The First Secret

by Maya Daniels

  “Fine, find someone else then. Not Darion.”

  “He is the best tracker, Fern.” She tried to reason with him, but he was a long way from listening.

  “I am the best tracker after you!”

  “And you are going, aren’t you?”

  “I thought I asked you to help.” Fern snarled. She smiled and his gut twisted. She enjoyed seeing him like this. Still, he couldn’t control his anger.

  “I am helping you. You’re just too ignorant and stubborn to see it.”

  “You don’t understand!” he tried pleading. “I can’t look after them both. If Darion goes, and it’s not just me, the human will die.”

  Shaking her head like he’d disappointed her, Artemis closed her eyes with a sigh. Fern opened his mouth to keep talking, but a loud gasp behind him made all the blood drain from his face. Raphael groaned as if in pain and tapped the back of his head on the window.

  Iris wiped her hands on her thighs as she stared in the mirror. It was almost like she’d forgotten how she looked when wearing anything but a dress.

  The flat knee-high leather boots felt as comfortable as being barefoot and the soft fabric of her pants was unlike anything she had seen or touched before. It had an almost silky feel, but it looked like cotton. Whatever it was, it was so comfortable that she was sure she’d never want to take the pants off. At first, Iris wasn’t so sure about the corset that Artemis sent her, but after thinking about it, she decided that her friend knew best. The weather remained hot and walking for an extended period would make it feel even warmer.

  She needed to talk to Artemis before they left. Dark hair floated around her pale face, and her green eyes stared back at her, wide and worried. Iris looked at the low waist of her pants and the golden glowing symbols that had appeared on her skin. She racked her brain for when it could’ve happened, but apart from that burning sensation when Darion had appeared at her door, Iris couldn’t recall another instance. That’s not to say it couldn’t have happened sooner. She’d had one shock after another ever since Raphael waltzed into her store. Honestly, she considered herself lucky for remembering her own name at the moment.

  Grabbing the cloak hanging on the side of the tall mirror, she headed to see Artemis. If anyone would know what these symbols meant, and why they had mysteriously appeared on her body, it would either be Artemis or Ivy. Iris felt more in the mood to see her friend than Ivy, so she hurried towards her friend’s rooms. When she neared the room, a male voice she would recognize anywhere floated through the open doors.

  “…the human will die!” Fern snarled. Iris couldn’t hide the gasp that echoed in the empty hallway.

  Not wanting to be seen, or see the jerk elf, and forgetting everything about glowing symbols, Iris ran towards the courtyard. The asshole didn’t think she could keep herself alive, let alone help his realm. It was like a slap in the face, and everything blurred from the unshed tears. Fae stopped in their tracks to watch her almost fly by them in her rush to get out of the palace. Her hair trailed behind her like a dark flag. The cloak catching on a statue made her stumble, but she didn’t stop until she burst through the front doors and plowed straight into Darion, almost causing them both to topple to the ground.

  “Whoa there, human.” Wrapping his arms around her, Darion stumbled but somehow managed to hold them both up. “What’s the hurry? I wasn’t going to leave without you.” Giving her a charming smile, he kept his arms around her.

  Iris couldn’t answer, pull away, or even straighten up as pain lanced her hip. She kept her lips pressed firmly together because if she dared to move, she knew that she’d empty her stomach all over Darion. Nostrils flaring, she did her best to push down the bile rising in her throat, squeezing her eyes shut while tears streamed down her face.

  “What’s wrong?” Darion changed from a charming guy into a warrior who would’ve made her shiver in fear if she’d been able to do anything else but breathe through her nose.

  Squaring his shoulders, and pulling out wicked looking short swords, he pushed her behind him, bending his knees as if bracing for an attack.

  Iris wanted to tell him that nothing was wrong, but she could only whimper and wrap her arms around her middle, bending down from the burning pain. Even though her whole body felt stiff as a rock and her arms were tightly wrapped around her, her thumb moved to touch the tips of her fingers. The heat of magic started building at the center of her chest, and Iris couldn’t even warn Darion to run away. Please, no, no, noooo, she screamed in her head. I don’t want to hurt him. But it was too late. A blast erupted from her. Slamming into Darion’s back, it sent him flying away until he skidded to a stop a couple of yards away.

