Fractured Fairy Tales: A SaSS Anthology

by Amy Marie

  Here at the office, I could forget about swans and witches and curses. I was Maximillian Griffon Christoph Lux, CEO and owner of Swan International. Okay, I couldn’t escape completely, but I could try.

  Chapter 2

  Lorde

  From the time of my birth, I couldn’t say my life was my own. I studied and trained, doing everything my mother instructed me to do. Sometimes I wondered why I followed along like a little puppy trying to please its master…actually, it might be better to say robot. She programmed me to do whatever she wanted in preparation for the moment when our family would find justice.

  It was a story older than some, not as old as others. A father rescued by a witch married her. She was jealous of the time he spent with his children and transformed the six princes into swans, missing the little princess. The princess worked hard to break the spell and fell in love with a king, marrying him when he asked. Problems with the king’s mother led to the princess being sentenced to burn at the stake, accused of being a witch herself. In the end, she broke the spell. The swans turned back into princes, and her brothers… said swans… rescued their sister. And they all lived happily ever after.

  If you believed that, you were as gullible as the rest of the world has been for the past couple hundred years. Lies. So many lies. The witch wasn’t evil like she was portrayed, the king wasn’t innocent, and the princes and princess weren’t sweet and angelic.

  I’d been sent here to right the wrong and take back what had been stolen from my family: its honor. Even if it killed me, I would do what was right.

  “Bloody hell,” I groaned and raked my fingers through my black hair as I stared up at the cloud-filled sky. I felt out of my element and uncertain about everything. While I knew what I was supposed to do, understood the end game, I wasn’t quite sure how to go about implementing it and was second-guessing everything. Could I do it? Could I follow through? What would I do when I finally found him?

  I only had a last name to go by, my mother gave me nothing else, but that was enough. My magic could find a needle in a haystack if I needed it to, so it wasn’t that. This whole thing was supposed to be my destiny, yet I feared it all.

  Walking along the shoreline of Lake Michigan, I collected wood and rocks to build a fire and settled into a darkened area, a place where light did not touch. Before I lit the flame, I spelled the area, blocking my fire from the view of anyone who may be curious.

  Reaching out my hand, I said, “Ignis.” A spark jumped out of my fingers, and flames climbed high into the sky.

  I allowed the fire to die down until only burning embers remained, glowing against the blackness. Blowing on the scorched wood, the orange color shone a little brighter, and flecks of yellow flew up into the sky, disappearing quickly. I reached into my bag, pulled out the only glass vial in there, and removed the cork stopper from the top. With a flick of my wrist, I scattered the contents over the dwindling fire, and it exploded in front of me, creating an eerie glowing green flame that burned high and bright.

  “Open to me. Let me see. Show me what you know,” I began to chant. As the flame transformed and showed me a vision, I continued, “Seek him out. Lux. Find the one who possesses the heart of the bird, the one who lives in the shadows, the enemy of my family!” The flame flew and hovered above the water, dancing there as the picture became clearer. Filling the image, a man with broad shoulders, and short, blond hair that looked soft to the touch, stood in front of a group of children. His eyes reminded me of light blue diamonds, and he appeared almost bored or distanced from the group. Maybe both. He didn’t look too tall, but he also wasn’t too short. The picture above the water changed, and he stood on a stone balcony, holding a crystal glass filled half-way with an amber liquid, the moon shining down on his upturned face. His hard eyes, the firm set of his jaw, the grinding of his teeth, and the way his lips were pressed together made him appear furious.

  My own ire spiked seeing this. What right did he have to be angry? He seemed to be well off, and if anything, it was my family who had been wronged by his. A name on a building appeared: Swan International, Inc. Not very original, were they?

  The green flame fell into the water, disappearing with a hiss. I still didn’t have a first name, but it wouldn’t be too hard to find out who he was now.

  Pulling out a water bottle, I poured the contents over the hot wood and lifted the cloaking spell.

