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“Let’s talk about it once the others leave, please,” River begs quietly. She grabs my hand and helps me stand, before Jacob puts an arm around my waist to help me walk inside.
The new group of fae are standing in the entryway, expressions varying from annoyance to concern. Andras makes them move away so Jacob and I can get through and they reluctantly comply.
“So what’s the story with our new friends?” I finally ask as we settle onto the couch, careful to not let my burn touch the cushions behind me.
“They said pretty much the same thing they told us when we first met them. They all felt a magical pull toward Silver Forest they couldn’t ignore. They left their homes and jobs, if they had them, to follow it. Once they were in town it stopped. Though to be honest, I believe them, I felt an almost tug in my stomach a few times, but it was faint, probably because I live here? It doesn’t make sense, but I do think we should prepare for more arrivals, this group can’t be the only fae around that felt it,” Andras explains, his voice confident. “And we have to figure out what it all means.”
Jacob’s voice is incredulous. “That’s going to be rough. If that crowd was any indication of how the town will receive you, I hope you guys stick to groups.” He voices my worries perfectly. The fae can’t hide inside, so they’ll have to stick to larger groups to keep safe for now.
An unfamiliar man walks into the room, his eyes already narrowed in clear distrust. “Why do you guys care?” He glares at me first, then turns his fiery gaze to Jacob while he waits for our answer. Despite his annoyance, I can’t help but appreciate how handsome he is. His skin is nearly as pale as mine, his blonde hair long and straight. Bright blue eyes are full of fire, but beautiful nonetheless.
“Back off Allwyn!” River barks. The man turns his glare to her, before he starts to stomp off.
But I stop him before he can leave. “No, River, his question is valid. I care because I don’t believe you should be treated this way. It’s wrong and disgusting. I’m trying to make people realize they need to move past their hate for the unknown,” I explain, trying to pour my desire for change into my words. His glare softens as he looks at me again. A flicker of hope flashes through his eyes, before they turn dark again.
Another unfamiliar, soft voice drifts into the room. “Allwyn, she literally fought off an entire crowd while we cowered inside, how can you still question her?” A beautiful young fae steps into the room. She looks to be around our age, but from what River revealed, that can be deceiving. She has long blonde hair and bright green eyes. I always thought the fae were supermodel pretty, but she has a kindness in her face that makes her look prettier than most.
“Gwen, they’re human,” he says the word human like it’s the nastiest thing he’s ever heard. Jacob openly rolls his eyes.
“I see the hate goes both ways,” he deadpans. Allwyn opens and closes his mouth for a moment before huffing.
“Not all humans are the same,” River defends us. Her voice is strained and she clearly doesn’t appreciate his annoyance. “Bella saved me from being assaulted in a dark alley. She even offered to walk with any other fae who would be alone, to avoid something happening again.”
“Fine," Allwyn huffs as he walks away, like it’s all irrelevant. When he casts a look back at me, it isn’t as hateful though. Maybe we’d eventually come to a mutual respect.
“I need to get home to Dormy, he needs to eat," I announce, standing up gingerly. My birthmark still hurts, just not as fiercely. “And for some reason I’m exhausted now.”
“I’ll walk with you," River offers, grabbing her purse and following me out of the door.
“I’d like to join you as well," Gwen says softly, looking at me with a curious gaze. I nod my agreement, happy to convince another fae that not all humans are assholes.
“I need to get to work, I’ll let Deb know you’re sick," Jacob says with concern. My eyes go wide and embarrassment floods my cheeks. He just laughs. “I knew you forgot about your shift, when you texted me. I’ve got this," I give him a hug before he walks off to Deb’s.
The walk back to my apartment is quiet. I expected a million questions from Gwen but she seems content to just check out this side of town. Thankfully we don’t run into any angry mobs or assholes trying to harass us. As soon as we wind through the crowded halls in my building, I usher Gwen and River into my apartment before locking the door behind us.
“It’s loud here, how can you concentrate?” Gwen looks shell-shocked. The parties are going strong now that finals are over, so the music is at an all-time high.
“I’m used to it," I laugh and give her a shrug. Checking on Dormy is my top priority, so I make my way over to his cage and drop in a few treats. “I’m home again, buddy. Are you adjusting okay?” I can’t help the sweet baby voice that comes out when I speak to him. The little guy grew on me quicker than I anticipated. He just squeaks at me, in what I decided is gratitude, before devouring his treats.
“He talks back to you?” River laughs as she comes over to see Dormy. “I swear if you weren’t obviously human, then I would think you’re Spring Fae.”
“That reminds me, why did my birthmark freak you out?” I ask as I walk over to the mirror hanging on my living room wall. I slip my shirt off, not caring about modesty, since I have on a sports bra underneath. My birthmark is an odd shape, resembling a rose. Jacob is the only other one who’s ever seen it, he just thought it was a cool shape, nothing odd. As I lock my eyes on it, I gasp. The flower now looks like it has swirling vines growing out of it. The whole thing is a bright pink, instead of the tan color it generally is.
“Is that what I think it is?” Gwen shrieks at River. I turn to look at them and River has a look of awe on her face again.
“Fae that are of the royal bloodlines have a mark similar to this," Gwen whispers as steps closer to study it again.
“Well that’s cool, but I promise I’m not fae," I laugh it off and try to push away the thoughts asking what if. They’re all making a big deal out of something that’s clearly impossible. “I must have had a reaction to something today though, it’s definitely enflamed and hurts," I say more to myself than my friends.
“It’s too much of a coincidence," River states and Gwen quickly agrees. “You have to be fae… maybe the prince and princess didn’t die.” I don’t want to agree, but now this is number four on a list of ever growing weird occurrences.
“It wouldn’t matter if I had royal blood way down in my bloodline anyway, Faerie isn’t exactly accessible," I point out and they both agree quickly, looking sad at the reminder of their lost home.
“It doesn’t explain why it would change. Burns don’t exactly come in that perfect of a shape. We can’t really use magic here. Occasionally we can rock a glamour for small periods of time, but our powers are connected directly to Faerie. The longer we’re out of it, the weaker we are. But I would guess this is a remnant of a glamour. Not to mention the magical pull the others felt," Gwen’s words are like a blast of cold, hard reality. My past memories flood into the forefront of my thoughts. The times my grandmother changed the subject about my parents, her bedtime stories, the formal way she spoke, and the one time I snuck into her room to get a book and found her sleeping and looking almost like a stranger. I thought I was just overly tired… what if I wasn’t? What if I am a fae?
“Hold up! I thought you guys could use magic!” I exclaim, shocked. It was just me grasping to anything that could distract me from the craziness I was trying to make sense of. But magic was one of the major reasons humans tried to oppress them, they were scared of what the fae could do to us.
