by Cece Rose
“From an ancient piece of fae jewellery?” she questions in an incredulous tone.
“So you think it’s real?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” She shrugs.
“Try touching it again,” I suggest, figuring if it didn’t hurt her badly last time, the small risk of another little shock isn’t that big a deal if it means figuring out if it’s the real deal.
“That’s what she said,” Lizzy quips in a dry voice, before reaching out and brushing just one finger against the ring. She frowns. “It didn’t shock me that time.” She tries to pick it up, yelping and dropping it quickly after. I try to catch it, but fail, cringing as the ring hits the floor.
“What the hell is up with this ring?” I mutter, as I reach down to pick it up. I hesitate for a second before doing so but force myself to pick it up. I exhale a relieved breath when it doesn’t shock me.
“It’s like it doesn’t want to be taken from you. Maybe it’s enchanted so it can’t be taken from its owner, and for some reason it thinks you’re its owner?” Lizzy suggests.
“The ring thinks I’m its owner?” I echo sceptically. Can an enchanted fae ring think?
“Well, do you have any other logical reasons for why Rhydian wouldn’t take the ring back? Maybe he can’t!” Lizzy points out, a little smugly. “I bet that really pisses him off. Maybe that’s why he’s messing with you? He wants it back?”
“Then why wouldn’t he just ask for it? No, there’s got to be something else to it. There’s always some ulterior motive with him.” I clench my fists, regretting it when the stones in the ring jab the palm of my hand.
“You might have the upper hand now, Kay. He doesn’t know you know about the ring,” Lizzy says with a twinkle in her eye and a persuasive edge to her voice. “You could get him back. Mess with him like he’s messed with you.”
“You’re like a devil on my shoulder, Lizzy,” I tell her, giving her a stern look.
“And you’re the angel on mine,” she jokes. “Now, are you still going to whatever this thing is with Rhydian tonight?” she asks, growing more serious.
“Well, if I don’t, he’ll know I’ve figured something out at least,” I reply, surprising myself a little.
“Then go, but be careful, and pay attention. Whatever this is, it might be some long, complicated game of his to get the ring back. He seems like he enjoys challenges, and I think he makes them difficult on purpose sometimes. He was really intense about taking that thing from Aven.” Lizzy stands up, holding out a dress. “This is the one,” she tells me as I take it from her.
“Are you sure?” I look at it nervously. It looks really tight. Like, ‘Will my ass even fit in this?’ tight.
“I’m sure.” She smiles. “Trust me. Wear the heels I got you for your nineteenth birthday. The ones with the red soles.”
“Anything else?” I ask, scowling at her.
“Do something with your hair. Curl it. It looks good with some loose curls. If you distract Rhydian with your looks, he might let more slip,” she explains, when I give her another annoyed look.
“You’re straight up devious.”
“Want to borrow my lipstick?” she offers, holding out one in the exact shade of red that’s on the bottom of the shoes she’s mentioned.
“Obviously.” I take it from her before she can change her mind. “I hate to steal your clothes and make you run, but you should probably get moving in case Rhydian shows up early. You are kind of a wanted criminal,” I tell her, glancing at the clock on my kitchen wall nervously.
“It’s okay, I get it. I’m glad you reached out, but I don’t know when I can come back…” she trails off, looking guilty as she turns her head away from me, quickly focusing on re-packing the rest of her clothes.
“Where are you going?” I ask, feeling disappointed. There’s so much I need her help with, and so much we still need to talk about.
“It’s probably best you don’t know, but if it works out, I might be home sooner than either of us think,” she responds evasively.
“Home? How is that ever going to be possible after what happened?” I ask, and she pushes her lips together, looking uncomfortable. “Lizzy, talk to me,” I press her, needing to know what’s going on with her.
“It’s complicated. I hate that I have to go. We have so much we need to tell each other, and there’s not enough time right now,” she complains.
