Faery Born (Book One in the War Faery Trilogy)

by Donna Joy Usher

  I struggled to sit up and he let me go, pulling me up beside him. ‘We’ve hunted before,’ I said.

  ‘You remember?’ His voice held a measure of relief.

  I shook my head. ‘During my session with Wolfgang I saw a memory. You admitted you had taught me to hunt.’

  Disappointment bloomed in his eyes and he was silent for a moment. ‘Once you realised the monsters were there you started hunting them yourself. I couldn’t stop you, so I taught you.’

  I stared into his beautiful, dark-blue eyes. ‘This is no different.’

  He met my gaze for a few seconds longer and then nodded. ‘I will not stop you. But I will keep you safe.’

  ‘We will keep each other safe.’

  A grin appeared on his face. ‘You are the most stubborn person I know.’

  Stubborn? Was that good? I would have preferred mesmerising.

  Wilfred let out a bellow and we both rushed to his side. It was over before we got there, the skin on his face as perfect and hairy as it had been.

  Rako stalked back into the room. ‘Isadora, I want you home for the next few days.’

  ‘But I’m fine.’ I really did feel as good as I had before my injury.

  ‘Are you questioning my command?’ His voice held a dangerous edge.

  ‘No Sir.’ Probably best not to push him any further than we had.

  ‘Correct answer. You will rest and return for duties next week.’

  I sighed and pushed away from the beds. What was I going to do for the next five days? After only two days here my old life seemed dull in comparison.

  ‘What shall I tell my family?’

  He rubbed the tips of the fingers on one hand up and down the scar on his face and I wondered, not for the first time, how he had got it. ‘I will make sure you have enough homework to keep you busy. There will be no need for tricky questions.’

  I pulled a face and stomped from the room, making sure that I didn’t stomp so hard that I drew Rako’s attention. I was annoyed, not suicidal.

  When I got back to the second-year rooms, Jared was sitting cross-legged on his bed with Tinka on his lap. ‘What happened?’

  ‘We ran across a family of buffos.’

  ‘Buffos?’

  ‘Huge, angry, fire-breathing, pigs.’

  ‘You get all the fun.’

  I jumped onto my bed and pulled Scruffy up beside me. He snuggled in close to my leg and stared up at me with his huge, brown eyes.

  ‘He was crying.’ Jared nodded his head at Scruffy. ‘Like he knew something was wrong.’

  I scratched my familiar behind his ears and he lay his head on my knee. ‘What did you get up to?’

  ‘Same as last night. We roamed.’

  ‘Anything interesting?’

  ‘Saw a group of people playing naked limbo.’ He smiled at the memory. ‘Brent said tomorrow night we’re hunting.’

  ‘Watch out for the buffos.’ I unlaced my boots and bent over to pull one off. My head spun and I grabbed the edge of my bed. ‘Whoa.’

  Jared grabbed my shoulders and helped me back up. The spinning continued as I lay down.

  ‘Here.’ He pulled my boots off and helped me wiggle under the edge of my covers.

  ‘I have to go home tomorrow,’ I said. ‘Brinda said it would take a few days to get over the healing.’

  ‘I think she might be onto something. You’ve gone as white as a really, really white thing.’

  I let out a low laugh. ‘Don’t wake me in the morning. Not even if they’ve given me a matching beard.’

  ‘What about if they’ve shaved off your eyebrows?’

  I smiled. ‘Especially not then.’

  ***

  The room was empty and the sun high when I finally woke. Scruffy was curled into my back. I sat up slowly, trying not to disturb him, and grabbed my mirror. Eyebrows still intact and no matching beard. It had been a good night.

  A pile of papers lay on my bedside table. The top sheet was a list of recommended reading with a note that the mentioned text books had already been placed in my car. The next few pages contained the assignments that needed to be completed by the end of the term.

  I scanned the page: first-aid techniques; methods of lighting fires; how to track at night; wild animals found in Trillania; escape and evasion techniques; and cultural differences between goblins, orcs and trolls.

  The last page was written in an elegant script. My breath caught as I realised it was a letter from Aethan requesting the pleasure of my company on Saturday. A knot formed in my stomach at the thought.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy being with him. In fact the opposite of that was fast becoming my reality. But the whole thing was so awkward. I had no idea what was expected of me.