  The moment I finished, my phone rang, and I already knew who it was without looking. “Yes, Mother?” She was impatient, wanting this job done quickly.

  “Did you find him?”

  I tilted my head back and shook it, my irritation bubbling within me. I’d been here for about twenty-four hours, no more, how the hell was I supposed to find him and kill him when I didn’t even know who this man was? “Not yet, but I just got a lead.” I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to swallow any sarcastic retorts I wanted to spew.

  “Don’t dawdle.”

  My jaw clenched of its own volition. I’d been raised to listen to everything she said because she alone stood at the head of this family. Everyone toed the line around her, including my father, but that did not mean I could snap my fingers and be done with it.

  “I’m not dawdling, Mother. I performed a locator spell tonight. Do not worry. I will find him and fulfill my destiny,” I stated automatically like a robot. No one went against her, and I wasn’t going to be the person to rock that particular boat. Still, being here and away from her, I could actually breathe, and I hadn’t expected that to happen in this city.

  “See that you do.” The line died, and I heard nothing more. Pulling it away from my ear, my login screen welcomed me, and I rolled my eyes.

  My mother was not the warmest of women. From the moment I could speak, she taught me magic and spell casting, The first couple of years of my education, I was homeschooled, after which, I begged her to allow me to attend the school down the street from where we lived. It was the one time I saw my father fight her on something, and she eventually gave in. I wished she hadn’t.

  Third grade was fine because I made friends and had fun. Fourth grade was torture. A new kid moved into the school and acted like he ran it all. I was shoved into lockers, my head was thrown into a bathroom mirror, which required a trip to the E.R., and rumors were spread about me. The school did nothing. My friends turned on me. In fifth grade, it got worse, and I begged my mother to move. I wanted to leave this godforsaken city, and if I could, the whole country. I was terrified that merely returning to my homeschool curriculum would not be enough. My bully followed me home daily. The turning point, the moment when my mother accepted, was when we found a dead cat with its stomach cut open on the porch outside our front door. I had to get away or else. I was terrified of what would happen next, of how it would escalate.

  Within days, I was sitting in a seat next to my mother, my father across the aisle. We were leaving the States and moving to England. I had escaped.

  And my mother sent me back to the place I hated the most. The place I tried so hard to forget. If it hadn’t been for this assignment, I wouldn’t have returned. I would have run away…or tried to. Truth be told, I would never be able to escape my mother. I was her son, and in a way, her prisoner. And if I attempted to run away, she would find me and make my life hell on earth.

  Chapter 3

  Max

  I came awake with a start, sucking in air and looking around my room frantically. Where was I? My room? Something felt off, though.

  Breathing heavily, I threw back the blankets and scrambled out of bed, falling to the floor in my haste. Instead of getting to my feet, I crawled out the door and into the hallway. Light flooded my apartment, making the wide hall glow from the open doors. Only mine had been shut. Had I really gone to bed with all of the doors open? I never did that.

  The sounds of sizzling and the toaster popping helped to lift the fog that still clung to me. Home. Fizz was here. He took care of my household and did some cooking for m
e. It was morning, and the sun was shining. He’d probably opened the doors to air out the rooms a bit, although I didn’t understand why he always did that. It wasn’t like I allowed anyone in my personal space except for him and my parents, and he’d been with me since I was a kid and knew everything.

  Slowly, I braced myself against the wall and lifted myself to my feet. While I knew he was here, I didn’t want him to see me like this. The nightmare still pulled at me, although I couldn’t recall what I had dreamt. It felt like something, or someone, was after me, getting closer and closer, and I couldn’t hide from them, but that was it. Nothing else. Was it my swan side? My human? I didn’t know, but it had seemed so real, like a premonition of what was coming. I suddenly felt as if I was on borrowed time, but why?

  “Maximillian? Is that you?” Fizz called from the kitchen.

