by Megan Linski
“It’s a beautiful story, but a little creepy. No way I could be a tree forever.” Emma shook her head. “Only the Arcanea have tales this weird.”
“There are other magical cultures where women have become trees. It’s quite common, actually,” I said.
“I swear if I become a tree in any way, shape, or form, I will wait for you to come by so I can beat your ass with my branches, because it was probably your fault,” she grumped.
I laughed again. “I doubt that’s going to happen. As far as I know, Jadwiga is the only Arcanea who ever changed in such a way.”
“Thank the gods.” She ran her fingers over the bark again. “Can you tell me more about ancient fae? How are they different from us?”
“Not much has changed. Though we’ve integrated with the humans so much, some of our customs have been forgotten.” I put my back against the Willow Maid. “Fae used to be extremely tricky. Our favorite thing to do was mess with humans. The reason we have illusion magic is to fool humans. We’d make fae circles out of mushrooms and create portals to Edinmyre they’d get lost in, or give them bad contracts that were worded in such a way it ended up turning out awful for the person that asked for help. We also used to take their babies for our own, so they could mate with our kind and leave changelings in their place.”
“That’s fucking horrible!” Emma burst in disgust.
“Nobody ever said fae were nice,” I pointed out. “We have a bit of a bad rep in the magical community.”
“I can see why.” Emma huffed. “Are there any other ridiculous fae customs?”
“This tradition has died out, but the fae didn’t like saying thank you. If a deed was done, the fae wanted you to remember it, instead of expressing gratitude. In the ways of the old magic, nothing was ever given without something in return. Gifts were never truly gifts, as nothing was ever given for free. It was once our greatest law. Then we left Edinmyre, and if we wanted to assimilate among the humans, we needed to change.”
“Why would you want to? The fae had tremendous power. I don’t see why they needed to blend in with humans if they had all this magic to use against them.” Emma wrinkled her nose.
“They did have one thing against us. They had iron.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Her eyes narrowed.
“Iron is poisonous to fae. We can’t touch it without being burned,” I said. “I still have a scar on my hand from accidentally scraping it once as a child.” I lifted my palm and pointed to it— just before my thumb was a blotchy red scar that would never quite go away.
“But we use steel swords, and that comes from iron,” she pointed out.
“With fae, specific words mean specific things. That’s how illusion magic works. It’s how fae were able to trick humans into bad contracts for thousands of years,” I explained. “When iron is tempered into steel, it becomes something different. The quality of the metal and its compounds are broken down, making it safe for us to use. But iron in its purest form is highly deadly to fae. That’s why we use other metals to make our weapons, like bronze and copper, and avoid using it to construct our buildings as much as possible.”
“Is there anything else fae are vulnerable to?” She glanced around the valley, probably expecting me to start making a whole list.
“Fae are pretty indestructible. But besides iron, we’re allergic to yarrow, and St. John’s Wort,” I said. “I don’t suggest getting anywhere near either.”
“I took St. John’s Wort once. A girl at school gave me some herbal pills to calm me down before a test, and I got so sick,” she said with clarity, as if a realization was dawning. “Mom freaked out when I told her I’d taken them, and I didn’t get why. I was ill for a week afterward.”
“Well, now you know,” I said.
Emma shifted closer to me. She was so close that I could smell her perfume. Her red hair drifted across my cheek when the wind blew.
If it wasn’t that small incident that made me completely fall for her once more. I was already so far gone.
“Do you really think all Unseelie magic is bad?” she asked. “That all dark magic is evil?”
“I’ve been raised all my life to believe so.”
“That’s hardly an answer.”
I sighed. “I don’t know if it was right that all the Unseelie were killed. But I do know that Seelie shouldn’t tamper with dark magic. That includes you, Emma. Seelie blood runs in your veins. You’re a fae of the day court. You’d do well to remember that.”
Emma said nothing more about it. Only got a grim expression on her face. She rose slowly to her feet. “Thanks for the lesson, Ethan, but I have to get going. I’ve got practice at the rink in an hour.”
