***
We only drive for around ten minutes before we reach a nearby city. I marvel at the sky scrapers, chic looking restaurants, and high rise apartments. fae roam the sidewalks, they don't hide their full fae form of elongated canines and pointed ears. They have similar fashions to the other academy attendants. More classic and earth based clothing than the human realm. But I can't place the origin of these fae.
"Lucian, which kingdom is the academy in?"
He navigates the car into a parking spot while replying, "This is known as the in between. A city of fae that aren't willing to align with one kingdom over the other. Sometimes it's because an individual has powers from more than one kingdom, and other times mated pairs aren't willing to claim allegiance. Either way, the academy was built within the in between to keep the peace between kingdoms. No one king owns the students of the academy, and they are free to choose their own path."
He gets out of the car and makes his way around to open my door. The people in the street stop and stare at him as they pass, murmuring. They recognize him as the spirit king and I'm about to be seen as his arm candy. Maybe this date wasn't such a good idea after all. My palms start to sweat and I wipe them onto my dress. Why am I suddenly so nervous to be seen in public with him? I step out of the car and wrap my arm around his bicep. He smiles warmly down at me and a surge of his calm spirit energy shoots through my body, making me relax slightly.
The restaurant we step into is very modern and full of very rich and important looking fae. The hostess, a beautiful blue haired supernatural, immediately moves to seat us without a word from Lucian. He must frequent this place often enough to have some pull here. Or maybe being king has its perks. When he lets me go to pull out my chair the nervous energy from before swarms me. I wipe my hands again while Lucian is busy sitting down. The thought of him noticing my clammy hands is unbearable.
He opens his menu, "The steak here is great, but also the salmon if you prefer something lighter. Do you enjoy wine?" He glances up at me, smiling nervously. The fact that he's nervous too melts my heart. I take a deep breath and try to shake it off. Time to get to know Lucian for who he is beyond his affinity for spirit.
"As long as it's not the same wine from last night, then yes." He chuckles and motions for the waiter, telling him that we need a bottle of red wine. "So, tell me about yourself. Did you grow up in a castle? Or at the academy?"
"Well, the academy wasn't built until after the third great war started in order to train fae to better protect themselves and give them the option to become soldiers if they showed a high level of skill and instinct. I would say it was around my four hundredth birthday at that time, so I would have started teaching spirit fae soon after that," He sips from his glass, thinking, "I did grow up in a castle constantly following my father around, but he didn't mind. He was thrilled to have a son. Almost all kings do. I think there has only ever been one queen of a fae kingdom, and it was my father's mother before him. Unfortunately I never had the pleasure to meet her. But my childhood was happy, but full of tremendous work. I had four friends, which are the other masters you know now. They were the only ones to understand the weight of the crown upon your shoulders. What was your childhood like?"
"Not nearly as interesting as yours. I had a fae mother obviously, one that isn't in the picture and that I have no knowledge of. I was raised and loved by my mortal father who passed a few years ago due to heart issues. I inherited his bar which is where Orin found me. The rest is history." Despite my life not being very interesting, Lucian had leaned forward, listening intently to every word. The waiter comes over and I order, "I'll take my steak medium rare, with garlic mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli please."
Lucian seconds my order, and we lean toward each other again, dismissing the waiter.
"Tell me five interesting facts about you. Anything that comes to mind." I laugh at his request, and lean back in my chair, pretending to think about it, until I realize that I do have to think about it. What are the five most interesting things about me?
"Well, I'll go easy at first. My favorite color is green, like bright forest green," I hold up one finger, counting them as I go, "My favorite food is pizza but deep dish not thin crust, and I secretly love to read sappy romance novels even though I know they're not real. Uh, oh! I'm usually pretty bad at flirting, and I actually have dabbled in powers before despite what I told Orin."
I grin at him which causes him to tip his head back and laugh. His laughter is infectious so I join in. We laugh until we're forced to stop and make room on the table for our food. Man that came out fast. I take a bite of mashed potato and motioned for him to tell me his.
"Ah, but I have so many interesting qualities!" I flick potato at him causing him to gasp and duck out of the way, making me laugh. "Fine! Fine! Five interesting things about me. I not only have an affinity for spirit, I also dabble in fire. I enjoy reading as well, but anything other than romance. I have good friends back at my castle that you shouldn't tell the others about, they'd be jealous. I'm quite talented at the piano, and my favorite color is blue like the sky."
We smile at each other, and I feel like I see him for the first time. Not his spirit, not his appearance, him.
We continue dinner in that fashion, laughing, asking each other ridiculous questions, and making excuses to touch each other. When I went to grab the salt I let my fingers glide against his wrist, and when he would refresh my wine our fingers would brush. Each time left me breathless and wanting more. At some point I even forgot there were tables of people around us. For all I knew we were the two people in that restaurant. Is this what love feels like? To be so consumed with someone that nothing and no one else matters.
