Night Bringer

by Stacey Trombley

  Taking that away from me is worse than me making low marks in class.

  Even my father looks concerned. He doesn’t like to disagree with my mother in front of me—he waits until the sun sets and we head to bed. Even though I can hear every word through our rickety walls.

  “Corolla—”

  Her harsh eyes carve into him. “She can reverse this decision by doing well in her courses. Both at home and communal.”

  My father presses his lips into a thin line. He doesn’t like this any more than I do. Good, at least he’s thinking rationally.

  “That’s final. Now go wash up before our meal.”

  “I’m not hungry,” I say, then march to my corner and hide the rest of the day away.

  TEARS STING MY EYES as I listen to my parents’ whispered conversation during dinner time. Do they really think I can’t hear them?

  First, my mother insists I need consequences and nothing else they could take away would bother me enough for sufficient motivation. My father says keeping me away from the festival could ruin my entire future.

  “If she’s to remain in this court, she needs the magic of the festival, and she needs this community.”

  “She doesn’t need that magic as much as she needs to blend in. Standing out is a danger. Isn’t that what you said?”

  I purse my lips. What does that mean?

  “What do you think is going to happen to her by disobeying a simple lesson?”

  “If we allow her to disobey her lessons what else could she disobey? A willful child in her position is...”

  Does my mother’s voice sound...scared?

  “She doesn’t need the kind of discipline you’re so determined she learns to belong here.”

  “But if she had the power needed—“

  “And you think she has it?” My father spits, cutting her off. “You think she has enough magic to gain attention? Even with the Yareakh’s favor, she’s too weak.”

  I can’t stop the gasp that leaves my throat. My father thinks I’m weak?

  My father thinks I’m weak. I shake my head, tears stinging my eyes.

  “Neither you nor I are impressive in our magical abilities,” my mother says in a lower tone. “We always assumed she would be the same but...”

  “You’re being paranoid, Corolla. She isn’t that strong that we need to worry. We need to allow her to follow through with the cultural rites or... or come up with a new plan. Perhaps with a pairing, she could have a chance—”

  “With what pairing? The Windshade boy? What happens if she’s matched with him again?”

  My father sighs. “He would be a good match.”

  “Yes, it’s a good match and usually I’d be thrilled for that potential but he’s the strongest boy in town. And she may blend in fine if we allow her to follow the path she’s on. But what about her children?”

  My father sighs. “So then what? We suppress her? For how long? To what end? I thought we’d decided not to find her a match elsewhere. Have you changed your mind?”

  I gasp. A match elsewhere? He couldn’t possibly mean to another court, could he?

  “We did agree.” My mother’s voice goes lower, a whisper as soft as the wind. “But... well, I don’t know. Perhaps we should consider it.”

  I peek over the shelf to see my father nod slowly.

  No.

  “I still have connections,” he says so lowly I’m not sure if I’m hearing him correctly. He can’t possibly be saying what I think he is. “If we keep her from the next rite, we will have time to see if something can be done.”

  “She’ll fight it.”

  “She will. We have time to figure it out. Time to convince her it’s her best option.”

  Chapter Three

  My eyes are dry and burning even hours later when a tapping noise rouses me from an uncomfortable sleep. I groan and rub my face. I’d fallen asleep on the threadbare blanket in my small reading nook. I have a cot in the corner of the main living area, but I could never muster the motivation to move, even hours after my parents went to sleep. I wanted to hide forever.

  Another tap tap tap sounds from across the room. A fluttering shadow appears beyond the window closest to my sleeping area. I tiptoe over to the far wall, pressing my back against it and beside the window in question.

  Scratch, scratch. More fluttering.

  Is that a... bat?

  I let out a light chuckle, hoping my theory is correct because it’s a lot less freaky than the other images floating around in my mind.