“Yeah. I’ve got class, too.” Not that I was looking forward to it. Professor Waldron was hardly my favorite teacher.
As we left the Willow Maid, Emma’s red hair bounced on her shoulders. I tried not to stare too long. She seemed lost in contemplative thought— it only felt right to pry.
“What are you thinking about?” I questioned as we walked through Arcanea University’s gates.
Emma hesitated. “I’m not certain. I just have a gut feeling there’s more to the story than we know. Something about the Unseelie just doesn’t add up.”
“You could be right.” The fae liked their secrets— even now, parts of our history remained hidden from us. And I wasn’t sure how far our ancestors had gone to completely conceal… or perhaps twist... the truth.
Emma and I separated once we got back to the castle. On my way to my evening class, I noticed a headline blaring across one of the TVs in the dining hall.
The beithir I’d been hunting had been captured and killed. The Arcanea Alliance had somehow cornered it yesterday night and destroyed it.
Damn. I’d missed my chance to figure out who’d set it loose. The suspect was still at large, and there was no way to find them now.
The officer they were interviewing said that they expected the slaughters and disappearances at the warehouses to stop, but I was doubtful. The monster hadn’t been the sole reason people were vanishing. That was the responsibility of the Black Claw.
I’d hit a dead end investigating the case. I needed to find out where these cultists were hiding. Maybe then I could put a stop to the murders plaguing the city.
Interspecies Cooperation was one of the few Companion classes I had indoors. Companions of all grades were in here, talking and goofing off before class. I took a seat in the back and tried to imagine where the Black Claw could be.
“Gods, I can’t wait until this semester is over,” Stefan complained in front of me. “Professor Waldron is so boring. He needs to fucking retire.”
Agreed. He was a griffin that was older than Malovia itself, I bet. The only thing we did in this class was listen to him lecture for an hour about how important interspecies collaboration was. It was enough to put you to sleep.
The sound of thuggish laughter caught my attention. That Alexei guy we’d saved the other day from the taranticula was in this class. He sat up front and mostly ignored everyone else, keeping his eyes straight, though someone had set their sights on him.
It was Elijah. He and his goons were throwing wads of paper at him. When Alexei didn’t respond, Elijah and his boys took turns shoving Alexei and smacking the back of his head.
I rolled my eyes. This was fucking college. Couldn’t these clowns grow up? We were beyond grade school bullying.
Alexei stared forward and tried to ignore them, but it was obvious he was getting pissed. His hands were bunched together into fists, and his face was glowing red. I expected him to explode into a pile of feathers at any moment.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed. An alicorn kid, Theo, was watching the situation from the other side of the room cooly, his arms crossed. He wasn’t impressed with Elijah’s stupidity.
Time passed. Fifteen minutes went by, then half an hour. Professor Waldron never showed up. Where was he? It was weird for hi
m to be late.
Elijah and his friends were still tormenting Alexei. Most of the class had tuned in to watch the spectacle, though nobody stepped in to interfere.
I wanted to stick up for Alexei, but I knew if I did, his reputation as a Companion would be ruined. As a male Arcanea, you were supposed to be able to stand up for yourself at all times. If someone else had to intercede on your behalf, you’d be seen as a coward, and weak. People would never let you forget it. It would be worse than the bullying. I didn’t want Alexei branded with that kind of label, although I longed to do something about it.
Alexei was going to explode any minute. I tapped Stefan on the shoulder and gestured to Alexei. “Looks like Eli’s about to get a talon in the face.”
Stefan gave a stony expression. “Right.” Stefan stood up. “Hey guys, let’s fucking blow. It’s obvious Waldron’s not coming.”
There were mumbles of agreement, and chairs were scraped backwards as people got up to leave the room. I felt like my time had been wasted.
I thought Elijah would get bored and go somewhere else, but that didn’t happen. Three of his thugs trailed behind as Elijah continued to shout insults at Alexei.
“Hey, chicken boy,” Elijah shouted. “Why don’t you come back and polish my boots? They need cleaning.”
