by C. J. Abedi
“Not everything in my life is about you, Devilyn Reilly. I have been looking forward to this trip for years, and I’m going.”
He took a step closer to me.
“I don’t think you are listening to me.”
I stared at him defiantly. “I heard everything you had to say, and none of it matters. I’m going.”
We stared at each other, neither of us backing down, until Rowan finally stepped in and put a hand on my shoulder.
“So that settles it, Devilyn. Caroline wants to go on the trip. So she’s going. I will be with her every step of the way, so no one has to worry about her safety.”
D
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Deep breaths. Count to ten and take deep breaths.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Nope, the desire to wipe the self-righteous, arrogant look off his despicable face was still there. Oh, how I wanted to take another swing at him, even though I knew it wouldn’t accomplish anything and would likely get either one or both of us banned from the school. And more importantly, I now knew that Caroline wouldn’t appreciate the gesture.
Instead, I focused on her. I looked at her eyes and saw a sparkle I hadn’t seen before. Defiance suited her well. I had to admit I admired her courage. She had either turned a new leaf or, more than likely, this aspect of her personality had been dormant for so long that it was time for it to reveal itself.
“Are we done?” Caroline asked.
“Not in a million years, baby.”
I watched her face turn bright red before she spun around and left the classroom. Rowan stayed behind.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Rowan asked me angrily. “Why are you playing with her? Do you get some sort of sick satisfaction out of it? Is this another dark trait you picked up at court?”
My eyes lit up and Rowan smiled in satisfaction.
“You have no control over your emotions, Devilyn. You don’t even know what you want. Or if you do, you won’t take it, which I guess I am actually grateful for.”
The meaning behind his words was crystal clear.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“You are actually very easy to read. Weakness generally is.”
Within a second, I grabbed him by his shirt and pushed him up against the wall.
“You think I am like my father, but I was trained by a more powerful force. The man who raised me taught me many things and offered some advice that I’m going to pass on to you. Never underestimate the power of a crown.”
Rowan shoved himself out of my grip and shook his head. “Fools have no power, Devilyn, whether they wear crowns or not. You will lose this game, that much I know.”
• • •
I took a long drive home, passing the diner, Caroline’s home, and every place I had been since coming to Roanoke, but the drive couldn’t erase any of what Rowan had said. Nothing could, because he was right. The only thing that faced me right now was loss.
I would lose everything. It was inevitable. No matter what choice I made, what direction I ran in, I would be the one standing without a chair when the music ended. After a few hours of driving in circles, I headed home, pulling into the long driveway only to find Odin waiting for me outside.
He smiled gently at me.
“You are in a good mood,” I said, getting out of the car.
“You made me very happy today, Devilyn. I thought you had forgotten everything I had taught you.”
“How could I forget? Everything you have ever said plays like a broken record in my mind.”
“Such little things bring me such joy.”
“You came to greet me because of what I said to Rowan?” I asked suspiciously.
“Actually, no,” Odin replied. “If you would indulge me for a moment, please follow me inside.”
We walked into his giant study where a fire was blazing and trays of fruit awaited us on a giant table. Odin walked over and picked up a bunch of grapes and began to eat them as I waited anxiously.
“Is something amiss?”
“Yes and no. Regardless, I think you should sit for this,” Odin said as he turned his back to me.
I did as I was told as my impatience grew. The crackle of the fire filled the silence.
And then Odin spoke.
“I guess there is no easy way to say this, so I’ll come right out with it. Your mother is alive and living in the human world.”
I felt like the floor had shot out from underneath me. It was impossible. My mother? I had always been told that she was gone. Forever. That she had left her light to me and in doing so would never be able to see me again. I had assumed she was in a parallel afterworld. Never did I or could I have imagined that she lived among the mortals. Walking the same earth as I did. It was impossible.
Odin turned to stare at me.
“Did you hear what I said?”
I could only nod.
“I have known her location for years.”
“And you never told me? How could you let me think—”
“We thought it best.”
“You thought it best?” I shouted as I stood up. “Best to keep my own mother from her son?”
My mind was reeling.
“It was not my secret to share. She asked me to protect you, and in doing so she asked that I never reveal her location. I kept the secret because it was her wish that I did so. I only reveal this to you now because she wanted me to tell you. She wants you to know.”
“She is my mother. You raised me. You saw the pain and suffering I went through every day. You were my father—”
“I am still your father.”
“Why have you done this to me?” I had to turn away from him and face the fire. “Why?”
“The answers to the whys will not alleviate your pain. They will not take away the years of not knowing or make you happy.”
“But I deserved to know.”
Odin took a moment before he spoke again.
“She feared your father,” he said.
“I would have protected her.”
Odin shook his head and walked up next to me. He put his hands out toward the fire and gave me a small smile.
