Fey Hearted

by N. E. Conneely

  “I tried,” Everblue said, his voice cracking. “I tried to show her who we were and what her life could be like here.”

  “Then you did what you could,” Silverlight said. “Rose’s first days were just like Rebecca’s, and she is doing fine now. The difference is not you or me, but Rose or Rebecca. One of them wanted to be here and is determined to thrive. The other wanted what we could not give her.”

  Everblue shrugged. “I feel like I’ve disappointed Mother, Father, and the others.”

  Silverlight shook his head. “No. You’ll only disappoint them if you let this defeat you. The failure of a fey hearted is surprising, but no one blames you.”

  Rose retrieved the paper onto which she’d magicked the image of a painting and set it in Everblue’s hands. “Will you continue teaching me how to paint?”

  Everblue met her eyes. “You made this?”

  “With a little help from you and a better understanding of how to use magic.”

  He quickly looked at Silverlight, who nodded. “Sure, I’ll keep teaching you about painting.”

  “Good.” Rose smiled at Everblue, and he slowly smiled back. “Now, I happen to know these scones are delicious, and it would be a crime to waste them.”

  She set one on a plate and handed it to Everblue. He studied the scone, as if he feared it might be a trick.

  “Take the scone. Drink your tea. It’s the age-old recipe for feeling better.” Rose thought for a moment. “Or raw cookie dough, but I think only girls do that.”

  Everblue chuckled and took the scone.

  Chapter 19

  After that night there was a subtle but significant change in Everblue. He joined them for whatever lessons he could manage, and he was always in the garden to help out. He’d taken over Rose’s history lessons, giving Silverlight some time to relax. She knew Silverlight spent some of that time with his father, but as often as not, he’d be with them in the living room carving while Everblue quizzed her about long-dead fey or the settlement of Veles. And with two fey keeping tabs on her, Rose had even less free time.

  Rose was no more than average in most lessons—magic, flora, fauna, and an assortment of arts—and healing continued to be her worst subject. Unfortunately, there was a minimum study requirement, and she was counting down the days until she could move on. Weapons work was by far her favorite lesson, which brought her to the current problem.

  “Hurry up,” Rose yelled to Silverlight. “I don’t want to be late.”

  He trotted into the living room. “I would never let you be late to Alda’s lessons.”

  “You say that now but if she thinks we’re late, you’d blame it all on me,” Rose teased as she shut the door behind them.

  “I would never do such a thing.”

  “Hmm. If memory serves, you said just that last week.”

  Silverlight looked at the white dragon flying next to them. “She’s going crazy, Pearl.”

  She snorted and angled away from them, flying in the direction of the Elementals’ Field.

  Rose raised an eyebrow. “See? Pearl agrees with me.”

  Silverlight shook his head and sped up. They jogged around the Field and followed the path into the woods.

  “Wait,” Everblue called out.

  Rose turned around and waved. “I thought you would already be there.”

  “I told you we weren’t late,” Silverlight whispered.

  Rose ignored him and gave Everblue a hug.

  “Lost track of time painting,” he explained.

  “If Alda thinks we’re late, I’m blaming you,” Silverlight muttered.

  Rose rolled her eyes.

  “Oh no. I’m not getting in the middle of that,” Everblue said.

  They started walking again. Rose always liked this part of the walk where the path was shadowed by the trees. It was a short stretch—before long the path deposited them into the Lesser Field—but except for the occasional bickering squirrels or dragons, it was quiet, which was why the sharp snap of a branch caught all their attentions.

  “What was that?” Rose asked, eyes searching the woods.

  “I don’t know,” Silverlight answered.

  Everblue pushed at them. “Run.”

  Silverlight grabbed Rose’s hand and took off. She hurried to keep up with him. When she fell a little behind, Silverlight and Everblue tugged her forward.

  “Keep moving,” Silverlight yelled.

  “Why?” Rose shouted back.

  “Wilds.”

  Fear clouded Rose’s mind as Silverlight yanked her to a stop. Ahead of them were two fey-looking creatures, but ram-like horns curled out of the man’s head and tawny fur, much like that of a mountain lion, covered the visible skin of the female. Twisting around, Rose saw another wild coming at them from behind. The elongated nose and jaw formed something of a beak, and Rose thought she saw feathers in the man’s hair and down his neck.

  “We’ll have to fight,” Silverlight said, drawing his sword.

  Everblue already had his in hand. He looked at Rose and swore. “She doesn’t have a sword?”

  “Not yet,” Rose said through gritted teeth, trying not to give away anything more to the wilds.

  “We’ll try to keep them off you.” Silverlight handed her a dagger. “If we can, we’ll try to make it to the Lesser Field.”

  Rose tightened her grip on the dagger. Most humans wouldn’t understand how to use this dagger because of its circular pommel, cylindrical blade, and sharpened point, but to Rose, it was already a deadly weapon. The dagger wasn’t as good as a sword, but she would take it.

  The horned fey raised his sword and gave a battle cry as he rushed them. Silverlight stepped out to parry the attack, and the other two wilds charged. Everblue couldn’t intercept both of them, so he took on the catlike female, who wielded a longsword. While he and Silverlight were busy trading blows with the wilds, the bird-man moved in Rose’s direction.

