by Hannah West
I sigh and stare at the ruffled sheets. Caligo made Zephyr sound like a victim, skirting around the fact he chose to abduct me. Maybe he didn’t intend to hurt me with his claim. He did look confused when I told him I nearly died.
I scramble from the bed and go outside, hoping the fresh air will help clear my mind. I sit with my legs dangling over the edge of the balcony, a sunrise unlike any I’ve seen lighting the horizon. The air is crisp and quiet and cleansing for my soul. It smells like nature and green things here, and I breathe it deep. This place is beautiful, and if I wasn’t a prisoner I might actually admit that I like it here.
Thoughts of Zephyr permeate the calm settling around my mind. Last night he seemed desperate for me to like him, and it’s more than confusing. The despair I felt from him was deep and hollow, and I struggle to comprehend how anyone can live that way. I finger the glowing mark circling my wrist, contemplating the mystery of Zephyr. I think of the sad look in his eyes at the banquet. For a moment we’d connected. It couldn’t have been more than a few seconds but it felt so right. And I can’t deny the desire I felt to comfort him. It’s still there, buried beneath the resentment of his refusal to let me go.
I close my eyes and push all thoughts of Zephyr away. Sunlight glows through my eyelids and I pretend I’m sitting in the meadow behind my house at home.
‘You’re awake.’
My eyes snap open to find Zephyr’s face about an inch from mine. I scream and slip from the edge of the balcony, gravity gripping hold of me. Zephyr snakes an arm around my waist before I fall and pulls me against him.
‘Holy crap,’ I whisper, heart racing.
I peer over Zephyr’s bicep. We’re hovering just in front of the balcony the ground so far down I can’t see it.
‘You shouldn’t be sitting out here unattended,’ Zephyr chastises. ‘If I hadn’t shown up you would’ve fallen to your death.’
‘I wouldn’t have fallen if you hadn’t scared the crap out of me,’ I argue meeting his gaze. ‘What are you even doing here? Your mum said I’m getting fitted for my dress today and you’re not allowed to attend.’
Zephyr sets us down on the balcony. I push from his arms and study his wings. They’re bigger than his mother’s, suiting his bigger frame, and veined with silver.
‘You’re spending the day with me,’ Zephyr answers.
I eye him warily even though I know the reason. I don’t know why I’m keeping Caligo’s stupid secret. What will it matter if she came to see me?
‘Why?’ I ask.
‘Because tomorrow we’ll be bound for life,’ he answers. ‘I thought it’d be nice for us to know each other a little before that happens.’
‘Are you asking or ordering?’
He considers my question. ‘Asking.’
‘Okay,’ I say then turn to go get dressed. I stop in the doorway and look back over my shoulder. ‘What about your mum?’
‘She can wait,’ he growls then sighs when I flinch. ‘I’ve relented to all of her wishes, Primrose. The least she can do is give me this.’
‘Right,’ I murmur then leave him on the balcony.
Zephyr is sitting with his legs dangling over the edge of the balcony. He looks over his shoulder at me when I step outside, and his face lights with a smile. The effect it has on me is ridiculous. It’s disarming, making a place in my centre grow warm. He pushes to his feet as I step closer.
‘You look beautiful, Primrose.’
My face heats and I look down at the lemon dress I’m wearing. It has long sleeves, isn’t backless and has a modest hemline.
‘Thanks,’ I murmur. ‘It’s all I could find.’
He’s frowning when I meet his gaze again. ‘Weren’t you supplied with more garments to wear?’
I snort. ‘I’ve seen porn stars wearing less revealing clothing than the ones provided for me.’
‘What’s a porn star?’
I shake my head refusing to go there. ‘I’m just not comfortable showing as much flesh as the clothes provided for me reveal.’
Not all of the options are as hideous as I’m making out. There are some pretty dresses that I’d consider wearing, if they weren’t backless. The lemon dress is the only one that doesn’t showcase my wing markings.
‘I’ll take you to select dresses of your own choosing,’ Zephyr tells me as he steps in close.
I shrug. ‘Some jeans and t-shirts would be nice.’
