by A. L. Knorr
Her expression slid into a smug smile. "Touché. Perhaps you do have the heart of a fae after all. We are nothing if not unpredictable."
"Did it all turn out as you knew it would? I mean, could you foresee how things would go with Daracha?" I almost held my breath, hoping desperately she would say yes. I didn't want to believe she had risked my life and Byrne's life for the sake of an evening’s entertainment.
All of the artifice slipped out of Queen Elphame's features, and for a moment I could see the young fae girl she'd once been. I knew then that she'd once been like me, idealistic and simple. It was the crown that made her crafty.
"I could not foresee Daracha's future, no. But there was something I foresaw about you. Something I did not fully understand until you freed the ithe."
Goosebumps swept over my calves and I fought back a shudder. "What was that?"
"That you and your father were destined to save one another, and my part had to be very small or it would not happen."
Unexpectedly, her words brought tears to my eyes. I blinked rapidly to clear them. I didn't want to cry in front of Queen Elphame.
She went on, her tone earnest, "I didn't know who he was or what had happened to him, I only knew his spirit was inextricably tied to yours. To free him, you had to be willing to give up everything, and to have the opportunity to lose everything, you had to be in real danger."
I looked down at my feet as her words washed over me. In the end, the queen had done the right thing. I took a few breaths before lifting my eyes to hers. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The tiniest of guileless smiles graced her mouth. "You're welcome, Georjayna the Wise."
We just looked at one another for a long moment. “Anything else?”
Queen Elphame just shook her head. “Not from me.”
I got up, prepared to leave and stopped when I remembered something. Fishing the rosehip out of my pocket, I held it out to her. “Would you like this back?”
She hesitated, then reached out her hand and took it. She studied it before setting it on the arm of her seat. “I’ll keep it in remembrance of you.”
I gave her a shy smile and curtsied. As I left the Queen's presence and went to find Byrne and Fyfa, I thought perhaps now I understood why the fae had the reputation that they had. In books, poems, movies, and stories that had been told in many cultures the world over, the fae were always known for mischief and magic, mayhem and misdirection. In hindsight, the Queen's actions had been exactly what the situation needed, not an ounce more or a drop less. If half my heart was the heart of a fae, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.
Epilogue
As Byrne, Fyfa and I slurped up the last of her nut soup, sitting in the grass in her overgrown glade, I realized I had gotten so much more out of my trip to Scotland than I ever dreamed of. What had started as a dream to find a mentor was overachieved when I met Fyfa. What had begun as a desire to reconnect with Jasher had been unexpectedly surpassed by falling in love with Lachlan. What had been a hole in my heart and a feeling of being unworthy of my father's love had led to the revelation of Byrne: my father was fae and his existence helped me make sense of my own. An overwhelming feeling of gratitude came over me as I set my empty bowl on the picnic blanket Fyfa had laid out. I listened to Fyfa giggle at something sweet Byrne had said about her cheekbones.
When their eyes fastened on something behind me and the sound of the grass stirring reached my ears, I looked over my shoulder expecting to see Laec. Hoping to see him, if I was honest. I didn't like the way we'd left things.
My heart leapt for joy when I saw a lavender mare with indigo hair wander into the glade from the path in the trees. She saw me and stretched out her neck, whickering gently.
"Alish!" I sprang to my feet and crossed the glade to where she'd stopped in the shade of the trees. Reaching her, I touched what was at eye level: her velvet soft nose. She lowered her head enough for me to kiss her between the eyes. Her pale purple ears flicked forward and back.
"It all turned out okay, Alish." I figured that was why she'd come. Perhaps the little faeries had told her I was back in Stavarjak. "Did you come to say goodbye?"
She gave a soft snort and snuffled at the grass near my feet. She clipped off a mouthful, swung her head to look behind her and then back at me. Squinting through the trees, I caught sight of the distant herd. A mass of shifting bodies in blues and purples nearly blending in to the mountain range behind them.
"I see, you were in the neighborhood and thought you'd pop in to say hello. I'm glad you did. Thank you." I stroked her chin. "I'll not forget you. And I've got family here in Stavarjak now, so I'll be back to visit."
Alish nickered once in answer and nuzzled the palm of my hand before heading back to her herd. I watched her go before turning around myself to go back to Byrne and Fyfa.
A figure on the other side of Fyfa's cottage appeared through the trees at the place where the path ended. Laec stopped there when he saw me. I changed direction to meet him, and he resumed walking. We met in the middle of the glade, opposite side of the cottage to Byrne and Fyfa.
We stopped and looked at one another. I couldn't read Laec's expression, other than it was somber.
"It’s all over, Laec," I said finally. "No more black witch trying to burn me at the stake. Stavarjak is no longer in danger."
