by Talia Jager
“Third sunrise? Like in three days?” My voice squeaked. “All those fey who just died. Shouldn’t there be a memorial or something?”
“Of course. Tomorrow we will say goodbye to the fallen,” the sagart said. “We should move forward with the ceremony. The fey need unity.”
What he was saying rang true. The wedding would bring the light and dark together. I looked into Kallan’s eyes. He reached out and took my hands. “What do you think?”
“I think I love you and while it’s crazy fast, I will marry you in three days.”
Kallan grinned, but before he could say anything, the sagart clapped his hands once. “Wonderful! I will leave you to your planning.”
After the sagart left, I gathered both stones and found Azura looking panicked. “All the things I must do in such a short time.”
“Don’t freak out. I don’t need anything fancy.”
She met my eyes. “You will get a faery wedding.”
I could hear the promise in her words. “Okay. Before you go into full planning mode, do you have a place I can hide the stones?”
“Yes.” She brought me to a closet and moved some things around. She pushed down on a corner of a board and it popped up. Grabbing the end, she pulled the board out. I peeked in and found a journal. Carefully I picked it up and opened it. Inside was a picture of me a few years ago along with some entries. I glanced up at Azura. “I had to hide the picture of you for fear someone would figure it out, but I wrote in the journal every year. It’s for you to read, when you’re ready.”
I blinked to keep the tears away before taking the stones and putting them in the space. I closed it and covered it back up, then stood up with the journal. I wrapped my arms around Azura, but said nothing more.
After Kallan left for the night, I curled up in my bed and opened the journal. I read the words, letting the tears fall freely. These were the words of a mother in pain, a mother who had lost her child, a mother who loved her daughter very deeply. My mother. I fell asleep with the book clutched to my chest.
In the shower the next morning, I started thinking about the wedding. Where were we going to have the ceremony? The waterfalls had been destroyed. Where are we going to get married? I asked Kallan once I was dressed.
Ry, the light stone will fix the waterfalls.
What about Satine?
We’ll take guards with us. I know how much you love it there.
That brought up my other concern. What if Satine attacks our wedding?
Let’s focus on us, not her. We’ll have guards there just in case.
Okay.
I’ll meet you near Abrax.
I retrieved only the white stone, carefully placed it in a satchel, and secured the satchel around my neck. Azura wasn’t around, so I skipped breakfast and walked to Abrax. Kallan was already there with Eton and four of his guards. He slid off Eton and gave me a hug. “I’ll ride with you so you don’t fall off when we hit the neutral land.”
“Good thinking.” After rubbing Abrax’s head and feeding him a snack, I climbed on and said, “To the waterfalls.”
A minute later, we were all in the air. By the time we landed, I had felt the effects of the dying land. Kallan helped me off Abrax. My legs were weak.
“Can you stand?” he asked.
“Barely,” I whispered.
“Then we’ll sit.” He swooped me up and carried me to a spot near the sad trickling waterfall and put me down.
“What do I do?” I asked feebly.
“I’m not sure.”
“Help me hold it in the light.”
Kallan supported my hands as I held the stone in the rays of the sun. Suddenly the words just came to me and soon I was talking in an ancient language.
Slowly, the land started changing. The dead, brown grass turned a vibrant green. The trees and flowers perked up and began to bloom. Lastly, the water started pouring over the crest. The nausea disappeared and the world stopped spinning. My energy returned and I felt normal again. “So beautiful.”
“It is.” After another minute, he said, “We need to go. The memorial will start soon.”
“Okay.” I gazed at the waterfalls. “I can’t believe we’re going to be married here.”
He kissed me long and slow, then grinned against my lips. “I can’t wait.”
We made it just in time to return the stone to its hiding spot before for the afternoon memorial. The bodies of the fey were laid out in the meadow. So many bodies. It didn’t matter if they were dark or light, on Satine’s side or ours. They were brought here to rest until they turned to ash, which should happen within the hour.
The sagart stepped out of the crowd. “My fellow fey, yesterday we suffered a terrible loss. Many of our loved ones died. Although we won’t see them while we live in this realm, we shall see them again when we ourselves move on to the next. Let’s remember our fallen friends and family, and rejoice in their lives.”
The family of each faery that was killed knelt next to them, holding their hands, stroking their hair, doing whatever it was that gave them comfort.
The sagart announced, “Ava is going to sing ‘Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep.’”
Another faery joined the older one and began to sing. She had a beautiful voice and I found myself humming along. I didn’t know the words, but the song was lovely.
When she was done, the faeries stood in silence for a long time, until poof…the bodies of the dead faeries began turning to ash. The eldest faery stood in the middle and said, “With permission from the families, Azura will blow the ashes away now.”
Azura stood at one end of the meadow, raised her hands, and flung them forward. With it came a gust of wind that picked up every single ash and carried them away.