“Fuck off, Eli,” Alexei called behind him, but he didn’t stop walking. That was smart. He wouldn’t be able to take four on one, and he knew it.
I caught another figure lingering behind. Theo was following them. He kept a decent distance, although the gaze he gave the situation was calculating.
Couldn’t let him have all the fun, right? “Hey, let’s go,” I said, dragging on Stefan’s arm. “There’s trouble.”
Stefan’s eyes sparked. “Trouble? I’m in.”
Thought so. Stefan was always ready for a fight. We came to a broad hallway in the west wing. Elijah and his group were still far ahead of us, though Theo was closing the gap.
“Hey, chicken boy, I’m talking to you!” Elijah called again. He went to grab Alexei’s shoulder to turn him around, and that’s when it happened. Alexei lost his patience. He changed into a griffin and lunged at Elijah with his beak exposed.
Elijah didn’t even flinch. He grinned as he transformed into a wolf and pounced. Two Companions at his side morphed alongside him. Both of them were alicorns; one gray, and the other black.
Elijah held Alexei down while the alicorns took turns kicking him with their hooves. Alexei struggled to get Elijah off of him, but he was powerless to do so while he was getting kicked in the face.
I meant to stop the fight before it happened, but now that it had turned into an all-out brawl, there was no stopping it. I changed into a wolf and knocked Elijah off of Alexei, while Theo, who had gotten there before I did, galloped with his horn down at the other two alicorns. He drove them away and started fighting the black alicorn, the one I knew as Zander.
Alexei staggered to his feet and was able to start battling the gray alicorn, Oren, lashing out with his beak and talons.
Now that it was a fair fight, Oren looked scared. He backed away and shook his head as Alexei’s attacks pressed him into the wall.
Stefan wasted no time at all and changed into a dragon, his massive form swelling so that it took up the hallway. His back hit the ceiling, causing stones to crumble from above onto the floor below. Elijah’s dragon friend, Andrik, changed as well, his red scales contrasting sharply against Stefan’s black coat. The two dragons lunged at each other. Windows shattered and walls crushed as they wrestled, slamming their bodies against the stone.
We were causing a ruckus. Any moment now people would come running. I put my teeth to Elijah’s throat and growled. “Not so big when it’s a fair fight, are you?”
Elijah snarled. He made a go at my jugular, but I swiped his muzzle away. He kicked me away, then called to his friends, “Let’s get the fuck out of here!”
You didn’t need to ask Oren twice. He was already fleeing down the hall, his hooves making a clatter on the stone. Alexei was bleeding, but he stood victorious, his head held high as he watched Oren make a break for it.
Zander gnashed his teeth as he waved his sharp horn in the air in Theo’s direction. “I’ll be seeing you later.”
“I count on it,” Theo said darkly. Zander turned and ran after Oren, though I’d say it was far from a cowardly flight. If anything, the look in his eyes that he gave Theo before he left posed a threat.
Stefan and Andrik were still tangled up in each other, though they were human now, and throwing punches. A particularly rough punch from Stefan knocked Andrik to the ground. He hastily got up and gave in, turning to go after Elijah.
“Sure you don’t wanna go again, An-dick?” Stefan called scathingly after his opponent. Andrik flipped him off before the four of them disappeared behind a pillar.
The hallway was completely destroyed. Stefan and Andrik had done most of the damage. They’d even put a hole in the roof. But the rest of us had done our part, too. There was blood from Alexei, and maybe a few others. Place looked like a freaking crime scene.
I heard excited voices coming from around the corner saying there was a fight. That wasn’t good.
“We gotta go,” Theo started, looking around in a panic. It was like he suddenly realized what he’d just done and was paranoid he’d get caught for it. Alicorns were stingy with the rules like that. Didn’t want to be seen as anything but goody-goody.
“Yeah. Let’s leave, before teachers show up,” Stefan said breathlessly.
I was in agreement. Didn’t want to be around when people noticed that the west wing had basically collapsed.
