The Fae & The Fallen: Gifted Fae Academy - Year One

by Brittni Chenelle

  Finn grinned. “Give him a break, Ace, he’s super into his new girlfriend.”

  “They’re not like official or anything,” I said.

  Quan interrupted, “They looked pretty official to me the other night at the fort.”

  I shot him a glare, but he seemed not to be bothered by it. Enzo shot into my line of sight. “But let’s not forget about your night with Miranda.”

  I shook my head. “How do you even know about that?”

  Quan said, “I snuck her out, remember? Plus, she told everyone and, by the way, I can’t believe you lied to me about zero gravity.”

  I put my palm to my face, letting out an exasperated sigh. “I should talk to her.”

  Enzo zipped over to me, his hand held up for me to high five. “Yeah, you should.”

  “Not what I meant.”

  Oden rushed in the door, half out of breath. His face was red, his shirt misbuttoned, and his lips smudged in the corners. “Sorry I’m late guys, I was with Rein—”

  “We know where you were,” Finn said, cutting him off. I shot him a thank you with a glance. His royal highness wasn’t as bad as I thought. Of the other Nobles, I’d expected to like him the least, but it was the opposite. Unlike Quan and Enzo, he sort of kept to himself, he extinguished conflict, and he seemed to communicate on my non-verbal frequency. As for Oden, I thought that guy was a dick. Green-eyed devil was right. He just took whatever he wanted. Somebody had to teach that guy a lesson.

  I stood. “Actually, I was just saying to the guys that I owed Miranda a little chat.”

  He nodded. “Yikes.”

  “Do you mind if I meet up with you later?”

  Oden said, “I just got here, man.”

  “I’ve been here for an hour. It’s not me that’s been absent lately, bro.”

  Finn stood. “Oden, he’s right. Just let him go. He’ll meet us later.”

  Oden stepped aside and I made my escape. I headed down the hall toward the exit when I ran into Carter. “Hey, buddy,” he said, cheerfully. “Did you hear the news?”

  “No, what’s up?”

  “They’re letting me do a set at the Winter Ball.”

  I patted his back. “Well done, man. Congrats.”

  He swung his guitar around and began to play. “Where are you headed?”

  “I was actually looking for Miranda.”

  “Good thinking, better ask her to the ball. All the hot girls get asked first. I just saw her in the cafe.”

  I nodded my thanks and headed to find her. When I entered the cafeteria and saw a swarm of girls hanging on her every word, I knew exactly what they were talking about. Heat burned my face as I stormed over. “Miranda.”

  “Hey, sweetie,” she said.

  “Can I talk to you…” I scanned her captivated audience. “Alone?”

  She followed me across the cafe. I stopped just outside of earshot of her little crew. “I need you to stop this. Stop telling people we hooked up. You’re a beautiful girl and everything, I’m just—”

  I stopped as Miranda began to laugh, her eyebrows raised with pity. She bit her bottom lip. “You don’t remember that this was your plan?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You were upset about Reina and I was upset about Oden and we decided to date to make them jealous.”

  “That’s ridiculous. I would never agree to it.”

  She shrugged. “How else would I know how into her you are?”

  “I’m not into her.”

  She pressed her lips together, stifling a smile. “We didn’t plan to hook up or anything, we just… drank a little too much I guess. I mean you’re hot and I wouldn’t be opposed to another night with you at Blue House, but did you really think I liked you for your personality? No offense, but next to Oden… you’re just—”

  “Whatever,” I said, to shut her up. Each word was colder than the last. It wasn’t that I cared what she thought. It was that some of those sentiments kept me awake at night for the last few years. “I don’t care about what I said when I was drunk. It stops here.” I turned to leave.

  “Too bad, it was working.”

  I stopped. “Why do you say that?”

  “Well, Oden has asked me about our relationship. Has Reina asked you? Has she mentioned me in conversation to see your reaction?”

  Actually, there was last night in the cafe. She’d asked me if “my girlfriend” would mind us hanging out.

  Miranda leered at me, analyzing my reaction, and when she found what she was looking for she tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and said, “But if you want to stop, it’s your call.”

  “Wait,” I said, without thinking. “What do I have to do?”

  “Take me to the Winter Ball.”

  It was a trap. Scheming wasn’t going to win Reina. “Nice try, Miranda. You’ll have to find someone else. Besides, I don’t think this Oden and Reina thing is going to last. The ball is two months away. I’d rather be there alone just in case.”

  I left the cafe while Miranda headed back to her table of friends, but instead of relief, I left the conversation feeling dejected. Miranda was the most awful girl I’d ever met, and even she thought I was a monster.

  39

  Reina

  I never thought there would be a circumstance where I would dread seeing Yemoja Roux, but as I walked toward my second day of independent study, fear spread through my bones and settled on my ribs. What if she was angry about what I did? What if she didn’t show up at all? I felt so nervous that I grew increasingly suspicious that she’d already ensnared me in her gift.

  I opened the door to the combat zone and felt immediate relief. Yemoja Roux stood at the center of the entrance, as she had the day before, with the same bright smile I was used to.

