The walls were bare, and there wasn’t a window in sight. The gray stone made the room look more like a prison than a bedroom. I tentatively walked over to the door in the back of the room. I expected it to be locked, but it swung open when I turned the brass knob. I cautiously peeked inside. It was a bathroom. I was surprised to see a large sunken tub and pretty pink towels hanging on the racks. It was a stark contrast to the bedroom.
The woman did say I needed to clean up. I looked at myself in the mirror and cringed at how grimy I looked from the trek. Dried blood covered my hands, legs, and shoulders. I walked over to the tub, kneeled on the plush, gray carpet in front of it, and turned on the faucet.
Once the tub was full, I tossed off my dirty clothes and slowly lowered myself into the hot water. It felt wonderful on my aching muscles. I sank beneath until all that emerged was my face, and laid my head back. Closing my eyes, I let images of my parents and friends flood my mind. I thought of my family and how panicked they must be. Sierra must have been concerned when I wasn’t there for her to pick up, and then when I never showed up for school.
I thought of Adam, and my heart felt like it was breaking. What if I never saw him again? I touched the bracelet on my wrist. I hadn’t taken it off since he gave it to me.
The bathroom door flung open. I screamed, shrill and loud, and covered myself with both arms.
“Oh, please. You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before.” Lena smirked. She grabbed my arm again and yanked me from the tub, tossing a towel at me with her other hand. “Enough relaxing. It’s time for your meeting.”
My head whirled. “Meeting?”
“I’ll lay a dress on your bed,” Lena went on, ignoring my question. “Don’t get any bright ideas. I’ll be waiting right outside the door for you.”
“Why are you here?” The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them.
Lena turned to face me. “Much like you, I don’t have a choice. Varwik fancies me. He collects things he finds beautiful.”
“You’re here against your will?” My jaw dropped. “But the barriers… How did he get you here?”
“When we enter the human realm, we put ourselves at risk to be taken. It’s my own fault for being naive and thinking nothing would happen to me. Varwik likes the power of having light faeries in his castle.” There was a note of disgust in her voice. “It makes him feel superior.”
“What a jerk,” I said honestly. “How long have you been here?”
“Enough with the questions,” Lena snapped. I dove right out of sympathy and into annoyance at her tone. “Get dressed and hurry up. He doesn’t like to wait for anyone.”
I stood with my towel, gently patting myself dry, and watched as she walked back into the bedroom. She went to the closet and yanked out a formal, pale yellow dress with a long, gauzy train. She threw it on the bed and silently walked out the door.
Left alone, I noticed everything I needed was in the bathroom: brushes, perfume, and even items for my hair. Very strange since I was being held captive.
I had a feeling I didn’t want to make this dark faery angry, so I hurried to get ready. The dress was sleeveless with a V-neck, classy and tasteful. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I felt as if someone else was staring back at me.
The door opened, and Lena called, “Get out here—now.”
I glanced around for shoes, but when I couldn’t find any, I ran out barefoot. For the first time, I felt like a faery.
Lena looked me up and down. “Much better. Varwik will approve.”
She walked quickly, leading me down the massive hallway. I practically had to run to keep up. My mind raced. I had no idea what I was about to walk into, and that scared the hell out of me. I should have let Azura in when she came to me. I should have talked to her. There was so much I didn’t know, and it was my fault. I had been stubborn and selfish, and now I was paying the price.
Lena stopped in front of wooden double doors that filled an entire wall from ceiling to floor. They were unfamiliar, a vivid red that I would have recognized. We must have been in a new part of the fortress.
The doors flung open on their own, and Lena walked forward, her head held high. She carried herself like a queen, with no fear or worry etched on her beautiful face.
Meanwhile, my hands were shaking so hard I had to clasp them in front of me to disguise the tremors.
It appeared to be a dining room. The walls were sky blue, made even brighter by the ever-present skylights that flooded sunlight into the hall. Bushy tropical plants flanked the walls, their scent intoxicating, and a wall of glass doors led out to a private verandah.
