Page 22 of Demure
He nodded. “Sort of. You already saw that I can shift myself to other places, and I can also make it so you cannot see me. I think it is a defense mechanism, as most Fae can do it. I’m better at shifting location than most of my kind, though. Many of us can also use compulsion, which you saw last night in the library. And there are those of us who have special and more unique powers.”
Sierra thought back to the drunk student who had been so intent on dragging her out of the library and how he had suddenly done everything Aodhan had said. She tried to think if there was any situation when Aodhan might have used compulsion on her, but she couldn’t remember doing anything she hadn’t wanted just because he had said to. Still aghast and unsure what to even ask, she decided to see what information he would offer of his own accord. “Anything else I should know?”
Aodhan let out a breath. “Many believe that the Fae were an early race of humans. And most of my kind believe the same. But over the past few centuries, many have come to the human world and married humans, and some have even brought their partnersback to The Hills. As a result, many of us don’t have very strong magic anymore. That’s what makes my abilities unique.”
Sierra raised her eyebrows, “The hills?”
“My people, besides being called Fae, are often referred to as theSidhe, which is Gaelic for ‘people of the hills.’ What they don’t know is that the word actually comes from the name of my world, which has been called Sidhe for hundreds of years. When I refer to my home in your language, I just call it ‘The Hills’ to make things easier.”
Sierra nodded. “And back to the powers thing? How do those work?” Sierra knew she should be feeling some form of shock right now at all of these revelations, but honestly, she had spent most of the day mentally preparing for him to be a vampire or some other sort of blood-sucking beast, so this Fae discovery didn’t seem so bad.
“I can sense emotions. But I’ve heard that many generations before me, my gift, or ‘powers’ as you call it, was to be able to influence and change emotions as well.”
Sierra tilted her head to the side, somewhat in disbelief that they were having this conversation. “I’m a little confused. So, for people who had your gift in the past, it was different?”
He took a sip of his water. “Yes. Our magic tends to manifest in very specific ways, and it is often passed through familial lines. For example, if your mother is good at healing, you likely will be too.”
“Ah, I see. So your parents are both good at feeling emotions?”
Aodhan shook his head. “Just my mother, and she, like me, can only feel them but not change them. Her mother, my grandmother, reportedly could change the feelings of an entire army and convince entire kingdoms to surrender during her lifetime.”
“Interesting.” Sierra drained her glass and set it on the side table. “And your father has no gift or magic?”
Aodhan continued, “My father's family is from a line that could once control the weather. But, like most lines, intermarryinghas weakened the magic. Now, my father can just sense the weather.”
“But you can’t?” Sierra asked.
He shook his head. “No. Fae can sometimes receive both of their parents’ magic, especially if the bloodlines are strong. But my father's line is so weak that both my sister and I only received magic from our mother.”
“That’s sad.”
Aodhan brought his eyes to meet hers, and she could see something, maybe pain, reflected in their depths. “It is.”
Sierra thought back to the other things she had read. “Can the Fae tell lies?”
“No. But it’s interesting that as the bloodlines of magic have grown weaker, our ability to avoid the truth or to deflect questions has increased. But we cannot outright lie. It’s one of the main things that sets us apart from humans.”
“And what about the dangers of making deals with the Fae?”
“Somewhat true. Because we live so long, and we cannot lie, the word of a Fae means a lot and is considered binding law in Sidhe.” Sierra looked confused, so Aodhan continued, “No, we can’t trick you into crazy things like in the stories, but never make a bargain with a Fae you don’t intend to keep because we will force you to follow through. And while some Fae have become more modern over the years, there are many who will kill a human for backing out of a bargain.”
Sierra was digesting everything he said, and her mind caught on his mention of their lifespans. “So, how long do you live?”
“A long time.” Sierra raised an eyebrow, as Aodhan went on. “We age about five times as slow as humans meaning an average lifespan is 400-500 years. But we also aren’t afflicted by as many diseases or illnesses as you are, so it is possible to meet Fae that are 800 or 900 years old, though they are often feeling their age at that point.”
“So, I’ll ask you again. How old are you?”
The corner of his mouth twitched in a way she now knewmeant he was fighting a smile. “I didn’t lie to you. Fae don’t track our ages the way you do. We are only either immature, which is any Fae who hasn’t been alive for what is about their fiftieth human year yet. Once you pass your fiftieth year, you are a mature Fae or an adult. You remain an adult unless you pass something around your five-hundredth year then you become an older Fae or an elder. But we don’t really track years. It’s more how you look and feel. An immature Fae looks like a human kid or teen until sometime around their fiftieth year. Then they look the same till around their five-hundredth year when they begin to show age, such as gray hair.” He ran his right hand through his hair. “You humans are always so obsessed with age, so when we visit your realm, as I have, we usually choose a human age to align ourselves with based on our expected lifespan. So, I align myself with 25 because I feel I am about a quarter of the way through my expected life of 500 years.”
Sierra quickly did the math. “So, you’re close to 125 years old?”
“Again with the counting, but if I was keeping track, I’m sure it would be somewhere around there, yes.”
“Interesting,” Sierra replied, thinking of how nice it would be if humans weren’t so obsessed with age and instead focused on how old they felt. She then ran over what she had read online one final time but found he had answered most of her questions. In fact, she only had one left. “Why did you come here?”
Aodhan looked toward her dark TV briefly before meeting her eyes once more. “I came to study. I wasn’t lying when I said I was studying history.”
Sierra narrowed her eyes. Something about the way he said it didn’t sound right, and she suspected he was deflecting, as he had mentioned earlier. “Are you studying at the university?”
