Mara’s house was … quirky. She was bound to this place, between the two planes. The last fairy alive who could move the portal, or so she told me last night when I tried to ask her a hundred questions before I passed out in a pool of my own tears. The wood floors of my mom’s bedroom were hot pink, but when I walked out into the kitchen, the floor was a bright yellow. It was a one-floor home, but the rooms felt endless. Last night I’d passed a kitchen, living room, library, dining room, weapons room, and then my mom’s room, which was at the back.
“Was the New York apartment a real place?” I asked, confused, as I sat with her at the blue glass table with rhinestone edging. She was peering out a window, which I now saw was really an open door with a window frame inside.
She nodded. “I can’t leave this place, but I can move this place to other blue doors that were set up centuries ago. The New York apartment has a blue door inside, I transport my house to that blue door and oh shhh, here he comes.”
She grasped my hand, her wings suddenly erect. I leaned forward to see a man in his late thirties walking a dog. A grin pulled at my lips. He was shirtless, wearing board shorts, hair still wet probably from the ocean. We were on a side street, but I could smell the salty sea through the screen.
“Where are we?”
“Venice Beach. I start every morning here so I can see Jonah.” She fanned herself and I laughed, but then the laughter died in my throat as I remembered that I was now motherless. An orphan. I felt like I’d known Mara my whole life and had no reservations about asking her questions.
“So this was what you and my mom would do? Live here together between hunting crystals?”
She stiffened and turned to me. For a Fae who I knew was well over four hundred years old, she had smooth skin, still plump and free of wrinkles. Like me, she would live forever unless killed, and we could choose to stop our aging whenever we wanted. Mara had chosen to look about thirty-five forever. Same as my mom.
She reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear. “I have so much to tell you and so little time. How about each night and each morning I tell you one story about your mom?”
I nodded, tears lining my eyes. “I’d like that. I’d like to know what she hid from me.”
Mara’s face darkened. “She didn’t see it as hiding. Ever. It was always protecting you.”
The hairs on my arms stood up. “From the Sons of Darkness?”
I’d been forced to rapidly go through the grieving process, and now I was at the revenge part. That was a part, right? If not, it should be. “Is that who killed her?”
I gripped my fork tightly. Although my mother never told me exactly what my purpose as a seeker would be for the elders, and for Faerie, she did have me train in weapons and battle with Trissa since I was five. I also went to Earth with some of the other Fae a few times a year to learn their customs in case we ever had to flee Faerie and live among them. I was fully prepared to grab one of those big-ass swords from her weapons room and cut the heads off of whomever hurt her.
Mara sighed, stirring her eggs with a fork, her golden cuffs scraping the edges of the table. “Yes. But I don’t know which one. Just that he had black wings. This is not the kind of life you bring a child into. You’ll see that.” She patted my hand and then stood. “Alright, let’s go pick up Elle and Trissa. You’ve got to hunt for the seventh crystal.”
“Just like that? No … crash course?” Panic gripped me as I thought of her spitting me out into New York City or wherever and just assuming I knew what the hell I was doing. But the desire to see my best friend and tell her all that had happened was stronger than my fear.
“You’ll have to learn on the fly. Sorry, kiddo. The Tree of Life will die without the remaining crystals.” It was so weird how much she talked like my mom, how comfortable I felt around her.
I wasn’t sure I was prepared to see Elle. I’d cried myself to sleep last night, but since then I’d patched up my emotions and wore my mother’s silver locket around my neck. Seeing Elle, telling her my mom was gone … it would reopen everything.
I shoved eggs in my mouth and then stood, prepared to take on my mother’s purpose and … and save Faerie. What could go wrong?
After a quick shower, I met Mara in her office.
“Whoa,” I gasped when I saw the large circular table with the hundreds of dials and clockwork-like gadgets. I hadn’t noticed it last night.
“Moving realms, or even jumping states on Earth, is no small feat. Buckle up.” She indicated the chair on the far wall that had a five-point harness.
My eyes widened a little as I walked over and strapped myself in, careful not to sit on my wings. “Heading to Faerie,” she announced, and started to tinker with the dials, spinning one a quarter turn and another a full turn. Her cuffs lit up with blue-green glowing magic as she spun them faster and faster. Suddenly I was pinned to the chair as a force knocked into me, and then just as quickly it stopped.
“Open the door, will you?” She nodded to her closed office door.
I felt a little dizzy, but unclipped my harness and walked over, placing my hand on the doorknob. I wrenched it back expecting to see the hallway inside of her house, but instead I was met with the somber faces of Trissa and Elle. Behind them was the raging river of Faerie. They were at the blue door in the cliffs. I didn’t even have time to marvel at Mara’s ability. Elle lurched forward and slammed into me, wrapping her arms around my neck as she hugged me tightly. Everything I’d pushed down in order to cope with my current circumstances welled up again as my best friend sobbed into my shoulder. “Lil, I’m so sorry.”
Elle. Elle was more like my sister than a best friend. Her mom was the nursery tender for all of the babies in Faerie. I literally grew up sharing a crib with her daughter. Elle was feisty yet loving, and took us all by surprise when she declared at age twelve that she didn’t want to be a nursery tender like her mother, she wanted to be a warrior like Trissa. She’d been my best friend and sparring partner my whole life, and I was so damn glad she was here with me now.
When I pulled back, I watched the tears draw tracks onto her cheeks. Her short bob was a honey colored brown that set a nice background for her arresting green eyes and smattering of freckles. She loved my mom, called her aunty Vi, and I knew this news would hit her hard. My mother always brought back trinkets from Earth, one for me and one for Elle. I was grateful to share my grief with someone.
“The people are chanting her name,” Elle said, looking deeply into my eyes. “The wildflowers are being collected, mead is brewing. She will have a beautiful celebration of life.”
I nodded, chewing my lip to keep from completely falling apart.
Elle leaned closer to me, lowering her voice. “What the fuck is up with the Sons of Darkness and these crystals? This shit is crazy!”
Trissa cleared her throat and we turned to face her, Elle rosy-cheeked. “I’ve filled Elle in on everything. She’s met briefly with the elders, and saw the tree and the crystals. She’s fully prepared to help you with your task.”
Elle reached out and squeezed my hand. “We’ve got this. We won’t let Faerie down.”
That was Elle. Always so positive.