by Allie Santos
“You graduated early?”
I was dumbfounded. I’d had it on my calendar, and I was positive it wasn’t supposed to happen for another two months. Her eyebrow flicked up, and she rolled her eyes, not answering me.
“Why didn’t you call me in the last year?” I couldn’t hide the wounded edge to my words.
“You never once contacted me. I thought you were done with me.”
I stared at her, having no clue what to say. “For the last year, you sent me to voicemail every time I tried.”
“Yeah, like, three times.” She snorted, and my face warmed. That was true. After that, my calls had fizzled. My life had gotten busier. I’d let my contentedness get in the way of trying harder.
“What about my letters with the money? I sent one to you every month.” She shot up, eyebrows together as she leveled a doubtful gaze on me. She never received my letters…? “I swear I sent letters…” My voice trailed off as I tried to think of what could have happened.
“Him,” we said simultaneously, the disgust evident by our scrunched noses. Our dad must have intercepted them and thrown them in the trash after taking the money. Hell, Mother had to have helped him, too.
I rubbed my head and groaned. “We have a shitshow of a family.”
Annie giggled, but it cut off abruptly as if she hadn’t expected to laugh. She turned serious. “Did you really send letters?”
The vulnerable tone made my stomach sink and tears well. I nodded, unable to speak. My fingers twitched to reach out and touch her clenched hand, but I knew she wasn’t ready. I had to give her time.
“I know I have a lot to make up for, and I swear to you on Damon and Stefan Salvatore’s hotness that I will.” A smile peeked out at the mention of the main characters from our favorite show. “But I have some… stuff I have to take care of first,” I started.
“You’re leaving again?” Her head whipped in my direction, and she pierced me with an accusing glance.
“It’s not like that,” I said, rushed. I hated this—we were supposed to run off together and start our lives. Now, I had a whole species relying on me to figure out how to free magic, and no one even knew where to start. “I got involved with some people that need my help. I’m hoping it won’t take long—”
She snorted. “I don’t need to hear excuses. Just go.”
“I-I, no, look, you can go to my place in Texas.” God, hopefully Jeff hadn’t moved out after I didn’t come back. “I have money saved up with—with my friend. Get it from him and find a place for us to live.”
The words were said in desperation. I didn’t know how long it would take for me to do what I had to, but I had to see it through. As soon as that business was done, I could come back and we could continue our lives.
Rubbing my temples, I remembered time passed differently there. I couldn’t be in Faerie long. For all I knew, she’d be an old lady when I get back out here. I pursed my lips when my head began throbbing. That was an issue for later. The first order of business was getting her out of this shithole. She gazed at the television blankly.
“Please,” I said. Crossing her arms, she sunk deeper into the couch. A familiar stubborn expression settled on her face. “I promise I’ll come back—”
The door slammed open and bounced off the wall. I jumped up and was at Rian’s side in seconds. Realizing what I’d done, my eyes widened, and I looked at Annie.
Her mouth was in a circle, and her eyes looked almost ready to fall out of her head. “What was that?”
“I’ll explain later.” I turned my attention to Rian. His hand fisted at his side repeatedly. “What happened?”
“I sense a pack of werewolves nearby. We must leave. Now.”
“But—” I shut my mouth as Annie came close enough to hear our conversation.
“What’s going on? Who is he?” She narrowed her eyes at him, and Rian met her gaze. When she registered how striking he was, she blushed and looked at her toes.
Rian nodded politely but otherwise remained impassive. I pressed my lips together, so I wouldn’t laugh at her obvious attraction. I waved a hand around my ear to scare away the buzzing fly. With a jolt, I realized it was my enhanced hearing. I focused. Were those motorcycles? Reality check. Rian said werewolves were coming. Shit. I rubbed my neck. Rian wasn’t overreacting.
“How did they find us?”
“I told you. They sensed you near. I’m surprised it’s only,” he paused and eyed Annie, who was shamelessly eavesdropping, “them. I wouldn’t doubt more types come this way soon. You’re exuding too much… energy.”