The biggest table I had ever seen sat before us, and at its head was a very large faery. He stood gracefully as we walked in. His hair was black as coal, his skin pale, and his face much younger than I had expected. He had the most beautiful black and purple wings, and I wondered how wings that gorgeous could be on such an evil being. He was stunning.
He studied me for a long minute, making no move to come around the table. “Oleander—what an interesting turn of events this has turned out to be.”
He paused, but I had no idea what to say in return. Until recently, I hadn’t known anything about certain “events.”
“I knew your father long ago,” the man continued, stroking his dark goatee with a finger and thumb. “You were aptly named—lovely yet deadly.”
Gritting my teeth at his pretense of familiarity, I said, “Well, I didn’t know him, and I don’t understand any of this.”
“Of course.” The faery inclined his head toward me in acknowledgment. “They hid you well from me.”
“Why am I here?” I demanded.
The faery began a slow stroll around the table as he spoke. “It’s such a rare treat when an Aurorian faery is born. This is a special faery, one with stronger than normal abilities. This child is born with a birthmark, like the one you have.” His gaze lingered on my mark. “When you were born, we made a deal with your father: You for access to our magick, something we knew your father wanted. He was greedy and gladly made the deal. But when we came for you, Azura produced a dead baby and made us believe that baby was hers. That was the end of it until Lena saw you yesterday. She knew immediately who you were and came straight back to me with the news.”
His voice was more pleasant than what I had expected; not evil in the least. Almost mesmerizing. He pulled out a chair, gesturing for me to have a seat, and I lowered myself into it. He returned to the spot across from me and sat, folding his hands on the tabletop.
I swallowed hard. “Why can’t you just let me go? What do you want from me?” I met his cold blue eyes with as much bravado as I could muster. Despite his handsome face and kind demeanor, this was an evil man.
“We want you on our side, of course!” His tone was incredulous. “What better than to have the most powerful faery with us? Just in case we ever go into battle.”
“But I don’t even want to be a faery.” I knew I sounded like a toddler, and frankly, I didn’t care. “I want to go home.”
“What you want and what is reality are often two different things. If you don’t want to join us, I’ll have to kill you. Level the playing field,” he said in a deadly calm voice. “I can’t have the light faeries getting ahold of your ability.”
“My father isn’t even around anymore.” I was grasping at straws. “He can’t get your magick.”
“A deal is a deal. You are ours. If he ever shows his pathetic face again, he can have access to our magick.”
“And if he doesn’t show up again?”
“You’re still ours.”
He obviously had no idea that I was completely harmless. I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. For now, it was something I would keep to myself.
“We have been waiting a very long time for your arrival. You are even lovelier than your mother.” Varwik smiled. “My son will be pleased.”
Shock made my hands tense up. “What does your son have to
do with me?”
He chuckled. “Oleander, your tone of voice is not appreciated. It would be unwise of you to get on my bad side. You have put me in a very difficult position. Be grateful I haven’t decided to kill you outright.” He paused. “You will marry my son on the autumnal equinox, therefore joining our people. It’s the only way I see out of this quandary. If you marry a dark faery, you cannot use your power against us.”
“What?!” I jumped out of my chair, knocking it over and stumbling away from the table. I banged my knee on the upturned leg, but barely noticed the pain. “I’m only sixteen. I am not marrying anyone!” He couldn’t be serious…could he?
“Sixteen is a common age to marry in our world,” he told me. “I’m sure you will find that my son is not a bad mate.”
I looked over at Lena, my eyes wide, hoping for some kind of sign, but she just stared blankly at me. No help from that quarter.
Turning back to Varwik, I seethed. “You can go to hell. I’m not marrying your son or anyone else right now.”
He sighed. “I was afraid we were going to have to do this the hard way.” He turned towards Lena. “Lock her in her room and bring her just enough food to keep her alive.”
