Red as Blood

by Anna Santos

  “Because you need to understand why this woman did what she did.”

  “Are you telling me that I won’t be able to have children?”

  “No. I’m sure you’ll have beautiful and strong children. The woman who gave birth to you couldn’t. That was why she made a deal with the Fire Fairy of the Owl Forest.”

  The fairy paused, and I stared at her, unsure if she wanted me to ask her another question or was thinking about what to say next. “My mother made a deal with a fire fairy?”

  “Not just any fire fairy. The one who ruled the other fire fairies in the Owl Forest.” Her fingers brushed my hair. “I’ll tell you again, you’re pretty like your mother, Alora.”

  “My mother’s name isn’t Alora.”

  “Do you know what happens to the fairies who serve a queen that died?”

  I shook my head.

  “They become dormant until a new queen takes her rightful place and wakes them up to serve.”

  “Really?”

  She nodded. “I don’t know what happened to Alora, but her fairies have been dormant, waiting for you to transform and wake them up. It’s up to me to tell you your origins now that you’re old enough to understand. You need to be prepared for when the transformation occurs.”

  “My father would have told me if I wasn’t human.”

  “I don’t think your father knows.”

  “What?”

  “The queen of the Meadows made a deal with the fire fairy queen to bear the king’s child. Alora took on the queen’s appearance and slept with the king. When she was pregnant, she transferred the baby to the queen’s womb. The queen gave birth to you, but your real mother is Alora. Snow, you’re half-human and half-fairy. When you turn twenty-one, your fae genes will surface, and your magic will emerge. The current queen has no idea of your origins, or she would have killed you when you were a child.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means you’ll become a fairy when you turn twenty-one and survive the change.”

  I was too baffled to speak.

  “Alora disappeared a few years ago. We don’t know exactly what happened to her. Maybe she was captured and killed by the Black Oak Leaf’s Order. Her fairies seem to be dormant.”

  “Is the queen part of that order?” Belle joined us.

  “Marlena? Yes, she is one of the top leaders.”

  “What’s their goal?” I asked.

  “Their goal is to take over the kingdoms that aren’t part of the Fae domain and gather enough power to fight against the fae people. They believe that they can use fae magic against their kind. They imprison my people in magic iron mirrors and force them into slavery.”

  “How can we stop her?”

  The Fairy Queen grinned. “I’ll tell you once we are gathered with your husband and the alpha.”

  Once my husband and Drake returned from the forest, the Great Fairy invited us to her palace, so we could share information and come up with a plan.

  Traveling through a portal into another land was a new experience for me. Drake held his wife’s hand and walked in front of Dorian and me. We stepped inside a beautiful room with golden walls and vines entwined around marble columns. Sunlight streamed through the open windows, and the air was filled with the honeyed scent of lilies and vanilla. My mouth dropped open in awe. The queen was all smiles and grace, walking as if there was no gravity.

  “This place is beautiful,” I said, looking at Belle who didn’t seem to be as awestruck as I was.

  “I looked like you the first time I came here,” Belle said, giggling. “Outside is even more beautiful.”

  “You can look out the windows, if you want,” the queen said, walking to a table at the far end of the room and taking a seat.

  I was going to walk to the windows but stepped back when flashes of light entered the room and flew straight to the table where the queen was. Then, like magic, tinkling dust spread in circles and zigzagged over the table, creating all sorts of cakes, colorful drinks, and a tea set.

  My eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as I leaned closer to look at the twinkling shapes. “What are those?”

  “Fairies,” Belle answered.

  “Oh!” I pulled on Dorian’s arm. “Fairies.”

  He offered me a dashing smile that made my stomach drop. Suddenly, the fairies and the beautiful scenery weren’t that dazzling anymore. Even if the word fairy reminded me of the Great Fairy’s reveal of my origins.

  “What is wrong?” Dorian asked, inching his face closer to mine.

  I shook my head and smiled again. I needed to focus. “We should join the queen at the table and talk about what brought us here.”

  Dorian agreed, and we walked to the table where Belle was already sitting down with Drake’s help. It must be hard to carry around her huge belly like that. She was brave. I’d probably lie down all day and complain. Belle didn’t even if she confided that her feet were swollen a lot, and it was painful to walk most of the time.

  Once everybody was seated, the queen waved her hand, and the tea was magically poured into the china cups. Drake grabbed a plate and placed a variety of cakes on it to offer to his wife. Belle loved cake. Everybody knew that once we spent a few days with her.

  A few more minutes of discussing what we had talked about the previous day, and the Great Fairy was informed of Dorian’s plan to return to the Meadows Kingdom and infiltrate the palace to steal the queen’s key and enter her secret room to free the fae trapped in the magical mirror.

  “But we don’t know how to free your husband from the prison he’s in,” Belle said to the queen.

  “If it’s true that the queen is smitten with Dorian and is planning to kill the king and steal Snow’s crown, then we should do something about this. The witches’ power grows every year. I’ve been fighting them whenever I can, but I can’t defeat them on my own. We need to stop Marlena from taking complete control of the Meadows Kingdom’s army.”

  “She’s powerful because of her magic,” Belle said.

