by Allie Burton
Huffing, I couldn’t help wondering how that would be possible. “But will the regent give up the power?”
I totally related to the situation. After Continuum, I was supposed to inherit my ancestral home and take my rightful place in society as Lady Milford. Would Sybil hand the house over? Worry had gnawed at me for the last several months as I’d gotten closer, and I thought constantly about how she might slip a rug out from under me at the last second. I’d been naïve believing she’d let me go to the ball.
“Laws of the land.” His eyes grew hard as slate. “Order of succession.”
“Laws change.” Keltie swirled her stick in the dirt, creating a drawing. “When the kingdom was formed, majiks helped the royal family rule. Their magic is what put the family in power and gave them the ability to hide from the rest of the world. As technology developed, magic was no longer necessary and became a threat to the ruling class.” She swiped the image on the ground, making it disappear. “Regent Theobald has slowly eroded our rights. One teenage prince isn’t going to give them back.”
Rye’s cheeks grew red and he waved his hand about. “Uh…he will. We need to inform him of the situation and let the Regent know our wishes.”
“If it was easy, we wouldn’t be in this hellhole.” Hokima paced away.
Keltie stabbed her stick into the ground. “The majik council tried to reason with the regent. The council was forcefully disbanded.”
“We’ll go right now.” Rye wrapped his strong fingers around my arm. His smooth palms caressed my skin, causing goosebumps to blossom. He made me believe this was more than a partnership, especially since our kiss. I trusted him to help. “We’ll talk to the regent after the ball and make sure the imprisoned majiks get a fair trial as soon as possible.”
“We’re all innocent.” The fairy waved his hand, encompassing everyone. “The only thing we’re guilty of is being majik.”
“We’ll see.” He didn’t believe in them one hundred percent, but he was willing to investigate, to give them a chance. “It might take time to sort out who belongs in here and who doesn’t.”
I pulled back, finding our partnership uncomfortable. “None of them belong here. Look at this place.”
The cramped quarters closed in on me. The heat and the terrible smell had been infiltrating my nose, making me woozy. The piles of garbage on the dirt ground seemed bigger than they had moments ago. The majiks stared as if he had come from outside the dome.
His nose crinkled. “This place is awful. I’ll do something about the terrible conditions.” He tugged me toward the crystalline rock. “The sooner we talk to the regent, and the prince, the sooner we can make things right.”
Stiffening, I resisted. If we met the prince, I’d have to kill him. I wouldn’t have a choice. And then, I’d be executed immediately. If Rye had so much confidence in the prince, why would Gardenia want the royal killed?
And I hadn’t found Arbor yet.
He kept tugging me forward. “Do your thing.”
With a shaking hand, I placed my palm on the rock. I’d open the entrance for him and the other majiks and then I’d return this way to continue my quest to save Arbor. I’d prove to her how much I’d changed.
Earth, open for your loyal servant. Show me the way.
The rock beneath my hand trembled. Rumbling, creaking, and clattering filled the small, dead-end cavern. The ground shook.
“Do you think I didn’t try that, human?” Keltie sneered at what she believed was my pathetic attempt.
Connecting with Mother Earth was a natural and ancient art passed from one generation to the next, both human and majik. Humans believed technology was superior to nature and most of them had lost the art.
Hokima watched with beady eyes. “It’s how I got in, but I couldn’t get back out.”
“Let me concentrate.” I pressed my palm harder against the rock.
Earth, open for your loyal servant. Show me the way.
The vibration became more rhythmic. The rock became translucent.
“You did it.” Rye powered through the passageway, holding my hand.
Why could I do it if Keltie couldn’t? She probably had sufficient training while Arbor had only taught me a few basics before I’d received my powers and a few fairy magic tricks once I’d turned sixteen. To make a joke or ease a cleaning task or while telling a story. Subtle teaching methods my mind had soaked up.
Rye tugged me harder and my fist slammed into the rock. My hand wouldn’t pass through. It was like hitting a brick wall.
