The Castle of Wind and Whispers

by Steffanie Holmes

  “Flynn said something weird to me once, back in London at that tower.” Kelly chewed on her lower lip. “He was making up these silly history facts, and he said the monarchy of England practiced polyamory. He was asking me all about it, as if he really cared about my answer.”

  My pulse sped up. “Don’t pay any attention to Flynn. He loves stirring up shite.”

  “I said that being with more than one person was an abhorrence against God.”

  “Do you believe that?”

  She laughed. “It’s what my parents would’ve said. But my parents are dead. My science nerd sister is practicing satanic witchcraft, and her mother’s come back from the dead. There’s other stuff messing up my head… I don’t know what I believe anymore.”

  “It’s okay to not know. It doesn’t make you a bad Christian, or a bad person.”

  Kelly glanced up at the tower. “Seeing Maeve here with all of you guys… she belongs here. I know that, even though all this witchcraft stuff is scary and I don’t understand what’s going on. I don’t want to deprive her of it. I guess I just wish she felt she belonged with me.”

  “I’m sure she does.”

  Kelly shook her head. “Nope. Maeve never belonged. I always tried to include her. I invited her to hang out with my friends, even though no one liked her. She’d come to parties with me and then hide in the corner with a book. I’d drag her to Bible Study class so she’d have something to do, but she’d just get into arguments with the Pastor about evolution.”

  I laughed. “I can imagine.”

  “She was always going to leave,” Kelly said, staring down at the plum she clasped in her hands. “Ever since I could remember she’s been talking about MIT and what her life would be like when she finally escaped Coopersville. It’s hard being a sister to someone like her, knowing she’d choose the stars over you.”

  Kelly squeezed her fingers. Plum juice dribbled between them, staining the front of her dress. I thought about our recent visit to Oxford, how Maeve’s eyes had lit up as she’d explored those learned halls. How at home she’d looked there, because a fancy university like that was her destiny. I understood what Kelly meant, and after talking to her I thought I understood something about Kelly that might never have occurred to Maeve before—

  “What are you two doing out here?”

  I jumped. Maeve stood at the end of the row, her hands folded over her dress – a summery one Flynn had brought her in Avebury, covered with a pattern of twisting vines. It looked like an old woodcut, and I half expected to see the faces of fae peeking out from between the vines.

  “Talking,” Kelly snarled, her voice instantly turning hostile. “Or am I not allowed to talk to anyone else now?”

  Maeve sighed. “I didn’t say that. I came to find you, because I wanted to explain all the things you heard this morning. There’s stuff you need to know so you can stay safe… unless Corbin’s already answered all your questions.”

  Her gaze flicked to mine. I could see she’d been crying. I wanted to run to her and wrap her in my arms, but I knew it was more important she and Kelly talk and figure this out. I shook my head.

  “Unlike everyone else around here, I can actually have a conversation with someone that doesn’t revolve around you,” Kelly shot back. “What do you want, Maeve?”

  “I thought we could talk, like we used to…” Maeve trailed off.

  “That’s rich. You’ve barely talked to me since I got to England, but now that I know your secret you want to pretend to be the perfect big sister. Fuck off.”

  Maeve winced at Kelly’s words. In all the time she’d been with us in England, I’d never once heard Kelly swear. The words sounded strange on her lips, like she wasn’t sure how to form the syllables. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. You weren’t talking to me, either, if you recall.”

  No, Maeve, no, no. That’s not how you make things better.

  Kelly stood. “I’ll be gone soon, so you won’t have to worry about keeping up the lies.”

  “Kelly,” Maeve stepped forward. “Don’t do this. There’s fae out there who are preparing something truly evil. They might come after Jane because of Connor. They might come after you because you’re my sister. You’ll be safer if you’re here and we can protect you—”

  Kelly bent her arm back, her face twisting into an ugly snarl. Before I realized what she was doing, she’d hurled the plum at Maeve. “I don’t want to be protected by you. God will protect me from demons and magic. Go back to your witchcraft and your sinful relationships. There’s no place for me here anymore. As soon as Connor wakes up, I’m leaving with Jane.” Kelly’s voice wobbled over Jane’s name.

