Were we?
I sat on the floor, hugging my knees, watching Tyler. He was still staring at the Slayer he had killed. He had nothing to be ashamed of. When needed, he had stepped up. I, however, had completely froze.
I was a coward.
On the drive back to town, snow began to fall heavy and thick, making our vision limited and the road slick. The wet snowflakes clung to the remaining leaves on the sagging tree branches.
Tyler stayed behind with Penelope to “clean up” while Daylan and the twins drove me to the café. The drive was slow and quiet. Each time I closed my eyes, I would have a flash back of someone being sliced with a sword and blood dripping slowly as if from a faulty water tap.
Drip, drip, drip.
The final breaths. Those lifeless eyes. That blue color signaling the beginnings of decay.
I felt nauseous, the nape of my neck grew dewy from sweat. I eyed my jean jacket covered in Slayer blood—I wanted to burn it. I wanted to forget all I had just witnessed.
The necklace lay still on my slowly beating chest, cold against my warm skin. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been trying to tell me something before those Slayers arrived. I wanted to ask Daylan, or even Penelope, but I couldn’t.
“So, this is the café,” Ezra said, looking around curiously after I let them inside.
Daylan eyed the lights hanging from the exposed wooden beams on the ceiling. Fay held gauze to her wound while she and Ezra stood in front of the chalkboard reading the messages of love and hope left by strangers over the years.
“It’s under renovations right now because of the fire, but we open again in a few days. In the meantime, you guys can stay here. There are a few couches you can sleep on,” I said, pointing out the furniture, my voice still shaky. “You guys do sleep, right?”
Ezra chuckled. “We aren’t demons.”
“Yes, we sleep,” Daylan said empathetically. “Thank you, for letting us stay.”
“You’re welcome,” I smiled sheepishly. “I guess if you hear anyone like Linda or Tosh, make sure you don’t let them see you. Fay, can I check your wound again?” I asked, pulling a chair out for her.
Fay took off her tattered shirt. I didn’t have any first aid training, but I spent enough time in hospitals with wounds of my own to know that she needed stitches. Besides jeans, she wore only a lace bralette over her small chest. She had a warrior’s body with muscles strong and defined in all the right places, but she was still soft and feminine. A beautiful contradiction.
She sat down and dabbed indifferently at the gash in her stomach. “This is new for me,” she said.
“You’ve never been wounded in battle before?” I asked sitting down across from her.
“In Empress, faeries heal themselves,” she explained.
I nodded, wondering if I would ever get used to the strange happenings of this new world, and went to work cleaning her wound with alcohol. She barely flinched. Her hand only slightly tightened around the chair when the needle sliced through her pale skin. I think I was more nervous than she was. I would look at her after each stitch to see if she was okay, but her face didn’t reveal any weakness.
Ezra looked more anxious now. The adrenaline from the fight was beginning to wear off. His eyes were wide, and he flinched when the needle punctured a new part of his sister’s skin. I wondered if, as her twin, he could feel her pain. He left the room with Daylan before I finished.
“There,” I said with the last stitch, “that should heal all right. Just make sure you keep the wound clean, okay?”
“Thank you, Swayzi.” Fay sounded sincere.
“You’re welcome. Thank you …for saving my life.”
“Your father—Oren, do you know what he is named after?” she asked.
“No, I don’t.”
“His name stems from the word Orenda—a mystical force present in all people. This force empowers them to effect change in the world, or sometimes, in one’s own life.”
That really was an inspiring thing to be named after. I thought about telling her who I was named after, but I doubted she knew who Patrick Swayze was. What a shame.
“Orenda is present in all people, Swayzi,” she emphasized. Her big blue eyes were intense and alluring. For the first time, I really understood what Penelope meant; faeries were hypnotizing. Each small fleck of blue in her eyes sparkled like stars on a dark night, drawing me closer.
