‘Faye,’ Annie rolled her eyes at her best friend, ‘dinnae give away all my secrets, sweetheart. Or I’ll be forced to tell the story of how ye wet yerself on stage at the school assembly.’
‘What? That’s not a story. Don’t make things up to show off in front of your new girlfriend,’ Faye chided. ‘And I didn’t wet myself!’
‘Don’t embarrass the girl.’ Susie smiled knowingly at Faye. ‘Luckily for Annie, I always held a bit of a candle for her, too. Must have been divine providence that got her a job in London, that’s all I can say. I thought I’d lost her to Abercolme forever.’
‘Aye, well.Coven of Lovemade me an offer too good to refuse.’ Annie stirred a pot of pasta on the hob and lifted the lid on a delicious-smelling sauce.
‘Itwasgood! You’re a lead character. Though I have to say, that setdoesneed some updating,’ Faye said, frowning when she thought of the clichéd décor.
‘Aye.’ Annie held out the wooden spoon she’d stirred the pot with for Susie to taste. ‘It’s a good show, but some of the storylines are ridiculous.’
Faye raised an eyebrow but said nothing – her real life had been pretty ridiculous of late, after all.
‘More salt.’ Susie reached past Annie to get something from the fridge, and Faye watched them with a sudden yearning. They seemed so happy together. Perhaps this was what she and Rav looked like from the outside, too. But Faye was aware that the comfortable delight that Annie and Susie took in these everyday parts of their life together – cooking, talking about their day at work, entertaining friends – eluded her and Rav. There was a closeness between Annie and Susie that was absent between her and Rav despite their passion. Too much unresolved pain hung between them, and she didn’t know how to help Rav and herself move on.
‘You’re quiet.’ Annie spooned the pasta into the sauce, added some of the pasta’s cooking water into the pan, then spooned generous mounds onto three plates. Susie followed behind her, drizzling olive oil and grinding pepper onto each plate before bringing them to the table.
‘Oh, it’s nothing,’ Faye lied, tasting the pasta. ‘Mmmm! Annie, your cooking has definitely improved.’
‘Hmmm.’ Annie waved her fork at Faye as she ate. ‘Nae bad. So, is Rav still really sufferin’? From bein’ in the faerie realm?’ She shook her head. ‘Ye wouldnae get me tae go there after what I know now, aye.’
‘It’s going to take a long time.’ Faye sighed. ‘And I understand that he wants to move on, forget about it, live a normal life, you know? I really do. But I’m not going to lie. What does that make me look like in front of his friends? And is forgetting really the best thing to do? I don’t know if it is.’
‘It’s different for you. Ye’re half a fae yerself. Remember that Rav isnae.’ Annie reached for the cheese and grated some onto her meal.
‘Exactly. It’s half of me. It’s part of who I am, right? So I can’t forget it. And I don’twantto. If he does, does it really make sense to be with me, a constant reminder of what happened to him?’ She appealed to Annie who shrugged. ‘There’s going to come a day when he doesn’t want to be reminded of Murias any more. What happens to us then?’
Annie knew the whole story, but Faye hadn’t told her about the bargain with Levantiana, either. She’d merely said,I managed to rescue Rav,and,The faeries came when I needed them,the night of the concert. She’d let Annie make her own conclusions after that. She’d never kept anything from Annie before, and she hated herself for it.
Why not tell Annie about the faerie bargain now?Faye steeled herself. She’d been afraid of a rebuke, of Annie’s disapproval, but she knew her friend would help her.You can tell her now. Just open your mouth and tell her. It’ll be okay.
She felt the words cluster in her throat, but rather than finding it easy to talk to Annie, to tell her anything as she always had done, they choked her.No. You cannot tell,Levantiana’s voice echoed in her ear.I forbade it as part of the bargain.
Faye shook her head; it was just her imagination, surely. She tried again, suddenly anxious sheshouldtell Annie, but the same thing happened: her throat felt like it closed up, and she started a coughing fit. The harder she tried to get the words out, the worse the coughing got; like faerie hands around her throat,she was being denied air. Or being drowned. Black spots swam in front of her eyes. Faye’s eyelids fluttered closed, and she saw Levantiana’s face with its strange, intense beauty. Faye watched her lips move.You will keep your word as I kept mine.
Leave me alone! Please!Faye screamed inside her mind. She was far too disoriented to be able to use any witchcraft to defend herself from the faerie queen; the protection sigil she’d been keeping in her pocket was in her coat, thrown over the sofa in the next room.
Don’t make me think I can’t trust you, Faye Morgan.Levantiana’s head tilted to one side as she watched Faye choking; her expression was dispassionate, calm. Faye gasped for breath.
You can trust me, I won’t tell, please!Faye appealed in desperation as she started to lose consciousness. She was dimly aware of Annie slapping her on the back, of Susie saying something,Is she choking? What is it? Should we call an ambulance?
So be it. But I will be watching. Levantiana’s face disappeared and the drowning sensation lessened immediately. Faye slumped onto the table, heaving in huge gulps of air. Gradually, she felt herself return to normal.
‘What the hell was that? Are you all right, Faye?’ Susie helped her sit up and handed her a glass of water. ‘Here. Drink it carefully. Did you choke?’
Faye shook her head and heaved in a deep breath.
‘I…I don’t know what happened. Sorry.’
‘Ye dinnae need tae apologise, daftie!’ Annie laughed nervously. ‘Ah thought ye were a goner for a second there.’
‘I’m okay.’ Faye cleared her throat. ‘Something went down the wrong way, that’s all.’
Annie gave her a searching look. She knew something was up. Faye could tell; they knew each other far too well. She avoided Annie’s eyes.
‘You’d tell me if somethin’ was wrong, wouldn’t ye, darlin’? No secrets between us, aye?’ Annie stared at her with a strange expression on her face. It wasn’t distrust, but something near to it.
‘Leave her alone, Annie. She just choked, that’s all.’ Susie put a protective arm around Faye’s shoulders. ‘Faye wouldn’t keep any secrets from you. You’re like sisters. Let her get her breath back.’