“She is a strong woman who doesn’t fear death, my son. She laughs in the face of it,” Odin continued. “Her fears are different, more emotional.”
“What do you mean?”
“She was always drawn to him. She fears his appeal. She fears her love for him. That if he were to find her, she would bend and return to him.”
“How can she possibly still harbor any feelings, most of all love, for that man?” I asked Odin incredulously.
“You of all people should not be asking me this question.”
I turned away from him, unable to meet his knowing gaze.
“She has asked that I let you know that she may not have been here for you then, but she is here for you now. All you must do is call out to her and you will know her location,” Odin said. “If you have the need to talk to her for any—”
“I do not need anything from her,” I interrupted.
“If you want to know your mother—”
“I do not need to know my mother,” I said coldly. “But thank you for sharing this precious information with me. I can only imagine why she chose the timing of it and her reasons for revealing her whereabouts to me after all these years.”
“It is never as simple as you think.”
I turned and began to walk toward the door.
“Nothing ever is. Especially not with my family,” I replied. “If there is nothing more, I have things to do.”
“That is all, my son.”
I left him abruptly and rushed upstairs to my room, throwing my door open in disgust over what I had just heard, only to come to a dead stop when I saw Katya sitting on my bed. My anger grew tenfol
d when I remembered her threats to Caroline.
“What are you doing here?”
“You summoned me,” she said with an innocent smile as she stood up and walked over to me.
“I asked that you meet me later tonight.”
She brushed her hand on my chest. “I thought I’d surprise you.”
I took her hand and pushed it back to her side.
“You have disobeyed me.”
“I thought you would be happy,” she pouted. “I only wanted to see where you slept.”
“I’m furious with you,” I said. “You claim to have such loyalty to me and my crown, you claim to love me, but yet every chance you get you show a lack of respect to your King.”
Her eyes widened as I advanced on her. “I don’t know what—”
“You do know. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Did I not tell you that no harm was to come to Caroline? Did I not say to stay as far away from her as possible?”
“What lies did she tell you?” she asked nervously.
“Caroline doesn’t lie. But you, Katya, you do lie. Quite well. And quite often.”
Katya realized she was in serious trouble and started to move closer to the double doors leading out to my balcony.
“I’m sorry, Devilyn. I only wanted to see her, and I wanted to let her know how foolish it would be to love you,” Katya stammered out. “I didn’t touch her!”
“And that is the only reason why you are still alive.”
“Devilyn, please,” she pleaded.
“You disobeyed me, Katya. I will not have it. I will not have any of it. You will go back to the Dark Court and you will await your punishment.”
Katya stepped forward, arms out, begging me.
“Devilyn, I meant no harm,” she began. “It was innocent fun.”
“Innocent?” I practically snarled. “You are incapable of innocence.”
Her face paled at my words.
“Leave my sight, Katya.”
She waited a moment longer, a tear making its way down her face. “I only did it for you. All of it was for you.”
Katya was gone within a second, leaving me surrounded by an overwhelming silence. I longed to talk to the one person who’d understand what it meant to hear that my mother was alive after all these years.
I longed for Caroline.
Chapter Eleven
“Innocence, once lost can never be regained. Darkness, once gazed upon, can never be lost.”
—John Milton
Nantahala National Forest
Puck smiled as he stared out on the vast forest of Nantahala. Excitement began to build as he thought of the mischief and havoc that he would cause. Watching someone’s demise was addictive. Life had become so mundane and cumbersome. The rush of adrenaline that resulted from watching someone fall was intoxicating, immeasurable, and a feeling he desperately missed. Puck had planned and plotted, and now he stared at the backdrop of his final masterpiece and smiled in delight.
Oh, the games he would play upon the mortals! It really was the perfect setting. Using nature as his weapon, manipulating it to bring strife and hardship on the campers.
Not only did he have the elements on his side. There was yet another ace up his sleeve, and it thrilled him to have it at his disposal.
He made his way along the cliffs, practically dancing in joy over the events that lay ahead and the monster he was about to awaken. He had heard whispers about her for centuries from the old Cherokee chiefs that feared her grotesque power.
Her name was Spearfinger, a heartless, shape-shifting Native American Indian creature made of stone. It was said she had a claw on her right hand, which she used to cut out the livers of her victims, and would then digest the organ like it was the most flavorful delicacy.
Her preferred form was that of an old woman.
Harmless.
Helpless.
And oh so cunning.
Through tears of pain she would greet her victims, calling for help, luring them in before she brutally shredded them to pieces. Such rage. Such passion. Such evil. It was more than Puck could have asked for.
For the most part, she rested. Sleeping for hundreds of years, only awakening when the hunger pangs grew too great to bear. Puck hoped to catch her when she was famished. He would then lead her toward the gang of teens camping in the night. Ripe and ready for the plucking.