Where does it go? I asked Kallan.
All over the realm. Forests, meadows, lakes. The faery becomes part of nature.
Fitting.
When the memorial was over, Kallan turned to me and said, “We have time to go to the human realm now. Are you ready?”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
A short time later, we sat on the log looking at my house. My parents had gotten home just a few minutes ago and I was about to tell them of my marriage plans. Kallan put his arm around me. “Do you want to get married?”
My eyes shot over to him. “Of course I do! I’m just…nervous about how they’re going to react.” I cupped his face with my hand. “You’re the love of my life. I want to be with you forever and I can’t wait to marry you.”
“Your parents love you. They’ll understand.”
I stood up. “Let’s go tell them.”
He took my hand and we crossed the backyard, climbed the stairs to the back deck, and walked into my house.
“Rylie!” Mom called out and threw her arms around me. “How are you?”
“Good. Really good, Mom. You okay?”
“I am now.” She stood back and looked at me. “Look at you.”
I blushed. I didn’t wear dresses like the one I was wearing in the human realm often. “Thanks. Mom, there’s something I need to talk to you and Dad about.”
“Of course. Is everything all right?”
“Yes.” I didn’t want to say more until my father was here.
“Max!” Mom yelled. “Rylie’s here!”
Dad came bounding into the room and embraced me. “I’m mad at you, but right now I just want to hug you.”
After the long squeeze he placed his hands on my shoulders and said, “Where have you been? What happened to our deal? And you,” he said, looking at Kallan. “You’re the one stealing her away.”
“Dad…I’m sorry. I planned on staying here and finishing school, but things came up in the faery realm.”
“These
things you had to deal with?”
“Yes. It was extremely important that I was there to deal with it.”
“Okay, fine. Are you back now?”
I glanced at Kallan and then back at my parents. “No. Can we sit down?”
Dad pursed his lips. “I’m not going to like this, am I?” he muttered.
Kallan and I sat down at the table first. My parents followed suit. “I…uh…we…well, we are—”
Kallan placed his hand on mine. “Mr. and Mrs. McCallister, I’d like to ask for Rylie’s hand in marriage.”
“Um…what?!” My father jumped up, banging his knee on the table.
“Dad…Kallan and I love each other and we’re going to get married. Please sit back down so we can discuss this.”
“No. This is unacceptable. You’re a minor. You need our permission.”
“Not to be married in the faery realm, although I’d really like your blessing. Please, Dad.”
He glowered. “Sounds like your mind is already made up.”
“Sit down, Max!” my mother hollered.
My father grumbled and sat back down. He crossed one arm over the other and glared at Kallan.
“Mr. McCallister, I love Rylie. She’s my whole life and I can’t imagine a day without her. I want to make her my wife.”
“She’s only seventeen,” Dad argued.
“Dad, in our realm faeries marry at sixteen.”
Dad gave a heaving sigh. “We can’t stop you, can we?”
“No.” I reached across the table and took both my mom and dad’s hands. “Kallan and I are getting married, but I really want you and Mom to be there. Will you come, please?”
Mom smiled and said, “Of course, Rylie. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Where are you going to be married?”
“At this beautiful waterfall in the faery realm.”
“Will we be able to see everything?”
“Yes. My cousins make special fruit you eat and it gives you the ability to see the faery realm.”
“Angela, you’re okay with our underage daughter getting married?”
“She’s happy, Max. That’s all I ever wanted. Of course I would prefer that she finish school and have a career, but we both know she’s special—and she obviously loves Kallan.”
“Dad, I want you to walk me down the aisle. Please?”
Dad’s eyes glistened. “Okay.”
“Okay? You’ll come?”
He didn’t respond for what seemed like hours. Finally he nodded, resigned. “It would be an honor to walk you down the aisle.” He looked at Kallan. “And to have you as a son-in-law.”
“When is the ceremony?”
“Tomorrow.”
Both their eyes widened. “Are you pregnant?”
“No! We haven’t even—” I took a deep breath. “I’m not pregnant. We just can’t wait to be married.” That wasn’t a lie.
Dad was muttering under his breath. “Unbelievable…seventeen…married…”
I waited patiently, trying to give them a few minutes to digest what I had just told them.
“So I don’t even have a few weeks to let this sink in?” Dad asked.
I shook my head. “No. You have to come tonight.”
My father glanced from me to Kallan. “It’s not that I don’t like you, Kallan. I just think this is too fast and you’re both too young.”
“You love Mom, right?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“If you could’ve married her sooner, would you have?”
“Absolutely, but how do you know this will last?”
“We know.” My eyes locked with Kallan’s.
Dad blew out a long breath before finally nodding and said, “Fine. We’ll be there.”