He chuckles and takes my hand, before pulling me close. I suck in a breath when my front collides with his. Light blinds me and I shut my eyes, pressing my face into Zephyr’s chest against the glare. Zephyr’s body vibrates with laughter and I open my eyes to meet amused purple ones.
‘It’s easy to forget you’re half human,’ he admits. ‘Though, I do enjoy your reactions.’
‘Glad I’m keeping you entertained,’ I mutter then push away, jaw going slack when I glance around us. ‘Where are we?’
‘The Jade Beaches, not far from the palace,’ he answers, pointing to a tall, glittering structure in the distance.
I squint at the glittery tower, and what Zephyr is saying dawns on me. The palace he’s referring to is where we were a few minutes ago, before he teleported us here.
‘How did you get us from there to here?’ I gasp.
He shrugs. ‘Royal fae and a few other breeds can teleport within realms.’
‘But not between realms?’ I broach fishing for clarification.
Apparently only some fae traits realise in Halflings, like me. Full fae have fangs, like an animal. It gives them a vicious demeanour when they grin, adding to the feral aspect of their appearance. I don’t have fangs or pointed ears. I’m guessing Zephyr and his family assume I don’t have much going for me in the fae department. They don’t know I have wings and I’m playing dumb over the whole light thing. I don’t know if I can teleport because I’ve never tried, but it would be so helpful right now.
‘We can’t teleport through the barrier separating realms,’ Zephyr says, drawing my focus.
‘Then how do you get between them?’
‘Mirrors make the best portals,’ he answers tone wary, like he doesn’t want to tell me anything about how to leave the Light Realm.
‘That’s the reason there isn’t a mirror in my room?’ I say, like I don’t already know.
‘Yes,’ he admits.
‘But I can’t make doorways with mirrors,’ I say, using the wrong words, so I sound like I don’t know what I’m talking about.
‘Because you’re only half fae,’ he answers. ‘Different abilities manifest in Halflings after their light is activated. It seems many of them are lost to you,’ he murmurs confirming my suspicion. ‘We use our light to open doorways and you’re not aware of your light.’
‘It bothers you that I’m not fully fae,’ I challenge. ‘That I don’t look exactly like you, and that I can’t do the simplest fae thing.’
‘No,’ he denies then adds, ‘We look the same.’
‘Fae females are tall and willowy, where I’m short and curvy,’ I argue. ‘They have fangs and pointed ears, and I don’t. You all have wings and I’m stuck on the ground.’ I shrug. ‘I can keep going if you want?’
‘You’re beautiful,’ he argues back. ‘But it isn’t your appearance that draws me to you.’
Well, it’s not my stellar personality.
‘My light,’ I supply and he nods. ‘Well, I find it difficult to exist without a reflective surface. How the hell am I suppose to see what clothes look like on me, or brush my teeth correctly?’
‘You need only wait until tomorrow,’ he answers.
‘And why is that?’
‘Because there’s a mirror in my chambers for you to use,’ he smiles.
Bile creeps up my throat at the mention of his chambers. I’ll be moved there once we’re fully mated, but by then it will be too late. If there’s a mirror I’ll use it to escape, before Zephyr has chance to force me. Failing that I can always maim him.
&nbs
p; ‘So, the Jade Beaches,’ I say looking at the sparkling jade sand. Lilac waves lap in lazy rolls against the shoreline, forming ripples in the sand. ‘Everything is the wrong colour here,’ I murmur.
Zephyr steps up beside me and we stare out at the ocean together. It isn’t an uncomfortable silence and I feel myself relaxing. He takes my hand and leads me from the sea. I let him guide me to a blanket spread out on the green sand. There’s a picnic arranged atop the blanket, dishes filled with food. I haven’t eaten anything since before my abduction and I’m starving, but I don’t recognise anything in the dishes.
‘You didn’t eat last night,’ Zephyr says. ‘So, I thought you’d be hungry.’
He pulls me down to sit on the blanket with him then releases my hand to fill a plate with food. I meet his gaze when he hands the full plate to me then fills one for himself. I study the food on my plate with suspicion. Things are weird colours and I don’t know what to do with any of it? Do I need to peel any of it? Are there pips or stones in the things that resemble fruit? What if I’m allergic?
‘You don’t like the foods I’ve brought?’ Zephyr asks, drawing my gaze back to him.
