by Talia Jager
Kallan stopped and looked at me. “A blocker…why didn’t I think of that? You are very good to have around. I think I might just keep you,” he said with a mischievous grin.
“Glad I could help.” I laughed and tugged on his arm. “You know what that means then? If one of the fey blocked the other, then there’s something going on. Something bad.”
Kallan didn’t respond right away. “Yes. I’ll have to think about that some more. Later. Today is for a reunion. If everything goes well, peace could come to the land.”
“That would be nice.”
“More than that. If our two sides could get along, it would make things a lot easier.”
“Would the borders come down?” I asked.
“Not just by us getting along. An Aurorian put the boundaries up.”
“Does that mean an Aurorian has to take them down?”
“I don’t know. I figured Varwik would live forever and never bothered to learn much of the history or how to be leader.”
“We’ll learn together then.”
I spotted a tree at the edge of the forest whose branches were drooping and had lost most of its leaves. I stopped and stared at the tree for a moment and then walked toward it. “It looks sick.”
“It is.”
I placed my hands on the tree and closed my eyes. I let that warm feeling from within spread through my body and out my hands. Opening my eyes, I hoped to find the tree healthy again, but only one section of it looked better.
From behind me, Kallan put his hands on mine and gently guided me to my knees. Then he placed my hands on the roots of the tree. “Do it from here,” he told me and let go.
I let the power inside of me pour into the roots this time. The branches with new buds covering them reached up for the sky. I smiled and said, “That’ll never get old.”
“Bigger things like trees need healing from the roots. You could perk up a flower just by touching a petal though. Depending on what’s happening with it, a brief touch can heal it or it may need a deeper root-encompassing heal.”
I had so much to learn, but I had no doubt that Kallan and Azura would love to teach me. “It’s amazing to heal something like that. Lena must enjoy her talent. Actually healing people. Now that’s special.” I remembered back to the one time I had used Lena’s talent. I was just beginning to figure out my own, but healing her had been awesome. “Will she be there?”
“I assume so.”
“I’m so glad she’s back with her family.”
A butterfly whizzed by me followed by something just as small, but looked more human than bug. “What is that?”
Kallan chuckled. “A sprite. They won’t hurt you unless you piss them off, then they bite. It stings, but not for long.”
“What do they do?”
“Live here among the treefolk, help us with our gardening, and chase butterflies,” he explained.
“Uh…treefolk?”
“Tree spirits. All trees are sacred to us. Nature is. But these trees are sentient. They can take on a humanoid shape.”
“Human trees?”
Kallan blew out a long breath. “It’s easier to show you than explain. C’mon.” He pulled me off the path and into the forest. A few minutes later, we were surrounded by trees. Kallan called out, “Good morning, treefolk. I—”
“Hush,” a loud voice boomed.
Kallan shut his mouth and looked a bit annoyed.
“You have brought us the Aurorian,” said the voice.
I watched in awe as a human-shaped piece of the tree stepped out and slowly closed the space between us. He still towered over us, but he was only a fraction of the tree he came out of. His skin was wood and leaves stuck out of his green hair. I had no idea how to describe him besides literally calling him a tree man.
“Oleander. We are glad to make your acquaintance. I am Vaughn, leader of the treefolk. We are honored you’re here.”
“Thank you,” I responded. “It’s beautiful.”
“You are welcome here anytime.”
I wondered if there was a catch. There always seemed to be one in the faery realm. “Are all of these trees…like you?”
“Yes. The ones you see here are. We are very protective of the creatures in our realm. You will also find us scattered around.”
“They are wise and give good advice,” Kallan added.
“If you eat nuts from our hazel tree, they will make you wise. If you eat apples from our apple tree, you get power and youth. Ultimately, we are here to serve you.” And with that, all the branches nearby started waving back and forth as if they were blowing in the wind.
I had seen a lot of things since my transformation, but this one took the cake. Tree people. I realized I was standing there with my mouth hanging open. I shut it and said, “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Vaughn grunted and went back to his tree. Kallan nudged me and I followed him back to the path.
“Well, that was…I don’t even know what that was. Is there like a book or something that describes all the creatures here?”
Kallan laughed heartily. “No. You’ll learn them all.” Looking ahead, he said, “We’re almost there.”
I could hear the low continuous rumbling of water long before I could see it. The trees stood tall and majestic, their limbs stretched across the path like an archway, waiting for someone to walk through.
We walked through the archway, which opened up to the waterfall oasis. The main waterfall spilled into dozens of pools and secondary falls cascaded over small natural travertine dams. The emerald green water was the clearest I had ever seen. You could see through it as if it was glass, clear down to the bottom. Beyond its edges ran grass, greener than green. Fruit trees, vines, and other flora created the lush foliage that accented the waterfalls.