  “Kelly—” Maeve rushed forward, plum juice dribbling down her cheek. But Kelly had already disappeared between the trees.

  I opened my arms. Maeve dropped to her knees and toppled into them. Sticky plum juice trickled down her cheek, mingling with her tears so it had this weird sweet and salty taste by the time it rolled over my lips.

  I rubbed circles on her back. “It’s gonna be okay,” I whispered.

  She nuzzled into my neck, the tears drying on her cheeks. I could practically feel the wheels in her head turning, wondering what I might’ve said to Kelly, if I’d told her something that made things worse. My suspicions were confirmed when she sat back, her eyes focused and a little bit pissed. “What did she say to you?”

  “We were just talking, Maeve.”

  “About me.”

  I gave her a nervous smile and held out a plum to her. “No, about the plum harvest.”

  “You heard what she said to me. She hates me.” Maeve waved a hand, rejecting my fruity offering. It made sense, given the sticky red juice now drying on her chin. “I don’t want to talk about her anymore.”

  “Okay.” I grinned, waiting.

  Maeve lasted a full three-and-a-half seconds before she blurted out, “I mean, can you believe her. She’s gone full-on religious nut-job, just like the villagers. What did she say about me?”

  Maeve and Kelly, not that much different.

  This time, I wasn’t playing the game. Maeve needed to see what was going on with Kelly, and I thought I might know a way to get her there. “What do you think’s going to happen after we stop the fae?” I asked.

  “Don’t change the subject.”

  “I thought you said you didn’t want to talk about her anymore?”

  Maeve gave an exasperated sigh. “Corbin, just tell me what she said about me.”

  “Answer the question and I’ll explain.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know about the future. I’ve been too busy trying to stop everything falling apart to think about it. I guess we’ll carry on with our lives here.”

  “So we’re going to stay at Briarwood and do what?”

  “I don’t know! Read books, eat scones, drink tea, watch Arthur beat Flynn to a pulp.”

  I smiled at that. Arthur beating Flynn was definitely a thing that would happen. “So you don’t still have your acceptance letter for MIT sitting on your desk upstairs?”

  She looked away. “I’m not thinking about that now.”

  “Really? Because it feels like something we should think about.” I touched my finger to her chin, pushing lightly to turn her back to face me. Her hazel eyes swam with liquid sadness. “They won’t keep that position open for you forever. It’s your dream, Maeve. You have to go.”

  “And what about Oxford?” she shot back. “I saw the way you looked when we were there, how much you loved the history of the place and debating all those esoteric facts with your dad. You know you could get in, easily. You’re wasting your talents re-reading all the books in the Briarwood library.”

  My face grew hot. Bloody hell, why’d she have to bring that up? “Oxford’s not in my future. I can’t leave Briarwood, Maeve. I can’t ever do that. I made a mistake many years ago, and that mistake binds me to this castle. As long as these walls still stand, I have to be here – a last defense against the fae. The
castle needs me, and Flynn and Arthur and Blake and Rowan need me… especially Rowan. I won’t abandon my post the way my parents did. But you… you’re different. You’re going to space. You’re going to have an amazing life.”

  Maeve’s mouth set in a line, her eyes flashing with determination. “Not without you, I’m not. We’re bound together, the six of us. Briarwood is my home now, and you guys are my family. I’m not running off as soon as the immediate threat is gone.”

  “That’s not what I want,” I sighed. “I love you, Maeve. I don’t want you to be stuck here just because I’m stuck here.”

  “You’re not stuck here, but I don’t know how to make you see that. If you don’t leave, then I can’t leave.” Fresh tears sprung in her eyes. “I’m the High Priestess. I’m responsible.”

  Was she crying because she was sad for me, or crying because she’d just realized what her oath meant she would give up?

