by Wendi Wilson
He pulled back and gave me an apologetic look, his hair and eyes their natural black color. “I’m so sorry I had to leave, December. Something…came up.”
A twig snapped behind him and I looked past his shoulder to see a woman there, ringing her hands. My eyes boggled as they took all of her in. Sandy blonde hair hung in loose waves to her waist. Her bright blue eyes dominated her heart-shaped face. Wearing a long, white dress paired with a baby-pink sweater, she looked downright ethereal.
And she looked scared to death.
“What’s going on?” I asked, my eyes chasing from the vision before me to my dad.
Cris’s eyes glazed over and his voice cracked as he grasped my shoulders and said, “December, I’d like you to meet…your mother.”
I gasped for air, and my gaze shot back to her. The sounds of the forest were muffled by the pounding of blood in my ears. I thought I heard someone calling my name, but my rattled brain could comprehend nothing but the blue eyes of the woman before me. They were my eyes. The same ones I saw in the mirror every day.
“Peony,” I mouthed, but no sound came out.
She opened her mouth to speak for the first time, but something over my shoulder caught her eye and she snapped her mouth closed with a tilt of her head. Her eyes widened and she took a step forward.
“Hello, my dear,” I heard Puck say from behind me.
“Daddy? What are you doing here?”
Chapter Ninety-Six
27
“I’m sorry, did she just say daddy?”
Shaela’s question was largely ignored as my mother stared at her father while my eyes stayed glued to her face. I must have been in shock, because though a million and one questions were whirling through my head, I couldn’t find my voice to ask a single one.
“Hello, Ellie. Thanks for joining us.”
Puck’s words broke my frozen state, and I spun around to pin him with a glare.
“Someone needs to start explaining. Now,” I commanded, my anger rising to match my confusion.
Robin moved forward to give Ellie a hug. Ellie. My mother’s name was Ellie. As I watched her hug him back, I realized the name fit her.
“He came to me a few days ago,” Cris said, laying a soft hand on my shoulder, “and told me where she was. He refused to explain how he knew who she was or where to find her, only that I needed to leave immediately or I’d lose my opportunity and she’d be gone. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was leaving. I just couldn’t wait until I saw you again.” He looked at Ellie and his gaze softened. “I knew you wanted to meet her more than anything, so I left.”
Ellie stepped forward, uncertainty written all over her face. Her arms hung limply at her sides, like she wasn’t sure what to do with them. We studied each other for a moment before she spoke.
“December,” she breathed. “A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”
“I was named after the month I was born,” I said lamely. “And Thorne, for the library where I was abandoned.”
I flinched internally at the distraught look on her face, but kept my outward appearance calm. I didn’t mean to intentionally hurt her, but I also didn’t want to let her off the hook for leaving me the day I was born. My father didn’t know I existed. There was no way she could claim the same.
Or maybe there was.
“They told me you died during childbirth,” Ellie murmured. “Th-they took your little body away before I could see you. I never got to hold you. That day has haunted me for over seventeen years.”
Cris moved forward and linked his fingers through hers. I stared at their joined hands for a moment, lost in thought, before asking my next question.
“Who? Who took me away?”
Her head swiveled to Puck, her eyes hot with accusation. “My parents.”
My mouth dropped open as I looked at Puck and his apologetic expression. That’s how he knew Cris was my father and that he was a Zephyr. Because he was my grandfather and was there the day I was born. He took me away and left me on the steps of a public library.
Fresh anger boiled inside me, and I took a step toward him. He lifted his palms up and took a step back. Easton moving in and slipping his hand into mine was the only thing that stopped me from attacking. Well, that and wanting to know more. I wanted to know everything.
Puck waved his hands in the air and seven wooden chairs appeared, arranged in a circle.
“Let’s have a seat, and I’ll explain everything,” he said, sitting in the chair nearest him.
It was clear who I got my conjuration ability from.
Shaela and Charles took their seats, followed by Cris and Ellie, who sat as far away from her father as she could get. Easton and I took the last two chairs. We all waited in silence while Robin gathered his thoughts.
“When I was ostracized and banished from Oberon Academy, I was lost. I knew my own actions had led to my punishment, but I was filled with the fire of youth and burned with resentment. I tried to settle down with your grandmother,” he said, looking at Shaela with a sad expression, “and had a son.”
“She told her parents that we’d married, but the truth was, I refused to make our union official. After your father was born, I felt stifled. I longed for the freedom I had before he was born, which made me resent him. I knew our relationship would be hurtful to him with me feeling the way I did, so I left.” He paused for a moment, then added, “Or maybe that was just the excuse I gave myself to justify it. Either way, I am remorseful.”
Shaela’s face remained impassive, not showing an ounce of sympathy. Or sadness. Of course, she already knew he’d left his family behind, and had had her whole life to come to terms with it.
“I traveled the world,” he continued, “visiting every Fae community I could find, and ended up near what used to be the city of Los Angeles in the old days.” He looked at me. “The city where you grew up. Where Sebille established her headquarters after the Great Famine and the big reveal of the Zephyrs to the humans.”
His eyes moved to Ellie. “I met your mother, fell in love, and married her. For real, this time.”
