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ONE
Ann
It’s dark on campus as I limp among the headstones in the graveyard, hissing through my teeth when I take too deep of a breath, then trying to calm my racing heart as the pain slowly dulls back to tolerable. I press a hand to my side and lean on a headstone, taking a brief break before continuing forward.
All around me it’s silent, other than the night animals and the stirring of the wind. Students and faculty have long since gone to bed. There aren’t even guards in this area of campus. Because, why would there be? No one would expect a light fae to be out at this time, wandering between graves, lost in thought.
But most of my kind don’t have dark secrets that could destroy them.
Keeping so many secrets makes me restless. Unable to sleep.
Out here I can also limp instead of concealing it. I can walk around like every inch of my body is hurting, instead of forcing myself to move about like a “proper lady.” And that’s strangely freeing in itself.
“More secrets I don’t have to keep out here in the dark,” I whisper.
Only a night owl answers my words as if to say,you’ve never been as good at hiding your injuries as you think you are.
I scowl, glaring at the owl on the branch of a tree.I’m doing my best, you judgmental bird...
And I was. But, unfortunately for me, the night before I was sent off to Royal Fae Academy was one of the bad moments for my stepfather. My “godparents” had dropped me off, after taking me out to a celebratory dinner before I left for the semester, and my stepfatherhatedDaniel and Blake.
Daniel had a brief romance with my mother when she was single, before he came out as gay. But despite the fact that their romance didn’t work out, they became the best of friends. And when she got pregnant by a human, Daniel claimed me as his own so no one would know I wasn’t a full light fae. But then to further protect me, my mother quickly married another fae who was far below her status and decided we would all play the part of a happy family.
I honestly think my mom was coming from a good place. But she had no idea how much my stepfather would hate raising another man’s child. Something he reminded me about over and over again with his fists. And she, being a traditional light fae, had no idea how to handle such an angry man with such a bad temper. She had pushed herself hard to make me prettier. To sew better dresses for me and make sure my manners were perfect. Everything she did was to try to make him like me, but even as a young girl, I knew that no matter what I did, he’d hate me.
Because I was a daily reminder that my mother had loved someone else and that my stepfather had gained wealth and position only through necessity for my mother. It burned inside of him, twisting in his gut like a blade. He thought he deserved our life and could have it, if not for me.
The fool couldn’t even seem to understand that my mother never would’ve chosen him in the first place, if not for me. Not that I’d ever tell him so.
“I’m a light fae, not a moron,” I murmur.
That night just a few days ago, I’d tried my best to escape my stepfather, knowing that me seeing my father would put him in a bad mood. But he’d been waiting for me in my room, drunk as hell, and more pissed off than I’d ever seen him.
I’d tried to fight back. Ialwaystried. But in the end, I’d ended up in a ball on the floor while he kicked me over and over again. All I could manage to do was try to protect the already badly injured parts of my body that his fists had bruised and broken.
When he’d finally spit on me and called me a bitch, all I could taste was my own blood. And beyond the pain, all I felt was a strange sense of gratitude that I’d be leaving the next morning and finally get a break from him, even if I was only going to another place where I would feel like an unwanted outsider.
So now, days later, I’m feeling better, at least physically. Being a fae means that I heal quickly, but not as quickly as a full-blooded fae. And yet, I still hurt. I still ache when I breathe too deeply, and one of my legs feels sore, like I’d been running for days.
Yet walking around with my aching body is better than sitting in my dorm bed, consumed by dark thoughts. Thoughts of who I wish I was. Thoughts of how I wish I could be myself, even if for just a moment.
“What are you doing out here?”
I stiffen as the husky voice of an unfamiliar male rolls down my spine. Slowly, I turn around to face the man. He’s cloaked in shadows, but he’s tall and radiates a confidence that makes me uncertain if I should be running to him or away from him.
“Taking a stroll,” I answer, trying to keep the curt note from my voice…and failing.
“A stroll at midnight in a graveyard?” I’m not sure if he sounds amused or doubtful.
“What’s it to you?” I counter back, suddenly irritated that at the one time I should be left in peace, some jerk has shown up to ruin it. And yet, I never have an attitude. No, normallyI’m sweet as pie, like the other light fae.
Apparently, I’m in a mood.
He cocks his head and comes closer.
I instinctually take a step back.
He laughs. The sound is low, almost sexual. “I have to admit, it’s been a while since a woman tried to get away from me.”