  I hold out my hand, and sizzling smoke magic twists into the form of a bat of my own. My bat flutters around the window inside the house. The bat outside matches his movements, lightning fast. Upper right corner, halfway down then back up, left corner, center, bottom middle—each movement matched perfectly. I sit and watch for longer than necessary, amazed at his quick reflexes.

  My lips curl into a grin, and I suddenly remember my very likely bloodshot eyes and messy hair. I run my fingers through a few knots, but that’s the best I can do for the moment. Then I slip out the front door and into the darkness beyond.

  “SHE GRACES US WITH her presence!” an amused, husky voice whispers to the bat on his shoulder.

  “What are you doing, Kayne?” Not that I’m bothered by the intrusion. It’s a welcome distraction.

  “I... just wanted to see you.” He smiles, bright teeth with sharp edges exposed. His hair is dark and curly, his skin darker than mine by several shades.

  “Oh?” I tilt my head innocently. Kayne and I are not exactly friends. We’ve interacted a time or two but nothing remarkable other than our kiss nearly a year ago.

  He’s nice to me. And I like his mischievous smile. That’s about as far as our relationship goes. So, this is something new.

  He shrugs, a dimple forming in his cheek as he suppresses a smile.

  “What’s going on?” I ask, rocking back on my heels. There something alluring about Kayne. He’s handsome and strong, and I like the look he gets when he’s getting ready to do something rebellious. But I’d never had a desire to be matched before. With anyone.

  Generally speaking, fae live their lives normally, dating and flirting and whatever else with whoever they desire. There is no prompting or pressure to find a mate, especially because it’s fairly rare. If a magical connection is suspected between two lovers, they’d go together to a match maker to have their mating bond confirmed and solidified.

  Sometimes they walk away disappointed. They may or may not marry anyway.

  Some fae are obsessed with finding their mate. But to me? Love is fun. Nothing more than a game, for now. One day I want to have a sweeping romance, maybe even with babies. But... not now. I have hundreds of years to live. I don’t want that life now.

  But then again, if I were to be matched with Kayne next week, my father wouldn’t really send me to another court, right? I purse my lips as I ponder this. That conversation still confuses me. It was almost like they didn’t want me matched with Kayne but I assume I had to have misunderstood because that doesn’t make sense.

  If they were to think I was mated with a shadow fae...

  “Just wanted to make sure everything was okay. You seemed upset leaving class today. That zero is meaningless, you know that right?”

  I sigh. “Yes, I know that. My parents—”

  “Ahh.”

  “My mom was so mad, she threatened to not let me go to the Yareakh festival.”

  He blinks. “Wow. That’s strong.”

  I cross my arms. “Luckily, my dad isn’t quite so insane, and I think I can talk sense into him.”

  “That’s good. It would suck to be left at home. Hopefully you can change their minds.” He smiles hopefully. “Did you hear about the Luminescent ball?”

  I shrug. I had, but my mind is elsewhere. I don’t really care about some other court’s ball.

  “The Luminescent Court ball? They’re not inviting any Shadow Courtiers. None, not even the queen.”

/>   I sniff. “Yeah, I heard about it.”

  He nods absently. “It’s sad how low we’ve fallen. Sometimes I wish...” He shakes his head.

  “Wish what?” I ask, suddenly curious.

  “Do you ever wish you lived somewhere else?” he asks, eyes cast to the ground.

  My stomach sinks. “Why would I wish that?” The Shadow Court is my home. I love it here. Poor or not, I couldn’t even imagine becoming something else. If I were to be sent away to another court, my eventual children would soak in the magic of element around them—meaning they wouldn’t have shadow magic like me.

  “Nothing,” he says, shaking his head quietly.

  “If anything, I’m afraid of that.”

  Kayne tilts his head, eyebrows pulled down like he’s confused. Like I’m some kind of strange creature he’s never seen before. Annoyance stirs in my gut.

  “My uncle... well, he married his own daughter off to another court. I have a cousin out there that I’ve never met. Family, who didn’t have the chance to become a full Shadow Court citizen before her father pushed her into a marriage to some fool in the Glistening Court.”