We made a run for it. I didn’t know if anyone saw us or not. We didn’t look back, or stop until we were outside and far away from the west wing, on the other side of the school. We halted by a portrait of a fae woman and leaned over our knees to catch our breath, trying not to gag.
“You guys didn’t need to step in. I had it handled,” Alexei breathed. He was sporting a black eye where one of the alicorns had kicked him.
“Yeah, for sure, since you clearly weren’t getting your ass beat before we showed up,” Stefan shot at him. “But next time, I’ll back off. Sure you’ve got it covered.”
Alexei went to start toward Stefan, but I got in the way and put a hand on his chest. “Hey, don’t be pissed at him,” I started. “We were just trying to help. Next time, we’ll let you eat dirt.”
Alexei took a deep breath to cool off. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. Thanks for having my back.”
Stefan put his arms around Alexei and Theo’s shoulders. “I’d say we had a good fight, gentlemen. Let’s go down to The Drunken Dragon and have a beer to celebrate.”
Theo wrinkled his nose. “Beer is distasteful.”
“Wow. All right, have a wine then, sissy,” Stefan said. “But as far as I’m concerned, we should all have a celebratory drink for a brawl well-won.”
Alexei hesitated before visibly relaxing, the tension in his body draining. “To be honest, I’d love a drink right now.”
Alexei remained quiet as we gathered around a circular table in the pub. He stared at his mug and kept his shoulders hunched, even as Stefan was picking on Theo for ordering chardonnay instead of ale.
“You’re pretty quiet,” I told Alexei before I took a swig. He jumped in his seat like he was frightened, before staring at me.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s just weird. I don’t usually hang out with... people.”
“Too much to deal with?” I asked.
Alexei sighed. “Yeah. Emotions are a lot.”
He was reclusive, even for a griffin. I knew that all griffins were empaths, but their families usually taught them a bit about handling their powers before they got to the university, so they weren’t complete social rejects. Alexei acted like he didn’t have any control over his abilities at all.
“Didn’t your parents teach you how to handle empathy?” I asked.
&nb
sp; He shook his head. “Don’t have any. Grew up alone.”
That would explain it. No wonder he couldn’t control his temper and constantly got into trouble. I didn’t want to make him feel worse by asking about his childhood, which I suspected had to be shit, and said, “You should probably work on that. Eli isn’t going to back off if he thinks he can get a rise out of you.”
He gripped his mug. “It’s just… I could feel their hatred. They didn’t have a reason for going after me. They just thought it was funny,” he said. “Most people when they pick on you, there’s a tiny bit of remorse, you know? They know they’re doing wrong. Eli, though… he just didn’t care.”
Alexei took a deep breath. “It’s nice hanging out with you, though. You seem pretty flatline.”
Little did he know. I just kept my emotions so well under wraps, he couldn’t feel them. “Can’t say the same for those two.”
I gestured at Stefan and Theo. They were ignoring the conversation all together. Stefan had gotten Theo into a headlock, and Theo was trying to get out of it. It was obvious they were just playing around, so I didn’t interfere. Stefan was amused, though I could tell Theo was vastly annoyed. He kept commenting how this was improper behavior for a public place and that Stefan needed to unhand him immediately.
Alexei gave the slightest of smiles. “Yeah, well, your dragon friend’s got about three emotions, as far as I can tell— happy, horny, or pissed off. And the alicorn is just exceptionally irritated.”
“You’ve got us pegged.” I clapped him on the back. “Tell you what. I’ll buy you another drink, on me.”
Alexei paused. Then he relaxed under my arm, and said, “Well, if you’re buying…”
Another drink turned into more than just a drink, if you get what I’m saying. Three hours later the four of us stumbled out of The Drunken Dragon more pissed than sober. Alexei was smiling pleasantly, his head obviously in a buzz.
Theo, who had lectured about the improprieties about being intoxicated in public, was drunker than all of us. He had his arm around Stefan, and the two of them were singing Malovian folk songs. They’d warmed up to each other quickly.