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Iris tried to keep calm, despite the excitement flickering through her. “Okay, let’s start with the creation part. You…made me? That means you’re my parents, right?”
The two exchanged one of their silent, brain-sharing looks, then Fen answered, “Procreation is different among our people. Ideas can take form. So can emotions. It’s more of a magical genesis than a physical interaction, but you do absolutely share energy with both of us.”
Okay, I can work with that. Rain and Fenaremy parents.
“So I was kidnapped by your family,” she said to Rain. “Hidden in the human world. Did your family raise the real Iris Collins?”
“They did. Her name is Thea…Allthis time, we had no idea.”
“What happened to her?” Iris wasn’t even sure if she wanted to know, especially since she knew the type of family that awaited Thea, should she return.
“At her coming of age, she married a minor noble and drank from the Wellspring, so she’s no longer mortal, strictly speaking.My family said she was a foundling, when in fact she was a changeling, taken when they stole her and left you in her place.”
She wondered if that meant Thea would never return to the mortal realm since she had bonds elsewhere. “This…is a lot. I have so many questions that I don’t even know where to start. What did you do to me just now?”
“Unbound you,” Rain said simply. “Fae aren’t constrained by gender or even form. But you’ve been locked into thisshellfor far too long.”
Iris blinked. “Wait, so you can change shapes?”
“Of course, precious flower. You saw us do it, didn’t you? I lived as a seahorse for a while,” Rain said in a nostalgic tone.
“What?” The surprises just kept piling up.
“You’ve confused her,” Fen said swiftly. “Rain means a fae horse that lives in the sea. Not the marine creatures from this world.”
“Right, becausethatwould be weird,” Iris said with decidedly ironic intent. “But getting back to the original point, can I change shapes as well?”
“I hope so,” Fen said. “It would be excruciating to realize that our forbidden love blighted your potential. But you might find it difficult or unusual at first.”
Rain predicted, “Your mind will probably be your greatest barrier. You’ve thought of yourself as human. When you accept yourself as fae fully, your potential should expand.”
Ohhh.
“To be honest, I think I did that earlier. You might not realize since you haven’t been outside yet, but the whole house is covered in violets.”
Rain beamed at her. “We certainly knew something happened.”
Fen put in, “That’s how we found you. Whether you intended to do it or not, you’ve turned this place into a fairy mound.”
“That’s a portal connecting our world to the mortal realm. There used to be a lot more of them. As I recall, the last one vanished…” Rain gazed at Fen with a beseeching expression, inviting clarification.
“In Wales, wasn’t it? I’m not too clear on when.”
Iris held up a hand, locked onto a more salient point. “Wait, back up. I created a portal? A link to the fae lands.”
With a fond smile that looked more natural all the time, Rain assured her, “Indeed you did, precious blossom. That’s how and why we’re here.”
“Huh. Okay, next question. What’s my last name?” Iris asked.
“Your what?” Rain asked blankly.
“Surname. There are so many humans that they need multiple names to track them. I think they have numbers these days too,” Fen whispered.
“Oh! I’m Rain of House Summer. They are Fen of House Winter. Any of those words would do, I suppose.”
“So my choices are House, Summer, or Winter?” she asked, greatly bemused.
Fen tried to be helpful. “You can put them together if you wish.”
