“Ditto?”
“Yes. I mean, that was the strangest proposal I’ve ever heard... At least, I think that’s what you were getting at, but yeah. Yes, I want all that, too. With you, obviously.”
“Did you two just admit your feelings, date, and get engaged in half an hour?” Alorna asked. “Because if you did, that’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life!” Ophelia and I both looked toward Alorna, who had been eavesdropping on our entire conversation.
“Boundaries, Alorna. Boundaries,” Nikola said as she dragged her sister toward the moat bridge. The rest of us filed out of the car and took in the scenery. Alorna glanced over her shoulder, her smile still bright and cheerful.
Ophelia shook her head and chuckled, then we followed the others through the drawbridge opening. It closed behind us as we entered a common area, not unlike the main courtyard in Schwarzwald. That, however, was the only similarity between the castles. The Vogel castle was much more open and boasted wide balconies at every level. I wanted to take in more of the structure, but an odd-feeling presence distracted me.
A woman seemed to float across the open space until she stopped in front of Jeanine. The two exchanged pleasantries and quick kisses to either cheek, then Jeanine made introductions.
“Fiona, this is my son, Parker, and his lovely girlfriend, Ophelia.”
Fiona’s smile was almost too sweet, but I thought she must be a good person if everyone trusted her so deeply. She wore a pale pink flowing dress, and her long red hair was tied up into a bun. Fiona pulled me into a hug much stronger than I had expected.
“It is so nice to see you again. It is so strange to see you standing here merely a year or so older than Princess Autumn. She was but a baby when I saw her last but look at her now. My, you are a beautiful woman.” Fiona’s voice was unusual, like the tinkling of a bell.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” I said, but Fiona was too distracted with Ophelia. She observed her as a child might inspect a new toy—with awe and curiosity. Ophelia was uncomfortable. She shimmied even closer to me, pressing the side of her body against mine.
Fiona chuckled. “How time changes things. It brought you closer in age and look at how true your love is for one another.”
Jeanine smiled uncomfortably, likely feeling Ophelia’s anxiety.
“Yes, that is why we came to see you. We were hoping you might be able to fill in some of the gaps in my memory. You spent time searching for me with my sisters, and the time between sending Parker to protect the Reichenbach royals and my disappearance is a blur. In fact, I don’t remember anything from the centuries that passed between my disappearance and growing up in America at all, not even with my son’s return.”
“I’m sure we can remedy some of that confusion. Come, let me show you to my library. But first, who are your friends?” Fiona asked.
“Oh,” Jeanine said, “forgive me. Nikola and Alorna, descendants of my late sisters. They have gone to considerable lengths to help us.”
“Ah, I see. I thought their energy felt familiar.” Fiona turned her back and said, “This way, do hurry.”
We hurried as instructed and ended up in a library I was sure would put the Library of Congress to shame. I wondered why fairies loved their books so much, but Fiona dove right into her questions before any of us was even settled in the room.
“What do you remember, Jeanine?”
“I recall what Rose did to King Archer and Queen Pippa. Who could forget such brutal acts? After that, I sent Parker to protect the twins. Rose cursed them with the Canis Lupus spell before Parker could arrive. I managed to cloak the wolf to keep it latent so they would be protected, but something went wrong. They never made it to the designated location, and I lost track of them. Twelve and I planned to search for them. I went ahead of her to the last location I had, and she promised to follow soon after. I never saw her again. From then on, I remember nothing until growing up in America.”
Fiona squinted. “Do you remember how you ended up with the family that raised you?” Fiona asked.
“No, still nothing in that department. Obviously, my parents adopted me, but I can’t exactly ask them how that came to pass,” Jeanine explained, then glanced at me. “My parents have passed away.”
Fiona nodded. “I suspect you’ve been hammered pretty hard with an amnesia spell. Rose is no match for you at your full power, and I doubt she could have outright killed you. My money, if I were a betting girl, would be on her forcing your memories into the deepest recesses of your mind. In a sense, she forced you to forget your son and your mission.”
“How could she do that without my mother knowing?” I asked.