I can't help but let the doubt creep in again. Are these my feelings, or ones created by my spirit? Am I even comparable to Amira? Do I have to be? Maybe he can love me in a completely different way than he loved her. But to think that he's had another great love, another person who fits him so perfectly that you're supposed to be mated for life, makes me think that you don't get two chances. But that would mean that Lucian is destined to be alone for the rest of his life.
My chest sinks and I set down my glass. We lock eyes at that moment and it's almost like he knows what my train of thought is. In a panic, I check my mental shield, but it's still there. Is he thinking of the same thing? He looks back down at the check, signs it with a flourish and stands.
He tells me, "I'm going to head to the bathroom, and then we can take off. I also have a movie picked out." He winks before turning and walking toward the back of the restaurant. At the table alone, I slump back in my chair, fighting between a smile and a grimace. This date was so incredible, yet it's overshadowed by all the other things we choose not to talk about. At least it feels like that for me.
When he appears again and makes his way toward me women's heads follow. My inner woman sighs, you're overthinking it. And if I judged it based on this sight alone, I'd have to agree with her. He's so gorgeous it's painful to look at him. His emotions show so clearly through his eyes and by the almost luminescent quality they have now he's happy. My favorite two fallen stars, how I wished they'd shine only for me.
I stand when he gets to the table, "Ready?"
"Yes ma'am. Let's get back and get out of these clothes." The statement catches both me and the tables closest to us so off guard that I hear a collective gasp. His face flames a deep scarlet, and he rushes to correct himself, "Gods that came out wrong. I meant to change into something more comfortable." A woman snorts her distaste and I giggle.
"That statement wasn't any better than the first." He covers his mouth with one hand and ushers me quickly toward the exit. When we're finally out of the building Lucian groans loudly. My giggle turns into full barking laughter. "Oh man, that's the perfect way to end the night out."
He rolls his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, would you just get in the car?" We climb in together and make our way back to the dorm, me teasing him the entire way.
"For being a seven hundred year old fae you sure haven't learned your lesson in social etiquette."
"It's not what I meant! And that lady knew it too!" He says while scowling. It only fuels my amusement at the situation, and my laughter makes a smile come to his face.
Dropping the car off at the entrance, we walked back to the dorm together, his arm around my shoulders. Students walk past and whisper. Some even go as far as to point at us walking together. The tips of my ears grow hot and I tuck myself closer to Lucian's side.
"Does this constantly happen to you?" I ask.
He looks down at me, "What do you mean?"
"You know, people staring and whispering about you. Why do they do that? No one does it for the other masters." We walk a few paces to get out of earshot of the other students, going down the path to the spirit dorm.
"My brothers are here every year, people get used to them. I'm only present when there's a student for me to train. There's no other reason for me to be here. Plus, I am the king of the spirit fae, while my brothers are only the heirs of their affinities."
He says, being straight-forward, while managing not to sound arrogant or self-important at all. Anyone in his position from the human world would use it that way. His response is more than a little inspiring. No wonder people whisper about him. I suspect there are some great things he's done as king that he's just too humble to tell me about. I'll just have to ask Rai or Orin about it. It would be weird to ask the others, who are hoping for a chance to court me just as Lucian is.
"From what I've witnessed so far, you must be an excellent king." He grimaces while looking away from me. I stop him by tugging on his arm, "What's with the face?"
"Let's head into the dorm, and then I'll tell you everything."
Chapter 12
After changing into something more comfortable I settle myself in the middle of my bed with Lucian standing in front of me. He's pacing back and forth with a worried look on his face. This confession must be pretty bad if he's acting like this. At first, I wait for him to talk to me, but several minutes pass with no change.
"Alright, spit it out. It can't be that bad."
He turns toward the bed, an unreadable expression on his face, "I killed my father three hundred and fifty years ago."
My jaw drops, and my spirit recoils at how Lucian could end the life of his own kin. It feels like a primal reaction, as if killing a spirit fae hurts other spirit fae. Like little pieces of your own soul are being chipped away. We stare at each other for a long time, neither one of us saying a word. You could hear a pin drop in here the silence is so thick.
I try to get my mouth to work, "Wha-? H-how?"
"This may only sound like my side of the story, but my father was an oppressor of his people. After the great war started, that is. He restricted mating to only spirit fae to keep up the population, imposed cruel and violent laws, and forced fae to fight in the war. And the type of warfare he made people use. . ." He trails off, shaking his head, "Spirit fae have a unique ability to manipulate and control souls. Some of us can even take them from a living body, forcing death without a second thought." I cover my mouth, horrified at the prospect of doing such a thing.
"So you killed your father to free the spirit kingdom from his rule? What's so bad about that? I know being a kin killer isn't ideal, but. . ." I trail off, not really sure what I was going to say.