  I wonder if she was like me. If she loved it here, poor or not. If she wanted to live her life in the court of shadows, and that’s why she married before her rites of passage, before she had the independent to say no.

  While forced marriages are frowned upon these days, they happened a lot in the past. Once the rites of passage are complete, though, fae are considered adults. Adults have more choices, and couldn’t be forced to marry.

  Kayne takes in a long breath. “Yeah, I guess that could be kinda scary. But there’s some good to it. Your children would be different elements, but they’d have better opportunities, right?”

  My mouth falls open.

  “Oh, I mean, don’t think I want you to leave. I really don’t. It’s just... hard to think this is all there is.”

  “Why does it have to be? This town isn’t the only Shadow Court village. There are places to explore and trades to learn that are really important.”

  “Yeah. I guess I mostly just hope to find my mate one day,” he side eyes me, “and she’ll probably be from the Shadow Court.”

  I nod absently, not even listening anymore.

  My parents sometimes talk about mates—they’re mates, after all. The same magic that rushes through our veins sometimes chooses a pairing for us. It’s a sacred thing in our culture. A lot of the time, fated mates are chosen within the same court. I suspect, that’s mostly because we are most likely to meet those from our own court. How many fated mates are out there that simply never meet? Or they meet long after they’ve made their own partner choices. No one ever talks about that—but it has to happen, right?

  “I guess it’s better we stay,” he says, shuffling his feet. “I don’t know if I’d want to be the weakest fae in a new court.”

  I tilt my head. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you think either of us could stand up to the ruling court fae? Those princes and other royals... their magic is so much greater than ours.”

  I clench my jaw, unsure if I even believe that. “Only because they made us weak.”

  He shrugs. “Maybe. Forced breeding, or whatever they want to call it. But it doesn’t matter why it’s true, it’s true. It’s a good thing we weren’t invited to that ball. They’d look down on us, and we wouldn’t be able to do a thing to prove them wrong.”

  I pull in a sharp breath. Kayne couldn’t possibly be my mate. He’s too much of a coward. “Speak for yourself,” I spit. “We can’t ever make our court better if we just give up!”

  He pauses, eyeing me. “You really think there’s hope for us to regain power? You think you’re that strong?”

  I bite my lip. Sometimes, yes.

  “You’re not. You’re not strong enough to fix our messed-up court.”

  I clench my hands into fists.

  “No one is strong enough for that,” he tells me. Then he walks away, leaving me alone with my anger.

  Chapter Four

  The next day, I obey every word out of Madam Romor’s mouth. I make boring magic, avoiding anything impressive because that annoys her.

  I sit in the grass, eyes cast low. I avoid Kayne’s prying gaze until it’s my turn to showcase my magic in front of my peers and my stuck-up teacher.

  My smoke drops solidly into a raven, sitting on my wrist, stoic and unblinking.

  “Is it even alive?” someone in the back whispers.

  “Send it to the sky, Caelynn.”

  I blink but hold back my sharp response—no one else had that instruction—and my bird flutters from my wrist gracefully, soaring into the clouds above, never to be seen again. I find myself watching the spot her silhouette was last seen, wishing I could go with her.

  “CAELYNN!”

  I walk faster, trying to escape the meadow before Kayne can catch up. A hand grabs my upper arm and pulls me to face him.

  “Ow,” I mutter under my breath.

  “Sorry, you wouldn’t stop.”

  “Yeah, that was purposeful.”

  “I’m sorry about last night, okay? I was a jerk. I didn’t mean to call you weak.”

  I cross my arms, face showing no break in my anger. It wasn’t even that—well it was, but even more because he put down something I’m really proud of. The Shadow Court.

  I know it’s weak. I know it doesn’t have a lot of magic—take it from a countess living in a tiny cottage without even a bathroom inside. But I believe we have to fight for it, or it’ll only get worse.