“You promise you’ll explain everything to me as soon as you can?” I ask her.
“Only if you promise to explain everything going on with you. I get the impression it’s more than just Rhydian giving you stress right now,” she counters.
“Of course.” Putting the dress, lipstick, and ring down onto the kitchen counter, I turn back to my friend, watching as she zips up her suitcase and stands.
“I miss you. It’s like I had a sister and she died. Actually, I guess it’s more like I died,” Lizzy says, loneliness creeping into her tone.
“Have you been by yourself since you left?” I ask her.
“Mostly.” She nods. “I’m a social person… it’s hard. I just want to come home. See my family and my friends.”
“You said you have a plan?” I prompt, hoping she’ll say more.
“I do. It’s my only shot, and I’m taking it. I want my life back,” she replies, not giving me any more information. “I better go,” she adds, stepping forward and giving me another quick hug.
She moves back and begins whispering an incantation, while making the hand movements necessary to conjure a portal. I watch as she does it effortlessly, and try to stamp down on the little spikes of jealousy that rise within me.
“Take care,” I tell her as she steps forward to enter the portal to goddess only knows where.
“You too, Kay.” She pauses for a second. “Take care of your heart too,” she adds, before stepping through the portal and leaving me alone once more.
With nothing else to do, I grab the dress, the ring, the lipstick… and the wine, and head back upstairs. I need to get dressed, curl my hair, and put on more makeup than I’ve probably worn in the last month.
After all, I have an evening of hell with Rhydian to get ready for.
Six
An Evening of Hell
“You look lovely,” Rhydian says in greeting. I turn towards his voice, running my eyes over him slowly. Dressed in all black, he complements my outfit perfectly. In terms of style, his is a lot more traditional fae attire. It’s a little other-worldly, almost even a little old-fashioned in style, but he manages to pull it off. He’s clearly made an effort to dress like this.
Hell. Darren might have been right about the fake girlfriend thing…
I look away, facing myself in the mirror. From the sexy heels, to the black, lace-covered dress, with black lace sleeves. I’d even curled my damn hair on Lizzy’s suggestion. The loose curls hang freely, framing my face and hanging down past my shoulders. I’d just finished applying the borrowed lipstick, the final touch.
“Are you ready to go?” Rhydian prompts me when I continue to ignore him.
“That depends, where are we going?” I demand, turning back to face him again.
“We’re travelling quite a distance. Hopefully you don’t pass out during the phase over, that would be inconvenient,” he answers evasively, as per usual.
“Inconvenient? You’re such an ass,” I snap irritably.
“We don’t have time for pleasantries.” He steps closer to me, and the prickling sensation returns. I brush my hands over my arms, feeling the goose bumps raised across my skin.
“We’re on a schedule?” I pry, hoping he’ll let slip just a tiny bit of information about what he has planned for tonight. Anything to help relieve the anxiousness gnawing in my gut.
“Of a kind,” he answers, reaching out and resting his hands on my shoulders. “Just so I can catch you if you do pass out,” he offers in explanation when I give him a dirty look.
“Fine, let’s just get this over with
.” I sigh, squeezing my eyes shut and praying for it to be over soon. Phasing has to be one of the worst ways to travel, even if it is one of the quickest and most efficient, for those born with the ability to do it anyway. The nausea this always seems to cause me surfaces, and I fight the urge to throw up all over Rhydian. Keeping my lips pressed firmly together, I focus the rest of my energy on trying to stay conscious.
The feeling finally subsides, and Rhydian spins me around, before removing his hands from my shoulders. I sway on my feet for a moment, not yet ready to open my eyes. After a few deep breaths, I finally open them, and stare at the impossible sight before me in wonder.
“I’m a little amazed you’re still standing, maybe you’re getting used to phasing?” Rhydian muses aloud.