  The queen nodded. “Fae can’t lie, and my husband is a powerful one. She’s using his knowledges to learn more magic while she drains his life force.”

  Dorian rested his folded hands on the table. “The Evil Queen believes that Snow is dead and that I’m in my kingdom recovering from an injury suffered from the attack. I’m sure she was the one ordering the attack, though I’m not certain why she did that. Maybe to prove to me that there are robbers living in the Black Forest, and they are the culprits for Snow’s death.”

  “Marlena has made questionable decisions time after time. I believe that her first plan was to have a child with the king. A series of miscarriages have prevented her from that goal. Snow is still the sole heir to the throne. She had to get rid of her,” the Fairy Queen said.

  “She tried to marry me off to someone I didn’t love, so I would be sent away. When she realized that Dorian and I were in love, she tried to kill me on several occasions. I’m alive because I was lucky, and Belle saved me the last time,” I joined the conversation.

  “Not just lucky, Snow. You probably have a guardian looking after you. All—” The queen stopped talking. Leaning forward, she questioned me, “Do you mind if I tell your friends and husband what I told you?”

  I felt blood rushing to my cheeks, though, there was no shame in being half human and half fairy. Nevertheless, I wanted to process that information before revealing it to everyone. “We are here to talk about how to defeat the Evil Queen. I’ll tell them some other time.”

  The Fairy Queen nodded. “We were talking about Marlena. She’s arrogant and vain. She believes that beauty is a weapon and is smart enough to use it to achieve her goals.”

  “She tried to seduce me several times,” Dorian shared. “I’m sure that if I return and show interest in her, I can distract her long enough to grab the key around her neck and enter her secret magic room.”

  “We need to save the king before she kills him,” Belle added.
>
  I bobbed my head in acknowledgement.

  “My sources say that she’s been drugging him,” the queen shared.

  “Then we could give him medicine to purge the drugs from his system. Once he’s aware of what’s going on, I’m sure he’ll order his men to arrest the queen,” Drake said.

  “We don’t know what men are loyal and not,” I added.

  “We know the captain of the guard is corrupt, and the hunters are under her orders,” Dorian said. “We also have no idea which noble families we can trust. The reasonable thing to do once the queen is imprisoned is to ask my father and Drake’s forces to enter the kingdom and keep the peace until the traitors are dealt with.”

  “The population might not see the use of foreign troops to keep the peace as a good thing,” Belle thought aloud. “Humans are fearful of vampires and have been taught to fear werewolves for years. Vampires are less feared, but they still believe that vampires drink from humans and see them as prey and not allies.”

  “The army will obey my father as long as the evil queen is stopped,” I said. “Also, if the captain is her ally, we can interrogate him. When I was attacked, many defended my father and me. Not everybody was under the queen’s control. I’m also sure that’s why she drugged my father. Without him, she can rule without being questioned or seen as a usurper.”

  The Fairy Queen sipped her tea. “I guess we have a lot of things to discuss.”

  “We need to come up with the perfect plan,” Belle agreed.

  “There’s no such thing as a perfect plan,” Dorian uttered, “But we might as well create an almost invincible one.”

  “I’m sure, among us, we can come up with something.” The Fairy Queen grinned. “Now drink and eat. We all think better on a full stomach.”

  “I’m always hungry,” Belle grumbled as she stuffed a cake in her mouth. Drake bent down to kiss her. “Why did you kiss me?”

  “You had cream on your lips.”

  “We’re in public.” Belle glanced at Dorian and me with a shy expression.

  We giggled when Drake’s face turned crimson, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “They are family.”

  “We are,” I assured them, taking a hold of Dorian’s hand. “It seems that werewolves aren’t the only ones who aren’t afraid of the public display of affection. Vampires also like to show how much they love their beloveds in public.”

  Dorian’s lips curled into a big grin. “It’s true. You’re married and expecting a child, so protectiveness and affection are expected from the alpha.”

  “Belle was always extremely shy,” Drake commented.

  His wife looked at him sideways. “I was not.”

  He patted her head. “You were, honey. I had to be tactful around you when I was courting you.”

  Belle grumbled and dug into another cake from her plate. “I was the first one to mark you.”

  Drake pursed his lips and swallowed his laughter. The protective werewolf picked up a napkin and cleaned the corners of her lips. “I love you, too.”

  Chapter TWENTY-THREE

  Snow’s POV

  The Fairy Island was something I’d never forget. Once the plan was agreed upon, we returned home, and I had a lot to think about. Dorian felt that something was troubling me. He didn’t push me to share and was happy to cuddle me to sleep as he talked to me about his family and what he liked to do when he was home. These moments with him felt perfect. I wanted to enjoy them in case we didn’t have a lot of time left together.

