AllFreeNovel
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The stories are similar, but it’s impossible to know what pieces are true. It’s all hearsay based on folklore. I suppose in the end it doesn’t really matter.
“About twenty-six years ago, there was a group of people here on Wild Haven Island that tried to form an Axis. Anthony Hatcher gathered individuals who had remnants of magic in their family lines and attempted to bond them together.”
“Why?” Zara tilts her head, chewing on her bottom lip again. I want to pull it out from her teeth and soothe the abused flesh.
“He says he’s from Fairy and wants to open the veil to get back home.”
Zara’s eyes twitch around the room and she hugs her pillow tighter to her. “What happened to them?”
“It didn’t work. That much we know. What we don’t know is how forcing them to bond in order to create an Axis affected them. Most of them weren’t good people to begin with, but we’ve always thought that forming the Axis unlocked something in them or planted a seed of evil or something.” This isn’t exactly how I envisioned this evening going. I was hoping to get Zara to open up and have her laughing. Instead, I’ve dropped us right into the heavy shit of our pasts.
Zara slowly shakes her head. “That’s not how Fae magic works, so I can’t imagine forming an Axis would change who they are.”
I sigh. “That’s the conclusion we’ve been drawing recently.”
“It’s very rare for the Fae to have bonded magic. When it happens, they call that person their imolán.”
I recognize that word. It’s one Archer found in an old journal. Hearing Zara say it makes my skin buzz.
“It’s one of the truest, purest magic there is.” Zara swallows, shifting in her seat as though she didn’t mean to speak so passionately. “Did you know someone in this other Axis?”
I don’t hesitate to answer, wanting to open myself up to Zara in a way I haven’t experienced before. “My father.”
The seconds tick by before she responds. “And he isn’t a good man?”
“No. I think I wanted to blame everything on the magic because it gave me a tangible reason for how horrible he is. But it’s looking more and more like he was already rotten before he ever became part of the Axis.” I briefly consider ending things there, but in for a penny, and all that fucking business. “The night we found you in the clearing, my sister Lena was trying to speak with the dead.”
Zara nods, as if she already knows as much.
“She was trying to find our mother. We’d been told that she abandoned us, left the island and her children behind. I grew up thinking that and resenting her. It turns out my father murdered her.”
I set my feet on the ground and scrub a hand over my face. “Shit. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m vomiting up my sad life story. You don’t need to hear about this. I’m sure this is all a walk in the park compared to what you’ve lived through. I just needed you to know our history with the Axis and what you could be getting yourself involved with.”
“I’m so sorry. No one should have to go through that,” she whispers. “I don’t mind. It’s... nice.” She blushes and starts to stumble over her words. “I don't mean… not what happened… just having someone to talk to. Being able to talk to someone.”
What was her life like in Fairy? “You didn’t have anyone to talk to in Fairy?”
“There weren’t many humans in the Summer Court. The Duke preferred not to have us sully his manor.” She sneers and then seems to collect herself. “Some of them were kind, but always separate, distant. There was never a real place for me there.”
“You have a place here. You know that, right?” The urge to touch her again is so strong I cross my arms over my chest to keep my hands in check. The hope in Zara’s eyes is so full of longing I almost say fuck it. Except, I don’t want her to think her place with us comes with strings.
“That would be nice.” That’s all she says. She doesn’t agree, but she’s not denying the possibility either. I almost hate to tell her the one thing she should know about all of us.
“There’s something else that’s important for you to know. Anthony is still trying to form an Axis. This time it’s my friends and I that he’s targeting. Miri and Davis, who were there the other night, they’ve already formed their bond. It’s only a matter of time before he tries to force it on the rest of us.”
“I… I’m sorry. I don’t think there’s anything evil or dark about forming an Axis, but it should still be your choice.”
“There’s one more thing. So far, there are only seven of us, but I think you’re the eighth.”