“Shut up,” I tell him distractedly, still staring ahead of us, trying to figure out if this place is some kind of fae illusion or glamour. A deep, dark purple lake stretches out in front of me, glistening under the moonlight, but it’s what lies beyond the lake that steals my attention. A giant palace made from what looks like black crystal, gold, and jewels. I shudder just trying to make a guess at what a place like that would be worth. I’d seen something like this before, in a painting in Aven’s home, although the palace in that painting was light whereas this one is dark.
“I thought this place was destroyed,” I whisper, still caught up in the beauty of the palace. Why would the fae leave a world like this if it wasn’t really ruined?
“Most of it was,” he answers simply, before placing a hand on my arm and pulling me around to face him and everything that’s behind us. A dead, barren wasteland, that’s the only way my brain can think to describe the remnants of this world when looking in this direction. I turn around again, finding the palace exactly as I’d last seen it seconds before, beautiful and untouched by the devastation that seems to have wrecked the rest of the world.
“What the hell happened? How is that palace still standing?” Everyone knows about the fae destroying their home world, that’s why they had come to earth, wasn’t it? How can this still exist?
“Both the light and dark palaces still stand; the lakes that surround them protected the land. The rest of the world was destroyed, though it’s healing slowly even if we can’t see the results of that yet, but two small sections on either side of our world are still as they used to be. A reminder of everything that our species lost,” Rhydian explains.
“Why doesn’t anyone know about this?” I question him.
“If all the fae knew of the remaining land, it would be fought over until there was no remaining land left. Then we’d have no chance of the world repairing itself,” he answers. “Come on, that’s enough talk for now.” He rests his hand on my arm and phases us again, I shut my eyes and wait for another wave of nausea, but it doesn’t come. “You can open your eyes,” he says, removing his touch. I open them and gape around us at the sight of the place. Directly in front of us, a beautiful, grand staircase leads up to a huge set of black doors. The black doors are covered in golden markings, swirls, and shapes that look almost flower-like in design.
“It’s beautiful,” I mumble, a little in awe of just how extravagant this place really is.
“It’s a staircase,” Rhydian responds dryly, then moves towards it. He climbs the stairs with a confident, quick stride, not bothering to escort me up. I grimace, intimidated by the prospect of walking up in my heels. I kick them off and bend down to grab them, before following him up barefoot, beautiful palace be damned. I’d break my ankle taking on the stairs in these shoes.
As I get further up the staircase, I begin to notice music coming through the other side of the doors. Unearthly voices sing in harmony with the sounds of instruments I don’t recognise. Rhydian pushes the doors at the top of the stairs open as I reach the top, allowing me to see inside. The music is much louder now that the doors have been opened, but not so much that it hurts my ears.
Fae fill the huge room before us, in all states of dress. From traditional attire, to wearing nothing at all. My eyes widen at the sight of completely naked servers, wandering around carrying trays covered in glasses of multi-coloured liquids and strange foods.
What the hell is up with the fae and nudity?
“What is this?” I ask, looking around in disbelief as I clumsily attempt to put my shoes back on.
“A party,” Rhydian answers cheerfully, as he grabs a drink from a passing, and entirely naked, server. He downs it in one go and places the empty glass back onto the tray. He turns back to me, acting oblivious to the fact he’s just encountered a completely nude woman. “And we’ve crashed it,” he finally finishes.
“But why are we crashing a party in your parent’s palace, in the fae realm that’s meant to be entirely destroyed?” I demand. “What happened to people not knowing this place still exists? Why would you let me, a witch, know about any of this?”
“Because we’re here to put a stop to something. I’m going to prevent my little sister from making a huge mistake, and you’re going to help me,” Rhydian answers, managing to give me no real information at all about why we’re here. Again. “And just because the majority of the fae population don’t know, doesn’t mean that everyone doesn’t know. The royals, the old families, they all know. Only the head of the house may reside here full time if they wish, though. Everyone else can only visit. The land wouldn’t support us all permanently, let alone the rest of the population once they’d realised we were here,” he adds, snagging back my attention.