  The burning on her hip lessened, then slowly faded into nothing, leaving her nerves frayed and her mind confused. Why was this happening to her? Finally able to straighten up, Iris took a much-needed deep breath and turned to see if the poor Fae was okay. A sound between a growl and a groan erupted from the palace doors, stopping her in her tracks. First, she squinted, then shock hit her as Fern lifted himself off the ground where he was apparently sprawled, and his glowing sapphire eyes locked on hers. His long black hair was mused and looked wild, making him more breathtaking than he had any right to be. Iris opened her mouth to ask him if he was okay or apologize—she wasn’t sure which—but then remembered why she’d run outside. Giving him a glare that made him look at her startled, she turned her back on him and stomped towards Darion.

  “Serves you right, jerk,” she muttered under her breath.

  Walking as close as she dared to Darion, Iris’s concern rose. He lay face down in the dirt, his arms and legs flung around him, unmoving. The last thing she needed was to kill one of the Fae while they were keeping her safe here from Claude. Although, if she’d killed Darion, the crazy vampire king would be the least of her worries. Her heart beat again as Darion groaned and flipped onto his back, peering up at her through thick lashes.

  “Oh, good! You’re fine!” Sounding a little too chirpy to her own ears and clapping her hands like some kindergarten teacher, she straightened up and looked around. “Let’s go then!” Not wanting him to see how freaked out she was, Iris started walking in a random direction.

  “The human is strange,” Darion groaned, but she kept walking.

  “Yeah, she is something,” Fern replied, much closer than she expected him to be. “You are going in the wrong direction,” he called out to her.

  Not missing a beat, she spun around and, ignoring them both, started walking back towards them. As she neared where they were standing and watching her, she lifted her chin stubbornly and tried to walk by them, but Fern grabbed hold of her cloak and steered her in the direction they needed to go. She hadn’t been headed that way the second time either, but she’d be damned if she told him that.

  “I knew that!” Iris sniffed and stomped towards the gray horizon stretching in front of her. She heard the two men chuckle behind her, but she did her best to ignore them. Well, until they spoke.

  “Who angered the human?” Darion asked.

  “Who angered the human?" Iris mimicked, mocking Darion's voice. "The human has a name. It’s Iris.” Glaring over her shoulder at him, she lifted her chin. “You better start using it, or I’ll send your ass flying again. See how you like that!”

  Fern’s laugh boomed and echoed behind her, and no matter how hurt or upset she was with him, Iris couldn’t stop her lips from twitching before they lifted at the corners and spread into a smile. She was just happy the jerk elf didn’t see it. Calling him elf even in her own head when she knew how much he hated it made her snicker.

  “I have a feeling that sound she made is not a good thing,” Darion observed, and this time she couldn’t help but laugh.

  Fern kept his focus centered on Iris as she walked a few paces in front of him and Darion. After whatever had made her magic flare up in front of the palace, she ignored them both completely. He wasn’t sure what she’d heard, and his gut twisted to think tha
t she now thought he was just like those controlling and possessive humans her and Ivy spoke about. No, Fern decided, he wasn’t like them at all. He only wanted the witch to stay safe and alive to save his realm. Keeping Darion away from her was part of that too, and not because he cared if she fell for his friend’s charms.

  The longer they walked through the barren grayness, the more his heart hurt for all the perished beauty and nature. Amongst all the dead, gray land, Iris stood out like an oasis in a desert. Like something you should worship. He clenched his fists and changed his line of thinking. To this day, Fern didn’t know how none of them had noticed their realm declining. Had Lazarus placed some sort of illusion to blind them to the damage and destruction he brought, or were his kind really as arrogant and full of themselves as Raphael and Iris had pointed out more than once? So lost in his own thoughts and drowning in guilt for letting Lazarus guide him around like a fool, Fern didn’t notice that Darion had jogged the few paces to catch up with Iris until he heard him talk.