  I groaned as I remembered I had promised Sabby she could come this time. Perhaps she could help take the heat off me. I suspected though, that Sabby would be pumping him for information on our time spent together.

  I had a quick shower and changed back into jeans. Then I threw some clothes into my bag with my dream-catcher, left a note for Jared asking him to make sure my bed didn’t get short-sheeted, and, with Scruffy trotting at my side, I headed down to the car park.

  Grams was sitting at the kitchen table when I got home. She looked up from her porridge and said, ‘Had enough?’

  ‘I’ve got home study till next week.’ I put some bread in the toaster.

  ‘I see you’ve been bonding with the other students.’ She rested a fingertip on her upper lip.

  ‘Something like that. Tea?’

  We were silent while I waited for the water to boil and the tea to brew. I filled her cup and placed it in front of her. She started as if only just realising I was there, and then she sighed and took a sip. ‘So how’s your Prince?’

  It was my turn to sigh. ‘You’ll get to see him soon.’

  He’s coming here?’ She jumped up from the table. ‘Now?’

  ‘No. On Saturday.’

  ‘Oh.’ She slumped back into her seat.

  I studied her more intently. Her hair was silvery grey and she was wearing a beige tracksuit. Even Cyril’s scales were beige.

  ‘So what’s up?’ I asked.

  She sighed again. ‘It’s Lionel.’

  ‘Oh no.’ I’d been so caught up in my own life I hadn’t realised they had broken up. ‘I’m sorry Grams.’

  ‘He wants to get married.’

  It took me a second to digest her words. ‘What? But that’s good, isn’t it?’

  ‘What’s good about it?’ She spooned some porridge into the air and let it dribble back into her bowl.

  ‘Well, you get on really well.’

  She nodded her head.

  ‘You have heaps of common interests.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘You both love travelling.’

  ‘That’s true.’ She stopped playing with her porridge and looked up at me.

  ‘He’s good looking and wealthy.’

  The look on her face brightened. ‘He is quite dashing.’

  ‘And,’ I had left the best till last, ‘every other witch would be green with envy.’

  ‘Not that that is important, but all the other witches would be jealous wouldn’t they?’

  ‘Grams they would cry themselves to sleep every night for the rest of their lives. I mean we are talking about The Weekly Witching News’s Bachelor of the Year five years in a row.’

  Her smile threatened to crack her face in two. You’re right,’ she said, ‘Lionel and I were made for each other.’ She flicked her wand and her hair turned bright orange. ‘He’s the man I’ve been waiting for my whole life.’ Cyril raised his head to stare at Grams. His tongue stretched out towards her, tasting the air, and then his scales shimmered to orange.

  ‘What about Grandpa?’ Even though I’d never met the man (he’d died before Mum was born) I felt the need to stand up for him.

  ‘Who?’ she asked.

  ‘Grandpa.’ Honestly the woman ha
d the attention span of a goldfish.

  ‘Oh well, of course I loved him,’ she said. ‘And I’m sure that if he were still alive today we would be very happy.’

  Mum appeared in the kitchen. ‘Izzy.’ She stared at my face for a second and then hugged me as if she hadn’t seen me for a month. ‘Oh thank goodness, you’ve managed to cheer her up.’

  Grams picked up her plate and danced her way to the sink. She deposited the plate and then twirled on the spot, approaching Mum with a mischievous grin on her face. ‘Guess what?’ She held out her hands.

  ‘What?’ Mum eyed Grams’ hands with a suspicious look on her face.

  ‘You’re going to have a new father.’

  ‘I never knew my old one,’ Mum said. ‘Why do I need a new one?’

  Grams burst out laughing and clapped her hands. ‘Oh Prunella,’ she said, ‘be happy for me. Lionel and I are getting married.’

  ‘Oh,’ Mum said. ‘Oh, Mother. That’s wonderful.’

  ‘I’m thinking a spring wedding,’ Grams said.

  I took that as my cue to start some homework.