“It can be done remotely. If she had a possession of Thirteen’s, she could easily enact the spell,” Fiona said.
Ophelia snickered. “That’s convenient. Any ideas about how we ended up together? From what I’ve gathered, everyone who was cursed is on the east coast of America, and most of the families are together, some even crossed paths like Parker and the Vogel sisters.”
“We thought the fairies might have enacted a spell that put them all together. Jeanine’s book alluded to such things, but how would she know to enact such a spell if she had amnesia?” Nikola asked.
“The timeline is impossible to determine. I cannot say for sure if or when Rose placed the amnesia spell on Jeanine, so it is within the realm of possibility Thirteen had communication with her sisters before she disappeared that encouraged them to enact the spell. Come to think of it, Twelve was acting a bit shady when I first met with them to find Jeanine.”
“Shady how?” I asked.
Fiona sat, recalling the time many years ago. “A bit skittish if you ask me. Like she might have hidden something from her sisters. Even so, the remaining fairies created a vision. You can think of a vision as a painting of what you’d like the future to look like. In their minds, if the families reunited in the future, then perhaps their spells would be broken. At the very least, they could be found more easily. The problem with visions is, you cannot put a time stamp on them, nor can you determine with any real accuracy how they will come to pass. They are simply our greatest desires suggested on the future, like a whisper in the ear, so to speak. I have always been skeptical of the magic involved with visions, but it seems to have worked in some ways. It has been six years since the Saliens were found, and many others have been recovered since.”
“So, it wasn’t entirely my fault it took fifteen centuries to find Parker?” Jeanine asked.
Fiona shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. When many fairies and witches cast spells at once, who knows what the results might be? They can cross and have a negative or opposing outcome. There is much that could go wrong.”
“So, your answer is that you have no answers,” I said, feeling like I was on a never-ending carousel—dramatic creatures and all—and it would never stop to let me off.
“Park, she’s trying,” Ophelia whispered, then asked, “Is there a way to see if Jeanine was spelled or whatever you call it?”
“Yeah, like the fairies did for Jordan and you, right?” I asked her, and she nodded.
“I’m afraid a spell like that leaves no identifiable signature. I’m sorry. The best thing we can do is work with what we do know,” Fiona suggested.
“Which is?” I asked, believing we learned nothing.
“That powerful magic is at play here, and the sooner you remember your past, the better we can decipher the future. We may never know exactly what happened among the Thirteen Fairies of Weisserwald, but the result will not change. What happened, happened. Now we must fix it.”
I felt visiting Fiona was a giant waste of time, but Ophelia had a moment of curiosity and asked something completely off-topic. “Do you know what might have happened to Parker’s father?” she asked.
Jeanine got the same guilty look in her eyes again.
“Einar? Oh, well, I know nothing after he went missing, only that he left on exploration and ne
ver returned. Why do you ask?” Fiona questioned.
“I can see he inherited the wings from his mother, but we wondered about the leopard part,” Ophelia said.
“Oh, Jeanine, do you not remember?” Fiona asked.
“No, I... I do not even remember his face, only that he was a brave explorer and was gone before Parker was born.” I hated how difficult it was for her. Everything rested on her shoulders, and she couldn’t remember the most important parts. I knew how she felt. A lot of weight was spread on mine as well, but I figured the memories would come when they were supposed to. Besides, I had a feeling I wouldn’t be so thrilled about them when they did.
“Worry not, we will find a way to restore your memory, my friend. Einar was indeed a brave explorer from Norway. He often—”
“Wait, from Norway?” I asked, confused.
“Oh yes, we’re not German, we fairies. We come from Norway. My sisters and I migrated to Germany after Einar disappeared. We were in search of... of...” Jeanine narrowed her eyes and her brow wrinkled in confusion. “I... I cannot remember. I’m sorry.”
Nikola stepped forward. “You were summoned by the Reichenbachs. That much was in your journal. They requested you come to their kingdom to replace their deceased advisors. The Royals needed help protecting their children, and you were the best option.”