  “You’re feeling better now, Iris?” Darion gave her a disarming smile. She turned to look at him when he said her name for the first time, and he shrugged, looking apologetic. “Thank you for telling me your name.”

  Iris searched his face for some sign of him trying to be a smartass but found his expression open, friendly, and pleading for forgiveness. Keeping her distance in case the pain from her hip hit again, she glanced over her shoulder at Fern. She wondered what game he was playing by sending Darion to talk to her, but one look at him told her he wasn’t happy about it either. Jaw clenched, he looked ready to rip a stone apart with his bare hands. Darion cleared his throat, and Iris looked away from Fern.

  “You’re welcome, and yes, I do feel better. I have no idea what happened back there.” Looking in front of her so he didn’t see her confusion at Fern’s reaction, Iris exhaled a deep sigh. “You know, when any of you call me human, you make the word sound like something bad, or useless.” Glancing at Darion from the corner of her eye, she saw his lips part in shock. “I’m not saying you mean it that way. Well…” She tilted her head left and right as if debating. “Not all of you, let’s say. Anyway, it makes me feel like you see me lower than the dirt on your boot. It’s not a nice feeling, I can tell you that much.”

  “I’m sorry.” Sincerity shone in Darion’s voice. “I never meant it like that. To us, to me, saying human is like when a youngling has a new toy.” When Iris looked at him sharply, he backpaddled. “The word, I mean. Using it. It’s new, and I have never seen one…a human. It never occurred to me that it might sound insulting to you. For my part in making you feel like that, I’m truly sorry.”

  Fern snorted behind them, and Iris turned to glare at him over her shoulder. She couldn’t help wondering why he had to be such a jerk all the time. Iris hadn’t done anything to him personally. Okay, she’d almost got him killed, but that was beside the point. It’s not like she wanted Claude to kill them both. So, why the hell did he hate her so much? And what’s worse, why did she feel this pull that made her melt every time she looked at him? It was obvious that she’d told Ivy the truth. She really was only attracted to assholes.

  Iris realized that she hadn’t replied to Darion in longer than was polite, so she turned and gave him a rare, genuine smile.

  “Thank you, Darion.” His smile slipped, and his lips parted as if seeing her for the first time. A frown pulled her eyebrows together, and she lost her smile. “You are forgiven,” she told him awkwardly and sped up to put as much distance as she could between them.

  Fern believed that finally, his heart was as numb as his fingers were from clenching them tightly. The smile that lit up Iris’s face felt like the sun had turned all its attention to whoever received it. He saw the change in Darion as well when his friend gaped at her, stupefied. Fern itched to punch him in the face. The witch would be the death of him. Her hair bounced around her shoulders in sync with her pert little ass when she walked faster, putting distance between her and Darion. The red haze he was in subsided.

  “I would help you close your mouth, but I don’t know who will close mine,” Darion spoke from next to him. Fern hadn’t even noticed his friend. The witch would definitely be the death of him if he didn’t start paying attention.

  “You should keep your distance,” Fern told him curtly. Darion’s eyebrows hit his hairline.

  “Is that how things are?” He looked more closely at Fern and couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed his stiff posture until now.

  “There are no things. Don’t be stupid, Darion.” Fern turned his sapphire eyes towards him. “We know nothing about her, or what she really is. Keeping our distance is the smart thing to do, or we might end up with another Lazarus on our hands.”

  “Dear fates, you have lost your mind.” Darion looked at him incredulously. “You actually believe the bullshit coming out of your mouth right now.” Throwing his head back, Darion stopped in his tracks and roared in laughter. He even slapped his thigh a few times and tears glistened on his lashes before sliding down his cheeks.

  “It looks to me like I’m the only one who hasn’t lost their mind. All of you, even Ivy and Artemis, run around like pups to her every whim.” Snarling, Fern sped up. Darion laughed louder.

  “It looks to me that you like the hu…Iris.” Jogging up to Fern, Darion corrected himself before using the word that made Iris uncomfortable. “Maybe more than like, huh, old friend?”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Not slowing down, Fern kept walking.

