by Karen Lynch
I looked at the small square table between the two chairs that held a large coffee and an assortment of pastries from the bakery I liked. I eyed the coffee, but made no move to pick it up.
Faris smiled. “You look good, Jesse.”
“So do you. I guess neither of us was at our best the last time we saw each other.”
“Not my finest first impression.” He laughed, and it turned into a mild cough. “I hear your parents are doing well.”
“They are. I’m glad to see you’re on the mend, too. I had no idea what happened to you after…” I trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence. I’d come here to ease his mind, not to rehash that awful night.
Faris saved me from the awkward silence. “I was in and out of it for the first week while Faolin hovered around me, forcing copious amounts of iron antidote into me. As you’ve probably noticed, my brother can be a little overbearing.”
“It’s one of his more charming traits,” I said humorlessly. “Why didn’t they take you home? Wouldn’t you heal faster in your realm?”
“Under normal circumstances, yes, but my body is too saturated with iron. It would kill me the second I stepped into Faerie.”
“I didn’t think of that.” Pure iron could not be brought into Faerie because it disintegrated when it came into contact with their air. I shuddered, trying not to think of what would happen to a faerie with that much iron in their system.
He tugged up the blanket that had slipped down his chest. “I am well cared for here with my brother and friends to keep me company.”
“Can you heal in the city?” Court faeries were more sensitive to iron than lower faeries, so they used their magic as a shield against it. The shield depleted their magic, requiring them to return to Faerie periodically to replenish it. Faeries who lived in cities had to go home more often because of the higher concentration of iron.
“Faolin and the others added extra wards to this building to protect me from the iron. I can’t go outside, except to the garden, but I do have the pleasure of seeing you, my angel.”
I made a face. “I told you not to call me that.”
“Did you? I seem to have lapses in my memory lately.”
“How convenient,” I retorted, feeling a little more at ease.
He smiled warmly. “I do remember your kindness to me. I don’t know if I would have made it through that last night without you.”
“And you helped me forget how scared I was. I think I would have curled up in a ball and cried if you hadn’t been there.”
Faris shook his head. “I don’t believe that. Anyone who can stand up to Vaerik and Faolin does not give up easily.”
I tensed at the casual mention of Lukas’s real name, but I hid my discomfort. Faris had no idea that it was another reminder of his friends’ betrayal.
“Are you still bounty hunting?” Faris asked.
I was grateful for the change in topic. “Yes. I get to do a lot more of it now that I’m not looking for my parents.”
“And you enjoy it?”
I lifted a shoulder. “Depends on the job. Last night, I had to catch forty verries. Have you ever seen the size of the stingers on those things?”
A small crash came from the kitchen, like someone had dropped a glass. I didn’t think faeries were ever clumsy.
His mouth fell open. “Forty verries? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
“Luckily no, but some poor guy got stung a bunch of times.” I wrinkled my nose. “I had to smear verry dung on him before they took him to the hospital.”
Faris chuckled. “You do lead an interesting life.”
“For now. If things work out, I’m hoping to be in college this time next year. I will gladly trade in my bounty hunter ID for a student ID.”
“What do you want to study?” he asked.
“Law.” I didn’t elaborate. This didn’t seem like the time to discuss inequalities in Fae laws, or how I wanted to be a legal advocate for lower faeries.
He smiled. “Something tells me you’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”
“You can bet on it.”
A floorboard creaked, drawing our attention to the open door as a huge feline resembling a black lynx with exotic amethyst eyes entered the room. Kaia was Lukas’s pet lamal, and she wasn’t fond of humans. She had only tolerated my presence here in the past because he’d commanded her not to hurt me.
“Kaia, stay,” Faris ordered as she stalked toward me.
She ignored him and kept advancing until she stood before me. I held my breath, afraid to move. Kaia hadn’t tried to hurt me the other times I’d been here, but maybe she could sense that I was no longer a friend of her master.
“Don’t be frightened, Jesse,” Faris said a little too calmly. “Faolin will come and remove her.”
“I’m not –” I yelped when Kaia lifted up on her hind legs and rested her massive paws on my shoulders, putting her face inches from mine. Her warm breath washed over my face, and her long whiskers tickled my nose, making it twitch. I didn’t dare move, and I kept my eyes averted from hers out of fear that she would see it as a challenge.
She lowered her body back to the floor and rubbed her head against my knees. A rumble came from her throat, and it took me several seconds to realize what I thought was a growl was a purr.
“You two are friends?” Faris asked, his shock mirroring mine.
“She’s never done this before.”
“Kaia, come,” said a commanding voice that made my breath catch.
My first instinct was to ignore Lukas, but that would only let him know how much his presence affected me. Casually, I looked at him with what I hoped was a closed expression. Our eyes met for a few seconds, too briefly for me to read his.
The lamal swung her head in his direction but didn’t move from her spot at my feet. I’d never seen her disobey an order from him.
“Kaia.” His voice was sharp as he pointed at the floor beside him.