The careful way he worded everything heightened my anxiety. I wished I could just transfer my knowledge to her. It would make everything a whole lot easier.
“What I warned you about,” he finished pointedly. I narrowed my eyes at him. He couldn’t help rubbing it in.
“You said this aura eventually goes away, right?”
“Yes, as long as no abilities are used.” Well, the good thing was I didn’t even know how to even access any abilities. “We must go. These dogs will not let up until they capture and kill each and every one of us.” The curl of his lip told me what he thought of the werewolves.
“Of course,” I muttered and grabbed my sister’s arm. She yelped, and I quickly released her. “Sorry.”
“What the hell, Rae? When did you get freakishly strong?”
I ignored her, my shoulders bunching with every second that passed. “She’s coming with us. I need to make sure she goes somewhere safe.”
Rian glanced at her, then me, and gave a curt nod. “That is best, they’ll smell your residue all over her if they get near enough.”
I wrinkled my nose. That sounded gross. Residue.
“Against you for what?” Annie glanced back and forth between us. “What’s going on?”
Rian tilted his head to the side. “They’re nearing.”
The buzzing closed in even more, and I swallowed nervously. “We have to go. Grab a coat.” I looked at Annie and then around the room. “Where’s Hash?”
Annie’s shoulders dropped, and she wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Dad shot him.”
With that, she grabbed the sweater slung over the couch and shrugged it on. I blinked, my chest painfully tight.
“Rae.”
I nodded at Rian’s warning look and followed him out the door. Grabbing Annie’s hand, I tugged her after us. I didn’t realize she was hitting my arm until I heard the slap on my skin. It felt like a tickle.
No wonder Sabine had laughed at my attempt to fight against her.
“I know it doesn’t make sense, but you need to come with me,” I told her tightly. “Some bad people are after me. I can’t explain now, but I swear I will when we’re safe.”
She tugged against my hold again, a mulish expression on her face. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.”
Releasing her, I threw my hands up into the air. “Why are you so damn stubborn? All right, cliff notes. When I was on my way here after your call, I crashed into a Fae. She literally dragged me to Faerie.” I paused, taking a breath. “They planned to use a group of other girls and me for a sacrifice.” My heart stuttered, and I looked at Annie with wide eyes. She was my sister… That meant she would turn Fae, too, if I managed to unbind magic. A mix of emotions whirled in me.
“And?” Annie snapped me out of my musings, arms crossed. It was obvious she didn’t believe me if the quirk of her eyebrow was any indication.
“Instead, Rian and the Faerie Queen helped us escape. The Queen… sacrificed herself for me, putting essence inside me. Now, I have to help them unbind magic.” My chest rose and fell harshly with my outpour of words. Annie’s mouth dropped, doubt cresting her expression. I gripped her sweater and tugged her toward the trailer park exit. She resisted, but my grip on her forced her to follow.
“Are you pulling some prank on me?” Desperation edged her words, as if she wanted me to say got ya.
I didn’t slo
w my steady pace as we slipped deeper into the woods. I was about to grab Annie and take off at a run when a crunch sounded to my side. My head swung around to find a big man watching us with narrowed eyes. The woodsy smell intensified, seeming to coat him.
He tilted his nose up and inhaled deeply. His eyes flashed, and his lip curled. A deep growl built from his chest. The movements were animalistic, and they successfully scared the crap out of me.
“Time to go,” Rian said and scooped Annie up.
Leaves rustled from behind us, and I whirled to see another tall, wide male step out of the shrubbery. Where were they coming from? It was as if they were a part of the woodlands.
I sensed more than saw Rian take off in the split second he did. I traced his steps, but a large hand fell on my arm and dug in. The sharp indents stung. On instinct, I hissed.
“I finally tracked you down,” he said with a threatening growl.