  She swallowed. This would be her first real fight, and it was nothing like she had imagined. The bird-man had a mace, which was better than a sword in some ways. They would have about the same reach, but she was still at somewhat of a disadvantage. She would need to get in close to use her dagger without getting pummeled by the mace.

  He bounced lightly from foot to foot as he approached, his eyes sweeping over her, only to stop on her ears. He took his first swing, shouting, “A fey hearted!”

  Rose dodged and scrambled away. The bird-man stumbled, and she looked at Silverlight and Everblue. They were holding their own, but Everblue was on the defensive.

  “Kill her,” someone bellowed from behind Rose.

  Moving away from the bird-man, she glanced to the side and saw another wild, this one covered in shaggy, bearlike brown fur, charging at her with a sword.

  Silverlight kicked his attacker, knocking him back. While the horned man was recovering, Silverlight landed a solid hit on the bird-man’s back, sending him to the ground as the bear-man swung at Rose. She ducked to the left, grabbed his arm, and stabbed him in the gut. The blade didn’t want to go through his heavy winter jacket, but she forced it in three times on his way to the ground.

  The other wilds were still on the move, so she stomped on the bear-man’s arm and snatched the sword from his hands. She stuck the dagger in her belt and raised the sword, ready for the next attack. This time it wasn’t the bird-man coming for her, but the woman with the tawny fur. There was a split second of stillness that was shattered when the woman leaped forward, her longsword slicing through the air.

  The woman hadn’t telegraphed that move at all. Not a single flick of the eyes or twitch of tense muscles had betrayed her, which meant she was very good.

  Rose backpedaled, deflected the blow, and focused in on the fight.

  The cat-woman moved smoothly into another attack. Rose knocked the woman’s blade to the side while she scrambled away, gaining a moment to compose herself. She needed a plan. The moment wasn’t long enough, though, and the wild came at h
er again. Rose stopped thinking, just pivoted and attacked. The woman deflected her sword, but Rose redirected the motion into a thrust. The woman stepped back and slammed her sword into Rose’s.

  Rose felt the vibration all the way up her arm. Tightening her grip on her sword, she pulled back just in time to deflect another incoming blow, softening its impact.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw the bear-man move. Risking a quick glance in his direction, she saw that he’d torn his shirt and jacket open and his stab wounds were almost healed. That was a problem she didn’t have time to worry about right now because the woman’s sword was moving faster than ever.

  In a flurry of blows, she chased Rose around a tree. Finally, Rose recognized an attack the woman had used twice before. She pivoted to the side, slid her sword around the woman’s, and thrust forward. She made contact with the woman’s chest but didn’t do any real damage.

  As the cat-woman tried to get her sword back into position, Rose stepped to the side and sliced the woman’s thigh as she disengaged. The woman lost her footing, sword swinging wildly. Batting the woman’s sword away, Rose landed another blow to her ribs and then knocked the sword out of the wild’s hands.

  A scream made Rose turn around. Alda and Bronzeblade were charging down the path, followed by a handful of other fey. Everblue was still fighting the bird-man, but from the way Everblue was limping, it looked like he had hurt his foot and was simply trying to occupy the wild until help arrived. Silverlight had his sword pressed against the neck of the horned man.

  There was a rustle of leaves behind her, and Rose turned to see the cat-woman and bear-man running into the woods. Pivoting to check on the boys, she saw the bird-man kick Everblue in the leg. He went down, and the bird-man followed the other wilds into the woods.

  Rose ran over to Everblue. “How bad are you hurt?”

  He grimaced. “Not as bad as it looks. I think it’s simply sprained. I twisted it when I fell.” He paused. “I’m sorry about that. I let the woman get away from me.”

  “No,” Silverlight screamed at the same time Rose heard a fleshy thud and a gurgle.

  Looking over her shoulder, she saw a knife sticking out of the horned man’s throat, his hand falling away from the hilt. He had killed himself.

  As Alda and the others arrived, Rose exchanged a look with Everblue. The only captured wild was dead. Without him, they wouldn’t be able to determine why the wilds had attacked and why the wilds had wanted to kill Rose.

  Swearing, Alda sheathed her sword. “Is anyone hurt?”

  “Everblue sprained his ankle,” Rose said.

  “I will find Moonbeam,” Bronzeblade said. Alda nodded, and he trotted down the path.

  “Nightember, Wintermoon, could you find Summersky and Waterfall?” Alda asked.

  They agreed and followed Bronzeblade.

  “Let’s get the three of you to the hoplon.” While Alda was giving directions regarding who should stay with the body and who should accompany them, Rose and Silverlight helped Everblue to his feet. Several people offered to carry him, but Everblue refused, preferring to lean against Silverlight and hop his way to safety.

  Rose walked next to the boys, looking at the blood on her hands. She had stabbed someone, and it bothered her not at all. He had wanted her dead, and that had set the tone for their fight. She could not feel the tiniest bit of guilt or remorse over actions that had kept her and her friends safe, even if they could have resulted in the bear-man’s death. Perhaps if he had died she would have felt differently, but he was alive. Hopefully someone would have an explanation for how he had managed to heal so quickly.