The pain shattered up my veins from my fingers to my head. I took a shallow breath, finding it hard to take in oxygen. The troll had said he couldn’t go out through the passageway. And neither could any of the other majik creatures.
Apparently, neither could I.
Chapter Twelve
I yanked my arm out of Rye’s to stop him from banging my hand into, what was for me, solid rock. My half-fairy blood must be keeping me on this side of the passageway. That’s why Keltie and the other majiks couldn’t get out. The earlier image of the clipped bird’s wings applied to me. My back throbbed at the spot where I should’ve sprouted fairy wings.
Rye stuck his head back through the wall. His lips quirked in that adorable way. “Elle?”
The torment spread from my back to my ribcage and had me hunching my shoulders. He’d want to know why I couldn’t pass through and discover everything. I couldn’t tell him the truth. Not now. Not like this. I knew he thought some majiks were okay. But would he want to hang out with one? Date one? Kiss one again? My cheeks heated.
“What’s wrong?” An impatient demand stamped in his question.
“Um, I think…I think I should stay here.” My mind scrambled. “The majiks need my medical assistance. I’ll wait with them until they’re freed.”
“It might take a while. There will be steps to go through and things to prove and…” He ran frustrated fingers through his hair. “Come with me.”
“Is that an order?” My jaw tightened. I was tired of people telling me what to do. First my stepmother and stepsisters, then my fairy godmother, and now this guy. Even though this adventure had been scary, I’d enjoyed making my own decisions. Going back to servitude would be difficult.
“It’s a reasonable request.” His pupils darted around to glance at the other majiks. “For your safety.”
Aha! He didn’t believe in the complete equality of majiks. He was worried about leaving me behind with them. Which was sweet, and also degrading.
I crossed my arms outwardly displaying determination, while my nerves shimmied. “I’m staying here. With them.”
Obviously, I couldn’t waltz out of the cavern as Rye had. I needed time to strategize. Maybe if I put my elfin shoes on, I mean shoe, I could use the passageway. I couldn’t attempt that with him here.
“Besides, I haven’t found my friend yet.” My sole reason for coming to the ball tonight and letting Gardenia put an enchantment on me to kill the prince. Another good reason not to go with Rye.
He frowned. “I don’t relish the idea of leaving you.”
“You didn’t even know me before tonight.” I needed to push him away even if it made him mad. Since I’d probably never see him again, why worry about what this one guy thought?
Because I felt something toward him. The inner reflection jarred. He was the first guy to pay attention to me, listen to me, and kiss me. And I hadn’t been pretending. I’d shown my true personality. Shown him everything except what I was.
Exactly. I hadn’t told him I was half fairy and didn’t want to now. But Arbor was more important than a possible future date. And I didn’t need him to get caught up in my mess. If we both got caught, we’d both suffer. I needed to force him to go by himself. “I’d planned to come here on my own. I wasn’t expecting a traveling circus or a knight in shining armor.”
His skin went pale and his glare could’ve shot poisoned arrows. “So be it.”
His venom alread
y spread beneath my skin.
“I’ll be back with help.” Wheeling around, he disappeared behind the translucent rock.
Collapsing against the wall, I took a couple of heavy breaths. I couldn’t leave the way I’d come. And what would happen when Rye came back with help? How would I explain myself? I was stuck in this cavern with a roomful of majiks that had been arrested. Even if the crimes had been made up.
“What’s the real reason you didn’t leave?” Keltie leaned forward in a threatening way. She didn’t trust me either, yet she’d kept quiet while I’d dealt with Rye. She must trust him less.
The cavern became smaller, hotter. Tugging at the top of my dress, I wanted to stop the strangling sensation. I needed to trust her and the others if they were going to trust me. I wanted their help finding Arbor. Maybe together we could get out without Rye’s assistance, without the prince and the regent ever knowing we’d escaped.
If they were going to trust me, I needed to tell them the truth. Take a leap of faith and put my future in their hands.