I wasn’t sure how long I had been staring at her eyes when Daylan gently touched my shoulder. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked. He had changed out of his blood-soaked clothes and into a white t-shirt and jeans.
“Um, sure,” I said, shaking the trance away. It had been an odd moment between Fay and me. I knew she only ever spoke with purpose, and my clouded mind tried but failed to make sense of her last statement.
I lead Daylan through the doors to the kitchen, and he touched his hand to my lower back, sending shivers up my spine. I looked over my shoulder through the swinging door and saw Ezra and Fay whispering intently to one another.
“How are you feeling?” Daylan asked.
“Are you hungry?” I countered, changing the subject. I knew I couldn’t answer his question. The thought of even trying to process how I felt made me cringe.
His eyes narrowed, catching my sudden need to avoid the question. He leaned against the new stove with his arms folded, searching for a tell. “Are you?” he asked.
My stomach rumbled. “I could eat a sandwich.” I shrugged.
I took off my jean jacket and threw it on the floor.
Daylan smirked when he saw my shirt—a red and white baseball tee with big red lips and vampire fangs. In bold black letters it simply read MADNESS.
How fitting.
“What is a sandwich?” Daylan asked.
At first, I laughed, thinking he was trying to lighten the mood with a silly joke. His expression was so innocent, I realized he was serious.
“I’m sorry—you have never eaten a sandwich?”
“Our worlds are similar, Swayzi, but still very different.”
“What is your world like?” I asked as I began to make Daylan’s first sandwich, along with sandwiches for the rest of the group.
“It’s breathtaking.” His eyes lit up as he spoke. “Your world is beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but it’s so enormous. Everything here is on such a large scale: the buildings, the houses, the traffic—I can’t imagine what a large city would look like.” His eyes widened.
“In Empress, we live very simply, almost as a part of nature. The trees are large and overgrown. Moss hugs them like a shield. The waterfalls are beautiful, forming rainbows when the sun shines brightly.” He was using his hands to talk. “And the flowers are something you have to see for yourself. Sometimes I need to close my eyes because the colors are just too bright, and if you listen close enough, the flowers sing in the breeze. It’s very faint, but it is truly one of the most beautiful things you will ever hear.
“Every faerie has their place in making Empress livable. Before Medallion’s reign, there was a hierarchy that we all—well, most of us—respected. Your father was a great King.” He looked sad thinking of a time now lost.
“There are all types of faeries,” he finished. “Not unlike here on Earth where you have different races of humans.”
“What do you mean different kinds?” I was awed by the way he spoke of Empress, I didn’t want him to stop.
“Some are small, some have wings, some are more animalistic, others are what you call mermaids.” He smiled.
“Mermaids?” I looked up from spreading the mustard.
“Yes, they are very dramatic,” he mused.
“So, which are you?” I asked, opening the mayo.
“I was born with wings.”
“Wings? You can fly?” I dropped the knife out of shock onto the floor, both of us bent down to pick it up, and we knocked our heads together. “Ouch.” I laughed, rubbing my forehead. I suspected it didn’t hu
rt him at all.
He helped me up and held me close to him. I could feel the hum of his electricity pulsing through me, especially when I focused on his eyes.
“You have wings?” I asked again.
“Used to have wings. I haven’t had them for eighteen years.”
All the defeat he must have known, the struggle and the loss—they had found their way out of the depths and now resided in those big vulnerable blue eyes. My heart seized, feeling all his pain and suffering.
“I have an overwhelming need to protect you,” he said as his fingers brushed over my face. “I have never felt this before. I always laughed when there was talk of love at first sight.” He shook his head. “But now...”
I grinned. It was undeniable, the instant connection the two of us had. I too had an urge to protect him, a boy I barely knew. When our eyes locked for the first time, there had been a spark that linked his life to mine like he was suddenly part of me. This, I thought, this is exactly what love at first sight felt like.