‘I don’t know,’ I admit. ‘I’ve never seen foods like this.’
Understanding dawns on his face. ‘You should’ve told me you weren’t familiar with the foods offered,’ he answers.
I shouldn’t have to tell him I don’t recognise food from his realm. I’ve never been here and didn’t come by choice. He knows I’ve lived my life as human, up until a few days ago. Why the heck would I recognise any of his stupid foods? I bite my tongue, remembering Caligo’s request for me to give Zephyr a chance.
He reaches over and picks a neon berry from my plate. ‘This is a Loka berry,’ he tells me. ‘It’s sweet in flavour and can be crushed to make a refreshing drink.’
‘Like a grape,’ I say.
‘I don’t know what a grape is,’ he answers.
I repress a sigh and pop the berry into my mouth. Sweet juice splashes over my tongue as I chew, reminding me of how strawberry mixed with melon might taste. Zephyr watches me, waiting for my reaction.
‘It’s delicious,’ I admit.
His smile warms my insides. ‘Loka berries are my favourite.’
Zephyr offers me another, this one from his plate. Instead of handing it to me though, he lifts the berry to my lips and waits for me to open. I fight the urge to tell him off for being presumptuous. It takes everything in me not to smack his hand away. Instead, I open my mouth and accept his offering. He pushes the berry between my lips, his index finger brushing my bottom lip as he pulls away. My stomach flip-flops and I bite back a moan. I try not to make it obvious when he looks at his plate and I shuffle away. He selects something and puts it in his mouth, and my eyes are magnetised to his mouth. He could be eating mud and it would look attractive. I shuffle a little further away and stuff another berry into my mouth. Warmth is pulsing through my belly and I don’t like it. Why can’t I feel this way about a nice, normal boy, instead of my kidnapper?
A breeze blows from the ocean ruffling my hair, and Zephyr’s attention snaps my way. His nostrils flare and his irises blaze bright purple. His gaze grows intense as he breathes deep and he licks over his bottom lip.
‘I scent your need,’ he tells me.
My eyes go wide and my face blazes with heat. He can smell that? I breathe deep through my nose but all I smell is ocean, sand and the berries I’ve been eating. I guess I didn’t get the fae-enhanced sense of smell then.
‘I-’
‘I know you feel the connection between us,’ Zephyr says when I struggle for a response. ‘But, I also know you’re not ready to be intimate with me.’
‘But your mum said after the equinox-’ the words choke off in my throat and I can’t bring myself to voice them. My mouth is dry and my palms are sweaty.
Zephyr makes an inhuman sound, reminding me of his feral side. It’s easy to forget about when he lays on the charm. The lust is gone from his face, replaced by intense fury, and I have to force myself not to scramble away. Despite his anger, I sense he won’t hurt me, but it’s difficult to face such rage. His emotions call to me, clearer than any I’ve experienced, and my darkness vibrates at the taste of them.
‘Alissa can only dictate so much of our mating,’ Zephyr snarls.
‘Alissa?’
He snorts a bitter laugh. ‘I should’ve known she wouldn’t introduce herself correctly, for all should know who she is without question. Alissa is my mother, Primrose and she has no right to tell you such things.’
Oh? ‘Oh,’ I murmur, voice trembling with relief.
‘Let me make it clear,’ he growls.
His anger strikes me as familiar, for it’s so like my own. Compared to a human I’m an angry person, but not really when I’m compared to a fae.
‘I’ll never force you, Primrose. When we join, it will be of your own choosing.’
‘Thank you,’ I say and mean it.
He said when not if, but I don’t bring him up on it.
I push from Zephyr’s arms as the light fades, putting distance between us. It feels too right to be close to him, and I hate myself for it. A bead of sweat slicks the length of my spine with the effort it’s taking to hold my darkness at bay. It wants nothing more than to curl around Zephyr and leech whatever magical mojo he has that’s drawing it in.
‘Where are we?’ I mutter.
Trees surround us, so tall I can barely see the branches in the canopy. The trunks vary in shades of brown and cream, some so old and large it would take minutes to circle the base. Shimmering leaves litter the undergrowth, providing a sparkling blanket beneath my feet, and sunlight paints patterns through gaps in the canopy.