Blowing out a large breath, I stood. “I believe majiks can’t pass through from this direction.”
“Why do you think that?” Keltie scowled.
Swallowing, I pointed at Hokima. “He could come in but couldn’t go back out.”
Keltie and the troll nodded.
“Well…” I stuck out my chin. “I couldn’t leave either because…” My chin wobbled. “Because I’m a majik, too.”
“What?”
“No way.”
“I couldn’t tell.”
Their responses ranged from shock to disbelief. All things I would’ve been proud of in the past. The fact I could pass as human.
I stuck out my chest, pumping with a new pride, a different kind of pride. The unveiling of my true self felt good and freeing. Maybe I should’ve accepted my identity a long time ago. “I’m half-fairy.”
Tos shuttled to my side and put her arms around my legs. “I knew you couldn’t be a horrible human.”
Cringing, I noted the opposite type of prejudice. The races uniting seemed impossible. Too much bad blood between the groups. Majiks didn’t trust humans and for good reason. Would they trust me as half?
“You don’t look like a fairy.” Keltie sized me up and her gaze slid to the other fairy comparing.
“I’m shorter than most humans. I have this silver in my hair.” I tugged out a strand to reveal the ends. “And I have a little magic I’m not very good at using.”
“Half-fairy?” The other fairy’s snooty nose lifted high. “Half breed.”
His words cut through me. Being half meant not being accepted on either side. Good thing my bargain with Gardenia wasn’t to go to the fairy academy. I’d never be accepted. More years of being bullied. And the other students could use magic, no less. No thank you.
“If you’re half-fairy why were you stupid enough to come through the passageway?” Keltie’s tone also wounded. “The humans have used technology to subvert our magic and keep us locked inside the underground dungeon and caverns. Under the palace, our magic doesn’t work.”
“I didn’t know I couldn’t go both ways.” My whine pained my own ears.
Jayunja had led me to the crystalline rock. He’d never said anything about technological locks. Had he known? Either way, I was determined to find Arbor. I would’ve gone through no matter what.
Hokima shook his head. “You’re stuck with the rest of us.”
“Maybe.” I reached in my bag and pulled out the elfin shoe. Slipping it on my foot, I placed my palm against the rock and said the magical phrases.
“What’s the shoe for?”
“What’re you doing?”
“Might as well give up.”
The chorus of naysayers didn’t stop me. I continued my internal chant.
The rock vibrated and the ground trembled. I’d opened the passageway for Rye, that wasn’t the problem.
The rock shifted to its translucent state. I shoved my foot with the shoe forward. It wouldn’t go through. On the other side of the rock, I vaguely saw shadows, and yet I couldn’t cross the line. Pinching my lips, I knocked my forehead against the rock.
“Why did you and Rye come down here?” Keltie crossed her arms, her long braids covering her shoulders. I appreciated how she protected those she felt responsible for.
“I told you, I’m searching for my friend.” And being completely unsuccessful. I snapped off the shoe a little too hard and shoved it back in my bag. “And Rye, I’m not sure why he decided to come with me.”
He’d said he followed me. He’d tried to protect me. He’d kissed me. My pulse thudded. He wanted me to return with him. Was the kiss only taking advantage of the opportunity or did he care? The thought spiraled into warmth in the center of my chest. A good-looking guy being attracted to me was a new sensation.
“I overheard the SCUM talking about a smoke sprite who was arrested for shooting fireworks. They were really interested in her abilities.” Hokima understood the urge to search for someone you cared about.
He was a hero. A troll hero who believed in love.
“Where did you hear?” I pounced on him.
“I’ve never heard of a smoke sprite who could do that kind of magic,” the fairy murmured.
Keltie’s gaze grew wide with alarm. “How is that possible? How are majiks changing their powers?”
“Where did you hear about the smoke sprite?” Yelling, I needed to know so I could find Arbor.
Hokima glanced uncertainly between me and Keltie.