  I shook my head. “You can be the High Priestess and an astronaut. I mean, it’s never been done before, but I bet we can make it work. You’ve been waiting for MIT your whole life. I don’t want to trap you here beside me. Kelly doesn’t want that either, even though it might not seem like it.”

  “Corbin, where’s this come from? What’s MIT got to do with Kelly?”

  “Come on, Maeve. You know.”

  She threw up her hands. “I don’t know.”

  “Kelly is jealous of you.”

  Maeve narrowed her eyes. “She’s not.”

  “She is. She’s also mourning the deaths of her parents, and clinging to their religious views as a way to cope.”

  Her laugh raked bitterly against her lips. “Not likely. Kelly’s the bubbly, popular, social one. She’s the pretty one who always says the right thing. There’s no way she’d be jealous of nerdy, dorky, friendless me.”

  “High school doesn’t last forever. All her life Kelly’s been counting down the years and months and days until that MIT letter came in the mail, until you got your ticket out of Coopersville. All this time she’s been listening to how you couldn’t wait to leave so you could start your life for real.”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “So, did you ever think that maybe she felt like she was living in the shadow of your future? That your life with her was just your way of passing time until your real life began? What were Kelly’s plans for post-high school before your parents died? Did she even plan to leave Coopersville?”

  “She…” Maeve looked uncertain. “Of course she could leave. She can do anything she wants. She did leave!”

  “Did she really? Or did she just come here to live in your shadow again?”

  Maeve’s lips pursed. “You’re saying all this is my fault. Kelly can go around saying horrible things about me and that’s fine because she’s jealous of me since apparently my life has been sunshine and rainbows and not a fucking disaster where everyone I love dies or just randomly turns up inside paintings!”

  “I’m saying that Kelly feels as though she’s been living in your shadow, and as long as she’s here at Briarwood, she’s going to feel that way. And that makes her lash out with the Godly bollocks. You keeping secrets from her – however well-intentioned – isn’t helping.”

  Maeve stood up, shoving my hands off her. “I’m trying to keep her safe. I took her on a trip all around England. Hell, I extorted money off her uncle and burned his house down just so she could have a new life. Everything I’ve done has been for her. Well, I’m not doing it anymore. I’m done with her. I know you want to solve everyone’s problems and make us kiss and make up, Corbin, but this is one fight that you should stay way the hell away from.”

  “Maeve, that’s not what I’m saying at all—”

  Too late. She’d stormed off, taking my heart with her.

  8

  MAEVE

  I slammed the kitchen door so hard it split the wooden lintel. Rowan jumped so high he knocked the chopping board off the counter, spraying perfectly-square-cut salad ingredients across the flagstone floor.

  “Maeve.” He dropped to the ground, not looking at me as he scrambled after a rolling tomato. “You scared me.”

  “I’m looking for Kelly,” I growled.

  Rowan’s bottom lip trembled. Corbin burst through the door behind me. “Maeve, I really think you should calm down first—”

  “So, Flynn can practically punch a guy on the street and we buy him a pint, but if I’m upset, it must be because I’m hysterical.” I stormed toward the hall. “Kelly came in a few minutes ago. Where did she go?”

  “In th-th-the Great Hall,” Rowan stuttered. “But Maeve, I wouldn’t go in there—”

  “Why not? It’s where we keep the fainting couch!” I shoved open the heavy wooden door. “Kelly, I want to talk to you—”

  I stopped in my tracks.

  Connor sat in his bouncer on the rug, squealing as he sucked on a rattling giraffe. But it wasn’t the giraffe that had me transfixed. Kelly and Jane sat on the couch, their bodies turned toward each other, their hands raised as they caressed each other’s faces.

  Their lips were locked in a passionate kiss.

  9

  MAEVE

  I stood, frozen, unable to turn away as I watched my kid sister swap saliva with my only female friend in England.

  But… I don’t… how?

  Have I fallen into an alternative universe? Have the fae somehow penetrated the castle and cast a glamour to disorient me?