  Quirking an eyebrow, I shook my head and bit back a smile. “No, it’s an intruder. I’ve come for the bird,” I teased, and yet, I had to wonder if someone was after me.

  “He’s a handful and will pluck your eyes out, so you are welcome to him,” he quipped, causing me to chuckle.

  I shuffled forward and plopped down onto one of the bar stools lining the large kitchen island. “What would you do if someone actually came for me like that?” I honestly wasn’t sure if my question was a joke or serious.

  “Probably kill them,” he answered without batting an eye as he set a plate of food in front of me.

  Sadly, when he’d said that, I was taking a drink of orange juice and spit it over the white quartz and Fizz’s hand. “What?”

  Winking, he told me, “I got skills.”

  “I’m sure you do.” I wiped my mouth, my shirt, and the area around me while he made his own plate.

  Fizz did have skills. He’d been hired when I was thirteen and my parents received a kidnapping threat. When the kidnappers attempted to take me after the last bell rang at school, Fizz protected me and knocked the two idiots out cold. He stayed with me as my bodyguard, and when I got older and moved out on my own, he stuck around. I wasn’t exactly sure why he cooked and cleaned for me, but I also wasn’t going to argue about it.

  “You need to find someone and settle down,” I stated, moaning around a mouthful of hash.

  “Who says I haven’t?”

  My eyebrow popped up. “Have you?” If he had, this was the first I’d heard of it. He’d dated someone a few years ago, but it hadn’t worked out for some reason. After that, he worked more than me because not only did he deal with everything at my apartment, he was the head of my security team.

  His gaze shifted to the side, away from me, his expression almost sheepish. “No, but it could happen.”

  “Not if you don’t put yourself out there and stop working around the clock.”

  “Looks who’s talking. Pot, meet kettle.”

  “See, that’s the difference between us. I don’t want to find anyone. I’m good with things the way they are. I fuck around to release steam, and that’s good enough for me. Since I don’t sleep with women, I don’t have to worry about pregnancy or passing on things that are better left in the past,” I declared and shoveled more food into my mouth.

  “Max—”

  I cut him off, “Don’t want to hear it. If I ever fall in love, fine, but I don’t see it happening. And before you give me that crap that I’m still young at thirty-two, I’ve heard it before. I just don’t want anyone. If I fall in love, I have to tell them. If I tell them, they will think I’m crazy or will be terrified of me. If those don’t happen, they will more than likely try to blackmail me. Besides, in this day and age, I’m not sure love exists.”

  “Ouch.” Fizz rubbed his chest. “That hurts. I hope you are full of shit because one day, I’d like to find someone to love. And I can assure you, not everyone will be with you to blackmail you, some may actually want your body.”

  “Ha!” It had happened before, and Fizz had been the one to help clean up the mess. At nineteen, I’d been stupid and thought I was in love; therefore, I refused to allow Fizz to vet him. The guy’s family had fallen on hard times. I was the meal ticket and thought he loved me. When he snuck into my college apartment to surprise me one night, he saw me change. Thankfully, Fizz had been there and dealt with him before he could do anything. In the end, my ex demanded a lot of money to keep his mouth shut. Love was an illusion for me. I had too much baggage and a secret I couldn’t risk.

  I finished my food and walked over to drop my plate in the sink. “I’ll see you at the office.”

  “It’s Saturday.”

  “Are you telling me you’re not working today?”

  “Nah, I was just reminding you about the day and the fact you are supposed to go over to your parents’ house for dinner.”

  Scrunching my nose, I grimaced. “We have the gala next weekend. Why don’t they just cancel tonight.”

  He chuckled. “Because you know how they are.”

  “Not funny, Jerome Fitzgibbons.” He hated his full name and preferred to go by the nickname he got in the SEALs, Fizz. To this day, I still didn’t know how he got his nickname. His former teammate, Sunny—another nickname—told me it had something to do with an eruption, which automatically made me think of coming, and they refused to give me anything else.