My earlier frustration blasted my blood pressure. I threw my hands up. “It was me who shot off the fireworks. Not my friend Arbor. A smoke sprite doesn’t have that kind of power. A fairy does.”
“You let your friend take the fall for you?” Disgust threaded through the elf’s voice.
“No!” My heart shrieked remembering the anguish during my friend’s arrest. “I tried to tell the SCUM it was me. They didn’t believe me because of how I look.”
Peering at the spots and stains on my dress, at the ragged hem, at the scratches and bruises on my arms and legs, no one would believe I was a human who’d attended the prince’s ball.
The majiks closest to me wore skeptical expressions. Both Keltie’s brows rose, and her head did a little noodle-nod. Hokima’s fatty, lower lip stuck out. The male fairy’s eyes slitted, studying me like a bug. Only Tos appeared satisfied and my spirits lifted. I had one ally.
I didn’t want my quest to end here and I needed their help with directions on how they’d gotten to this place underground. I’d convince them by telling them the entire truth.
“I’m a half-fairy who passed for human. My plan was to go through Continuum, attend technical college, and be known as officially human. I had my life planned out. A safe life.” My throat clogged. I’d been through a lot in the last several hours. Thinking about what Arbor must’ve gone through, my eyes teared. “Until, my best friend was arrested by the SCUM because of something I did.”
The image of her being taken away in the small cage flashed in my brain. Her departing words seared into my consciousness. Have a nice human life.
“I’m not one hundred percent human. I don’t want to pretend anymore. I want to claim my fairy heritage. And I need to save my friend.”
Everyone went silent and the tension stretched.
Bowing my head, I sniffed. “My friend didn’t do magic. I did those things. And at her trial if they try to test her—”
“Torture her.” Hokima’s hard truth punched.
I held back tears. “I have to find her. I have to set her free.”
“What about us?” Tos stomped her tiny foot.
Keltie raised her red brows. The fairy glared in agreement.
“If we work together, we can figure out how to save Arbor and others. We can escape.” My gaze alighted on each of their special faces. Expressions filled with doubt and fear, and maybe a little bit of hope. “If we do nothing, we’ve alrea
dy lost.”
Keltie’s expression lit with fire. “Let’s do it.” Her stamp of approval meant a lot.
Tos jumped up and down on her toes. “Yeah, let’s do it.” She was enthusiastic about everything.
“I’m in.” Hokima had tried to break in already. Why not a second time?
“What can we possibly do?” The fairy crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. “We’re stuck in this evil place.”
They stared with rapt attention as if I was their new leader. My lungs wheezed. I had no idea where to start. We were stuck in the cave and we couldn’t wait around for Rye to show up. But I had to take the momentum and do something now.
“We’ll start where we began.” Hokima pushed aside a rock exposing an opening.
I didn’t have answers, but he did.
“That takes us back to the holding cell for the auraguillotine.” Tos shivered.
The shiver must be contagious because I trembled even though I hadn’t shared their experience.
“It’s the only way we can get out of this cavern.” Keltie proceeded to the hole. “There was more than one tunnel. We might find a way out of the prison and the palace.”
“Yeah, right.” The fairy’s doubt deflated the charged atmosphere.
“What’s your name?” I tried to not make it a challenge.
The fairy pursed his lips and narrowed his gaze. He was on the tall side for a fairy, and equally thin. “Bim.”
“Nice to meet you, Bim.” I kept my tone pleasant and scanned the dozen majiks in the cavern. All of them had watched the exchange. I’d never been a leader before, even so I stepped up to the line. “Everyone can’t go. It would be too difficult to be stealthy.”
“And if the human boy comes back, someone has to stay behind.” Keltie understood where I was headed.
“If he comes back,” a doubter from the back murmured.
“Rye will do what he says.” I injected positivity. Even if he accomplished meeting with the prince and regent it didn’t mean he had influence. Still, he’d find a way to help. I had to believe in him. I didn’t have any other choice.