“Oh,” Jeanine said. “I had forgotten that.” Her voice was meek. Wil linked his arm with hers, ever the supportive son-in-law. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn’t know how.
“I guess that doesn’t explain where you got the leopard from, then, does it?” Ophelia asked me. I shrugged, giving up on figuring anything out at that point.
“But it does. Einar was a Jόlakötturinn,” Fiona said. “I do remember that much from what the other fairies told me.”
“A what?” I asked, earning a chuckle from Henry and Felix, who had remained quiet during the entire exchange to that point.
Fiona also chuckled and smiled. “The language is a bit more difficult than German. He was a Jόlakötturinn.”
Ophelia gasped. “I know that name! It was in one of my Norse mythology books! But isn’t that the Christmas Yule Cat or something like that?”
Fiona rolled her eyes. “Yes and no. The Yule Cat was a Jόlakötturinn, but they do not all eat children who did not work hard through the year. I swear, one shape-shifting cat goes homicidal, and a new legend is born. It is true, their kind is ruthless and merciless in battle, but not all were. At any rate, I was told Einar was a good man who happened to shift into a beautiful snow leopard. If what you say is true, then I suspect Parker is a beautiful combination of both parents.”
Ophelia looked up at me. “He is. He’s amazing.”
“I wish I knew more about what happened to him, but his ship disappeared at sea. The Kraken’s probably,” Fiona added as an afterthought.
“Kra... Are you serious?” Wil asked, seeming as surprised by a mythical sea creature as the rest of us even though he’d probably seen more things than he cared to remember in all his years.
“Indeed. You don’t think all creatures of myth live on the land, do you? There are plenty in the water, and still more—”
“In the sky? Like dragons?” Alorna offered.
Fiona seemed taken aback. “I suppose, but those have been extinct for nearly—”
“Nope. We got one,” Wil said. “He broke through our protection spell and attacked Parker and Ophelia before nearly destroying our castle. Now he’s a sedated human in a cell in our prison. He says his name is Ethan and he lives in Savannah, Georgia.”
Fiona blinked a few times, then said, “I’ll just travel back to Schwarzwald with you. I must see this creature you claim is a dragon.”
“I don’t claim it. I know it,” Wil said defensively. I was feeling a bit defensive myself, annoyed that she had nothing more to offer in the way of explaining what happened to my mother or her sisters and frustrated by how dismissive she was.
“It’s true,” Nikola defended. “I saw it with my own eyes. Petra attempted to discover the origins of his curse, but she found nothing.”
Ophelia jumped beside me, her excitement too much to contain. “Wait! What if he’s like Parker or his mom?”
“What do you mean?” Alorna asked.
“What if he wasn’t cursed? Maybe Ethan just is a dragon?”
Alorna shrugged. “I suppose that’s possible. I’m not up to speed on all the dragon lore.”
“Neither am I,” Fiona said. “I apologize if I’ve offended you, Wil. I haven’t slept in... What day is it?”
“Tuesday,” he replied.
“Tuesday! I haven’t slept in three days. I’m utterly spent.” Fiona sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Perhaps I need a rest. I’ll sleep, then travel to Schwarzwald tomorrow. Please keep me apprised of any developments. I am quite interested in the dragon situation. The last dragon to be seen was in Liliental centuries ago. It stands to reason he came from there or is a descendant.”
“I hadn’t thought of that, but it makes a lot more sense than dragons wandering the streets in America,” Nikola said.
“You might be surprised to know what does wander the streets in America,” Fiona countered. “I’ve seen things that would make you shiver, but that is a story for another time. I am sorry you traveled all this way for nothing. Would you care to stay the night?”
“We should go back. We have been here for hours, and our families will be worried. Until the breach in the protection spell is detected I won’t be comfortable away from home for long,” Henry insisted, but his worry was a siren call for danger. He no sooner let the words slip from his mouth, and the guards standing watch in the high towers signaled impending danger.
“Incoming! It’s a... A flying lizard!” he shouted with disbelief.