Daylan didn’t wait for me to respond, he leaned down, bringing his warm flawless lips to mine. I excitedly pressed against him, breathing in his sweet taste, the adrenaline from the fight still pumping through our bodies. My hands caressed his shoulders and explored along the V of his back. He lifted me up onto the counter without breaking our kiss. I heard the clang of the knife hitting the floor again and felt his tensing muscles through his tight shirt.
I ran my fingers down his arms, feeling all the cuts and wounds from the battle with the Slayers. Suddenly, flashes of him fighting overwhelmed me. The ferocity in his eyes, how intense, fast and terrifying he was…and all the dead—I pulled away.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, catching his breath.
“There was so much blood,” I said, touching my stinging lips.
“I forget sometimes that this is new to you,” he said, still trying to calm his breath.
“It’s sad that it’s not for you.” I titled my head slightly to look up at him. I suddenly felt sorry for him.
“This is war, Swayzi.” He turned away from me.
“How were the three of you so much better? There had to have been over thirty Slayers.”
“My father was the head of the King’s protection for four hundred years.” He leaned down, picked the knife up off the floor, rinsed it off, and laid it gently on the counter. “The three of us grew up sword fighting, and my father was relentless. He made us train until our arms were so weak we could no longer hold them up. Those Slayers today are inexperienced and don’t have the instincts that we do. I warned them—I told them to leave, but they chose to fight.” He was defensive, his eyes darkening as he spoke. The dark circles under his eyes were more noticeable when he was frustrated.
“In our world, we are immortal, so many faeries never learn to fight, thinking it’s frivolous. I don’t think they fully understand the gravity of what we are facing. And the ones who became Slayers, they follow Medallion blindly, willing to die for his cause. This is war, Swayzi.” He seemed to think he needed to keep saying it until I understood.
“You scared me,” I said almost in a whisper.
“You scared me.” He moved closer to me again. “To have you in danger like that was the most frightened I have ever been.” He held me close now, my head resting on his beating chest.
“I wish you could see yourself through my eyes,” Daylan said softly, lifting my chin with his fingers. Tears pooled in my eyes at his words. “You think you are this weak human girl, but if you could see what I see, you would never be afraid again.” He paused, running his thumb along my cheek. “Swayzi Solasta, you are the beginning of a new life, one that you need to embrace. Women will worship you, men will want you, children will love you, and enemies will fear you.” He put his hand over my heart. “Oren is in here,” he said. “You need to fight your instincts to run away.”
This is what Fay had been trying to tell me.
My tears fell onto our intertwined hands. I could see my reflection in his eyes, and I longed to see in myself what he did. His eyes were always full of pain and suffering, but there was a small flicker of hope burning inside of them. I shivered, feeling the rush of his unwavering belief in me.
“Why do those Slayers follow Medallion?” I asked. If faeries from Empress were willing to follow Medallion, they couldn’t possibly believe in me.
“For many different reasons. Some he promises power and riches. Others he uses fear by threatening their family’s safety or taking away what little they have. Some join him because they think it’s the only way to survive.”
“How did he take over Empress?” I asked.
“It happened slowly at first. There was a radical group torturing and kidnapping faeries, some children even. It was awful.” He sighed. “This turned different races of faeries against one another, thinking the only ones they could trust were their own. Once we were all divided, we stopped communicating. After that, it was fast. Medallion has an army of witches who do his bidding. They are very powerful, especially as a group.”
“How does he have witches on his side?”
“Medallion lived in Hell for many years. Some say Lucifer himself was his mentor. He gained a following with demons who believed they should be allowed to travel freely between Hell and Empress. Since Empress has a gateway to Earth, they wanted to come here as well. Some are even delusional enough to think they should be welcomed into Heaven. That’s where the witches come in. Some witches believe that supernaturals deserve to live freely here on Earth—that they shouldn’t have to hide for the sake of humans. If Medallion achieves his plans, he will tear down the portal completely, giving any supernatural being free reign of Hell, Empress, Earth, and eventually Heaven. It would create absolute chaos, causing an apocalypse not only here on Earth, but in Empress as well. It would be the end of everything.”
