“Um…” she indicated to my body.
I looked down to find two enormous wings tucked around me like a blanket. The white feathers were pristine. I reached out and ran my hand over them. Soft.
“What the hell? They grew back? How is that possible?” I cried. I tried to sit up, but the wings were slow to respond and I struggled against them.
“Apparently so. I’m not sure why. Maybe it is like teeth? You get two sets?”
I twisted back and forth, trying to free myself. “Move!” I yelled at the wings. They unfurled and stretched out, almost hitting Mom in the face.
She got up off the chair, taking them in. “They’re just…”
“Freaky?”
“Magnificent!”
“Glad someone thinks so. Is this why my back was sore? They were growing back?”
She shrugged. “Could be.”
“You are not filling me with much confidence,” I said, trying to get up from the bed. “You’re the one who studied Fae.”
“Don’t get up. You need to rest,” Mom said.
“I’m fine.
“Doctor’s orders. I mean it Nova. Just take it easy for a while. You have a fight ahead of you. Better to rest while you can.”
I sighed and flopped back against the pillows. “Fine.”
The truth was I just didn’t want to face everyone now that the wings were back. Stumps were one thing, at least they could be easily hidden under a hoodie. These things couldn’t be hidden under a tent!
“I’ll bring you some food later,” Mom said.
When she was gone, I got up and tried to flap my wings. They didn’t respond at all. Looks like I’m going to have to learn all over again. Not that I got very far before, with no room to test them.
At least they would come in handy if I could get them working for me. I ran a hand across the snow-white feathers.
Emotion overwhelmed me and a sob escaped my lips. Part of me was glad they were back, but the human part of me knew that the line had well and truly been drawn in the sand. I was firmly on the Fae side of things now. There was no going back. Unless another psycho tried to saw them off.
I flopped face down onto the bed, lost in thought. I didn’t hear the door open, but I looked up to find Thorn standing over me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, suddenly self-conscious. I sat up and tried to tuck the wings behind me, but they wouldn’t comply.
“They’re beautiful,” Thorn said in awe.
“Oh. Thanks,” I said blushing.
“Not all Fae get wings, you’re lucky.”
“I don’t feel very lucky.”
“Really? Nova you have the power to just take off into the sky anytime you want. Your wings are majestic, you should love them. You look incredible.”
A tear trickled down my cheek.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said, looking alarmed.
“No, its not that. I’m just not used to hearing good things about being Fae. Most people treat it like it is a disease.”
“Yeah, well it wasn’t much different for me growing up. My brothers used to bully me relentlessly.”
“I’m sorry. Are they out there in the world?” I asked.
“No, they were killed in the war. That’s when my father and I were drafted.”
“Did you ever see her? The Queen?” The only glimpse I got of her was when I touched the rock at Stonehenge.
“Once. She rode into battle on a winged horse. It was quite the sight, but she never cared about the Fae fighting for her. She just wanted to beat Oberon.”
“My father. What was he like?” I asked. He was actually there, he must know about him.
“Benevolent in the beginning. Willing to work with Fae and humans. Later, he came to the conclusion that the earth belonged to the humans and that we should give it over to them.”
What would make him turn on his own kind? “Let me guess, they didn’t take it well?”
“No. The humans may have been here first, but most of the Fae viewed them as inferior creatures. That doesn’t mean that I think we should have it, but I think both sides are as bad as each other.”
He wasn’t wrong. Humans have murdered and maimed throughout history too. I just wish that it didn’t all fall on me. I did my best not to think beyond the fight, because the fight was one thing – but sorting out Fae/human problems was too much right now.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’ll turn out like either of them. Maybe that’s what is needed. Someone who can see both sides of the argument.”
I resisted the urge to laugh. “I don’t know that I do.”
“The people on this boat are assholes. Don’t ever be ashamed of what you are.”
Crying, I hugged him. He stiffened, then relaxed and returned the hug.
Outside the room, I saw Enzo walk by. He paused, taking in my wings, eyes widening, then quickly turned away and kept walking.
Guess he can’t overlook the wings either. Whatever Enzo hoped for before, all that was well and truly over.
Chapter 20
Training was a thing of the past. I was not going out in public like this. Instead, I stayed in my bunk. Mom would bring me food, but other than her and Thorn, and the occasional visit from Rat, I didn’t speak to anyone else. Rat was fascinated with the wings at first, then he started telling me about Pip’s latest adventures and they were forgotten. If only everyone was like him.
They all saw me grow the wings, there is no going back from that. I could imagine the things they were saying.
Roxy knocked a few times, but I pretended to be asleep. I told Mom to let everyone know that I didn’t want visitors.
Trying to keep myself occupied, I would do sit ups and push ups to keep my body moving. I hated sitting around and wondered how much longer it would be before we reached England. I practiced my wings too. I was back at the same level I was at in the cell with Phillip, able to lift myself a few feet off the ground. Without room to really practice, I didn’t know what they were capable of. I tried to imagine what flying would be like. It sounded incredible, but it also made me nervous. What if I got up there and my wings stopped working? What would happen then?