As Lena was dragging me away again, I overheard a familiar voice: the man from earlier, when I arrived. The one Lena had called Kyro. He questioned Varwik. “What are you doing with her?”
“She’s been promised to us. Last time I checked, I was in control of this land. If you dare question me again, it will be the last time.”
Chapter Twelve
Back in my room—my cell—I burst into tears.
They couldn’t do this. They couldn’t hold me here and force me to marry someone. Adam. My heart sunk. I loved him, and wanted to marry him. For years, even before we started actually dating, he had been the one. No one could ever replace him. I had always dreamed of our wedding day and the perfect family we would have. All my plans were being ruined because I was born a magickal creature. It was almost laughable.
I walked to the mirror and stared at myself. The tears came harder and faster. “I hate you!” I screamed, slamming my palms to the glass. It cracked beneath my right hand, and I jerked away, blood already welling on my skin—a small, superficial wound.
I wanted to rip the wings out of my back and cut my ears off. Stupid faery world. My body filled with rage, and I lashed out at the mirror again, my fist cracking it right down the middle.
“Damn!” I yelled as pain soared through my hand. This wound was worse; a nasty-looking cut that oozed bright red. I yanked a towel off its hook and wrapped it around my hand. Feeling defeated, I walked over to the bed and curled up in a ball on the covers.
I must have fallen asleep for a little while. When my eyes finally opened, I had no idea how long I’d dozed since there weren’t any clocks or windows to tell. I lay there and stared at the ceiling, letting my mind wander.
Dad had always taught me self-defense, and playing it safe or getting out of unlikely situations alive. Here was the unlikeliest situation of all—held captive in a stone fortress we’d arrived at by walking deep underground, only to emerge in sunlight. There had to be a way out of here. I would have to find an escape. Or make one.
I slipped out of bed and let my wings spread. I purposely flapped them a couple of times, letting them stretch as far as they could—it felt luxurious. I started in one corner of the room and examined the stone walls. I pushed on each big stone in the hope that one would move and a tunnel would be behind it. I rolled my eyes at how stupid that sounded. An escape tunnel was just going to magically appear?
But I tried anyway because there was no way to know. Someone else could have once been held in the same room and had fashioned a way to escape without anybody knowing. I continued to inspect the walls.
A loud clang signaled the lock on the door being released. I jumped away from the wall and waited. I was relieved when I saw it was just Lena.
“You’re expected for dinner,” Lena announced. “Make sure you wear a gown. The pink one would work.”
“Why would I want to do that? Besides, I thought they were trying to starve me.”
“Because he’ll be there.”
“He? He who?”
She sighed, obviously annoyed, and opened the wardrobe. “Your mate—Kallan.”
“My mate?” I stared at her, aghast. “You people have lost your minds. I’m not marrying him.”
Lena’s blue eyes sparkled as she laughed. “That’s what you think. What did you do to your hand?” She jerked a pale pink gown from the hanger and tossed it to the bed, eyeing my towel-wrapped hand.
“Nothing.” I put my hand behind my back and avoided her gaze. It was a miracle she hadn’t noticed the destroyed mirror.
“Give it to me. I can fix it.” Lena walked forward and stood at the side of my bed reaching for my hand.
Tentatively, I extended my hand to her and watched as she carefully unwrapped the towel. A tingling sensation ran through my hand when she placed her warm palm on my skin. A minute later, she pulled her hand away and my wound was completely healed.
“How did you do that?”
“I’m a healer,” she said simply and walked out of the room.
I sat on the bed and stared down at my hand, turning it back and forth in amazement. That was one of the coolest things I’d ever seen. I wondered if all faeries could do that.
Seeing the pink dress lying on my bed pissed me off. I didn’t have to go to dinner, and I sure as hell didn’t have to dress up. They couldn’t force me to do it. I’d just sit here and sulk. Maybe they’d get sick of my attitude and free me. Yeah, right.