  “Do you want to die? Because I can arrange it for you. It wouldn’t take much.”

  Narrowing my eyes at him, I shrugged. “Eh, maybe. It will get me out of going to the party, so it wouldn’t be all bad.”

  He rolled his eyes and pushed me out of the kitchen. “Go away and to work. I’ll be there soon.” The security team at the building, he trusted implicitly, considering he was the one who hand-picked them all. Which meant he wasn’t worried when I went in before him.

  Sitting behind my desk, I stared blankly at the contract before me. I couldn’t focus. That dream…I felt like it was trying to tell me something, but what? Remembering the dream would probably help to provide answers, but it had disappeared with the moon this morning. Too bad the terror it brought with it had not receded as well.

  “I knew you would be here,” a feminine voice spoke from the doorway of my office.

  “Hello, Mother,” I responded and bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing when I peered up at her. Under the parka she wore, I was sure she was dressed to the nines, as usual, but right now, her outfit would look more at home in Alaska than Illinois. Willow Lux hated the cold, and if even a cool breeze blew across her cheek, out came the heavy coat. I often wondered why my parents didn’t move somewhere more tropical. “What brings you here this bright, sunny, chilly day?”

  “It’s Chicago in April; of course, it’s chilly.” She stuck her tongue out at me as a child would do and removed her coat, slinging it across a chair before taking a seat.

  I shook my head. “How very grown-up of you.”

  Shrugging, she snickered, “I never said I was mature. Then again, your father isn’t very mature either.”

  “Neither one of you is very old. He just decided to retire early.”

  “Well, you know how he is. Not a morning person, hates to come to the office, likes to fish, sleep, and do whatever the hell he wants to do. Besides, your grandfather did the same thing to him. Maybe you will do it too—” Seeing my glare, she stopped before finishing her sentence. “Never mind.”

  I sighed heavily and shook my head, a grin lifting my lips. “Grandpa and Dad just like to goof off.” They worked hard and worked smartly when they put their minds to it, but when they reached their goals, they passed the reins to the next generation. “So, what are you doing here? You hate the city and only come here when absolutely necessary. Considering the party isn’t until next weekend, your calendar is either wrong, or something is going on with Dad. Is everything all right?”

  “It is.” She sat in one of the chairs in front of my desk and met my gaze, studying me. “Are you?”

  “I’m fine. Why?” I responded quickly.

  “Yo
u look tired.”

  “I had a hard time sleeping last night, but that’s not why you’re here. So, what’s going on?”

  Squirming in her chair, she peeked out the window before glancing back at me. “Your father said you sounded off yesterday. He was worried.”

  I released a breath in a rush, my cheeks puffing out as I did that. “I’m fine. I did Children’s Story Hour at the library yesterday.”

  “Okay, and?”

  I loved my parents, but I resented them for having me, and sometimes it was hard to hide it. Spoiled brat? Yes, but I hated this fucking curse. Why did I have to suffer? Why did anyone?

  “Max?”

  I raked my hand through my hair. “They had me read The Six Swan Princes.”

  Her mouth dropped open, and she sucked in a rush of air. “Oh, honey.”

  “I’m fine. That particular story, though, it’s the one story I wish would burn and disappear forever.”

  “It’s not going to change anything.” Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

  “I know that!” I snapped, instantly regretting yelling at my mother. Throughout my life, this woman had tried to help me accept who I was, to accept my counterpart, but she failed. A curse was a curse, and there was nothing good about it. “Sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to raise my voice.”

  “I know.” She sighed, reaching her hand across my desk to grab my fingers. “I also know this has never been easy for you. You may not realize it, but your father struggled when he was younger too. Your grandfather always accepted it. He thought flying was the best part of the gift.”

  “Gift?” I scoffed. “It’s not.”

  Narrowing her eyes, she sighed again. “It’s all about perspective.”