“Other supernaturals?” I wanted to know everything.
“You already know about faeries, witches and demons. Demons have a wide range of species. Vampires, werewolves and shape shifters are just some of the species that live here on Earth.” He watched me carefully making sure I could take all of this in.
“Vampires?” I asked incredulously, suddenly remembering the fangs on my shirt.
Daylan glanced at my shirt as well. “They are the closest to a human that a demon can be.”
“Vampires. Noted… Sandwich?” I held up his plate, offering it to him with an impish grin. I needed to show him I could handle this.
Okay, fine, I just wanted to see how he ate a sandwich.
He smiled, taking the plate and setting it down in front of him. He waited until I started eating mine first. He watched the way I held the sandwich and his eyebrows furrowed when he picked his up and half of the contents came spilling out.
I giggled.
When he finally took his first bite, he nodded in approval. “Who would have thought this many ingredients stuffed together could be so delightful,” he said with a mouth full of food. “It’s not the most graceful way to eat—is it?” He smiled.
“Have you ever eaten spaghetti?” I teased.
His brow dipped again in confusion. Clearly, he hadn’t.
“What do you eat?”
He finished chewing before he began speaking. “Hot water infused with freshly picked flowers, greens from the Forest of Scattered Somerset, pearls from Blackwater Bay.” His head fell, and he whispered, “Oh how I miss those pearls.”
My eyebrows raised with doubt. Empress sounded so… weird?
“How about I take you on a date, and we can eat spaghetti,” he suggested.
“Before or after the end of the world?” I asked, barely able to swallow my bite.
Before he could answer, I heard the bell on the front door chime. Tyler and Penelope had arrived.
“We should go.” I nodded my head towards the dining room.
He helped me down from the counter, and my feet dangled when he held onto me for longer than I expected.
My feet finally touched the floor, and his thumb wiped away the mayo from the corner of my mouth.
I licked my lips in embarrassment before he kissed me one more time. I grabbed the plate, and he led me into the dining room.
“We have sandwiches,” I said, offering up the plate for everyone.
Tyler watched Daylan and me carefully, glaring at our proximity. Daylan had already made himself seen, and he moved a little closer to me on purpose, his hand resting on the small of my back. Tyler’s eyes burned with jealousy. I looked from him to Daylan and instinctively stepped away from Daylan.
The effect on Daylan was immediate. His hand dropped to his side, and I could see the disappointment written on his face. My entire life, Tyler was the only boy whose feelings I took into consideration. Now I had to consider Daylan’s as well.
“Sandwiches?” Ezra asked.
“They are fantastic,” Daylan recovered. “You eat it with both hands—like this.” Daylan held up his hands eating an imaginary sandwich.
“Humans,” Fay scoffed.
Tyler rolled his eyes. “Guys, am I going to have to remind you every time? Human in the room.”
“Whoops, sorry man,” Ezra said already with mouth full of sandwich.
I knew the moment Fay showed herself to him because Tyler’s eyes widened at the sight of her in her jeans and lace bralette. My cheeks flushed with a hint of jealousy as I watched him staring at her perfect body.
We gathered around the large wooden coffee table. I watched the five of them argued over the best course of action. On all their faces, the same underlying emotion was there—concern.
We all agreed Medallion needed to be stopped, but how to make that happen without casualties? They continued to bicker, and I wondered silently what my father would do. If I really was King Oren’s daughter and his heir, then I had to stop sitting back and observing. Daylan was right—I couldn’t shy away anymore. If I was to help my friends survive and trigger the new beginning Daylan had promised, I needed to find my voice. I had to be someone worth standing behind. I couldn’t be the girl cowering behind boxes anymore.
Empress Unveiled Page 13
