by A E M
“Sure.”
“I don’t have time, Lottie.” Beau argued.
“You will make time.” Charlotte replied. “You are nearing exhaustion and you need to tell me what is going on.” She gently tugged him towards the couch. “Please, let’s sit. Everything is off for me right now.”
Beau nodded at the guards. “Get yourself something to eat, as well. We have a long night ahead of us.”
“I’ll see to them.” Bouldershaker said. “Follow me, ladies.”
David returned with a plate of food. He and Charlotte sat quietly while Beau ate. Vincent returned with the clothes in a bag. Beau handed Vincent his plate when he was done. Vincent and David exchanged a glance, and then Vincent left the room. Charlotte kept her eyes on Beau’s face. She didn’t need a bond to know that he needed her reassurance right now. She tucked her hand in his and squeezed his fingers.
Beau winked at her, and then turned to David. “I’m told you can find a certain weaver named Kael who can destroy these clothes.”
“Destroy them?” Charlotte leaned forward. “Why?”
“He can be hard to pinpoint, but yes.” David said at the same time. He raised his eyebrows at Charlotte.
“Uh, no.” She flashed her eyes at him. “I get it, but you are my brother. You said you wanted a brother sister relationship, and that’s what you will get. Interrupting and all.” She leaned forward. Beau sat back. “That also means that you are not in charge of me. You don’t get to threaten me.”
“What?” Beau looked at David.
David quickly filled Beau in on Charlotte’s day.
“Charlotte, it’s going to go faster and easier if you listen.” Beau started. “I never would have been allowed to pull any of that as an apprentice.”
“I’m just warning you both right now that I have to put up with him, but I’m not going to put up with it from either of you!” She placed a hand over her stomach, calmed her face, and sat back on the couch.
David chuckled. “Fine, Lottie. But you remember that we can both tattle.”
She glared at him. Vincent entered the room.
Beau sat back up. He placed his hand on her hands and squeezed. “The clothes are magnifiers. They were designed to kill you.” He tucked her into his side. “There is a price on your head and Ebby’s.”
Charlotte gasped. “What about—?”
“Father and I were at the fairy border lands tonight.” Beau said. “Father was attacked after—” He paused and swallowed hard.
“Is he okay?” Charlotte asked impatiently.
“I think so. I must finish this mission before I can check on him.”
“Beau, can I come with you? I should be there for him.”
“No.” Beau and Vincent said at the same time.
Charlotte stood and walked away from them. How dare they!
“I have to leave, Charlotte.” Beau caught her arm and swung her around. “I don’t have time to quarrel with you and neither Vincent nor I are going to change our answer. It is too dangerous for you to travel with me tonight.”
“Why?”
“Caramia.” He kissed her. “Leander and Laila were executed, along with your parents.”
“No.” She heard the sharp intake of breath from David and the sound of his knees hitting the floor. She saw Vincent as he kneeled next to him and put his arm around his shoulders. She watched the stony faces of the bronze eagle guards as they watched over the room, and the softened lines of Bouldershaker’s face as she looked at Charlotte. She smelled the blood and sweat and dirt on Beau, and saw the bits of foliage stuck in his wings. She stepped back from him.
“I am so sorry, Lottie.” He said. “I want you with me, but I have to finish my mission, and I won’t risk your safety.”
“Your mission?”
“David and I will find a Uniweaver who can destroy the clothes and possibly tell us more about them before he does.” He pulled her back to him. “I plan to have us both back in the morning.”
Charlotte trembled. She wanted to stay in his arms. She wanted to mourn. She wanted to go with him. She wanted to yell at him. She wanted to yell at David and Vincent. She wanted to go home. She gasped for air. Beau held her tighter and rocked her side to side. “I am so sorry. I would rather stay.”
“Be safe.” She kissed him. “I love you.”
