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Chapter2
Tylik
My great-aunt Finnadestria, or Finni, as she liked to be called, sent word through the estate’s staff asking me to join her in the library for a “quick conversation”. If I knew my aunt, she would present her thoughts, and I’d do my best to talk her out of them.
“It’s time for you to assume your rightful place as duke of my estates in the fae realm,” she said the moment I walked into the library. Dressed in an ornate silver silk gown, she sat in one of the brocade chairs flanking the enormous stone fireplace. She waved for me to settle in the other. “You’re nearly thirty. You should’ve taken the title years ago.”
“I told you I don’t wish to return to the fae realm at this time.” Or ever if I could avoid it. I paced across the thick carpet. “I’m happy here.”
“How can you be?” She sniffed. “While I can see why someone would be fascinated by this new world, I cannot imagine why you’d want to remain here even as long as you have. You’ve been here for a month already.”
“I’ve opened an apothecary. My new home has been finished. My life is here.”
I should leave. Go to the ball or not. It hardly mattered. But she’d raised me and my sister. She was old, and her health was not good. I loved her. So I sat in the chair beside her, determined to explain in a way she’d understand. “Humans are amazing.”
She smiled with a hint of indulgence. “I can see their charm.”
“They work and play, and they are so much more alive than elves.”
“It’s a satisfying trade. We live much longer than them.”
“But we only half live.” I’d noted this from the moment I arrived. For the first time, I felt everything. The tastes, smells, and sounds lured me in. Now that my eyes had been opened, I didn’t want to go back to the deadened existence I’d lived in the fae realm.
“If we experienced everything as fully as a human, we’d burst into flames,” she said. “Soon, only cinders would remain.”
“No one has proven this rumor. Besides, I’d rather live a shorter life and feel than drone on for many ages only skimming the surface of what life has to offer.” Could I make her understand?
“It’s frightening, don’t you think?” She frowned. “I don’t like being awash with my senses all the time. I plan to return to the fae realm soon and the peace I’ll find there. You need to come with me.”
“I told you. I’m not ready to leave.”
“You’ve been busy. I’ve heard rumors in town,” she said, watching me intently.
“What in particular?”
“I’ve become friends with a human named Elvira.”
Elvira . . . “Grannie Vi?” She was also amazing. This was a new word I’d learned, and I used it often.
“We’ve had tea twice, and she’s a wealth of information about this new community they’ve named Monsterville.”
I was surprised my aunt had stepped beyond the building’s front doors.
“I will say, this estate is worthy,” she said, though without a hint of superiority. Like most elves, she preferred a world full of magic instead of being here where our spells were so weak they barely made a ripple.
“I’m not surprised. Maxon Zahgorim built it,” I said, proud of my friend’s efforts.
“Your orc friend has done an excellent job.” She dipped her head forward, giving me a slight smile. “See? Monsters, as they call us, and may I say that’s an uncouth term for glorious elves, contribute to amagicalsociety. Humans are not capable of enjoying magic the way we do. However, the rules are clear. We’re not permitted to use our power here except in small ways that have little or no impact.”
“What has Grannie Vi been saying?” I asked carefully.
“You visited her new business, Monster Mingle. You wish to join in wedded bliss with a human.”
“I do.”
I’d gone to Grannie Vi’s matchmaking service out of desperation. If I could find a human to marry me, my aunt might “permit” me to remain here forever. As a duchess and a well-respected elf in the fae realm, she could insist, and then I’d have to return home. I was here by her good grace, plus that of the fae council and our ambassador.
However, my great aunt had a soft heart. She wanted me to be happy. If I fell in love, I doubted she’d stand in my way.