  “Uh.. good afternoon?” I said.

  “Welcome back! Let’s get to work.” She sat and I took my place beside her.

  She looked at me, her gaze sympathetic as if to tell me she understood my apprehension.

  “I won’t cry again. Promise,” she said with a wink.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said, but she raised her hand to stop me.

  “It was my fault. I dropped my gift’s defense in the hopes of bearing yours so I could help you understand the nature of it. I prepared myself for pain and wasn’t expecting such a unique and dangerous power to emerge from you. It’s an atypical gift and no wonder you’ve had so much trouble discovering it.”

  I shook my head. “So you know what it is?”

  Her dark eyes stared solemnly into mine and I could see the glint of yesterday’s memory lingering behind them as she nodded. “Your gift is truth.”

  Truth. I sat staring down at my hands. “I don’t understand. You seemed so hurt yesterday.”

  “There are truths we hide from ourselves. Everyone has demons they’re not ready to confront,” she said, turning away, but the smile returned to her face. “Maybe we don’t always trust our ability to cope.” She tucked a strand of magenta hair behind her ear. “I suppose the things I’ve been hiding were difficult to face.”

  “But… you’re Yemoja Roux. You can do anything.”

  She grinned. “And you’re Reina Bennett and I have to thank you. Your gift has given me a lot to think about.”

  “It seemed to make you sad.”

  She laughed. “It’s the trials in life that make us grow.”

  I nodded. Of course she was right. I didn’t necessarily like that growth required so much pain, but I was far from the girl who once numbed her grief. I understood how important it was.

  “Reina, I must urge you to be very thoughtful about when you use your gift. Unless you’re in the field, you must never force the truth on someone without their consent.”

  The idea that I even had a gift had barely sunken in. Not to mention the obvious pain I’d caused Yemoja Roux had me far too nervous to attempt it on another person. “Of course.”

  “You’ll be tempted. But it’s just the kind of power that
could corrupt even the most heroic Fae.”

  She took my hands in hers and said, “Promise me.”

  “I promise.”

  Her intensity softened to a gentle smile that reminded me a little of my mother and my chest ached. As I looked at her, I was surprised to see a much older woman than the posters. She appeared tired, and there was a faint scar that ran along her jawline. Despite the countless interviews and documentaries I’d seen about her, she felt like a stranger.

  I spent the next few weeks fighting desperately to catch up to my peers. I’d lost so much time thinking I was ungifted but, having the greatest Fae on earth as a mentor meant my progression was swift. Yemoja Roux's presence soothed me and it pushed our training into overdrive. I’d visualized a color for my gift, but learning it was truth gave it a distinctive shape during meditation. After the first full week of private lessons, I could pull my gift out of my body at a radius of a few inches, which was more than enough to start participating in my other classes. After several failed attempts in Professor Greene’s class, I successfully infused a bit of truth in a confection, but the taste was so bitter he spit it out before my gift could take effect.

  By the second week, I could block a strike defensively with my gift but only in a small area and only when I could correctly predict where I would be touched. Yemoja Roux said that was the exact reason why her Fae costume had pockets of exposed skin. Her enemy always went for those areas, so they were easiest to defend. In a way, she lured them into attacking her where she wanted. If I had a thousand lifetimes to absorb all of Yemoja Roux’s knowledge, it wouldn’t be enough time, but I only had the luxury of training with her at my scheduled times, a minute past and she’d jet back to her patrol like Cinderella from the ball.

  By the third week, I began to understand the corruption Yemoja Roux had warned me about. Before I went to sleep, I imagined things, dark things. Sometimes I imagined using my gift to purge the truth from my wicked orphanage guardian, Ms. Vivian. Why had she tortured me and the other orphans without remorse? Was there more to that story? I daydreamed her responses, but in my imagination, she wasn’t my only victim. I wanted to know the truth of how Kai felt about me, if for nothing else so I could put my feelings for him to rest once and for all and fully give my heart to Oden like I wanted. Especially since things were heating up with him.

  One weekend we were tucked away in one of the dark corners of the fort. A late-night picnic turned into a heavy make-out session. The friction of his jeans against mine sent chills through my body. We were both caked in sweat, our mouths unwilling to part even to breathe. Oden grabbed a handful of my shirt in frustration as I wrapped my legs tighter around him. We separated only long enough for him to move his mouth to my neck and I strained for release. “Just tell me when to stop,” he whispered, sliding his hand under my shirt.

  “Don’t stop,” I said in a stupor.

  He froze. “What? Really? You want to have sex? Are you sure?”

  His questions sobered my daze, but I still felt a tickle at the back of my neck that radiated down my whole body. I had no reason to hesitate. I really liked him. He was good for me. I could see myself falling in love with him. I wanted to fall in love with him, and I was sure these make-out sessions were starting to frustrate him as they were me.

  Sensing my hesitation, he pulled me in for a hug. “Don’t worry. There’s no rush,” he said, taking my hands in his.

  “But I want to, it’s just… I’ve never—”

  He leaned in and kissed me. “I know. Miranda told me, or was it Kai? That’s why I wanted to make it special for you.”