“I love you.” He dug his fingers into her waist and kissed her neck. “As soon as I can, I’ll bend Vincent’s arm and get us a weekend to spend together. Deal?”
She nodded.
Beau kissed her again, then grabbed her hand and led her back to the rest of the group. He held his hand out to David. “We traveled here by portal.” Beau said. “Have you been to our home before?”
“No.” David reached for Beau’s hand and stood up.
“It might be frightening at first.” One of the guards said. “Stay close to us. Most of the time we catch people as they fall before they collide with the side of the mountain.”
David paled for a moment, then slapped on his normal smile. “Sounds fun.” He hugged Charlotte. “I’m sorry, little sister.” He whispered. “Be strong. I’ll see you soon.”
“I’m sorry, too.” She whispered back.
“Take care of her.” Beau said to Vincent. “David and I should be the ones to do it, but since we can’t, you’ll have to do.”
Vincent matched Beau’s stare. “Do your job. I’ll do mine.”
“Boys.” David interrupted. “Corners, please.”
Beau stepped forward and kissed Charlotte once more. “I’m sorry, Caramia.” He whispered into her ear. He stroked her neck before he stepped back and the six of them hurried back to the hallway.
Charlotte stumbled to the couch and sat down. She settled her head on the armrest and took several deep breaths.
Bouldershaker set her hand in front of Charlotte’s face on the armrest. “I know this is a bad time, but I still have something to show you two and the timing is best tonight.” She tapped the couch gently, and then walked to her office door. “Come in when you are ready.”
Vincent took a step closer. Charlotte placed her hand over her stomach. “It still feels a little weird when you move.”
“It will pass.” He closed the distance. “This is a push through it kind of pain.”
“I’m furious with you.” She spat out. “But you know that, don’t you?”
“I do.” The bond between them pulsated. Her side twitched and jumped and pulled. His side flowed and smoothed.
“Let’s see what she wants.” She didn’t want to fight. She didn’t want to mourn.
He offered his hand. She walked past him.
Bouldershaker beckoned them to follow her through a coat closet near her entry that led to another door hidden behind some shelves full of purses and shoes. They walked down a spiral staircase to a hallway full of identical doors. The lights were dim and the only sounds they heard were their own footfalls. Bouldershaker led them to the end of the hallway where they stepped into another closet and she pulled a panel out of the floor. They climbed down a ladder into another closet, which opened into of another long hallway. This hallway was busy with nurses and a doctor and medical equipment.
“Hoyden, I thought it was important to share this with you. This is where we kept the runaway slaves when they first came to us.” Bouldershaker said. “From time to time we keep other people in need of a home. That night when you came, dens all over the country tried to save as many fauns as we could using temporary portals we have on hand for emergencies like this.”
“Oh, Bouldershaker.” Charlotte said. “I would kiss you if I could.”
The tiny woman winked. “And you haven’t seen what’s in room 36 yet.”
Charlotte took off down the hall. She sped down the left hallway after checking the signs, and then stopped at the frosted glass door. Did she dare guess who was behind the door? Did she dare get her hopes up? She slid open the door. Phoebe smiled at her from one of the beds.
> “Phoebe!” Charlotte cried out. She slammed into the end of the bed, and caught herself before she threw herself on the faun. “I thought you were dead!”
“Ugh, settle down, emotional twit!” Phoebe scolded, but there was a grin on her face. “You thought those nasty creatures would get the best of me?”
“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did anybody else from the castle survive?” She looked at the second bed in the room, which was rumpled.
Chime walked in the room from the bathroom door. “Charlotte.” She hurried over and sat on the bed next to Phoebe.
“Chime!” Charlotte grabbed each of their hands, thankful that she was wearing gloves. “Oh, my friends.” She let their hands go and wiped her eyes. “I thought I had lost you all.”
“I see you’ve been reunited.” Bouldershaker said as she and Vincent entered the room.