  ***

  I was surprised the next day when Mum called me down to the kitchen to find Aethan and Wilfred waiting for me. They looked incongruous in our kitchen, their warriors’ clothes and bodies at odds with the cheery, yellow cabinets.

  Aethan held a bunch of wildflowers in one hand. ‘Here,’ he said, thrusting them toward me.

  ‘He picked them himself,’ Wilfred said. ‘I tried to help, but apparently mine weren’t good enough.’

  ‘You’re not supposed to pull them out with the roots on them,’ Aethan said. I wasn’t sure, but it almost looked like he blushed.

  Mum already had a vase out of the cupboard with water in it. ‘They’re lovely,’ I said, arranging them in the vase.

  ‘How are you feeling?’ Aethan wiped his hands on the sides of his pants and then crossed them awkwardly in front of him.

  ‘Excellent.’ I raised my eyebrows and nodded towards Mum. She had moved into the lounge to give us some privacy but I was betting she was listening to every word.

  Grandma Bella emerged from the hall to her rooms. Cyril perfectly matched the peacock green of her dress and shoes. She froze when she saw Aethan and Wilfred.

  ‘Grams,’ I said, ‘come and meet my friends.’

  She looked from us back to her rooms and licked her lips, turning as if to leave. But then she pasted a broad smile on her face and bustled towards us as I introduced her.

  ‘Izzy didn’t tell me she had an older sister,’ Wilfred said as he bowed over her hand.

  Grams giggled and fluttered her eyelashes at him. ‘Oh young man,’ she said, ‘I bet you say that to all of your friends’ grandmothers.’

  ‘Only the ravishing ones.’

  I rolled my eyes and turned to Aethan. ‘Want to go for a walk?’ I’d been studying all morning and was dying to get out of the house.

  ‘Sure.’ He held the door open for me and then followed me into the sunshine. The warm weather would hold for another few weeks yet and I wanted to enjoy as much of it as I could.

  We wandered down the street towards the heart of the village.

  ‘How old are you?’ I asked Aethan.

  ‘Twenty-one.’

  Three years older than me. That was not so very much.

  ‘So,’ I said, ‘what does being second-in-line to the throne entail?’

  ‘When Orion takes the throne I’ll be in charge of Isilvitania’s defences.’

  ‘Orion? Not Isla?’

  He shook his head. ‘The Faery Throne is passed down through the male line, unless there is no male. Then a female can ascend the throne.’

  ‘That doesn’t seem very fair. What does Isla think of that?’

  He stopped walking and turned to face me. ‘I must admit I’d never considered it.’ He looked thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged a shoulder. ‘It’s the way it has always been.’

  We were silent for a while as we continued to walk. ‘What’s Orion like,’ I finally asked.

  Aethan sighed. ‘He’s so serious. I worry about him.’

  ‘All work and no play?’

  ‘Something like that. He puts his position in front of everything, including his own happiness.’

  ‘Isn’t that the way of a monarch?’

  Aethan bent and pulled a weed out of the footpath. He peeled one of the leaves off and threw it to the side. ‘I guess so. It would be nice to think he could do his duty and be happy.’

  ‘What about Isla? Is she happy?’

  ‘Who knows what Isla is thinking. I like to believe she is not as shallow as she seems.’

  I looked over at him, watching as he pulled the weed into pieces. ‘Feel better?’ I asked when he had finished.

  ‘A little.’ He grinned at me and I felt myself smiling back in response. ‘Want to learn how to part the veils?’ His question took me totally off guard.

  ‘Part the veils?’

  ‘What we do when we travel to and from Isilvitania.’

  ‘Oh, yes, of course.’ I hadn’t realised how far we had walked. We were standing in front of the Eynsford Castle ruins.

  ‘You can do it from anywhere,’ he said, ‘but this is near the heart of our land so it will be easier for your first time.’

  I liked the way he said ‘our’ land a little too much. ‘Will I be able to do it? I mean I am only half Fae.’

  ‘I have no doubt you will. Your faery blood runs strong.’ He pushed my hair behind my ears and stroked the top of one with a finger. A shiver ran down my spine. ‘Although your ears aren’t peaked. Come.’ He led me off the path and down into the ruins. ‘Now close your eyes and tell me what you can feel.’