Laec's copper brows pinched together a little. "Do you really think that it was Stavarjak that concerned me the most?"
I shook my head. "I ... I'm sorry about the last time ..."
Laec lost the serious look and the corners of his mouth twitched. "Sorry for what? I'm sorry I ever doubted you or tried to keep you from your destiny. I understand you've uncovered the mystery of your paternity?"
I nodded.
"Still don't think you belong here?"
Belong. What a powerful word. It was what all beings needed in order to feel safe and to understand their place in the world. "I don't think I have to belong to one side or the other, Laec. After all, half my heart is human and the other half is fae. Why can't I belong in both worlds?"
"You sound so young when you talk like that."
His reference to my age reminded me what Fyfa said about the mortality of a Wise, that without we could live long but would eventually die. Within, we were immortal. The idea was a little prickly, and I shied away from letting myself chew on it too much. Leaving my life without wasn't something I was prepared to do, even to live forever.
Laec studied my face intensely. He reached up and put a knuckle under my chin. "Perhaps you have made the right choice. After all it is the fragility of your human mortality that makes life precious on the other side of the veil."
"And what makes life precious on this side of the veil?"
He gave a sad smile and it almost broke my heart. "Only love."
My throat clenched and I took Laec's hand. Under other circumstances ... no. I cut off the thought before it could take root. I adored Lachlan. But, something my mom used to say rose errantly in my mind. Something I'd always rolled my eyes at. It's complicated being young, at times confusing, at times exhilarating, but never boring. It appeared that Liz was at times right.
Perhaps I needed to take up poetry to work it all out. For now ...
"Come on." I pulled Laec around to the cottage to join Byrne and Fyfa.
As I slipped in the back door of Blackmouth Castle, I had Saxony on my mind. Now that the danger was over, I couldn't wait to tell her and Targa everything that had happened. I went up the stairs headed for the bedroom Lachlan and I had shared, where my phone was sitting on the floor next to the bed. Saxony would be in classes right now, and who knew what Targa was up to, but if I texted them now I might be able to get them both for a three-way catch up later in the week.
I found my phone and pounded out a text to our chat group. They didn't respond right away, and that was expected, but a text from Lachlan popped up.
Come over for dinner tonight? I'm making borscht.
I smi
led and tapped out my reply. Can't wait.
I tucked my phone away and left the bedroom, trying to remember where I'd put my history textbook.
"There you are." Ainslie poked her head out of the parlor as I walked by. "How was your session at the cafe?"
"Really good, thanks Ainslie. How are you?"
"In need of a little assistance if I'm honest." She produced a long-handled feather duster and grinned hopefully. "No one can reach those high spots like our resident giraffe."
I laughed and took the duster. Nothing keeps one humble like going from an offer to join the fae queen's court to dusting old paintings and statues of dogs.
Ainslie left me to tackle the parlor and I found myself humming as I worked, feeling totally at peace with the world. Fifteen minutes later, I felt a presence at the door and turned to see Maisie standing at the doorway watching me.
"Hey kiddo. How was school?" I lowered the duster and crossed the parlor to her. She wore her school uniform: a plaid skirt, a navy jumper, and a little beret. She looked adorable. She wore an open backpack which gaped, threatening to spill her water bottle and books onto the floor.
"It was good. I have to read this for homework." She took off the backpack, retrieved a book, and held up it up for me to see.
"Ivy and Bean," I read aloud. The cover showed two friends, both girls, standing back to back and smiling over their shoulders at one another. One had red hair and held a book, the other had black hair and held a ball. They immediately reminded me of Saxony and Targa.
"Will you read it to me?" Maisie looked up at me, eyes wide with hope. "Ainslie won't mind if you dust later."
I tweaked her cheek and led her to the sofa where we settled beside one another. "You know what, Maisie? There's nothing I would like to do more."
And at that moment, there really wasn't.
THE END
Also by A.L. Knorr
The Elemental Origins Series
Born of Water (Targa)
Born of Fire (Saxony)
Born of Earth (Georjayna)
Born of Æther (Akiko)
Born of Air (Petra)
The Elementals
Earth Magic Rises Trilogy
Bones of the Witch
Ashes of the Wise
Heart of the Fae
The Siren’s Curse Trilogy
Salt & Stone
Salt & the Sovereign
Salt & the Sisters
Elemental Novellas
Pyro, A Fire Novella
Heat, A Fire Novella
Rings of the Inconquo
Born of Metal
Metal Guardian
Metal Angel
Mira’s Return Series
Returning
Falling
Surfacing
The Kacy Chronicles
Descendant
Ascendant
Combatant
Transcendent
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