  Loving someone brought much joy, but it could also make us feel as if we were underwater, unable to breathe. The more I found out about my stepmother, the more I was sure that she wasn’t someone we could fool easily. She had managed to trick my father for years. I never suspected that she was a witch, maybe vain and jealous but not an evil witch who wanted to steal my father’s crown and kill innocent people because they weren’t from our world. People I was related to. What did it mean to be a fire fairy? The Great Fairy had answered the majority of my questions, but I had never lived among the fae and had no idea what fire fairies looked like. The Fairy Queen’s fairies were small and shone brightly, whereas she was tall and resembled a human. If it weren’t for the flawless skin, supreme beauty, and pointy ears, no one would say that the queen was a fairy. I was delicate, had pale skin, and dark hair. My looks were far from an elf. A vampire maybe, but not an elf. The queen said that she would appear again—once the evil queen’s matter was resolved—to talk to me about what was going to happen when I transitioned in a few years.

  The next morning, I followed the path to the stables and spent a few minutes brushing and talking with my beloved animal friend. It had been a while since I gave Thunder the attention my horse needed.

  “And then she said my mother isn’t my mother, can you believe that?” I asked Thunder. His eyes remained the same, but he waved his tail as if urging me to continue brushing him. “Do you think Father knows? I don’t think so. If I have another mother, why did she never come to talk to me? The Great Fairy says that she disappeared, and, it seems, that I’ll never know this mother, either.” I exhaled, shaking my head. “I have a lot more questions now that I’ve slept and thought about it.”

  “Snow, what’s going on?”

  Dorian’s voice behind me startled me. I spun around and looked at him with the brush tucked against my chest. “When did you arrive?”

  “Just now. I was with Drake, practicing the sigil and the enchantment that we need to free the Fairy King from his prison.”

  “It seemed easy enough,” I said, nodding. “You need to be careful. We don’t know where the room is located.”

  “Drake and my men will look for it while I entertain the queen and steal the key. The Fairy Queen gave us the tools we need to free her husband. You need to trust that everything is going to be fine. I know you barely slept with worry.” He moved closer, and his fingers tangled in my hair. His lips brushed against my forehead, and I smiled with the tingling sensation in my lower stomach. “Did brushing Thunder relax you?”

  “A bit. I’ve missed him. He’s been here since the day I was saved and hasn’t had a lot of time to run around. I might take him for a walk today.”

  “There’s an orchard nearby. We could go there.”

  “Don’t you have anything to do?”

  “I’m waiting for Luke to come back. The alpha has men outside the veil, patrolling and keeping an eye for his arrival. He’ll bring news from my father, and we can’t leave without him.”

  I nodded. “I’m sure everything will go according to plan.”

  Dorian frowned, and his fingers touched my cheek. “You seem troubled. You used to smile a lot more than this.” He spoke close to my lips. “You didn’t wait for me to get up and take a bath with you this morning. Are you already tired of your husband?”

  My lips curled up, and I kissed him. “Of course not. I’ll never get tired of you. I just have a lot on my mind.”

  “It’s not like we are going to be apart. You’re coming with me, remember?”

  My smile grew wider. “That’s the only part of the plan that I like.”

  “Only that?” He feigned sadness. “Are you jealous that I have to seduce the queen?”

  I looked away. “A bit. But I’m more worried that she might do something to you if she suspects you’re not being true or that I’m still alive.”

  “It’s a small price to pay to save your father and your kingdom.”

  “I don’t like that you and our new friends have to risk your lives because of me. I feel guilty. People have already died to save me when we were attacked.” I scratched my nail against the top button of his coat.

  Breathing deeply, I closed my eyes to memorize the flowery scented cologne that he always wore. I liked how he smelled and how nice it felt when my head nestled against his shoulder. Being with Dorian felt like home no matter where we were.

  “Protecting the ones we love is natural, Snow.” Dorian pulled me into hi
s embrace. “I don’t like that you’ll be in danger once you step inside your kingdom. Even if you’re going disguised as one of my elite warriors and wearing armor, I worry that the queen might recognize you and kill you on the spot.”

  “Dorian, if I was anything other than a human, would you still love me?” I asked, completely changing the subject of our conversation.

  “It doesn’t matter what you are, Snow. You’re meant to be mine, and I yours. You’re a human now, but once you’re older, you’ll become a vampire like me. Do you love me less because I’m a vampire?”

  “No.”

  He caressed my head. “Then, why would you ask me something like that?”

  I brushed my cheek against his shoulder and shivered with the warm feeling spreading down my limbs from being in his arms. “I might not be able to become a vampire like you.”

  “There is a slight chance that you might not survive, but you’re young and—”

  I raised my head to look at his face. “No. There’s something you need to know about me.”

  “You know you can tell me anything.”

  I puckered my lips, evading his gaze, and nodded. “Yesterday, the Great Fairy came to talk to me. You and Drake were in the forest, and Belle was resting at home.”

  “Was it something you talked with her about before we arrived?”

  “Yes.” I looked into his eyes that were brimming with concern. “She told me a secret that I don’t think even my father knows.” I swallowed a knot that was forming in my throat. “It’s about what my mother did for me to be born.”

  “What did she do?” he asked, his brows furrowing.

  “My mother isn’t my real mother. She gave birth to me, but my real mother is a fire fairy named Alora.”

  Relief flooded my body once I told him the truth.

  “How could the queen give birth to you if your mother is a fairy? I know that fairies can swap their babies for human babies when they can’t raise their own, or they need to protect them. Normally, the human baby dies or is killed by their enemies. Is that what happened to you?”