  Is this… how can this be real?

  Neither of them had noticed me. It was no surprise – what they were doing looked pretty intense, the kind of kiss that stole your breath and left you panting and wet. A kiss that said a hundred things you couldn’t say yourself.

  Do I say something? Do I back away quietly and let them have their moment?

  This is insane. It’s not happening. No way is my pentecostal sister swapping saliva with another women. It’s just not possible.

  I rubbed my eyes, but the sight in front of me didn’t change. It was no hallucination.

  They still hadn’t noticed me. Okay, maybe if I just leave and pretend I never saw anything. I backed toward the door, still unable to tear my eyes away. That’s it. I’ll back out and let them finish and I’ll have it out with Kelly later—

  My leg brushed the side of the coffee table, knocking off one of the game controllers. I winced as it clattered across the flagstones.

  Jane’s eyelids fluttered open. They met mine across the room. She jerked back.

  “Ow,” Kelly complained, pressing her hand against her mouth. “Yah bit mah lip. Wha—”

  Her gaze followed Jane’s across the room until she fixed on me. I expected her to give me that disgusted look she’d had on her face every time she saw some new part of my life she didn’t approve of, but instead, her eyes widened and her cheeks paled. “Maeve, it’s… It’s not what it looks like,” she blurted out.

  “It looks like the two of you were kissing,” I said. “Is that not what happened?”

  Kelly glanced at Jane. Neither of them replied.

  “Did you trip and fall into each other’s lips? Did Jane get stung by some kind of poisonous airborne jellyfish and you had to suck the poison out before she went into anaphylactic shock? Did a fae possess you and force you to act against your will?” I tried to smirk to cover up the fact that was a very real fear right now. How else could I explain this insane behavior?

  Jane looked at Kelly, as if to say, ‘you’re handling this one like we agreed, right?’ As if they had a plan.

  Of course they have a plan, my rational mind screamed. They’ve been sneaking around having a relationship behind your back all this time, and they’ve been talking about you, about how they would handle you, like you’re some wild beast who has to be tamed.

  “Maeve, don’t be angry,” Kelly said, her voice wavering.

  “A bit late for that. How long has this been going on?” I said tersely.

  “A few days, ever since…” Kelly’
s eyes blazed, her body language changing from pleading to pissed off. “Since I saw you doing witchcraft. Since I realized I didn’t know my sister anymore.”

  I glared at Jane. “You swore you wouldn’t say anything to her.”

  “She figured most of it out on her own, Maeve,” Jane said. “She was upset. I was angry at you. You asked me to keep her occupied. One thing led to another. I didn’t tell her anything. I kissed her instead.”

  She reached across to Kelly, clasping her hand in a familiar gesture that made red spots appear in front of my eyes.

  “So all those shopping trips and private lunches, you were sneaking around behind my back?” I demanded. “Who’s the one in a sinful relationship now?”

  “Like you’ve been sneaking around with Flynn? With Corbin?” Kelly shot back. “That’s called hypocrisy, Maeve. I learned all about it from you, remember? From all those lectures you used to give about the evils of organized religion. ‘You don’t need religion to be a moral person’ you said. You’re the biggest hypocrite of all!”

  “That’s not true. I—”

  But Kelly wasn’t listening. “And yeah, Jane and I are… I don’t know. I don’t know anything! I just lost my parents and my home and my sister doesn’t seem to care. I wanted to talk to you, to figure out why I felt the way I do and why I keep doing all these things that don’t make sense… but you’re too busy with your new life to talk. At least Jane listens to me. At least she hasn’t been lying and sneaking around and hurting the people she supposedly loves.”

  “I was trying to protect you!” I yelled, balling my hands into fists. Fresh, angry tears rolled down my cheeks, mixing with the sticky plum juice. “I was trying to save your precious Christian fucking sensibilities from finding out that I can do magic and that I’m fucking all five guys!”

  Oh shit.

  Did I say that?

  Jane gasped.

  Yup. I said that.