Lena opened the door again. “You really don’t want to make them angry. Trust me, I know.”
I picked up a pillow because it was the closest thing to me and threw it at her. “I don’t care!”
She slammed the door quicker than the pillow could fly. There were voices on the other side of the door, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I scooted up the bed and pushed all the way back against the wall, willing myself to just disappear.
The door opened again, and Varwik and Lena entered the room.
“Where did she go?” Lena asked.
“She’s just hiding,” Varwik answered, looking right at me.
Hiding? What was he talking about?
“You see her?” Lena asked, confused.
“I can sense her like I can sense all faeries,” Varwik answered, and then took a few steps towards me. Leaning in closer, he said, “Being invisible doesn’t work with me. I’ll always find you.”
“What are you talking about?” I shouted.
Surprise surfaced in his eyes, but it disappeared quickly. A smile slowly crossed his face. “You have no idea what you can do, do you?” He sat on the edge of the bed and said, “All faeries have the ability to use glamour, which hides you as a human or shows you as a faery. However, the glamour can also cause you to become completely invisible or even hide other objects. That’s how this place is hidden in the forest. Humans can’t see it. If they ever happened to stumble upon our world, that is.”
“I’m…invisible right now?” I asked.
“Yes.”
Nobody could see me. Wow. “How did I do that?”
“You probably wished it.” He shrugged and stood up.
He was right. I had, even though I hadn’t actually known that it would work. Too bad it didn’t seem to work well enough.
“When was your birthday?” Varwik asked me.
“Saturday.”
“So, your transformation was only two days ago. You have a lot to learn. You’re going to be at a disadvantage because you were raised human.” Varwik stood. “Now, Lena tells me you are refusing to come to dinner. If you do not, you will not have any food at all.”
That was fine by me. I would rather waste away in a prison cell than have to marry someone other than Adam. Or deal with dark faeries. “I’m not coming.”
He smirk
ed. “You will eventually.”
After they left, I wandered to the broken mirror. Sure enough, my reflection wasn’t there. I waved to myself, but could see nothing. I jumped up and down, and still nothing. I laughed. I could see my body if I looked down, but I couldn’t see my reflection.
“Show myself,” I whispered, just for fun, and suddenly, there I was. I narrowed my eyes at my reflection. “Be invisible.”
I vanished.
This could come in handy, at least in the human world. Human world. The thought came so naturally. Just three days ago, I thought I was human. I never suspected anything different. And now, I was thinking of everything differently.
Remembering how Azura sent the papers on my desk up in the wind and back down again, I thought about how she had said all faeries have abilities. She hadn’t known what mine would be, and I certainly didn’t know. Would it just appear one day? Or would I have to know what it was to summon it?
Maybe it could help me escape.
I didn’t even know what time it was. School was probably over. My parents would know I was missing. Were they out looking for me? And Azura, she said she was going for help, but nobody was here to help me. I could only hope the light faeries would be able to help. She was the only one who knew what had happened. I wondered if she even knew how to find the castle. I felt a surge of hope. If she brought my father he could get me free. Then again, could humans even get in? Could they even see it?
I fingered the small heart on my bracelet and thought of Adam. Oh, what I would do to be in his arms where I felt safe and loved.
How long would he wait for me?
*
Time seemed to pass very slowly. There was nothing to do, not even anything to look at but four bare walls and scant furniture. I tried figuring out what my ability was without any luck, and then I tried to find an escape. When that didn’t work, I took a long shower just to feel something. I loved how it felt on my “new body.” Lena didn’t check in on me, nobody did, not while I was awake anyway.
After three days of not having any food at all, I could barely make it to the bathroom. I was fatigued and my legs were shaky. My stomach groaned in protest. Don’t give in. I kept repeating it to myself, but every hour that passed, it was harder to keep up the morale.
Faery Realms: Ten Magical Titles: Multi-Author Bundle of Novels & Novellas Page 39