Never before had I seen anything as magnificent as this place. I stood in awe of the beauty and tranquility surrounding me.
Kallan squeezed my hand, refocusing my attention on him.
“This is the most beautiful place—I want to get married here,” I said before I could stop the words from leaving my mouth.
Kallan smiled and brushed a strand of windblown hair out of my face. “Then we shall.”
Intensity welled up inside of me and despite the large number of faeries around, I couldn’t stop myself from pressing my lips against his, even if just for a minute.
We walked by the faery children splashing in the pool of water and over to where the rest of the faeries were getting ready for the party. Most of them looked content, but a few had a scowl on their faces.
I was surprised to hear voices in my mind. Someone near me must be a mind reader. I looked around trying to figure out who it was. I wasn’t sure, but if I had to guess it would be the faery with light blue wings standing to my right.
I lingered near her for a moment and focused on different faeries nearby.
This will be a day to remember.
Can’t wait until this is over with. Light and dark faeries spending time together? Never thought I’d see this day come.
Their dark wings are so sexy.
Oh, there’s the dark prince. Too bad he’s with her. She’s so whiny and ungrateful—
I had heard enough. I couldn’t imagine listening to chatter all day long. I swiftly walked away from the mind reader—who hadn’t even realized I used her talent—and saw Azura helping to prepare.
“How can I help?” I asked.
“Oleander! You look beautiful.” She opened her arms and I hugged her.
“Thank you.”
“You can help by arranging the food on these tables.” She turned to Kallan. “Can you hang the lanterns?”
“Of course.”
We both got to work on our tasks
. I found myself softly singing as I placed the dishes neatly around the table. I couldn’t help but be in a good mood. There was a general happy vibe in the air. I took a deep breath and thought I smelled some lavender.
“It’s calming,” the faery with light blue wings said.
I jumped. “You scared me.”
“Sorry.” She shrugged.
“You can read minds?”
“Yes,” she confirmed.
“So the lavender helps to keep the faeries calm?”
“Exactly. It doesn’t prevent a fight from breaking out, but it certainly helps.”
“Hey, Rylie,” Lena called, walking toward me. She had chopped off her white-blonde hair.
“Hi, Lena.” I hugged her. “You look amazing!”
“Thanks. Varwik liked my hair long. I needed a change.”
“It fits you. How have you been?”
“Back with my family.”
“I heard. I’m happy for you.”
She smiled and motioned to Kallan. “I’m glad things are going well for you too.”
I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. “Thanks.”
“I knew there was something there. I could tell. Even when you both were being too stubborn to admit it.”
Laughing, I replied, “I’m glad you kept pushing us together. What have you been up to?”
“Relaxing,” she answered. “I can heal who I want to now, not who I’m forced to heal. It’s more than that though, Varwik put me through hell. I’m so glad he’s gone.”
“Me too.” I agreed.
“Anyway, bygones. I better get back to work. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Thanks.” I hugged her again and finished the last table.
Looking around, I realized there were more faeries here than I knew existed. Seemed like they were coming out of nowhere. Guess everybody shows up for a party. I noticed the dark wings were all together on one side as were the light wings. That needed to change. “We should dance,” I suggested to Kallan.
“Dance?”
“Yes. Is there some music here?”
“We can make some.” He took off, grabbed a few of his buddies, and soon came back with some interesting things. He lured some faeries over and handed different items to them. “On three,” he said. “One, two, three.”
Music started. The beat of a drum. The high-pitched sound of a flute. Strings of a harp. I smiled. It was perfect. I waved him over and told him which light faery had thought the dark wings were sexy and told him to get someone to ask her to dance. He hurried away and came back a minute later.
Bowing, Kallan extended his hand. “May I?”
I slid my hand into his and let him lead me to an area to dance. He kept me light on my feet. Many of the faeries turned to watch, not quite sure what to make of it. Then I watched a dark faery whisper in the light faery’s ear. Her face turned beet red, but she nodded and joined us.
After a few minutes, some more faeries were dancing. Surprisingly, quite a few were mixed wings. I grinned, pleased.
“My feet are aching,” I told Kallan after what seemed like an hour of dancing. “I’d love to keep going, but I need a break.”
He laughed and literally swept me off my feet and carried me to a bench carved from a tree. “This idea of yours turned out okay.”
I nodded. “So far. I keep waiting for something to happen.”
“Have faith.”
“The elders don’t look like they’re enjoying themselves.” I glanced over to where Brigid and Sheridan were conversing.
“They’re old. What do they know about having fun?”
I laughed and nudged him with my elbow. “I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to grow up with this.”
“I can imagine.”
“I used to think my life was perfect. I didn’t know what I was missing.”