‘We’re in the Singing Woods,’ Zephyr tells me.
I turn a full circle, soaking everything in. The air feels thicker, like an invisible presence is woven through the atmosphere. My darkness fizzes with awareness and the hairs on my arms stand up.
‘The Singing Woods?’ I ask, meeting Zephyr’s purple gaze.
The forest answers before Zephyr can, warm breeze sweeping through the treetops and swaying the branches. My mouth drops open at the ethereal sound created by the movement and I smile.
‘It’s enchanting,’ I whisper, afraid to break the spell.
‘It is,’ Zephyr whispers back.
When I look at him he’s staring at me. Heat fills my face and he comes closer to pick something from my hair. He smiles and lets the silvery leaf fall from his fingers. It flutters to the floor, joining the others raining down around us from the swaying branches.
‘Why do they make that noise?’ I ask, heart racing at his nearness.
He’s close enough to smell, and his scent is rich, adding to the woody aroma in the air. Zephyr smells like nature and I want to close the space between us and bury my face in his chest. I back up a step and turn away my reaction to him scaring me. I don’t want to like him. I can’t like him.
‘Warm wind pushes down from the mountains to dance with the trees,’ Zephyr explains. ‘They call it the Dance of the Ancients. The wind is said to carry knowledge from those that have ascended, and if you listen in the quiet of the forest, the trees may share their secrets.’
His words make me think of Mum and grief wells inside me. I blink until the tears clear from my vision then look at him over my shoulder.
‘Have you ever heard any of their secrets?’ I smile.
‘Once,’ he answers, surprising me.
I turn to face him. ‘Really?’
Zephyr nods. ‘When I was a child, but that was a very long time ago.’
I frown. ‘How old are you?’
‘Not very old in fae terms,’ he answers.
‘What did they tell you?’ I ask instead of calling him out on his vague answer.
I don’t know why he’s avoiding telling me his age but I don’t like it. I like it even less when he frowns as if trying to remember.
‘They sp
oke of me seeking darkness, but it made no sense,’ Zephyr says. ‘The trees speak in riddles and a language that’s difficult to decipher.’
I think of my darkness and school my features to hide my shock. I thought Zephyr was joking, but they knew he’d come for me. He just doesn’t understand because he doesn’t know my light is black, and that I’m a Dark Fae.
‘How do you even speak to a tree?’ I murmur.
Zephyr chuckles, takes my hand and pulls me to the nearest tree. He presses my palm to the bark and holds my hand in place with his own. My darkness pulses at his nearness but I tamp it down and listen to what he’s saying.
‘If you were aware of your light, you’d use it to reach the energy inside the tree,’ Zephyr explains. ‘Your light would weave with the spirit of the tree and open a connection.’
He presses his other hand to the tree and his eyes glow amethyst. ‘This tree is called Etnalla.’ He frowns then looks at me. ‘She wishes to speak with you.’
I glance at the tree then back to Zephyr. ‘But, I can’t use my light,’ I argue. ‘You keep saying it’s there but I don’t feel it,’ I lie. ‘And if I don’t feel it, I can’t use it to speak to a tree.’
Zephyr shrugs. ‘Perhaps Etnalla wishes to sense you. She’ll understand when you fail to make a connection.’
I turn back to the tree when Zephyr steps back and press both palms to the bark. I imagine my darkness reaching through the bark and feel an electric sensation latch on.
‘Holy crap,’ I whisper.
‘Welcome, Dark Fae,’ a feminine voice chimes through me, vibrating every cell of my body.
‘Um, hello?’ I think back and slide my gaze to Zephyr, to make sure he can’t hear what’s being said. He quirks a questioning eyebrow at me and I shrug, like I can’t hear anything.
‘We celebrate your presence in the Light Realm,’ the tree says at the same time Zephyr tells me not to worry.
Zephyr talks some more, so I don’t catch all of Etnalla’s next words. She says something about Lumen and Unification, but I don’t understand either of those words. Then Zephyr asks if I’m okay and I have to look at him. I tell Etnalla that I have to go, and thank her for talking to me. She sends a warm feeling through our connection and it makes me smile.