There was a knock at the door and Thorn came in. “Hey, how’s it going?”
I finished my final sit up. “Good. Just trying to keep busy. It doesn’t do to dwell on my impending doom.”
“Sitting in this room all the time would drive anyone insane. Come up on deck, there’s something I want you to see.”
“No, I’m not going out there.” I got up and dabbed my face with a towel. It was hot in here.
“I’m not taking no for an answer. You have to see this.” He held out his hand to me.
“Thorn…” I groaned.
“Please.”
Sighing, I took his hand and let him lead me up onto deck, my wings dragging behind me. There was no one around, they were probably all eating dinner.
“Look,” Thorn said, pointing out at the horizon.
After weeks of looking at nothing but water, I could finally see land.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“We’re just passing Ireland.”
“Wow, it looks amazing,” I said, looking out at the rolling hills.
“Once the fight is over, you can make a home for yourself anywhere you like.”
“That would be good,” I said. “Ireland certainly looks nice.”
It was all rolling green fields and wide-open spaces. No cells or underground bunkers. I could be free. I tried to imagine being able to go anywhere I liked and not having anyone staring or running in fear. It sounded like a dream.
I glanced at Thorn. What if he was with me?
“Thorn…” I said, then stopped. He had been a real friend to me recently, but maybe that’s all it was for him. If I said something, it might ruin things between us.
He turned to face me and smiled. “Ireland is beautiful and it is our ancestral home. I think we could
be happy there.”
“We?” I asked feeling my cheeks flame.
“Yeah, well where else am I going to go?”
He closed the gap between us and my heart started to pound. “That is if you’ll have me.”
I nodded. “Of course.”
He leaned forward. “Good, because I…”
Before I could hear the rest, sharp claws sank into my shoulders and I was yanked up into the sky. I was so shocked I couldn’t even scream. A huge creature resembling an eagle had hold of me.
“Nova!” Thorn screamed, as the boat became smaller and smaller as we climbed higher.
What the hell do I do now?
Chapter 21
Instinct kicked in and I started to struggle. If I could get free, then maybe I could fly away. Or fall into the sea.
That would beat being eaten by this thing. Its claws were in deep. Blood dripped from the wounds, but it would be nothing compared to what it would do when we landed.
Taking a breath, I wrenched hard and my right shoulder came free, making me scream in pain. My wings flapped and the eagle-Fae lost its grip on me. I started to fall.
Just before I hit the water, my wings finally kicked in and instead I swooped back up into the sky. I let out a cry of terror and elation. I’m doing it. I’m actually flying! It was an incredible feeling.
There was no time to enjoy it though, the eagle-Fae was right on my tail. Leaning to the left, I tried to veer back toward the boat, but the wings had their own ideas.
The eagle-Fae made a grab for me, but the wings spun me to the right, then started to climb.
I tried to get a look at the boat, to see if anyone was trying to help by shooting this thing out of the sky, but I was moving too fast and my hair was whipping me in the face.
How did it get past the beacon?
Claws raked down my back as it dropped from above. Screaming, I dropped fast out of its reach. It let out a shrill call and followed me.
I can’t keep running. It will get me.
I needed to get to the boat. If we moved down below, it wouldn’t be able to follow us.
Gunfire filled the air and I chanced a look over my shoulder to find that the eagle-Fae was hit, but it wasn’t slowing it down. In fact, it seemed to make it angry.
Keep shooting, I prayed. They needed to do more damage.
I tried to stay as far ahead of it as I could, I didn’t want to catch a bullet and depending on who was shooting, it might not be an accident if I did.
I considered landing on the ground, but that would make me a bigger target.
Twisting and turning, the soldiers continued to fire at it. As it closed in on me, one of them must have done some real damage. It let out a pained squawk, before grabbing me around the leg and pulling me toward the water.
I hit it hard and instantly sank, pulled down by the eagle-Fae.
Reaching down, I tried to pull my leg free. When it came loose, the eagle-Fae took a huge chunk of flesh along with it. It sank further into the sea.
I tried to swim up to the surface, but my wings weighed me down. Concentrating, I tried to make them move, to help me swim, but they didn’t respond.
I’m going to drown!
Freaked out, I started flopping around, but it only tired me out. I closed my eyes, my lungs ready to burst. I had to take a breath.
I released the air I had been holding. This was the end.
Chapter 22
My body felt light, like I weighed nothing. I opened my eyes to find myself moving up through the water. But how?
As I broke the surface, I sucked in a lung full of air. Relief flooded me. Whatever this was, it was better than drowning.
Why am I still rising?
My body lifted up out of the water completely and began to float back toward the boat. Once I was over the deck, whatever had hold of me let go and I fell in a heap. I looked up to see Thorn on his knees, covered in sweat. He had used his power to pull me out of the water.
“Nova!” Mom cried. “Oh my God, you’re bleeding.”