She stood and slunk over to him. Before she had reached him, he turned and left with her trailing after him. I stared at the empty doorway until Faris spoke again.
“I must apologize for my selfishness, Jesse.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“When I asked to see you, I didn’t consider how difficult it would be for you to come here.” He gave me a knowing look. “Out of all of them, he hurt you the most.”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Can we not talk about that? What do you do to pass the time while you’re recovering?”
Faris glanced toward the door and lowered his voice. “He has not been himself since I came home. He won’t talk about it, but he deeply regrets what happened. They all do.”
I pressed my lips together, at a loss for how to respond.
“I won’t try to excuse my friends’ actions because what they did to you was wrong. All I can do is try to offer some insight into their behavior. The six of us have been together since we were children, and we are more like brothers than friends. We are constantly on alert for threats to Vaerik’s…Lukas’s life, and we have been taught to never trust outsiders.” Faris inhaled deeply and let it out. “For the first time, they let their guard down with someone outside of our circle, and they reacted on instinct when they thought you had hurt me and deceived them.”
My jaw clenched. I couldn’t fault Faris for caring about his friends, but he was seeing this through a flawed lens that only showed him one side of the story.
“I understand them being paranoid about security. They didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet for me, and I was okay with that. But trust works both ways, and they broke mine even before that day. They lied to me about Lukas’s real identity, even after I warned them that someone was trying to kill Prince Vaerik. I had to hear the truth from Rogin Havas while I was a guest in one of his cages.”
I swallowed back the lump that formed in my throat whenever I thought of the utter betrayal I’d felt. “I don’t know what was worse. Finding out I’d been lied to all
along, or how easy it was for them to believe someone like Rogin over me.”
Faris looked stricken. “Jesse…”
“I know you want me to forgive them, but even if I do that, I don’t think I can trust them again.” I gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry if that’s not what you want to hear.”
He held up a hand. “It needed to be heard, though.”
Faris wasn’t talking about himself. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the others listening to our conversation, but it didn’t surprise me. Faeries had superior hearing, and Faolin would never leave me completely alone with his sick brother, even if he had been the one to invite me here.
“I’m truly sorry for what you’ve suffered,” Faris said softly.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” I brightened my smile. “And I’m doing great. I have my parents back, and bounty hunting pays a lot more than my old barista gig. Life is good.”
The sadness left his eyes. “I’m happy to hear that.”
I looked around the room. “Now tell me, why are you sleeping in the library? You don’t have a room here?”
“I do, but getting to it requires my brother or one of my friends carrying me up and down the stairs. Staying down here allows me to hold onto some of my dignity. And to entertain a guest.” He looked at the tray of pastries on the table. “You haven’t touched your coffee. Kerr said you love it.”
“I had coffee at my place. Do you want mine?”
His grimace was almost comical. “Goddess, no. Why would you even ask?”
“You don’t like coffee?”
Faris raised an eyebrow. “You used to work in a coffee house. Have you ever met a Court faerie who likes the stuff?”
I stared at him, trying to figure out if he was pulling my leg. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized he was telling the truth. I’d served coffee to plenty of lower faeries, but I’d never once served it to a Court faerie. I shook my head. “So much for my powers of observation.”
His laugh was light and infectious. The longer we talked, the more at ease I became. I was glad I’d come to see him.
Barely an hour had passed when his eyelids drooped, signaling it was time for me to go. I moved to the edge of my chair, preparing to stand.
“You’re leaving?” he asked with a sleepy slur in his voice.
“Yes. I have a lot to do today.” It wasn’t a lie. I had to bring the nixie and drakkan to the Plaza and get started on those jobs Levi had given me yesterday. Plus, I needed to figure out where to begin my search for the ke’tain.
Faris gave me a hopeful look, and I knew what his next words would be before he said them.
“Will you come back?”
I hesitated to answer, and he said, “I don’t get visitors other than my brother and friends, and I’ve enjoyed your company immensely.”
I pulled out my phone. “What’s your number? I’ll call you to set up a day and time.”
“If you can’t reach me, you can call one of the others,” he said after I’d added him to my contacts.
“I might have blocked their numbers,” I whispered, earning another laugh from him.
“Then I am honored you took mine.”
When I stood, he held out his hand to me. I took it, and he clasped mine between both of his. “Be safe out there, and come back soon.”
“I will.”
I walked to the door, and when I looked back, he was already asleep in his chair. His blanket had fallen again, so I went back to him and gently tucked it around his shoulders.
Turning toward the door, I jumped when I found Faolin standing a few feet behind me. I clapped a hand over my mouth to smother the small scream that would have awakened Faris. All of these guys moved with stealth, but the last one you’d want sneaking up on you was Faolin. He’d never liked me, and I wasn’t stupid enough to think he’d changed because he’d asked me here to visit his brother.
Faolin wore an expression I’d never seen on his face. He wasn’t smiling, but he wasn’t scowling either. His lack of hostility unnerved me, and I quickly skirted around him and left the room.