“Looks like you’ll get to see your dragon after all!” Henry shouted, then ran to assist the guards. Felix began barking orders, and soon the army was prepared.
“Wait!” I shouted, chasing Felix. “It could be like Ethan!”
Felix acknowledged my worry with a new command. “Try not to injure the creature. Aim for the heart to drop it, then leave it be!” I had no idea if that was what caused Ethan to fall and shift or not, but it seemed like a good place to start.
I grabbed Ophelia’s arm and ran. Jeanine shifted immediately and flew over us, shielding us from the incoming monster. Nikola and Alorna wasted no time joining the fight. Their bird forms shadowed us as we ran toward safety. Once inside the protected part of the castle, Wil stopped short and turned to us.
“Go! I’ll stand watch over the princess,” he said.
“You won’t! Where he goes, I go!” Ophelia demanded, then shifted and darted away again.
Wil sighed. “Strong women are amazing, but they do give me ulcers.” He looked back to me, still shocked that my brand-new girlfriend took off directly into danger. “Go ahead. I’ll call Marcus and have him institute a curfew. I worry for the villagers out and about at night,” he muttered as he walked away to place his call.
Strange guy, I thought, then ran back outside, shifted, and chased down my girlfriend.
Jeanine and the sisters were already fighting against the creature, keeping it as far from the humans as possible, but it was a difficult task. One look at it and anyone would know it wasn’t Ethan. At first, I thought he might have escaped and tracked us down, but this dragon was nothing like him. To begin with, it was blue and had much longer horns at the top of its head. It was lithe and slender, easily snaking its way through the onslaught of darts and gunfire. It was longer, more serpentine and had emerald green ridges along its spine from the back of its head all the way down to the tip of the tail. The tail boasted multiple spikes I assumed were used to inflict as much damage as possible upon its prey.
Ophelia stood barking at the massive reptile, and I had no doubt she was cursing the thing two ways from Tuesday. When it lowered its long head and focused on her, she stood her ground. It ope
ned its mouth, prepared to fry her to a crisp. Jeanine swooped into action, diving on top of the dragon’s head. The creature shrieked as she pecked at its eyes, then thrust its head back and threw her off. She caught herself midfall and turned, determined to keep it away from Ophelia. I flew toward her, skidding to a stop beside her just as the dragon curved its long neck back toward Ophelia.
Again, it opened its mouth amid a flurry of arrows that did no good. Nikola, Alorna, and Jeanine banded together, their wings outstretched in an umbrella that covered Ophelia and me. The dragon blew out a burst of flame, and the three birds shrieked in pain.
“No!” Wil screamed, but the damage was done. The three Phoenix birds fell, then a burst of light blinded us all—again.
Chapter Twelve
I heard wolves howling, and other commotion but couldn’t see anything. My mother and the fairies had fallen on top of Ophelia and me, shielding us from the deadly flame of the dragon. Everything was muffled under their cover, but I knew whatever happened couldn’t be good. I shifted under the weight of them, hoping ,I would be more dexterous as a human. I managed to squeeze through an opening between Nikola and Alorna’s arms. They had shifted from their bird forms after sustaining significant burns protecting us. Ophelia followed and nudged Jeanine with shaky fingers. She didn’t move.
Wil kneeled beside us and checked each woman for signs of life. He looked at me, but I could not tell from his expression what he discovered.
“They are alive, but barely. I must get them inside. Can you help?” he asked.
“Yeah, I can carry her,” I said. Wil lifted Jeanine and placed her in my arms. Ophelia motioned toward Nikola, so Wil lifted the fairy and draped her over Ophelia’s outstretched arms. Wil carried Alorna, and we followed him into the castle. Inside I was surprised to find a medical unit fully stocked and ready to triage the women.
“I’ll call Kylie, but in the meantime, her protégés are capable of stabilizing them,” Wil said. I had no idea what a teacher would do for them, but far be it from me to question that which I had only begun to understand. Wil added, “Fiona can help heal them, but I’ll let Heidi know what’s happened so she can prepare. She’s the best healer in the land.”
Autumn Awakens Page 16
