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The metal chair creaks as she leans back. Her face has turned unreadable. “That’s a shame. Birds are incredible shifting animals.”
“Oh, are you—”
Her FaePhone buzzes on the table, but the brightness is set so low that I can’t see who is calling. She answers and hurries out the door without even looking back.
I tap my finger on the desk for a moment before I realize she has finished the paperwork and will not return.
Expectantly, I shift the papers around without looking at them.
Tonight, there is no note.
My ribs grow tight, and my stomach clenches seconds before the nausea begins. My shoulders sag, and a feeling of intense disappointment roils through me.
Chapter6
He Is A Light To My Darkness
ELVA
One year later
Isoar over the port, letting my snowy owl take control as I glide over the city. It’s late, and the stars are covered by thick, gray clouds that roil over the horizon. The moon is little more than a sliver, and a cold wind blows beneath my wings. It’s dark, but I can see everything perfectly. The icy breeze ruffles my feathers, and I fly higher and higher in the sky.
I can feel my owl’s joy. It tastes like the winter air. Cool, refreshing, and crisp. My snowy owl’s body is small but powerful. With each flap, my stomach flutters in anticipation, and the wind propels me forward like I weigh absolutely nothing.
Doing this–flying–brings me small snippets of peace. I need these in my life. The gods only know everything else is rough. But this.
I love flying. It’s exactly what I need.
Even though I haven’t admitted it to myself, I know where I’m going. It’s the same place I’ve flown over and over again for the past year.
Sometimes days or weeks will go by without me coming back. Other times, I make the trek night after night.
By now, I know the skyline of Port City like I know the back of my hand. My destination is always the same. I am drawn to the place like a magnet. It’s been nearly four months since we last spoke, Fae to Fae.
I need to know if the Summer Fae is still there. There is something about him...
He is a light to my darkness.
We’ve had so few interactions in the past year, barely speaking since I slipped him that first note. And yet, every single touch, every passing glance, has been written on my heart. Thoughts of the mysterious Summer Fae have taken up permanent residency in my mind. He haunts me day and night.
Time is a strange thing. For the humans that live among us, time is precious—a commodity they value. Many of them treat every second as though it could be their last. And for them, it might be. Their lifetimes are unfathomably short, whereas Fae can live for eons if we are careful.
I’m not careful.
The fluttering in my stomach stops and is quickly replaced by a painful tightening. If being Fae means living up to the expectations my mother has for me, then I will kill. I will fight. I will live on the brink of danger and spend my days alone. Whatever the cost, I will do it.
Because I had learned a long time ago that freedom had no price that was too high for me. I would pay anything for my freedom. Better that than becoming the Fae my mother wants me to be.
What good is the ability to live a thousand years if I hate my life?
I swoop low as a stray seagull darts in my path. My squawk is a warning that the brainless fowl ignores. My owl’s instinct takes over, and I open my talons and stretch my wings. Within moments, the bird is in my grasp. Death is moments away. And yet...
No sooner than my feet have brushed white feathers than my insides freeze.
My Fae brain is loud and clear. I don’t want to kill this poor bird. It did nothing to me. Not really. And it deserves to live.
The shock of what I am about to do locks up my wings, and I drop like a stone. Plummeting toward the ground, the air grows damper, and the briny smell of salt becomes nearly overwhelming as I approach the ocean at breakneck speeds.