Charlotte turned to Bouldershaker. “Why couldn’t Alcott or Barnabas tell me? They have known this whole time, haven’t they?”
“Yes, they were the ones who rescued them. Our practice of offering shelter is known to only a few outside of our dens. We don’t tell just anybody, even if they are involved.”
“My family doesn’t even know I’m alive.” Chime said sadly.
“And you cannot tell them.” Bouldershaker said. “At least not yet. We are still trying to evaluate the plan behind this.” She looked up at Charlotte. “I brought you here because I felt like you were responsible enough to handle this secret. Was I mistaken?”
“No, I won’t say a word.”
“Not even to Beau?”
“No, not even to Beau.” She said firmly. She already had practice in that department. If she was correct about her growing suspicions, so had he.
“The others? Are they all alive?” Charlotte asked.
Chime shook her head. “The portal was destroyed after Phoebe and I went through.” She took deep breath. “We still have no news of Spindle either way. He was supposed to come through right after us with another injured faun. Alcott says they have not identified a body that could be his.”
“I’m so sorry, Chime.” Charlotte said. She wanted to hug her friend. She wanted to cry. She wanted to mourn. But she kept it all under lock and key. She would have to act insensitive so she could get through. The truth was that she was happy to see her friends, but the timing was awful. She wanted to scream. She felt torn inside. Here were her very alive friends who were moments ago dead to her. Her parents were dead. Were they? Would she see the bodies? She hadn’t seen Chime’s body. And Beau and Vincent wouldn’t let her see Wilder so she could talk to him and confirm the story. She turned to Vincent and glared. She didn’t know what or how much he was catching of her feelings, and she didn’t care that she was openly glaring at him.
“We will find out what happened.” Phoebe wrapped her arm around Chime and looked back at Charlotte. “There’s something else you should know.”
Charlotte turned her attention back to her friends and pushed the brewing anger down inside.
Chime’s face fell. “Father has put up a barrier outside every night. The night of the attack it was taken down right before the attack. Charlotte, there may be a traitor in the castle amongst our own.”
“No!” Charlotte stood and stumbled back.
Bouldershaker shut the room door. “Hoyden. Calm yourself. Many of the fauns still startle easily after their experience.”
Charlotte sat back down on the end of the bed. “I don’t understand. Our hobs love us. And those creatures had weapons to get through magic.”
Vincent stood behind her. He placed his hand on her upper back, but she stiffened, and he let his hand fall.
“I hate this.” Charlotte whispered. “Everything I thought I knew has been shattered.”
“Hoyden, I thought you’d be happy to see your friends.”
“Oh, I am.” Charlotte said. “I am indebted to you.” She whispered. “I am so happy.” She was. The happiness was there with the rest, and all at once it all broke open. She sobbed into her hands. “And I am so sad.” She thought of her parents and of all of the loss she had seen recently. “And I am so mad.” She looked up at Vincent. Her skin rippled with heat. She closed her eyes. There was a snap and a twist and an implosion of magic.
Charlotte opened her eyes, looked around, and shivered. Her skin was glowing again, but now everything was gigantic. Four loud voices filled the air. She could hear parts of their words, but it was all so different. She crouched down on the sheet. The bond. It was still there. She tugged at it and the deep voice stopped speaking. A large hand lowered in front of her. Charlotte cautiously stepped onto the familiar leathery-gloved palm and sat down. She closed her eyes as the room changed as the hand lifted her up and held her against a pocket. She threw her legs over the edge of the fabric and she slipped in. She held her arms against the sides of the fabric as it swayed back and forth. Finally, the swaying stopped and the top of the pocket grew larger and shone light down on her skin.
“Coming out?” The loud voice asked. A single finger slowly dropped into the space. Charlotte stepped onto the curled end and held tight as the finger moved back up slowly and deposited her on a bed.
“You are going to need to change back soon.” The voice boomed again.