Not thinking twice, my fist flew out. It connected with a hard jaw, and then I was free. In a burst of speed, I took off. Cursing sounded behind me as branches snapped. Fear trilled through me. They were keeping up. My heart pounded inside my chest, trying to escape. It wasn’t until their steps fell off minutes later that I was able to breathe. What had he meant “tracked me”? Why was he even looking for me?
Tilting my head, I listened for the rustle of Rian’s steps and raced in his direction, skidding to an unsteady halt. I still needed to get the hang of the whole graceful Fae thing.
Annie was hitting his chest, trying to get him to put her down. She stopped beating him when she saw me. “Why were we being followed? Rae, what’s going on?”
Rian looked at me with strain and exasperation on his face. The fear in Annie’s voice twisted my chest. I had never wanted to have to face this reality, but here we were.
“There are people after me,” I repeated my earlier explanation.
“But—” She paused and shook her head. “How did he run so fast? I-I just don’t understand.”
My expression softened. “It’s all real, Annie. Every supernatural crap you’ve ever heard of, there’s some version of it that actually exists.”
And you will be part of that world.
I held those words in, though, because she still had time to live a normal life. Fae didn’t reach maturity until they were twenty-two. Annie had four years to enjoy being human—that is, if I managed to figure out how to do it in that time frame.
Annie’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. Her eyes hadn’t moved off mine, and I attempted to convey how serious I was. Slowly, she nodded.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need to get to a portal,” Rian said tightly.
Annie looked up at Rian, and her eyes flickered with appreciation.
“Crap,” I muttered running my hand through my hair. “No, we need to get Annie to the closest town.”
“That would not be the wisest—” He stopped talking when I gave him a death glare.
“I feel nauseous.” Annie moaned, clutching her stomach.
“I know the feeling,” I said, focusing on her, but all her attention was on Rian. “But you’ll live.”
He gently put her on her feet and offered her a smile. The sort of smiles he’d given me. The kind, brotherly ones. Annie, on the other hand, seemed to have hearts in her eyes as she looked up at him. I wanted to groan at the sight. Puppy love.
“What do we do now?” My eyes roamed over our surroundings.
“We need to keep moving. We got lucky the werewolves are unable to turn. Otherwise, they would have caught up to us,” Rian muttered.
“They were werewolves?” Annie gaped. She turned her wide eyes in the direction we’d fled from. I didn’t answer and let her ruminate on that fact on her own.
“I’m going to pick you up, Annie, we’re going at Fae speed again. I know it feels weird but try to relax,” I told her.
She nodded, distracted. I could tell she wasn’t really there as she hooked her arms around my neck. Since we were about the same size, I struggled to find a way to arrange her without half her body spilling to the side.
“What are you guys?” she said, staring at me.
“I’m Fae.”
She swallowed hard and flicked her eyes away from me, a look of concentration on her face. Worry speared me. What if she didn’t accept me? Or worse, what if she thought I was a monster? But Annie didn’t move as I tried to get a comfortable grip on her without hurting her.
“Would you like my aid?” Rian’s eyebrows inched up his forehead, and I could have sworn there was amusement in his gaze.
Before I could answer, Annie said, “Yeah! Er—yeah, I mean, I feel like that would be the smart thing to do.”
She grinned up at him, and relief flooded me as I closed my eyes. If she could crush on Rian, she could come around to me being Fae. Rian leaned down, thinking nothing of her exuberance as he scooped her up again.
Without another word, we took off running.
3
When the sky began darkening, and Annie had fully passed out in Rian’s arms, I stopped. Rian followed my lead. We’d been alternating between stopping and running for the last hour. Every time Annie looked like she was about to vomit, we’d letup to give her time to recuperate, but when she fell asleep, it was easier to keep up a heavier pace.
“You don’t sense a nearby town yet?” I asked a little desperately. “She needs to rest.”
He tilted his head to listen. I couldn’t hear anything more than the woodland critters surrounding me. In fact, my hearing had narrowed in on a particularly annoying rattle of a cricket.