I grinned and took out the fruit Nessa and Violet made and placed it on the table. “One for each of you. Eat it within the hour and someone will be here to escort you in. Dad, you’ll see everything. All sorts of creatures. Please try not to be weird.”
He nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
I stood up. “I need to tell Sierra.”
Mom hugged me again. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Drake had waited for us outside and the three of us got in my mom’s car and I drove over to Sierra’s. I texted when we got there. Come outside.
She didn’t respond, but a minute later the door flung open and she grinned seeing the three of us.
I held out the fruit in my hand. Sierra’s face lit up. “Am I going to the faery realm?”
“It’s not a permanent solution. Just for the day,” I explained.
“Better than nothing.”
“Sierra, there’s something I want to ask you.”
“What?” Her hand played with Drake’s.
“Will you be my maid of honor?”
Her eyes registered confusion then surprise. “You’re getting married?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Oh my God! Yes! Yes! Of course I will!” She flung her arms around me and squeezed. “I can’t believe it. I mean I can…but wow! We need to shop. And get our hair done.”
“No. No. No. All that will be taken care of. I just need you to eat so we can go.”
Sierra grinned and shoved the fruit in her mouth.
“We have to get back. Why don’t you guys take your time, but could you pick up my parents on the way?”
“Sure.”
“Don’t be too long. We have to get ready. The ceremony is at dawn.”
Sierra hugged me. “We’ll be right behind you…after a little lip action.”
Drake’s face turned bright red and I laughed. We drove back to my parents’ home and walked off into the forest. We spent the next hour listening to faeries give us ceremony and party ideas, helping pick what we wanted, and I finally said, “I just want to marry this guy. I’m sure whatever you pick will be perfect.” I smiled sincerely and walked away.
Kallan followed. “You okay?”
“Overwhelmed. Making decisions about all that stuff is already hard when you have months to plan for it, but then at least you have time and can make it fun. The little details aren’t as important to me as having my parents and Sierra there. That’s all I need.”
“Here come your parents now.”
I followed his gaze. Drake and Sierra walked out of the forest with my parents. The looks on their faces were priceless. My mother was in awe and my father was…speechless. When she saw me, she opened her arms and I ran to her. “Hi, guys. Welcome.” I hugged my dad too. “You doing okay, Dad? You look a little pale.”
“I’m taking things one step at a time.”
“Literally,” my mother said. “It took us a long time to get here.”
I laughed. “Just open your mind, Dad.”
“I’m trying…for you.”
We had a feast for dinner. Apparently a tradition. My dad ate every food he could get his hands on. He was gobbling it up like there was no tomorrow.
“You’re going to gain a hundred pounds, Max!” Mom teased, poking Dad in the gut.
“But did you taste the food? It’s delicious!”
“Are you saying my cooking is bad?”
“No! No! Not at all.”
“Bet if you were a faery, you wouldn’t be able to say that.”
Dad’s face turned red and I interrupted. “The food here is incredible. The best restaurant in the world couldn’t compare.”
Azura saved the day by introducing Móraí and Maimeó to my parents. I mouthed a thank you to her and she nodded.
Kallan stayed as long as he could before taking me in his arms and whisp
ering in my ear, “Tomorrow we will be married. Tomorrow I will take you home. Tomorrow is the first day of forever.”
His hot breath tickled my ear. “I hate waiting.”
“One more day, my love. I will let you get ready in peace tomorrow. If you need me, just tell me.”
“Be careful. I still worry about Satine.”
“Maybe she did die in that twister?”
“Maybe…” I shivered. I highly doubted that Satine was dead.
I scanned the perimeter one last time before going inside. I knew the guards were keeping watch, but I still felt vulnerable.
That night Violet insisted I sleep in curlers. She was the one in charge of doing my hair for the wedding. Sierra was sleeping with me and my parents had the guest room. The arrangements were a little on the odd side, but it worked. I could hear my parents’ voices, so I knew they weren’t sleeping.
I only had a few hours to sleep. The wedding was to take place just before dawn so the moonlight and sunlight would hit the stone at the same time. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I tossed and turned, and counted sheep. Nothing helped.
Sierra propped up on her elbows. “Did you really think you’d sleep the night before your wedding?”
I laughed. “Guess not. You think it’s normal to be excited, scared, happy, and anxious at the same time?”
“Yes. Think of all the Lifetime movies we’ve watched.”
“It’s different when you’re the one going through it all.” I listened to the sounds of the night and then said, “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been around lately.”
“And I’m sorry for being jealous and acting out. I’m happy for you. You’re following your heart.”
“I haven’t forgotten about my promise to you.”
“I know. Focus on your wedding and honeymoon. Do you get one of those?”
“I don’t know. Probably not like humans do.” I still found it odd to not refer to myself as a human.