“It wasn’t your fault. You’re here now. That’s what counts.”
“I hope so. I have a feeling many faeries don’t like me.” I thought of the faery who I overheard earlier.
“They just don’t know you. Give them time.”
I worried about how much time. Would it take a month? A year? Much longer? Was there something else I should do? How could I get them to like me?
“What’s wrong?” Kallan asked.
“Trying to think of a way to get them all to like me.”
“Stop worrying. The only thing that will make all the faeries here like you is time. Eventually you will do something or say something that will win them over. Might not be one thing. It might take ten things for different fey.” Kallan held a piece of juicy green food in front of my face. “Taste this.”
I opened my mouth and he placed it on my tongue. It was citrusy with a sweet honey glaze. “Mmmm…this is delicious. The food here gets better and better.”
“Maybe I should write a book about faery food.”
I laughed and punched him on the shoulder. “One big book will do. Call it All Things Faery.”
He snickered. “I like that.”
“I better go mingle. Try to make friends.” I kissed Kallan on the cheek and walked around socializing. I went between the light and dark faeries trying to learn everyone’s names and talents, and earn their respect. I made sure to spend extra time with the elders. At one point, Azura approached me. “You’re doing wonderfully, Oleander.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ve gotten quite a number of compliments today. You are making an impression.”
“Good.” I wrung my hands. “I still sense a lot of tension.”
“Maybe you should sing?” Azura suggested.
“In front of everyone?” I stared at her wide-eyed.
“Sure. You do solos in the human realm.”
“Yes, but I’m just a girl there. Here, I’m a leader.”
“The fey love music. I’m sure you singing would be a grand gesture.”
She had a point. I had gotten them all here, now I needed to seal the deal. I walked over to Drake. “Can you play the harp for me?”
“Of course.”
I waved for him to follow me and found the faeries that had played the drums and flute. “Mind if we jam? I’ll hum and you guys get the tune and then we’ll play for them.”
They all nodded. I hummed the song I wanted to sing so they could pick up on what they needed to do. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I muttered. “No different than being on stage.”
“You okay?” Drake asked.
“Just a touch of stage fright.”
“You can do this.”
“Ready? On three. One…two…three…” The music started up and I began singing at the appropriate place. I sung a song called “When You Believe.” I had heard an Irish group perform it once and always found myself singing it to myself. I thought the words were appropriate for what we were trying to do.
At first, not many noticed—it’s not like there was a microphone—but then little by little, they started paying attention. I could feel Kallan’s gaze on me as I sang, but I didn’t dare look at him for fear I’d lose my place. A handful of couples started dancing again, but most just watched.
The song came to a close and then slowly the clapping began. I could feel the heat rush to my face and I muttered a few thank yous. Tears welled in Azura’s eyes and she embraced me. “Beautiful.”
Kallan waited patiently as many faeries approached me and gave me compliments. Finally he reached me and said, “Your voice is something else.”
“I told you singing would get you liked,” Azura whispered in my ear.
Looking around, I saw more of the faeries were smiling and getting along. “Music brings people together.”
As nightfall came, the lan
terns lit up the area in beautiful pastel colors. We danced longer and ate even more and after most of the faeries dispersed, Kallan and I ended gazing up at the pink, purple, and turquoise stars.
“You seem more content here lately.”
“I am.”
Drake plopped down next to us with a loud sigh.
“Drake! You played the harp beautifully.”
“Thanks.” Another sigh.
“Let me guess, you miss Sierra.”
“Yup.”
“I couldn’t have her here tonight.”
“I know, but I hope the day comes when I don’t have to be away from her at all.”
I nodded and put my hand on his. “I’ll find a way.” It was an unspoken promise.
Kallan and I finished cleaning up before he took my hand. He led me over to the waterfall lake. Pinpricks of beautiful blue light seemed to mirror the stars above. I sucked in a breath. “Wow…”
“We call them water fireflies.”
“Do they hurt you?”
“No.”
I stuck my toes in the water and swirled my foot around. The blue lights followed, but nothing bit me. “So cool.” I turned to Kallan. “This place is definitely growing on me.” I stretched up on my tiptoes, trying to get as close to him as possible, and my lips crashed on his. I didn’t hold back this time, nobody was watching. The kiss deepened and I opened my mouth to him. His hand slipped behind my head and pulled me closer. My whole body vibrated and I found myself wishing I could be with him right now, right here.
Kallan left me breathless when he pulled away and I rested my head on his chest for a moment before he took my hand and we walked toward the archway we had come through hours earlier.
I suddenly felt a shudder and stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Kallan asked, scanning the forest.
“Shhh.” I listened, but didn’t hear anything. I closed my eyes and felt a weird ripple run through me. Something felt off. “This is neutral land, right?”