“So the privileged few get to enjoy the beauty of your home world, and everyone else just has to believe it’s all gone?” I ask, staring into his green eyes. He steps closer and the magic under my skin begins to feel charged, like there’s an electricity to it.
“It’s not ideal, but what else would you suggest we do?” he questions me.
“I don’t know. Share it? Make it some kind of historical landmark site, and then let fae come for day visits so they can experience their home just for a little while. Maybe it would be complicated, but lying to the majority of your species? How can that be okay?” I question, looking around at the people filling the room. The doors we entered through have already closed behind us, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m trapped in here with them now. These rich, beautiful fae. Great.
“It’s a nice thought, sweetheart, but they wouldn’t be happy with that, it wouldn’t be enough. They’d fight over what’s left, and then what little of our land that remains would be destroyed too. This works, and it will continue to until the rest of the world heals and our species can come home,” he says in a firm tone, clearly not moved from his beliefs. I sigh.
“Whatever. What are we doing here?” I ask again, exasperated.
“I told you, we’re going to save my sister from herself,” he answers me, flashing me a smile. He steps closer and leans down, bringing his face dangerously close to mine. My heart thuds faster in my chest. “Go along with everything I say. If you mess this up, I’ll tell Kier where he can find Elizabeth.”
“What?” My stomach twists, immediately worried for my best friend.
“You heard me,” he asserts, looking away from me.
“But you wouldn’t,” I argue, not willing to believe after everything that he’d really do that to me.
“Do you want to risk that? Just go along with it, no matter how insane or ridiculous it seems. You just need to make it seem like it’s real, because if you don’t, my sister could end up dead or worse. Do you understand me?” he demands, stepping even closer, barely a hair’s breadth left between us as he turns his head to face me again.
“Dead?” I echo questioningly, and he nods, looking serious. “Okay. Let’s do this, whatever this is, but if you get me killed somehow, know that I’ll haunt you. And if you ruin this dress, Lizzy will bill you for it,” I tell him, glaring into those stupid green eyes of his.
“I would expect nothing less.” He smiles and steps away, allowing my heart rate to return t
o normal. The electric-charged feeling to my magic remains though, but I grit my teeth and attempt to ignore it as I follow Rhydian. He leads me across the room without another word, weaving us in between the crowds of people. A few fae try to approach him, but he waves them off, marching past them with purpose. I try to stay close and not bump into anyone. A force of habit from my bad luck.
Rhydian grabs my hand, and I try not to jump from the shock his touch sends rushing through me. He stops dead, and turns to frown at me for a second, but then just continues dragging me more quickly, taking us to a corded off, upper section of the room.
“Rhydian, what the hell are you doing here?” a frustrated female voice wails petulantly, as we approach a long table filled with some of the most ridiculously beautiful people I’ve ever seen. Though I’m not sure if it’s money, magic, or genetics that helps them all look as good as they do.
“I heard there was a party, should I assume my invitation got lost?” he quips, pulling me to stand beside him. I swallow thickly as I stare over the fae sitting at the table. On one side of the table they’re all wearing black, and on the other all white. I glance between myself and Rhydian, realising I’ve managed to align myself with his family without even trying, all because black is more flattering on me. Fantastic.
“No, you just weren’t invited,” the girl responds snidely, standing up, but staying by her seat. I can’t help but feel like I vaguely recognise her, though it could just be her slight resemblance to Rhydian. I notice that unlike everyone else at the table, she’s dressed in a mixture of white and black. A black dress with delicate, white lace running in a pretty pattern over the entirety of it.
“An oversight on your part, one I’ll forgive because you are my little sister after all,” he drawls. Suddenly, the girl seems to notice me, turning to glare at me for a moment, before redirecting her fury at Rhydian again. Everyone else around the table remains silent, all watching the interaction with open interest.