He reached the smooth stone cliff and lay flat on his chest with his ear to the ground, listening for the pulsating sound of her breath. His hands rubbed the stone, heating it up quickly with his movement.
“Oh, Spearfinger?” Puck called out. “Where art thou, my beautiful, rage-filled monster? Do come out and play with me. We will get on famously, you and I. You’ll see.”
There was a quiet rumbling in the distance. Puck rose and watched as her face took shape on the ground, her rock-like body emerging slowly as she awakened from her slumber, quickly taking the form of an unattractive old woman. Anger and hatred were written all over her face, which was all quite a thrill for him to see.
“Who dares wake me?” she groaned as she pointed her claw at him.
Puck bowed dramatically and gave her a beautiful smile, trying to temper the anger that was now directed at him.
“It is I, the infamous Puck,” he said. “And it is my honor to finally meet the magnificent Cherokee legend Spearfinger. I am hoping that you will indulge me for a moment so that I may present an irresistible opportunity, a collaboration of sorts. One that I think you’ll find mouth-wateringly good. There is much we can accomplish together.”
Spearfinger watched him curiously.
“If this proposition is intriguing to you, which I assume it is from your lack of response, I ask that you join me in awakening another one of your more exalted relatives. The Horned Water Serpent, I believe? It is time we all gathered together for a celebration and a feast that is sure to delight all of your senses.”
C
I ran my hands through the ice-cold water of the stream as it flowed rapidly by. It was unusually chilly for this time of year. Maybe it was a warning of what was ahead. I wasn’t sure, but I knew I must be dreaming.
I recognized the glen immediately, having visited it only a few days before with Odin.
But today was somehow different.
I stood up from the stream and shook my hands. I walked along the green hills, staring out at the breathtaking valley, when I found myself at the foot of at a twisted old tree. There was almost a magnetic energy that drew me close to it. It was ominous, the branches winding and twisting into the sky.
What looked like a tail whipped through them and a moment later, another. I tried to get a better look, wondering what kind of creatures were in the tree.
“Step back, Caroline,” a soft voice said to me from behind.
I turned around to see the most striking woman I’d ever seen staring solemnly at me. She had long, dark hair and the most incredible eyes. They were large and soulful, and though the color was different, they reminded me of Devilyn’s. I quickly realized the similarity didn’t end there, and I knew without a doubt that I was looking at Devilyn’s mother, Tara.
“There is a great darkness that resides within that tree, as well as an inkling of light,” she told me as she stepped closer.
I looked back at it, catching a glimpse of the creature’s face. It was small and black, almost resembling a monkey. And from the look it sent in my direction, it didn’t seem to be very welcoming.
“Not everyone can see them,” she said to me. “Only those Fae with great gifts have caught sight of the dark creatures in the Fairy Tree.”
“Why can’t every Fae see them?” I asked.
“Because each of our powers varies.”
We were quiet for a moment and then I felt compelled to tell her.
“He looks a lot like you.”
She smiled. “That gives me the greatest pleasure.”
“I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced.
I’m Caroline.”
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Caroline. My name is Tara,” she said with a sad smile. “I have waited for this day for a very long time.”
“He thought you had died.”
“Devilyn had always believed it. But now he knows the truth. It was time.” There was a faraway look in her eyes, but she smiled. “He is awfully stubborn, a trait he likely gets from me. He feels I abandoned him, and worse, by not revealing my existence, that I betrayed him, which is the most painful when it is so close to home. He is heartbroken by what he believes is my betrayal, not revealing my existence, my whereabouts. But I thought it best for him. And the safest way for myself.”
She leaned down and picked up a fallen branch.
“But why?” I asked. “I don’t understand how it would be a good thing for a child to not be able to see his mother.”
Tara looked down at the branch pensively.
“Walk with me, Caroline. You will awake soon, so we don’t have much time.”
I followed her on the hill.
“Is it Alderon? Is it because of him that you never told Devilyn the truth? Were you afraid he’d hurt you?”
“You don’t know Alderon like I do. He would never hurt me,” Tara said confidently.
“How can you say that?” I asked. “He is evil.”
“Dark without a doubt,” she agreed. “But he loves me with a rage that has fueled the fires of his hatred for Odin, for you, all these centuries. He blames everyone but himself for my leaving him.”
“How can he love you with rage?” I asked. “How is that love?”
“Because I am the love of his life. His soul mate. Such a bond is impenetrable, it is sacred, and it is to be cherished above all things with the Fae. One does not always find their true mate. So when you are gifted with it, it is a tie that can never be broken. A love that will never die. It will always be. Whether you take it or not, it is there.”
Not in a millions years, baby, he had said.
My heart raced just thinking about it.
“My son wages an internal battle that I do not envy,” she said. “Denying himself your love is the hardest thing he will ever do.”