon became lost, consumed along with every coherent thought as all sensation ceased to exist, but for the exquisite tangle of our lips and tongues.
Of course the kiss ended too soon and w
hen I was standing on my own again, Leif said, ‘Come now, Marla, we don’t have much time.’
‘What if we don’t win?’ That nervous feeling that had vanished at the sight of Leif at the window was beginning to nudge at my insecurities again.
‘We will,’ he assured me.
Leif waited in the living room while I dressed and went to say goodbye to my parents. They were fast asleep. I felt an ache in my heart as I watched them. Today was the deciding day. I had no way of knowing if I would be back here in a few hours to stay for good, or if I would be back to prepare for a move to Faera before my eighteenth birthday. I hoped and prayed for the latter. I shook my mother’s shoulder gently.
‘Mum,’ I whispered, then again, ‘Mum.’
‘What is it?’ she murmured as she came slowly to consciousness.
‘Leif’s here. I’m going to Faera for the assembly.’
‘He came?’
‘Just now.’
My mother sat up and ran a hand over her hair before waking my father. ‘We’ll get up,’ she said.
‘Don’t, Mum. Stay in bed. Leif says we have to get going and I’ll be back later to tell you all about it anyway.’ But my parents were already climbing out of bed and reaching for robes and slippers.
‘I’m sure he can spare a moment for a cup of tea,’ Dad said, heading for the kitchen. Mum and I followed him out and sat at the table with Leif. A few minutes later, Dad joined us, placing cups in front of each of us. ‘So tell me, Leif, what exactly will be happening today?’ he asked, watching my betrothed across the table. Mum sat beside my father, silent and sombre. I couldn’t get used to the change in her. That whole feisty thing that had always been as much a part of her as her brown eyes had all but vanished, replaced with a kind of fragility that just didn’t suit her. I wondered if she’d ever go back to normal.
‘Dad, I’ve already told you,’ I said, but my father kept his eyes glued to Leif.
‘The assembly will decide if Marla is to be permitted to make Faera her home.’
‘And after his history of excluding my daughter you believe your father can be trusted to be civilised?’ There was a hard edge to Dad’s voice.
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