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“Ah. Well. . .” he hesitated as he rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding any eye contact with me. With a sudden huff of air he replies, “Yes.” There was a flicker of amusement in his eyes as he finally met my own gaze again.
I knew the rustle in the prairie grass was not my imagination. I had been right, I was being followed. At least he was honest, I could appreciate that. “How long have you been following me?”
“Not long. I lost you when you took off after the squirrel.”
The mention of Jesper sent a wave of anger through me; the next time I saw him I would have to have a talk with him. But the thought of the Goblin King and his hands on my skin came to mind again. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment and indignation at the thought. I cleared my throat trying to focus on the present moment, and glanced around before looking back at Hendrix. I watched him closely as he finished scattering the remains of my poor little fire.
“Why were you following me anyway?” I asked, glaring at him. My question had come out sharper than I had intended butI couldn’t help the bit of suspicion in my tone as I spoke.
“I’ll tell you,” he said, his voice low but I could hear the underlying tone of urgency as he held out his hand for me to follow him. “But we have to be on our way. We cannot stay here, we have to move.Now, Serra.”
I could tell he was uncomfortable. His eyes dart around even in the darkness of the caves. I couldn’t help but follow after him, slipping deeper into the unknown.
As we made our way through the winding paths of the cave, the shadows and darkness closed in around us, and the sound of dripping water followed us, like an eerie accompaniment to our journey. It was a maze in here, with paths that broke off in different directions at random locations. I would have certainly gotten lost on my own. The smaller inhabitants skittered away into the dark as we passed, far less intimidating than Hendrix had said.
The silence was thick, heavy, palpable as it stretched between us as Hendrix avoided my gaze. Annoyed, I turned to him. “Whywereyou following me?”
Hendrix hesitated, clearly I’d made him uncomfortable with my directness. But he replied, the words slipping from his lips easily, “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Were you sent to follow me?” This certainly reeked of the Goblin King. As immoral as he was, would he send someone after me? He had not offered to help me, nor give me assistance. Hendrix didn’t answer again so I tried another question. “What are you doing here in the Fae Realms? Why aren’t you in Rothnia?”
He glanced back at me as he said, “My home is on this side of the Ebony Woods, Serra. I wouldn't have stayed in Rothnia long. I wouldn’t have been welcome indefinitely.”
Not really the answer I was expecting, but I inquired anyway hoping he would indulge, “Why not?”
He sighed, “Because I’m Fae. We aren’t exactly popular.”
I mean he wasn’t wrong, many feared the Fae for what they were capable of. What they could do, who they were. Even Nona had feared them. The stories of the Lost Fae were widely known.
“Why were you in Rothnia?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he avoided the question again. Okay, if this was how he wanted to travel, then I could play along. “What do I call you? I know you first as Corey, but your real name is Hendrix?”
He smiled softly at me, “Hendrix will do just fine.”
Hendrix was only the second Fae I had ever met, and he was not like the Goblin King. But two Fae in a span of a few weeks had me a little on edge. I could not lay all my trust in him, having worked beside him or not. That would be foolish; he was still lethal. Another question came to mind as we walked along the dark.
“How did you hide your ears? While in Rothnia I mean.”
Hendrix paused for a moment, his gaze fixed on me. “The Fae can glamour themselves.” He said, “Appear as we want others to see us. I was able to do a simple glamour of my ears to hide the tips. But it’s weak, easy magic. It’s as simple as thinking. It takes far more energy to transform entirely, to weave that kind of magic. And you have to have incredible strength and magic to do that. It’s an older magic, and even fewer carry it. There are some who hold infinite power, so much that they are considered royalty. There’s only one I know who can.”
“Who is that?”
He smiled softly, the slightest tug at the corners of his lips but did not answer. I couldn’t help the unease that he was hiding something. He had secrets too it seemed. If it took more energy-more power- to transform entirely, how was he able to transform from a furry animal to flesh and bone? Was he stronger than he let on? Just another set of unanswered questions on my growing list of curiosities.
“But you were just a fox.”
“I inherited that trait from my father,” Hendrix turned to look at me again. I couldn't help but notice how handsome he was as Fae, even in the dimly lit passageway of rock and stone. His hazel eyes sparkled and his smile revealed a set of canines that could pierce skin. It made me pause and feel a fluttering sensation in my stomach as his gaze locked onto mine. “Actually, many of my family members share the same trait.”
“Are all of you able to transform into foxes?”
“Not all of us, no,” he chuckled, but then seemed to hesitate as if debating whether to say more. Finally, he spoke up again, “There are two distinct lines in my family. One follows a certain path, while the other follows a different path. It's always a gamble when a new offspring is born, as you never know which line they'll follow. But this is just within my own family. There are countless other Fae families with their own unique lineages.”
I watched him with an odd mix of curiosity and wonder, his cheeks seemed to flush slightly under my gaze. He rubbed the back of his neck as he said, “My line went the less desired route.”
My interest piqued at his words. I wanted to know more.I had so many questions. So many thoughts ran through my head at the endless possibilities in this world. I’d never heard that Fae could shape-shift or about any who could control ancient magic. It had me wondering, “What are the differences between lines? What line did you take after?”