  “Oh, I know what I’m talking about, I assure you. I just didn’t think I’d see the day.” Chuckling, Darion kept pace with him.

  “You sound like Artemis.”

  “And she is a brilliant woman if she saw through your bullshit sooner than the rest of us.” Those words earned Darion a glare promising pain, but he smiled even brighter at Fern.

  “Let’s catch her before the witch gets herself killed.”

  With a clenched jaw, Fern broke into a jog after Iris, and her head turned to look back over her shoulder as if she could sense him moving closer.

  What an interesting reaction, Darion thought to himself, and keeping his smile, he followed Fern.

  “This is going to be an exciting adventure.” He chuckled under his breath.

  The heat was getting unbearable as the three of them continued walking with no end in sight. The scenery blurred, and Iris rubbed at her eyes in hopes of relieving the dryness that made them itchy. A movement to her right got her attention, but she had to blink a few times to realize that Darion proffered a flask of water. She hadn’t drank anything since before they left the palace. With a grateful smile, she took it and sipped slowly. The cold water felt heavenly as it cooled her parched throat.

  “I know it seems like there is no end to the walking, but we should be able to see the hills soon.” Fern spoke from her other side making her glance at him.

  He’d been quiet ever since Darion laughed at whatever he’d said. Was it an hour ago? A few hours ago? Iris had no idea how long they’d been walking. The only thing she knew was that her legs were about to give out on her. The way her hair stuck to her face annoyed her, and she flapped the cloak to get some sort of a breeze on her skin.

  “Do you want to stop and rest?” Darion offered, but she shook her head and kept walking.

  “I will not be the weakest link,” she told him, her voice raspy from being quiet for so long.

  “The what?” Fern turned towards her, but Iris stared straight just so she didn’t have to look at him.

  She felt his nearness way too keenly for her liking, almost as if her body was aware of his location at all times. It wreaked havoc on her hormones and her mind. If she looked at his face, she was worried she might start drooling like some idiot, so to be safe, she didn’t even glance his way.

  “The weakest link. You know?” Waving her hand, she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. “They ask questions, and you try to
answer them the best you can. If you get it right, you help your team. If you keep getting things wrong, you are the weakest link. Sometimes they even flush them down a tube.” She snickered, remembering watching that show.

  “Maybe we should stop,” Darion spoke to Fern over her head. “I think she is hallucinating and talking nonsense.”

  “She is talking about some human things.” After watching her for long moments, Fern added, “It is not a bad thing to stop, Iris. We all need to rest for a blink.”

  She shivered when Fern said her name. It sounded exotic and beautiful when spoken in his deep, musical voice, and she looked at him. His sapphire gaze traced her face as if he expected her to pass out at any moment. He wasn’t far from the truth, but somewhere along the way, Iris had convinced herself that she must not show weakness. They expected her to save an entire realm after all. She would get to those damn caves even if she had to claw her way there.

  “It doesn’t look like the two of you need rest.” She stumbled, almost tripping over her own feet. Fern grabbed her arm to steady her. “I’m fine.” Jerking her arm away, she continued walking. “I can walk.”

  “Iris, stop!” Grabbing her arm again, Fern yanked her to his chest. “It’s not a weakness to stop for a blink.” Looking up at him, her heart leaped in her throat. “I swear it.” All Iris could do was blink. “And I will not flush you down a tube. You have my word.” His lips twitched before he smiled tentatively.

  “Darion?”

  Fern frowned and dropped his smile when she called to the other Fae. Darion popped his head into her line of sight. “I think you were right. I’m hallucinating.” Iris kept staring at Fern, and at her words, his lips curved into a beautiful smile.

  “Or maybe the heat got to Fern’s head, and he is delirious.” Darion chuckled and scanned the area for a place to rest.

  The dead, leafless trees were sparse, but there were some close by that they could use for shade. Indicating one with a broader trunk than the rest, Darion headed towards it. Iris tried to turn and follow, but before she even pushed herself away from Fern, he scooped her up in his arms. Not giving her time to argue or wiggle out of his hold, he followed Darion with determined steps.