My eyes trailed back to Shaela to see if his words hurt her, but she was looking at me, not Puck. Her lips turned up at the corners and she mouthed, “We’re cousins.”
I smiled back at her, then refocused on Puck. I needed to hear all of it before I could process the details.
“We had you,” he said, nodding at Ellie, “and you were such a beautiful baby. You grew into an even more beautiful person, inside and out. The apple of my eye…”
He trailed off, his voice cracking and his eyes getting misty.
“I saw you with him,” he said once he got his emotions under control, “in the field that day. I wanted to kill him, to get him away from you, but then I saw your face. It was love at first sight, and I would know. It is, after all, my specialty. Despite his being a Zephyr, I didn’t interfere when you left with him to hide in the woods. I let you chase your happiness. It wasn’t until—”
“Until what?” Ellie prodded when he cut himself off and a few seconds of silence ticked by.
“Until I found out who he was. A squad of Zephyr soldiers were out searching the area when I overheard them talking about the missing prince. I knew,” he said, punching a fist into his chest, “that Sebille would kill you if she found out you’d dallied with her precious son. Zephyrs and Sylphids do not mix, a law that she is all too happy to enforce.
“I knew I had to protect you. I found you sleeping in the woods, and I cast a spell to keep you both asleep while I whisked you away. We packed our luggage and left for an extended vacation that very same day, after I’d convinced you that Crispin had trifled with your emotions, used you and abandoned you. We did not return until I was sure he’d stopped looking for you.”
“I searched for years,” Cris said, looking at Ellie. “I never really stopped until I found December and came to the academy.”
“Yes, but I placed a Glamour over our village that repulsed you, keeping y
ou from going back there once we returned.”
I thought of the feeling Easton and I got when we neared his room earlier that day. It was pretty potent, and that was just a smoke shield. He wanted us to bust through it, to get into his room and find the tree branch he left as a clue. I could only imagine how strong his Glamour would be if he really wanted to keep someone away.
“Once we realized you were pregnant,” Puck said, bringing my attention back to him, “your mother and I panicked. We had no idea what a child between a Zephyr and Sylph would become, and we knew that if Sebille caught wind of it, she would kill both you and the child. Even our own people would revile you. So we made a plan. When the time came, we’d tell you the child had died.” His gaze moved to me. “We decided to hide you with the humans, where you would have a fighting chance.”
I looked at my parents, who were both watching me with a deep and profound sadness etched on their faces. What kind of life might we have had, without Puck’s interference?
“If you could place a Glamour to keep Cris away, why couldn’t you use it to hide us so we could be together without Sebille finding us?” I asked.
“I couldn’t take that chance with my daughter, or with you,” he explained. “If we brought Crispin back, told him the truth and he decided to stay with us, Sebille would stop at nothing to find him. I’m sure he can tell you how determined she was in her search for him when he eventually left.”
I looked at Dad as I remembered how he told me about his years away, constantly on the run as he searched for his Peony and dodged his mother’s attempts to find him.
“When your mother died,” Puck continued, looking at Ellie, “I found myself at loose ends once more. You were grown and didn’t need me anymore, and without her, I could no longer stand to see the pain in your eyes when you thought of your lost love and your stillborn child. I needed a purpose.
“It was becoming clear that Sebille’s plan to take over the planet was nearing fruition, so I made a decision. I would make myself…available to her. A disgruntled and ostracized Sylph bent on revenge for being cast aside was too good an advantage for her to pass up. I took up residence in her capitol, feeding her just enough information to be considered useful until I could make my move against her.”
We all sat on the edge of our seats. Puck was an amazing storyteller, and the subject was enthralling. Easton’s fingers tightened around mine, giving me the comfort he knew I needed. I looked over and saw Charles doing the same for Shaela. Cris had his arm around Ellie’s shoulders, and she had tear tracks streaking down her cheeks.
“One night, she came back to her apartment, her clothes burnt with tendrils of smoke still rising from the scorched material. She called for me and ordered me to discover whatever I could about December Thorne, a Zephyr-Sylph hybrid she’d discovered hiding inside Oberon Academy. I knew, then, what my true purpose was.
“I had to protect my granddaughter, a barely trained faery who’d managed to best Queen Sebille at their first meeting. I fed the queen misinformation, told her there was no indication of who your parents were and that you’d seemed to pop up out of nowhere. The only truth I gave her was the identity of your last set of foster parents.” His face twisted into an ugly mask of anger and hate. “After finding out what they were, how they treated you and what that man tried to do to you, I hoped Sebille would kill them.”
“What happened?” Ellie shrieked, her palm flying to her chest.
“Nothing,” I assured her. “I got away before he could touch me.”
“When you bested Sebille the second time, I knew my chance was coming. I knew she’d send me here to disrupt your life, to ferret out information and give her some sort of advantage, and I was right. She decreed it the moment she returned.”
“If you’re supposed to be on my side, then why did you do what you did? Why did you out Cris as a Zephyr, try to get him exiled and turn Shaela against me? You’ve done nothing but make my life a living hell since the moment you stepped foot into the academy.”