  The mention of Kai was unwelcome. Why the hell did that guy walk around telling people about my sex life anyway? I felt a pang of guilt for being here with Oden while my thoughts still lingered on Kai. Oden and I were dating. Kai was nothing. Why couldn’t I get that through my head? I just needed more time with Oden. I’d known Kai since middle school. That history was already being overshadowed by my new relationship. I felt my gift press against that thought.

  “Any time with you will be special,” I said, and his green gaze made me melt back into his arms.

  “What about the Winter Ball?”

  “What do you mean?”

  He looked up at me shyly, a foreign expression to his usually confident face. “Will you go with me?”

  “Of course. I’ve never been to a dance before.”

  “Then maybe we can plan something special for after... you know… if you’re ready.”

  I grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “But it’s two months away.”

  “I know.” He groaned with a smile. He kissed me softly. “But you’re worth the wait.”

  My thoughts were consumed with the pending loss of my virginity. I knew it was a normal part of life, but I wished I had someone to talk to about it. I wished I could ask my mom questions. I didn’t know why, but I wanted permission.

  I’d begun to grow closer to Briara, but that only meant I was aware that girl talk for her mostly consisted of seances with spirits and ouija board chats. We chatted about crushes a little, but when the conversation got a little more personal, she always changed the subject. Still, I thought I’d give her a try. Who else did I have in my life?

  Briara’s eyes bulged. “You guys haven’t had sex yet?”

  I shrugged. “Well actually, I haven’t had sex with anyone… ever.”

  “You’re a virgin!”

  “I don’t like that word.”

  “Not even with Kai?”

  I shook my head and her posture went rigid. “I’m probably not the best person to talk with.”

  “Right. Of course. Sorry,” I said.

  “Do you want to ask the spirits?” she asked in earnest.

  I shook my head. “I think I’m good. Thanks, though. I’m sure I’ll… you know... figure it out.”

  I lay back in bed and crossed my arms over my face to block out the sensation that I was alone. I had no woman in my life that I felt comfortable enough to ask about this sort of thing. Except maybe Yemoja Roux.

  40

  Kaito

  As if the ranking of the students wasn’t already a huge point of contention at GFA, the headmistress installed a giant digital board that displayed the top 100 students in every building. The class rank of the top 100 was updated in real time as the professors voted students up or down based on their performance in class. Everyone was obsessed. There was a steady camp of students around every board, and friend groups were shattered by shifting ranks among the Elites. I’d even heard the list was streamed online for the public to access. If I wasn’t training to the brink of collapsing every day before the list went up, I certainly was afterward, endlessly pushing the number of objects I could hold and their duration. Since both combat zones always seemed to be booked, I had to find creative ways to test my limits, like touching every book, pencil, backpack, or scrap of paper that crossed my path during the day and holding them in range until I fell asleep.

  The Noble Five were alright because, aside from Quan thinking he should be ranked above Finn, the rest of the rankings were as we expected. Oden on top, followed by me, Enzo, Finn and then Quan. Still, Oden and I had been tense ever since he started dating Reina.

  It was no surprise that Miranda was ranked sixth, but I was shocked to see Carter in seventh. I wouldn’t have thought he would even make the list, let alone the top ten. I wanted to be the type of guy who didn’t care about the list, the type that only knew his rank from being congratulated by other students, but I watched it like a hawk.

  I searched for Carter to congratulate him on such a great rank, but when I found him in the student center, he was playing an impromptu concert to about twenty girls all of whom looked like they were a few songs away from throwing their bras at him. He caught my eye and smiled, nodding to me. Way to go, roomie.

  I had a meeting with the Nobles coming up, but since Oden never showed up on time, I wanted to make sure I was later than he was. Since
I had time to kill, I decided to head to the library to see if I could dig up any information about life in the world before gifts and before the Fae, a topic Zane and I discussed at length that week.

  I hadn’t spent much time at the library since I transferred to GFA, just a few hours after I first discovered it, but I’d since made use of the database of books that I could access from Blue House with my ID card. But since I was set to meet the guys at the student center anyway, it didn’t make much sense to head back.

  The library was well lit and clean, like the rest of the student center. It had snack machines and nap pods tucked away on one wall. There were always a dozen or so students hanging around its various desk types and couches, which made it feel more like a cozy home than a school library.

  The least popular area was the one with the stacks of books. Most students preferred the digital versions, if for no other reason than because they were much faster to find and access. But something about physical books always charmed me, so I made my way through the seemingly endless rows that stretched twenty feet up and went back further than I cared to explore. I walked through the rows of books, going deeper until I found the history section. Most appeared to be biographies of famous Fae or Fae collections from a specific time period, but I didn’t immediately see anything from before. It must have been further back. I moved quickly along the dates moving back month by month, so I picked up my pace. The shelf wrapped around the corner, like the hedge mazes in the courtyard.

  I turned the corner and froze. Reina was pressed against the bookshelf by Oden, her neck craned back as his mouth devoured her neck, his hands lost beneath her shirt. Her gaze snapped to me and I spun as fast as I could to flee.

  “Wait wait,” I heard her whisper.