"No, Tiana, you don't understand. I don't regret killing my father, and the rest of the kingdom is also grateful. It's why I did it that makes me less than honorable." Didn't he just admit he killed him to stop him from hurting the spirit kingdom even further?
When he only looks at me, I say, "You're going to have to say it because I have no idea what you're talking about."
He sits on the edge of the bed, facing his back to me, "Around that time is when I met Amira," He pauses, sucking in a breath, "I killed my father to be with her, to mate with her. My sole reason for doing it wasn't to protect the spirit kingdom, it was for me."
He killed his own father for her. It leaves a sour feeling in my stomach. Was he not going to do anything if he had never met Amira? Would the spirit kingdom still be controlled and sullied by his father right now?
I voice my questions out loud, "What would you have done if Amira didn't come along? Would you have let it go? Or would you have stood up for people who can't stand up for themselves?"
"I don't know what I would have done. It's not black and white, Tiana. Despite his actions, I loved my father. And for a long time after his death I felt and insurmountable amount of guilt and shame. To this day my mother has not spoken to me." He turns to look at me with pleading eyes, as if I should understand. And I try to see it from his perspective. His sweet, well-respected father turned into someone he no longer recognized. He probably couldn't help but wonder if there was a way to change him back.
"It may not be black and white, and you're allowed to feel confused about it. But there is a right and a wrong, Lucian. And you know who needs to understand that the most? A king. And despite what you're telling me, I don't think your sole reason for killing him was Amira. I haven't known you for very long, but selfishness had to have taken a backseat in that decision. You knew what you needed to do long before meeting Amira, and she was your final push. That's all."
He still doesn't look at me, "You're very kind to say that. Others have been far less trusting. While it's an admirable quality, I'm not sure you should continue it. At least not in the fae realm."
His words burn and I curl into myself instinctively. It reminds me of something Annie had once said to me. You're so gullible it hurts. Stop trusting everyone so much, one day it's going to bite you in the ass. I guess she was right in that trusting people gets you hurt.
I whisper, "I think I want to sleep alone tonight."
Lucian nods, gets up, and leaves the room, silently closing the door behind him. I sit still on the couch for a few moments, feeling lost and confused. And there might only be one person in the entire academy that will tell it to me straight. Instead of pining after these men, and instead of feeling sorry for myself, I stand and make my way to Fiora’s office. It’s time to understand why I’m really here. It’s time to get some answers.
***
I tap on the door lightly before stepping into the room. Fiora looks up from the paperwork strewn across her desk and smiles. She motions me forward and I take a seat in one of the leather chairs.
“I just have to complete this document and then we'll talk. Give me one more moment.”
I nod absentmindedly and explore the room with my eyes. The entire space is lined with bookshelves holding tomes that look as old and worn as the one’s I constantly find Lucian reading. They must hold valuable information about the fae realm, and the kingdoms that lie within it. Fiora also has cases of proudly displayed weaponry around the room. Swords, daggers, and even a spear hanging proudly above her head. It makes me think that she’s not a stranger to the great war.
Right when I’m about to stand up to explore some of the old literature she raises her head, “Alright, sorry about that! What can I do for you?”
I say bluntly, “I want to know more about the fae realm. Tell me everything you know that would be necessary for me to know if I’m supposed to be some type of savior.”
That last statement came out a bit bitchy, and she raises a good natured eyebrow before standing up. Fiora motions for me to follow her over the couches where we can sit together more casually. I do so and get comfortable in my chair, predicting that this might be a long conversation.
“I’m not going to assume you know anything. So I’ll start from the beginning. The fae realm was created eons ago by mother nature, as all things were. We have five main fae classifications; air, wind, fire, earth, and spirit. This makes up the five ruling kingdoms you’ve heard about. However, when Mother Nature created the fae we were created with one kingdom,” She pauses and I lean forward, “While there are five classificati
ons of fae power, there are two different races of fae. The light fae are fae you know and met here at the academy. And they also make up the fae in the surrounding elemental kingdoms. So while there are five light fae kingdoms, there are also five dark fae kingdoms, does that make sense?”
“Yes, but then that means the other five kingdoms, wherever they are, are made up of dark fae? Does that mean they’re evil?”
She shakes her head, “While you’re correct that the sister kingdoms are ruled and controlled by the dark fae, they are not evil. Think of it as a parallel universe. Every fae has two sides to the same coin. One light fae in this realm and one exact dark fae copy in the other. They’re not evil, just different than us.”
I sit back in shock, “So there’s two of everyone?”
“No, only full fae. Half Breeds are not cloneable, at least not that we know of. All fae kings in the light fae realm have an exact copy of themselves in the dark fae realm, living completely different lives. Ruling their kingdoms in the way they see fit. But it hasn’t always been that way.”
High Fae Academy - Year One: Fae Paranormal Romance Page 9