“I know. And while I am truly sorry for what I’ve put you through, I assure you, it was necessary. You see, unbeknownst to me, Sebille already had another spy planted inside this school.”
“Aubrey,” I breathed, and several heads snapped in my direction.
Puck smiled. “It is very hard to hold a Glamour against you, my dear. I knew you’d discover Miss Ellsworth’s secret sooner or later.” He paused, seeming to gather his thoughts before starting again. “Apparently, Aubrey was an exceptional child, her abilities far advanced for one so young. Sebille convinced her parents she was the key to winning the Zephyr long game, and they managed to secure her a spot as a student here, Glamoured to be a Sylph, of course. All she had to do was stay far enough away from Rowan Dobbs and Finn Oberon, blend into the shadows and keep her eyes and ears open. She’s the one who let Sebille into the school that night.”
“I thought she got in when they bombed the front door and blew out part of the wall,” Charles said, and I remembered he was the one who told us she had taken Finn hostage in his office.
“That was but a smokescreen. Sebille was already in Finn’s office when that happened. Aubrey took her there.”
“So you had to keep up appearances, destroy me completely, or Aubrey would report back to Sebille that you weren’t doing your job?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied. “I had to keep it up for weeks until Aubrey let her guard down. She was always watching me. Constantly trailing me and spying on every move I made. The moment she relaxed enough for me to slip away unnoticed, I went straight to Crispin and told him where to find Ellie.”
“For what purpose?” Easton asked.
“You mean, other than reuniting them as a family and righting a wrong I committed so many years ago?” Puck asked. Then all the muscles in his face tightened. “We need her.”
“What do you mean?” Cris asked, his chest puffing out protectively.
“Remember the night of the ambush on the road, how Sebille was nearly overcome by the force of December’s power when combined with yours. She ran like the coward she truly is. Now imagine the force she’d be with both of you by her side.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. Could my mother’s touch really amplify my power like my father’s did? Would I even survive it if we tried?
“It sounds dangerous,” my dad said, his voice soft and nervous.
“We have to try,” I argued, imbuing more confidence than I actually felt into my words.
“It may be the only shot we have to defeat her,” Puck added.
Silence fell as we contemplated Puck’s story, the repercussions of his decisions, and fears of what our future may hold.
“So what do we do now?” I asked, breaking the silence.
“First,” Puck said, a malevolent grin curving his lips, “we need to neutralize Aubrey Ellsworth.”
Chapter Ninety-Seven
28
“I saw her eyes change, the same way Cris’s do when his Glamour is slipping.”
It was ridiculous, how simple our plan was to get rid of Aubrey. I’d seen the darkness swirling in her eyes at our last encounter, and all I had to do was go tell Finn. He’d summon her to his office and, using his power to taste her emotions, he’d know something was off about her.
“Are you positive, December?” Finn asked, concern etched across his features.
“I am,” I said. “I know what I saw. Her eyes were black.”
I didn’t tell him that Puck had confirmed my suspicions. That Aubrey had been keeping an eye on him for Sebille since he arrived to make sure he stayed in line. Puck wanted to be the one to tell Finn everything, and I respected that. We just had to get rid of Aubrey first, without Puck being implicated, so he’d be free from suspicion on Sebille’s end.
We needed him to remain a double agent.
A timid tap on the door broke my train of thought and I met Finn’s eyes. He gave me a slight nod, and I walked over and swung it open. Aubrey’s b
lue eyes widened, then narrowed and, giving her a wide smile, I held out an arm to invite her inside.
“Come in, child,” Finn called out when she paused just inside the doorway.
“What is this?” Aubrey squeaked, then cleared her throat. “Why am I here? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Then you should have nothing to fear,” Finn said, standing up and making his way around the desk. “And yet, you taste of trepidation.”
He took a long, hard breath through his mouth, which I was sure was purely theatrical to put her even further on edge. I stifled a laugh, which came out sounding like one of Aubrey’s annoying giggles. Finn arched a silver brow at me, and I shot him an apologetic look.
“Why am I here?” Aubrey repeated, her voice deeper than I’d ever heard it.
“Please, take a seat, Miss Ellsworth.”
She took a step toward the chair Finn pointed out. I pushed the door closed and leaned back against it, crossing my arms over my chest like some nightclub bouncer. Aubrey turned back to give me a frown, then made her way toward the chair and sat down.
Finn leaned against the edge of his desk and stared down at her as she squirmed. She seemed to look everywhere but at him, her eyes darting around the room from one object to the next. She crossed her legs, then uncrossed them and pressed her knees together. I wasn’t sure if her nervous fidgeting was real or an act, but it was getting on my nerves.
I stepped away from the door, ready to rush forward and confront her directly, but Finn held up a hand to stop me. I paused and waited for him to speak.
“Aubrey, it has been brought to my attention that you may be attending Oberon Academy under false pretenses.”
“What?” she shrieked, her eyes darting to me, shooting venom as the usually blue color of her irises started to darken. “That is ridiculous. If this mutt told you that, it’s because she’s jealous of me and Tiana and wants to destroy us.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but once again, Finn stopped me with a gesture. He was determined to involve me as little as possible.