Alwyn hurried behind her, lugging a first aid kit. Glad he is getting so much on the job experience!
“I’m fine,” I said. Then I glanced at my leg. The flesh was ripped open and bleeding badly. “Oh. Yeah, you might want to take a look at that.” I turned away, feeling sick.
Thorn came over and took my hand. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
“Anytime,” he said, giving me a smile.
***
“We will be docking very soon,” The General announced as we all gathered on deck. “We will be heading inland in search of the Queen. Miss O’Neill will be protected at all costs until we can get close enough to eliminate the Queen.”
I tried to focus on what he was saying, but between the pain in my shoulders and leg, plus the beacon, I was having a hard time with it. The beacon seemed to be affecting me more than usual. I wondered if I would eventually end up like Thorn – unable to tolerate it. My leg required stitches, but I could still walk on it. I’m sure the Queen would shake in her boots seeing me limp toward her!
I thought about what lay ahead. This wasn’t going to be a sneak attack. Even if we were miles from the Queen, word would get back to her that something was driving the Fae off. And if it was affecting me this much, I wouldn’t be able to fight as well. Neither would Thorn for that matter.
I pulled him aside as we were docking. “Listen, I don’t think the plan is going to work. The Queen will know we are coming and if one Fae was able to get close then there are bound to be others. I think we should head out on our own. Maybe we can take her by surprise.”
“I’ll support whatever you want to do. And I agree. The humans will be Fae fodder.” That was the other reason, I didn’t want to watch everyone die. Even with their supply of iron weapons, most wouldn’t even get close enough to use them.
While The General was organizing everyone, Thorn and I grabbed a bag each and sneaked away. We raced to a large container on the dock and hid behind it.
“How are we going to find her?” I asked Thorn.
“Someone as powerful as her? I can sense her. I’ll know if we are close or not.”
“And right now?”
He closed his eyes for a moment. “Not very?”
“We’re not going to get far on foot. Let’s see if there are any cars around.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Thorn asked, hurrying after me as I made a break for it.
“We just need to put some distance between us and the others. If anyone catches us, we can just pretend we’re two Fae out for a joyride.”
If that didn’t work, I could always fly us out of there. Maybe.
On the far side of the docks, we found a battered Fiesta. The keys were still in the ignition, blood smeared across the seat. Someone had been killed here. Were they trying to get on a boat to escape and were caught by Fae?
Trying my best to ignore it, I got behind the wheel, struggling to fit my wings in too, and turned the key. It had been a while since I had driven a car and it was weird being on the wrong side of it. The engine started. Thorn hopped into the passenger seat.
As I went to close the car door, a hand shot out and grabbed hold of it. I looked up to find Enzo.
“Damn it,” I muttered.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he said.
“The Queen will know we’re coming. We have to do this alone,” I said. There was nobody else with him. If I could convince him to keep his mouth shut, our plan might still work.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll get yourself killed.”
“I’m not going to argue with you, Enzo. I’m going. So get out of my way.”
He gave me a frustrated look, glancing back toward the boat. Finally, he let go of the door. Only to hop into the back of the car.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“Really?” I asked. He was going to help us?
“I’ve got your back
, remember?”
Throwing the car into first gear, thank God Mom let me try driving a stick when we arrived in England, I started driving.
Off to kill the Queen.
Chapter 23
We drove several miles down the road before we came upon a Fae roadblock. I pulled the car over and we got out. There was no one guarding it, but that didn’t mean they weren’t close by.
“Well that didn’t last long,” I said.
“A car is too noisy anyway,” Thorn said. “We’re better on foot. Less conspicuous.”
It wouldn’t do us any good if the Queen was miles away. The General had to know we were missing by now. It wouldn’t be long before they caught up to us.
Enzo had his gun at the ready and several iron knives tucked into his belt. I didn’t like the idea of putting him in danger, but there was no way he was going to go back.
“Which way?” I asked Thorn.
He paused and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he pointed in the direction of the roadblock. “The pull is coming from that way.”
“Pull?” Enzo asked.
“The Queen in the old days would keep the Fae in line by letting her power radiate across the land. It can be felt by the ones who…”
“Who what?” Enzo asked.
“Who once swore fealty to her.” He bowed his head.
“You worked for her?” Enzo snapped, aiming his gun at him.
I jumped between them. “Enzo, stop. He was made to fight in her war, he didn’t have a choice.”
“How do we know he isn’t leading us into a trap?”
“Because this was my idea. And what is he going to do? Lead me to the Queen, that’s what we want!”
“We need to go back, Nova,” Enzo said.
“No. You can go if you want to. Let’s go, Thorn.”
Enzo growled in anger but continued to follow us.
“Let’s try and avoid that if we can,” I said, motioning to the roadblock. It only stretched so far, we could go around it.
It wasn’t going to be easy, too many open spaces and not enough places to hide around here. Was it unmanned? I expected something to jump out at us at any moment.
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