“We’re getting closer,” he said, looking down at a slack-jawed Annie. The evil sister part of me hoped she drooled on him so I could poke fun at her about it. “About five miles out.”
“How are you so specific?”
He smiled slightly. “It comes naturally.”
I barely stopped myself from rolling my eyes at the arrogance in his statement. “Hopefully, the werewolves gave up on us,” I muttered, looking back into the darkening forest.
“That is highly doubtful, but I think we’ve traveled far enough that it will take them a long time to catch up.”
“Good. Let’s get her settled before we have to take off again,” I said.
My dread mounted with every second closer to leaving Annie behind. But I wanted her to live her life and not have to worry about this new world. If I managed to get magic unbound, she would be involved, anyway. So, might as well make sure she lived as a human for as long as possible.
Rian didn’t say anything as he ran off with Fae speed. My cheeks puffed with air as I leaped and hopped over stones and foliage. I was yards behind him, but at least I was keeping up. Amazingly, I wasn’t tired or sleepy, but if my head hit a pillow, I knew I’d be out.
Soon, the cacophony of humanity invaded my ears. The shuffling sound of shoes, voices, the hum of engines, wheels crunched over gravel. I slapped my hands over my ears as the volume reached a painful level. Grunting, I stuttered to a stop and tried to breathe through the building ache.
Rian was suddenly beside me. “Don’t focus on it. You have to draw in your senses or redirect. Disassociate from the noise, and it will blend into the background.”
I did my best. Time ceased to mean anything as I fell to my knees with my hands over my ears. I breathed in repeatedly, forcing myself to relax. In and out. In and out. I kept up the pattern and forced my attention away from the sounds of humanity. Eventually, the overflow of noise edged away.
As I drew my hands away, I brushed something pointy. My spine shot straight. Reaching up, I caressed the shell of my ear and got to my feet. My wide eyes met Rian’s. Brushing my hair behind my ear, I turned my head so he could see.
He nodded grimly. “Your physical changes look to be gradual.”
Not for the first time, I wished for a manual. According to him, a human with Fae blood had never been flooded with what the Queen passed to me, so this was all new territory.<
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I continued to fiddle with my ear as he turned and approached the edge of the forest. I stayed back and stared into nothing as I caressed my ears. The changes I’d felt on my body had all been unseen before. But this was different. The first visible change. Closing my eyes, they flicked behind the lids. What other changes would I have to endure?
Panic started to loom over me. I heard my heart race, and the rapid thumping heightened my anxiety. I swallowed hard.
I needed to breathe. In and out. I went through my relaxation breathing. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, but by the time I opened my eyes, stars shone in the sky above, glinting brightly.
Meeting Rian’s gaze a few feet away, I could clearly see the compassion in his eyes. Or was it pity?
I squeezed my lips together. Why hadn’t I gotten a mate like Rian? He was kind, considerate… honorable. I sighed. Instead, I got one that was cold, stubborn, and demanding. He thought he knew best. Hmph. Maybe it was that royal blood he thought he had. That arrogance had been the catalyst of the demise of whatever twisted thing we had between us. He’d been unwilling to listen to me.
The part inside me that wanted him, the part I kept denying, reminded me of his kindness and sense of honor toward what he believed in, even if it was detrimental to me.
I shook my head, physically trying to dislodge the thoughts of Roark, and walked to the forest edge where Rian waited. He was the last person I should be thinking about if I wanted to keep myself calm.
I walked past Rian and stepped onto the gravel. Buildings loomed overhead, hiding us in the shadows where the forest had spat us out. I followed the edge of the structure until it crested onto another sidewalk by the main road. Lights wrapped around the trees lining the main street, creating a beautiful walkway. A smattering of cars drove down the road, stopping to let groups of people cross the street.
From what I could see, people were dressed up in a way that indicated they were headed to a bar or a club. I watched a group of women with their arms hooked with each other as they stumbled to an entrance. A bouncer opened the door and waved them in. As they flounced in, the man roved his eyes up and down the girls’ bodies in an overtly sexual way. Ew.