  I love shadow magic. I love the Whisperwood. I love the Yareakh festival. I love the Shadow Palace, even if it is barely standing on what little power we have left.

  We were once one of the strongest and most influential courts of the magical world. There has to be a way to rebuild what was stolen from us. That massive onyx castle is evidence of our glorious history. It’s huge and old and magnificent. Just as magnificent as any of the ruling courts.

  One day, I’ll visit it, I promise myself. One day, I’ll look my queen in the eye, and she’ll welcome me as a daughter. As a daughter of the Shadow Court. Once I do that, no one can take it away from me.

  “I know I failed miserably,” Kayne continues, “but I was trying to be nice. I wanted...” He bites his lip, hair falling into his eyes, and he swipes it back. “I think you’re really cool. I mean...”

  “Now really isn’t a good time, Kayne.” I walk past him, but he hurries ahead and cuts me off again. Really?

  “Do you want to meet up again? Please? I’d like to make up for my blunder.”

  I sigh. “Sure,” I say dismissively. It’s not going to get him far, not after how he hurt me. He doesn’t even understand how. Or why.

  “Not tonight though,” he says quickly, eyes cast over his shoulder. “Tomorrow maybe?”

  “What’s tonight?” I ask, noticing the way his eyes widen. There’s something significant about tonight.

  He looks over his shoulder. “N-nothing.”

  My eyebrows pull down, officially interested in this conversation for the first time. Kayne has a secret? My stomach flutters at the thought of unraveling it. In the Shadow Court, secrets are our way of life. We seek them out and hoard them like treasure.

  Behind Kayne, a larger adolescent male stands with his arms crossed, annoyed and eyeing Kayne as if silently yelling at him to hurry up!

  “Not even in the middle of the night like last night?” I ask him.

  He purses his lips. “No. My parents will notice if I’m out again.” He flinches, only slightly.

  Lie.

  Nan once told me humans believe that fae cannot lie. At first, I thought it was a silly rumor. Our culture values manipulation so this seemed a contradiction. But over time, I came to realize there is some truth to it.

  Direct lying is... uncomfortable. I read once that our magic is pure, and it is incompatible with outright untruths. It’s like a squeeze to the gut when we
lie outright. That often shows on inexperienced fae’s faces. Some fae become good at hiding it. Others—it’s clear as day.

  Something is happening tonight, I decide. My lips curl into a smile. “Alright. Tomorrow night, then?”

  His eyes light up. “Yes. That’s perfect. I’ll find you, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  I watch as he scampers off to meet his friend—a boy I’ve never seen in class before. Is he already an adult? No, I’d recognize anyone who’s matured in the last few years, and he has the distinct chubby cheeks of an adolescent, so he can’t be more than a few years older.

  His eyes are dark with flecks of gold, which tells me he’s definitely Shadow Court. Is he from another village?

  I turn on my heel and march through town, eyes wide open, watching for anything out of the ordinary. I reach the far end of the market before I notice another potential stranger. My town holds a few hundred fae but we are right on the edge of the Whisperwood, the most iconic part of our court. So, we do get a good number of travelers. Perhaps that’s all there is to the new boy. Or maybe it’s something else.

  The Whisperwood also hosts two of the three Shadow Court rites of passage—tests one must pass to become an adult. Each is held like an event where all the near-adult fae ready to make the transition group together. Some of our leaders walk them through the tests. Each takes place once a year. The Black Gate event happened a few months ago, but the Cave of Mysteries has yet to happen.

  The actual rite remains a secret until after its complete—in part to stop younger fae from trying to join in without permission. Their parents or teacher need to approve their participation. They also take place in the middle of the night.

  All of my clues fit.

  A stirring in my gut tells me that tonight's the night. Tonight, Kayne will complete his second rite of passage before I even complete one. My parents weren’t even going to tell me about it. If I miss this one, I won’t be able to do one for at least six months. That’s six months they could use to find me a match in another court.