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That surprises me.
“So, their spirits are here, but not their bodies?” Phantom asks, and I see some disbelief in his eyes.
I don’t blame him. The idea that all unhappy spirits could be walking around us without us able to see them is creepy and unsettling. In our beliefs, those who were good in life go to the Ever Fertile Fields. A place of peace and prosperity. And the people who were bad in life go to the Wastelands. The smoke dragon is one of the few creatures that’s capable of devouring the soul of a person and leaving their body behind.
But ghosts?That’s too strange a notion for me. These fae have very different beliefs from our own.
“Yes, that’s exactly it!” Ann exclaims. “Dark fae have had to stay hidden for a long time, so no one sees their powers, but I read a lot of the lore about them with Rayne. They don’t just see ghosts; they speak to them and often help them to find peace.”
Dusk looks around the cave and his mouth says, “Do you think there are any of them here?”
A coldness rolls through me, and I shiver. Glancing around me, I feel a strange sense of unease.Was the chill from a spirit or ghost? Or had I just imagined it?
My imagination. Definitely my imagination.
“Let’s eat again,” Phantom suggests. “Then take turns resting. The others are patrolling the outside of our cave. If something tries to attack us, we’ll know before anything can get in.”
And that’s what we do, passing the night by eating, resting, and talking to Ann. She nods off to sleep many times, but when she’s awake, it seems, she always has something to say. Dusk and Phantom ask her about her life. I see hurt in her eyes, but I don’t press her for the things she doesn’t want to share. She simply tells us about her mom, who got pregnant by a human. In order to cover up the fact that she’s not a full fae, another man claimed her child as his own.
The man, apparently, loved another man. Something that is common even among shadow beasts. Mates, after all, can be of the same sex, or different, it didn’t really matter. And because this father of hers could never have a biological child of his own, he was more than happy to take on the role of her father.
She describes a good life, if a lonely life. Until she comes to her mother marrying another man. Then, she seems to struggle with her words before she says she’s tired and pretends to sleep.
I decide that one day I will ask her about this man her mother married. And if he was unkind to her, I’d find him and kill him.
Not that I’ll tell her that.
Outside the cave, day is about to break and she yawns, this time for real. Her eyes open, but they’re pooled with tears of fatigue. My mind spins with memories of happier days, of times when I could hear, and I can imagine Ann there with me, putting her in the vivid scenes in my mind. Making her laugh. Showing her our world before it all fell apart. And I smile to myself because it isn’t a surprise that she fits with us. Into our lives. Now, yes. But when things are better, yes too.
I yawn and my eyelids close so I can drift off to sleep. I’m strangely filled with hope that after tonight, after getting to know us better, she’ll be willing to mate and form our bond.
Then, hopefully, we would have more good days than bad before us.
EIGHTEEN
Ann
I’min the massive cave the shadow beasts all stay in, walking through the dark halls until I come to the place I knew I was heading towards. Inside, I spot Adrik, the sleeping warrior. Only, he’s no longer asleep. He’s half-sitting, half-lying against the wall. He turns his head and looks at me, eyes bright with awareness, a slow smile on his face. It’s familiar, but I can’t think about that because something is wrong.
The earth above us shakes.
“There’s trouble coming.” The man’s voice is deep, but familiar. “You need to wake up, Ann.” Adrik says my name like he’s said it a thousand times before.
“You’re here?” My words come out breathless. “Awake?”
“I never left your side,” he tells me. “But we’ll have time for that later. For now, you’re in trouble.”
The earth shakes above us again, and dirt and dust fall around us.What the hell is that? It can’t be thunder or a storm making that rumbling. And why is this warrior telling me to wake up?
I’m not asleep.Am I?
“Darling, please!”
Darling?Rayne was the only one who called me darling.
When I jerk awake, my strange dream fades away in the light of the afternoon. It takes a moment for the fog of sleep to clear as I blink and try to clear my head. I’m not a “morning” person. And I was up late talking with Phantom and Onyx and Dusk. I’m still wrapped in Dusk’s arms, my back against his chest while Onyx sits against the wall, eyes closed, a peaceful smile on his face, and Phantom lies facing me.
With a clarity so vivid I can almost taste each one, I remember the kisses. The way Phantom twisted my hair around his hand when I kissed him. The way Dusk cupped the side of my face. The way Onyx stroked my cheekbone.
