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“Other kids?” she echoed.
“They called me weird for drawing a pixie.” He sniffed and swallowed back the lump in his throat as he buried his face, trying to hold his tongue about the part when they ripped it from his hands. The sparks from the small iron fireplace tucked into the corner of the classroom had eaten through that scrap of paper too quickly for him to react.
It’d hurt. It’d hurt more than he cared to admit, but he’d refused to cry when he’d numbly dropped back into his seat after the teacher returned.
You shouldn’t draw that kind of stuff anyway, said one girl, her nose wrinkled in distaste.
Who would even want a drawing of that? chimed a boy.
The gentle trace of his mother’s nails along his scalp threatened to spill all the suppressed emotion. He was sure he’d break if she pulled him into a hug—that warm, loving embrace he constantly longed for but didn’t have the heart to request.
“You’re not weird, Grey,” she cooed. “You’re just very special—unique.” She propped up his chin, forcing him to look at her. “You’re a wonderful, respectful young man. You’re doing everything perfectly, so ignore what they say, all right?”
Her tune dipped into a melodic hum, lulling him into a soothing state of serenity. Like when she’d woven flowers into his hair or told him a faerie story when he’d lay down in the grass.
“Grey—”
He closed his eyes, letting himself be swept away by the tune.
“Grey!”
Grey’s heart lurched as a hand clamped around his arm. His eyes flew open to the warped planks of a footbridge stretching ahead of him. That haunting melody pressed in on his skull, threatening to split his head in two.
Tears spilled as an arm hooked around his waist and dragged him back to the pavers, his glossy vision distorting those bright green eyes that stared back at him.
“Holy shit, are you okay?” Noel asked, gripping his shoulders a little too tightly.
Grey choked back his initial reply and fought back the tremors. That ‘no’ on the tip of his tongue was snatched away by the sudden halt of the far-off tune, exchanged for silence. Crushing silence. No birds, mice, or frogs stirred when those glowing pink eyes pierced through the woods at the far end of the bridge.
Noel must’ve noticed between Grey’s sights pinned on something behind him and Cy grabbing a fistful of Grey’s shirt. The dagger at Noel’s side slid free as he stood in front of Grey like a shield.
“Well, well,” came the feminine, sing-song voice of the fair folk. “I remember you, machromancer. Quite a resourceful thing… Or lucky.” She paced from one tree framing the path to the other, her face splitting in a feral grin. “Why don’t you come over and face me? A precursor to our dance on the sacred hunting grounds. Maybe I’ll even be able to convince Reign not to cut off your hands for touching their claimed prey.”
Grey bumped against Noel as he defensively slid a foot back, sandwiching him closer between him and Cy.
“You and that bastard can rot,” Noel growled.
She threw her head back, releasing a spine-chilling cackle. “Oh, you’ll be fun to break. No wonder Reign was so enraged. You came so quickly to the little hemomancer’s aid too—what’s your name again?” She hummed, her head tilting. Those violent pink irises bore into his and rooted him to the spot as he peeked from behind Noel. “Grey?” He flinched, and that wicked smile returned. “Reign gave me some treats to offer you if you come willingly, Grey.”
How quickly her voice shifted to a playful purr made his skin crawl, but it was even worse to have her try to coax him out like a stray pet.
Cy shifted behind him. “Fuck off, you piece of shit faerie!”
The fair folk bared her teeth. “I wasn’t talking to you, you little mutt. I was talking to Grey.”
“Keep his name out of your mouth,” Noel snapped.
A grin. “Come over here and make me.”
Grey grabbed Noel’s elbow and tugged him back, trying to ignore the fair folk’s jeering as they started toward the closest building to break line of sight.
“I’ll have you know you’re surrounded,” she called. “Let’s not waste any more time.”
“Fuck,” Noel hissed, glancing over his shoulder. “They have to be bluffing, right? We would’ve been ambushed by now if?—”
Cy shook her head. “She might not be. The only way to get here is over bridges. There are a couple pretty far back toward the dense woods the delta falls into, but she could’ve easily stationed something there if she discovered that Grey ended up here.”
Grey rubbed his arms as he fell back against the brick façade and stared down at his shoes. “I don’t think she’d be here if it weren’t for me,” he mumbled. “This is my fault.”