  When they reached the hoplon, Rose went to wash up. Her clothing was ruined, splattered with blood like the rest of her. She scrubbed for a while but couldn’t get all of it off her hands.

  There was a soft knock at the bathroom door followed by Silverlight’s voice. “Rose, are you all right?”

  “You can come in.”

  He opened the door and stepped inside. “You’ve been in here for a while.”

  “I can’t get all the blood off my hands.”

  He took her hands in his own and looked them over. He released her and then dug around in a cabinet under the sink. “Try this.” He handed her a gritty bar of soap.

  She lathered up again, paying extra attention to the edges of her nails. This time when she rinsed, her hands were clean. She dried her hands as Silverlight washed his. When he finish Rose passed him the towel.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I stabbed him, and I don’t feel any guilt. I should, though, shouldn’t I? I harmed a sentient creature.”

  “You kept yourself safe. If you hadn’t, they would have killed you. You didn’t seek out this conflict; you defended yourself. It’s why you’ve been learning how to fight.” Silverlight sighed. “We can talk more about it later. Alda wants to talk to us right now, and I’m sure my father is on the way, ready to ask far too many questions.”

  Rose followed Silverlight back into the main room and sat down next to Everblue. His foot was propped up on a box and wrapped in a towel. From the sharp scent of lilies, Rose figured someone had put cooling magic in the towel.

  Alda walked over and studied them. “The fight wasn’t very long, and I was able to see a good portion of it. Silverlight, you did well. Rose, that was an excellent performance for the amount of training you’ve had. We will be adding time to your lessons. With some work, you could be an exceptional fighter.”

  Rose wished she had felt like she knew what she was doing because, from her perspective, the fight was a fluke. She knew just enough to buy her time, and then she’d gotten lucky.

  Alda moved on to the last member of their group. “Not bad, Everblue. A little more practice and you could be a respectable swordsman.”

  “We both know I don’t have the focus for this.”

  “Some people just don’t appreciate what I have to offer.” Alda winked at him.

  Everblue snorted. “You hated teaching me as a child, and we both know I’m far better with plants.”

  “Maybe,” she said, clearly not convinced.

  “Alda, I’m here to make sure you always have an enthusiastic student,” Silverlight said.

  Alda laughed before becoming serious again. “I am extremely relieved that the three of you are alive and mostly well. You scared me.”

  The door burst open then, and anything else Alda was going to say was lost as Moonbeam, Waterfall, and Summersky rushed in. As the room filled with people talking over one another, Rose leaned her head against the wall and hoped she could get to her bed soon.

  It turned out Everblue really had simply twisted his ankle, and Moonbeam fixed him in an instant. Despite Silverlight’s and Rose’s insistence that they had not been injured, Moonbeam also examined them. They received clean bills of health.

  After hours of explanations and the adults examining their bodies for injury, they were escorted to Silverlight’s home and allowed to get some rest.

  As Rose drifted to sleep, she wondered if her feelings about the fight would change over time, and by morning, she had to agree that Silverlight was right. She had done what she needed to do to survive. The actions of the wilds were outside of her control, and if they were willing to risk their lives, she had every right to defend hers.

  Waterfall, who had been in and out last night, was the first one out in the living area that morning. Alda showed up shortly after, as Waterfall was preparing breakfast for the group. He waited until they’d all finished eating before moving everyone into the living room for another round of questions. His attention repeatedly rotated from Silverlight, to Everblue, to Rose.

  “Tell me again what happened.”

  Rose suppressed a sigh and went through the events the way she remembered them for the fourth time. In all the conversations about the attack, she had learned two interesting things. Alda had gotten a feeling that there was trouble, and on her way to rescue
them, she had alerted every nearby fey. The other noteworthy information was that the bear-man had healed himself. Everblue had seen him use magic, though no one was sure how he had managed to heal such serious wounds that quickly. Alda had assured Rose that it was perfectly normal to miss something, like a scent, during battle before Rose had even had time to worry about it.

  She finished telling Waterfall the story and then asked the one question she really needed an answer to. “Why did they want to kill me?”

  Waterfall met her gaze. “I don’t know. Their attacks are sporadic, once or twice every year. They’ve done that for as long as I can remember. Anyway, I looked over the list of who has been injured or killed during these fights, and from the records, it looks like they target fey hearted. I don’t know why. We never looked at it that way because most of the fey hearted involved had been here for years. Some, like Beatrice, hundreds of years. I wouldn’t worry too much.”

  The boys’ stunned expressions mirrored her own. On the bright side, the wilds weren’t targeting her specifically. But on the other hand, they wanted all the fey hearted dead, including her, and there didn’t seem to be an expiration date on that desire.

  Chapter 20

  In the days that followed, Rose found that life went back to normal, though she did get her own sword. The fey were perhaps slightly more vigilant, too, and there were discussions and theories as to why the wilds would target the fey hearted. However, the attacks were not unusual so the new information changed little about daily life. Waterfall assured her that he, along with the scholars, was looking into it all. So far, if they had found anything, the information had not gotten to her.