She looked up at the giant Vincent. How was she supposed to change back? She sat down on the blanket and curled up, her head rested on her arms that rested on her knees. She jumped when his gloves landed beside her on the bed.
“Sorry.” He picked her up and placed her on the palm of his hand. She froze. “It’s okay.” He said. “I don’t think you will burn me right now.” He placed his other hand by the first and settled them on his knees.
“Can you speak to me like this?” He asked.
“I don’t know.” She said. Her voice was louder than she thought possible.
“I can hear you well.”
He carried her to the bathroom mirror and straightened his hands out in front of it. “Look at yourself.”
Charlotte crawled to the tips of his fingers and sat down on them next to the mirror. “I was a fairy once before.” She whispered as she reached out and touched the mirror.
“Yes, but I messed up that time. This is our do-over.” Vincent replied softly. “Now,” he carried her back to the bed. “We need to deal with other things tonight. Change back.” He set her down on the bed.
“I don’t know how.”
“How did you do it before?”
She felt the heat spreading across her face.
Vincent looked away. “Well then, I guess you know what to do.”
Charlotte thought of Beau. Of doughnuts and flying and the strength of his arms. The returning snap was more comforting and less painful this time.
“Alright, first of all, if you are still angry with me, the time to do be so is now.” Vincent sat down beside her.
“Why didn’t you make the bond equal between us from the beginning?”
“That’s not how it works.” He leaned back on the bed. “Don’t give me that look. I know you are an adult. I take that into consideration, but I wanted to wait until I got to know you and you had settled in a bit first.”
“Why didn’t you at least tell me about it?”
“When has there been the time?” He sat back up and shrugged. “Between the attack and you testing me every half an hour, I haven’t had time to breathe.”
“Sorry.”
He shook his head. “I wanted to tell you earlier this evening. I could tell that you could sense something. I knew that it wouldn’t be long, but I didn’t know that it would happen tonight.”
“I understand.”
He tapped his feet on the floor. “Now, are we okay?”
“Yes.”
“Good. About your parents.”
“Leave it be.” She stood up and walked across the room. “I need to be alone tonight.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s the best idea, all things considered.”
/>
“I don’t want you here. Beau, yes. David, okay. Only because he’s losing a parent, too. I don’t know you well enough to want you around while I’m grieving.”
“I’m going to know anyway.” He said. “I feel it even now.”
Charlotte focused on the bond. She felt the pathways, back and forth between them. “No wonder David cares for you how he does. It would be hard not to care about somebody if you are connected like this.”
“That’s why your father designed it. I feel what you feel. You feel what I feel. It keeps us accountable to each other.”
“But we shouldn’t be connected like this. Not as adults.” She picked at the blanket on the bed.
“It won’t be much more awkward than it is when an apprentice is going through puberty.” He said and rubbed his forehead. “Believe me.”
She laughed. “Let’s revisit this conversation after my wedding night, shall we?”
“Point to you.” He said. “But you could pull most of the bond over that night so you can have some privacy. I suppose that would be a good compromise between us.”
Charlotte laughed. “Do I have to ask permission then every time? What a downer. Hang on, Beau. Put those sexy arms back by your side until I can—”
“Stop it.” Vincent stood and turned. His face was nearing the red of his hair. “No you will not have to ask permission for that circumstance. Now moving on.” He crossed to the bookshelf and ran his fingers over the spines of the books.
Charlotte looked at the bond. The pulsing reminded her of a heartbeat. “Will it be broken if I decide not to finish the apprenticeship?”
“No, in the cases where either person gives up, the bond remains, always as a reminder that what is started must be finished.”
“That seems harsh.” She scooted back on the bed to sit against the headboard.
“It’s effective.” He sat down next to her. “I’m sorry about the clothing and the fairies.”
“I am, too.” She whispered. Would it hurt him to let her keep up the distractions? The corner of his mouth twitched in and out of a tiny smile. She sat back against the headboard and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “This is maddening.”
