He just stared back, looking just as lost for words.
I took a breath. “Will I—?”
A loud noise came from behind me. I turned to see my whole family spill out of Papa’s house. They bunched together, shouting and waving their arms, too fixated on yelling at each other to notice me a hundred feet away.
A gust of wind blew my hair up, accompanied by the sound of wings beating. I jumped and looked over my shoulder as Helios flew to the forest and disappeared.
I never got to say goodbye. My heart sank.
The crowd approached, their words reaching my ears. I stood there and clutched the Fae nectar to my chest. Were they still mad at me?
Papa was in the front of the crowd, holding an axe in his hand. The morning sun clung to the angles of his square face, making him look tired and old for the first time in my life. But there was also a fire lit in his eyes, like an angry bear. Mama was right next to him, looking just as severe. “Wait for what?” Papa yelled at the top of his lungs to one of the farm hands beside him. “My baby girl has been missing since dawn! Yesterday! With that damn Fae! There was a fire in the forest, I’ve been smelling it all night! Bet that damn Fae brought her in there.”
The rest of the group was too busy yelling at each other in chaos to notice me standing there.
Papa and Mama were leaving to try to find me in the woods! Even though I let them down, they were still going try and find me inside a big, dangerous forest.
“I’m just saying,” the grizzled farm hand argued back, “we should think a little more before going into the Fae woods. Think of Albus! He’s dying because he got too close. And you want to march right in? You’ll be a dead man, and the farm needs you now more than ever.”
A couple people in the crowd nodded, mostly ranch hands I’d never talked with before, but the rest of the family let out sounds of protest at his suggestion.
Papa made an annoyed sound and stomped on, toward the forest behind me.
Mama scoffed. “If you think I’m going to wait one more minute when my baby’s in there—” She caught sight of me and stopped in her tracks, causing Papa to stumble and look up. The whole group came to a stop, staring at me with open mouths.
I looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry I made you worry. I—”
The air was squeezed out of me when my parents rushed over and threw their arms around me. Seconds later, the rest of my family piled in for a group hug. They all talked at the same time, shouting over each other.
“You’re safe!”
“What are you wearing? Is that Fae Silk?”
“Where’s your slave?”
Mama pulled back enough to cup my face. “Maira, where did you go?” Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
I looked at Papa. “I went to get this.” I opened my hands and showed him. The Fae nectar’s glow put every torch to shame.
My family gasped.
Papa’s mouth dropped in awe. “By the seasons, I’ve never seen such an amazing sight. Where did you get that?”
I set it in Papa’s large, calloused hands. “It doesn’t matter now. It will cure Uncle Albus. I’m sorry it took me so long to get it.” I swallowed. “I hope it’s not too late.”
“No.” Papa’s hand closed over the vial. The moisture that pooled in his eyes must have been a trick of the firelight because Papa never cried. He pressed his hand over his eyes and took a deep breath. “No, it’s not.” His hand dropped, and he beamed with pride. “You did wonderful, Maira.” He kissed the top of my head.
How long had I waited for such praise? It was like a dream come true. All the more wonderful because it wasn’t marred by any stinging in my legs.
“Let’s give this to your uncle now,” Papa said with excitement.
The family cheered and hurried away, so high on my victory, the burning forest was forgotten.
I paused and looked back at it. I hoped Helios was okay. More than anything, I needed him to be okay.
“Maira,” Papa called from behind me. “Come on.”
I forced a smile on my face. “Yes.” And hurried over to him.
Papa paused, eyes wide. “You ran.” His voice was small with shock.
“Hm?” Mama looked over, curious.
“Maira, you just ran,” Papa repeated in awe.
My smile spread into a real one. “Yes. Yes, I did.”
Mama squealed and hugged me, still careful not to lose our balance.
One day, hopefully soon, they wouldn’t treat me like glass anymore. Now, I could be just like them.
Papa held out his hand, the glowing vial open to me. “I think you should be the one to give this to your uncle.”
Honored, I took it. So much work, from both me and Helios, went into getting this here. I could finally do what I’d set out to do what seemed like so long ago. “Thank you, Papa.”
* * * * *
I woke in the middle of the night. Confused, I looked around, then jumped when something pinged against my window. I swung my legs out of bed. Habit made me pause, still expecting the pain even though it had been a week. I walked to the window.
On the ground below, Helios glowed faintly in the night. He bent down and picked up a small rock off the ground. He paused when our eyes met.
I hurried out of my house as fast as I could without waking anyone. Once I could see him again, and I knew it wasn’t an illusion this time, I couldn’t hold in the excitement. “Helios!”
He smiled. But it was different than any I’d ever seen on him before. There was something soft and gentle in the fiery depth of his eyes. “Hello, Maira.”
I grinned. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“That was the plan, but I found myself wondering if you were okay. I’m glad to see you are.” He shifted from foot to foot, as if he was nervous.
What would a Fae King like him be worried about? “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Oh.” He blinked and looked at the ground. Suddenly he gave a little laugh like he was mocking himself. “I guess I was wondering if I could come see you again?”
I bit my lip, elated. I didn’t want to scare him by throwing my arms around him, so I put my hands behind my back. My heart felt so full, it could burst with happiness. “Yes. As often as you want.”
He reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “It’s a promise then, Maira with the Fae eyes.”
For You
Thank you for reading Fae Eyes.
This book is something that’s something near and dear to my heart. I love Maira so much, but she wasn’t the easiest character to write. There are many characters in books nowadays that are edgy and feisty, but Maira is not like that. She’s kind, first and foremost. It’s easy think of that as weak, but it’s not. She’s able and willing to do any hardship for the sake of another because of that kindness. To me, that’s strength.
When I first got the inspiration for this book, I was trying to come up with a plot for a short story contest. I had this overwhelming image in my head of a girl on the ground of a market place, holding a glowing gem, and staring at a slave Fae that she was terrified of. That she owned. I wrote that scene and the rest of it flowed from there.
I very quickly discovered that what I was writing wasn’t a short story at all when I ran out of available words and I was only half through the story. Well, I deleted a couple scenes, slapped on a hasty ending and submitted it. No surprise, I didn’t win—luckily! After all, I only gave them half a story. But then I was able to add the rest of the story and do Maira and Helios the justice they deserved.
When ever I think of two of them together, I always think of happiness. I can close my eyes, feel the warm sun on my skin, smell the fresh green forest and hear the sweet Celtic music drifting through the trees. Enya’s song, Wild Child, was one of the theme songs to this story.
I hope that you loved this story as much as I did. If you did, please leave a review—even a quick one—letting me know how you felt. It really means the world
to me. I hope that you’ll go onto read the rest of Maira’s and Helios’s story.
Thank you again for committing your time to reading Fae Eyes.
Michelle R Reid
Coming Soon
Maira and Helios will return!
Keep eye out for Fae Frost,
Book Two of the Fae Eyes Series
Coming Fall 2018
Other Works by Me
It’s a little Alice in Wonderland, a little Wizard of Oz and really big twist.
Buy it Now!
About Me
Stories have always been important in my life. From the skits I made up for my friends while jumping on the trampoline (Moon Prism Power!), to my first full length novel I wrote in 8th grade choir against my teacher’s wishes.
I am married to a wonder man and we have three very active kids that keep me on my toes. In college, I studied Zoology, Biology, Art, and English. I drove my counselor nuts. I finally settled on wanting to be an author like my mom. (Alysia S Knight-check her out!)
‘Curiosity killed the cat’ is a good saying for me. I love to figure out how all the pieces of the puzzles fit—whether it be in a book, movie, or real life situation. I like to take what I’ve learned and weave it into my books.
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