He didn’t respond. Neither of us spoke again for the rest of the ride.
Chapter Two
When we got back to HQ, I sunk into my Uncle Bryce’s embrace. He kissed the top of my head; his beard tickled my forehead. “Oh, my pip, I’ve been so worried. Are you okay? Are you hungry?”
“I’m okay. Had a rough night. I just want to go to bed.”
“Go on, I’ll bring you tea in a few moments.”
I scowled, and he laughed. Bryce’s “tea” is an ancient fairy herbal concoction that smells and tastes like dung. Putrid aroma and taste aside, it healed most wounds and restored auras like a charm. Which is probably because of an actual charm worked into the recipe. Bryce excels in the art of magic, something I did not inherit.
As I headed up the stairs, I heard Ian and Bryce talking. While his words were indecipherable, Bryce’s tone made it clear he was not happy with Ian. Give him hell, Bryce.
In my room, I opened the French doors that led to the balcony overlooking the generous backyard. In the cooler months I enjoy sleeping with them open, but even with the humidity, the fresh air was welcome. I turned back to the room, letting my eyes roam. On the sage-green walls hung paintings depicting forests filled with fairies and various woodland creatures. The antique oak furnishings were family heirlooms from my mother’s side, the Fey side. I could still feel the centuries-old remnants of the previous owner’s spells. A bit of safety wards, a dash of good health incantations, and a smidgen of beauty charms.
Along one wall was my bed, hands down my favorite piece. The headboard had an intricate carving of a phoenix, its head bent as though it were watching over me as I slept.
The wall opposite from my bed held my dresser topped with a few fairy figurines and an antique jewelry box. A framed picture of Bryce and me when I was five years old, the day he’d given me my knives, stood in the center. The smile on my face was ear-to-ear. I had always been an odd child.
The phoenix seemed to call me to bed. I changed into an old t-shirt and sleep pants and slid under the covers with a book. I must have drifted off, because the next thing I knew the stench from Bryce’s tea woke me from my slumber.
Bryce sat on the edge of my bed, holding the mug in his big hands. His light brown, forever-tousled hair looked almost black in the dim light of the room. Like all Fey, his appearance hadn’t visibly changed after thirty or so and he was as spry as a teenager. However, his clothes and the way he behaved made him seem older.
“Here you go, my pip, drink every drop. I mean it.”
“Yes, sir,” I said with a roll of my eyes.
“Want to tell me what happened tonight?”
“Not really. Someone must have already told you.”
“Yes, but it may help if you tell me.”
“There’s nothing to help, Bryce, I will get over it. I’m a big girl.” I belied that statement by whining as I took a huge gulp of the scalding tea. “Though I will admit — to you — that I’m pissed the scheme didn’t work. I’d have loved to find out where Gabriel has been hiding.”
“Yes, that would have been ideal, but I prefer having you alive and whole. Well, if you’re sure you don’t want to talk, I’ll be going to bed myself.”
“Wait, will you answer something for me?”
“Of course I will… Well, I guess it depends if I have the answer. I mean I can’t tell you the square root of three thousand and fifty-five. I don’t even know if it has a square root. Does it? Do you know? Well, you wouldn’t be asking me if you knew, would you? Shall we gaggle it?”
“Gaggle? Oh! You mean Goog — Wait!” Kooky Uncle Bryce had returned, and he had sidetracked himself… and me.
“How long have you known Ian? How did you meet?”
His face scrunched in confusion. “I don’t understand…”
“Don’t play dumb. I may have only been sixteen the night Ian came to recruit me, but I could tell you two knew each other. The animosity between you two was obvious.”
“Ah… You can be a little too perceptive. I can’t tell you everything right now as we should include Ian in this conversation.”
“Really? Is it bad?”
“I never said it was bad, but it’s not good either. Anyhow, it’s best if Ian is here when we discuss it, so let’s put a pin in it for now. Okay?”
“Okay. I guess I just want to know more about him and his life.” It was useless to keep pushing him.
“I will tell you that there’s no animosity between us. If you want to know more about Ian’s past, ask him. Since you’re so chatty, it’s your turn to tell me something. Ian mentioned that they chained you up with spelled shackles.”
“Yeah, there was an aura-stifling spell on them. My wounds weren’t healing, and it weakened me. They must have a fairy in their clan…” I hadn’t realized the importance of that until I said it aloud. Fairies were thought to be extinct, or close to it. The few that remained were in the Old Lands and tracked by the Elders. Like the monitoring of an endangered animal species. There were no known fairies in North America. Except me, but as far as the Elders knew, I wasn’t alive and so not documented.
“Interesting.”
“Yeah… So, if he has a fairy, why the hell does Gabriel want me? I can’t be as powerful as a full-blooded Fey.”
“That’s not necessarily true, but I don’t understand why he wants you. Don’t worry, I sure as hell won’t let him get you.”
“Oh, trust me, I’ll do everything I can to make sure he doesn’t lay a finger on me! So, do you have any idea who the fairy may be?”
“Possibly, but I need to think on it. Actually, I need to sleep on this. Goodnight, my pip.”
“Goodnight.”
“You finish that tea, missy!”
Groaning, I took another big swig of the tea. Hot or not, I was finishing it as fast as I could. Once the mug was empty, I placed it on the bedside table and picked up the book that had fallen to the floor. Just as I opened the book, there was a soft tap at the door.
“Qadira,” Ian whispered.
He sounded abashed, and the empath in me wanted to comfort him, so I called out for him to enter. I motioned for him to take a seat. The only chair in the room was a papasan chair. He frowned at it, but sat as stylishly as he could.
Feeling weird lying in bed while we spoke, I rose to stand beside it. I stifled my grin at the sight of his six-foot, brawny frame perched on the oddly shaped chair.
“What’s up, Ian?”
“If you will allow me, I will explain my reasons for what happened tonight.”
Not an apology, but a step in the right direction.
“I did not tell you the plan because I needed you to be genuinely surprised when they took you. Your actions could not appear rehearsed.”
“Oh yeah? And how’d that work out?”
“Yes, well, I realize I was wrong. It happens. Occasionally.”
A laugh escaped me as again, his levity surprised me. I don’t mean he has no sense of humor, it’s just he is the head of our clan, and our clan handles dire and disturbing conditions. Basically, he has the proverbial weight of the world resting on his shoulders, so he tends to be more subdued.