  He put his hands on my shoulders to steady me as I closed my eyes. His fingers burned through the thin cotton of my shirt as I craved his touch on my bare skin.

  ‘What can you feel?’ he asked.

  I was so not telling him the truth. I shook my head and forced myself to concentrate. ‘Ummm. Nothing.’ I opened my eyes and looked at him. ‘Perhaps I can’t do it.’

  He shook his head. ‘You’ve only just begun trying. Close your eyes again.’

  This time I reached out with all my senses except my sight. I could hear birds chirping and feel the breeze on my skin. The scent of fresh-cut grass made my nostrils tingle. As I relaxed my mind to my senses, a heaviness descended over me.

  ‘I feel…,’ How best to describe it? ‘like someone put a blanket over me, but I can’t feel the blanket, just the weight of it.’

  Aethan squeezed my shoulders. ‘Very good. That’s the veil.’

  I opened my eyes and the sensation dissipated. ‘Really?’ It lingered in the background and I realised it had always been there.

  ‘Now to part it, you need to grasp it with your mind and then push it apart.’ He reached out in front of him and moved his hands apart. For a second I could see the regal trees of Isilvitania. ‘Now you do it.’

  I closed my eyes again and let the weight settle over me, then I reached out with my hands and pushed. Nothing happened.

  ‘You need to part it with your mind as well as your hands.’

  I tried again. I could feel the thick fabric of the fog as it moulded itself to me. I reached out with my hands as I tore a hole with my mind, then I grabbed the edges and pushed them apart. I opened my eyes and there it was, Isilvitania.

  ‘I did it.’ I let go of the veil and flung my arms around Aethan a second before I realised what I was doing.

  His body felt warm and hard as he wrapped his arms around me. It felt too nice by far, and I found myself wanting to stay like that forever. Instead I pulled back and looked up into his eyes. I hoped he wasn’t annoyed.

  He didn’t look annoyed as he stared back at me. ‘Well done.’ His voice was low and husky.

  Our faces were only a few inches apart and, glad I’d managed to scrub off my moustache, I dropped my gaze to his full lips. It seemed a shame to be so close
to them and not taste them.

  I ached to feel his mouth on mine, to share his breath and feel his soul.

  Kiss me. Oh please, kiss me.

  ‘There you are.’

  We jumped apart and turned to face Wilfred.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said, looking from Aethan to me, ‘did I disturb something?’ The amused look on his face told me he knew exactly what he’d disturbed.

  ‘Aethan’s teaching me to part the veils,’ I said, wishing I couldn’t feel my cheeks burning.

  ‘Is that what he calls it?’ Wilfred let out a chuckle.

  Aethan punched him in the arm. ‘We’d better get back.’ He started to walk back to the road and I fought an urge to punch Wilfred as well. Talk about bad timing.

  We walked back to the house in silence. I wasn’t sure what they were thinking about but I was thinking about the ‘almost’ kiss. Would it have felt as amazing as the other night?

  ‘Well, I’ll see you Saturday,’ I said when we got there.

  ‘Saturday? What’s on Saturday?’ Wilfred asked.

  ‘Oh, ahh, nothing,’ Aethan said.

  ‘I meant Monday,’ I said. ‘Don’t know where my head is at.’

  ‘Till Monday,’ Aethan said.

  They waited till I had closed the front door before leaving. Grams was nowhere to be seen, which in itself was strange. Why wasn’t she there pumping me for information?

  ‘Where’d Grams go?’

  Mum was sitting in the lounge reading a book. A feather duster flitted around the room, and a broom swept the floor. ‘Not sure. Perhaps she’s gone to look at something for the wedding.’

  Of course – the wedding. That’s why she’d acted so weird. She was pre-occupied with wedding plans.

  I picked up the vase of wildflowers and carried them up to my room, placing them on the only patch of my table not covered in notes and textbooks. Then I spent the next couple of hours pretending to study while in reality I daydreamed about Aethan.

  ***

  ‘They’re coming.’ Sabina clapped her hands and turned from the window. She had arrived an hour ago to wait for the faeries to come.

  ‘Oh goody.’ As much as I tried, I couldn’t force as much enthusiasm into my voice as she had in hers.