I knew my way out, so I didn’t wait for him to see me to the door. Call me a coward, but now that my visit with Faris was over, I didn’t want to stick around and risk running into one of the others.
I’d almost made my escape when Lukas’s voice stopped me. “Jesse.”
The urge to flee was strong, but I made myself turn to face him. He stood by the window that overlooked the garden, watching me like I was a skittish doe, which was close to how I felt. I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of emotions from just being alone in the same room with him, and all I could do was stand there and wait for him to speak.
Warmth filled his eyes. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t do this for you,” I said in a stiff voice that didn’t sound like my own.
He nodded and took a step forward. “I want to –”
“No.” My hands curled into fists at my sides. “You’ve already said everything I needed to hear.”
“Quiet,” Faolin whispered harshly as he appeared at the mouth of the hallway. “Do you wish to wake Faris?”
Guilt washed over me. “I’m sorry.”
He grunted and spun to stalk off toward the library, leaving me alone with Lukas.
“Good day, Your Highness.” I caught his wince as I turned away, but I refused to feel bad about it. We weren’t friends, and we were no longer on a first name basis. I had to make that clear if I was going to visit Faris again.
The door opened as I reached for it, and I caught myself before I stumbled backward. Kerr stopped short, causing Iian to nearly run into his back. The shock on their faces told me I was the last person they had expected to see in their home.
They smiled broadly, and Kerr said, “Jesse, you’re here!”
“I came to see Faris.” I pointed at the door they were blocking. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to leave.”
Their smiles fell as they moved aside. I took a step toward the door and found my way blocked by Conlan, who had entered behind them. He looked less surprised to see me and offered a tentative smile I didn’t return.
I brushed past him and almost ran from the building. Outside, I gulped in cold air as I hurried to the Jeep. I barely took time to buckle my seat belt before I drove away.
That had been uncomfortable, but now that I had seen them all, the next encounter would be easier. I would make it clear I was only there for Faris and not interested in rekindling any other friendships. It was better that way for all of us.
* * *
“What do you mean she doesn’t want to leave?” I asked Finch, my gaze moving between him and the nixie peeking out of his tree house window.
Aisla said Faerie is not her home, Finch signed. She doesn’t want to go there.
“But what about her family? Doesn’t she want to see them?”
He shook his head sadly. She was born here, and her old family is gone, like mine. I told her she can join our family and live in my house with me.
My jaw went slack. Finch was territorial about his house and didn’t even like us looking inside. Now he was offering to share it with another faerie?
Can she stay? he asked with pleading eyes. I’ll share my food with her.
“I guess so.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I need to make sure it’s not against the law to keep her here.”
Finch’s face lit up. I told her you would say yes.
“Don’t get excited until we know she can stay.”
Most faeries and Fae creatures we caught were sent to Faerie because they posed a threat to humans. The rest – such as sprites and nixies – were harmless but considered endangered, and they were sent back to their own realm for their protection.
There was a gray area, though. Mom and Dad were able to adopt Finch because he was an orphan and his clipped wings would have made survival impossible for him in Faerie. Aisla was unharmed, but she’d been born in our realm. It would
be cruel to send her to a world she’d never known, but the Agency might believe she’d be better off there than here.
Finch followed me to the office where I spent the next hour going through Agency manuals and searching online. Unable to find an answer, I finally called Levi, who told me the fact that our family had already adopted Finch would lean heavily in our favor. I had to go to the Agency and fill out a bunch of paperwork, but he didn’t see them rejecting the application. They had a lot more to worry about than one orphan nixie.
I relayed all of this to Finch, who danced on the desk before he ran off to tell his new friend the good news. When I returned to the living room a few minutes later, I smiled at the happy squeaks and whistles coming from the tree house.
I looked at the drakkan watching me from his perch on the back of the couch. His bandage was gone, and his wing looked mended from this angle. “I guess it’s just you and me going to the Plaza today.”
He jumped off the couch, disappearing from sight behind it. I walked around it, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Come on, little guy.” I knelt to peer under the couch. “I have a ton of stuff to do today, and I don’t have time to play hide and seek with you.”
Finch whistled, and I looked up at him.
Maybe he wants to stay, too, my brother signed.
I rested my arms on the back of the couch. “He can’t stay here.”
Why not?
“For one, I don’t have time to take care of him. He’s not like Aisla. He’d be a pet, and pets need a lot of care. It wouldn’t be fair to him.”
I can take care of him when you’re not here, Finch said.
“Okay. I’ll go to the grocery store today to pick up some raw meat for him. You’ll need to feed him twice a day.”
Meat? My brother’s blue face took on a yellow tinge.
“Or I could get some live mice, but I think that would be too messy.” Holding back a smirk at Finch’s look of horror, I counted off items on my fingers. “You have to feed him, make sure he has lots of water, train him to use a litter box, and clean up when he has accidents. I think he’s shedding, too, so you’ll have to pick up the scales he drops.”
Finch stared at me. Pets are a lot of work.