Page 12 of Fae Unleashed
I scowled. This woman had been my biological mother’s best friend. Despite my hang-ups surrounding my biological parents, I couldn’t help the curiosity bubbling inside me. I’d remembered bits and pieces of my past. The visions of my biological mother enchanted me. She’d had a brilliantly warm smile, one that I’d tried to recreate in the mirror more than once.
With a sigh, I deflated.
Did I care? These people had put me in harm’s way. I knew that staying with them would have ended in my death, but that was almost preferable to what I’d gone through. Trauma clung to the edges of my mind like parasites eating away at my stability. I wasn’t fit to be the leader they wanted because of the fear sitting in the back of my mind.
That’s why I had a plan in place. The crown wouldn’t belong to me too much longer.
Rhoan grimaced. “I think we should do something about…”
When he gestured to my back, I remembered the tattoo crawling across my skin. I wanted to curse under my breath, but that seemed a little foul—Oh, who was I kidding?
“Shit,” I snapped.
Tal grasped my shoulders and spun me around so fast the room turned into a pastel blur. I staggered, but Tal held me firm. He cursed under his breath, too.
“When did this happen?” There was a slight wobble in his voice that betrayed his fear.
I fought the urge to pull the dress higher to cover the tattoo in shame. There was no reason to be ashamed of the mark. To me, Seelie or Unseelie, it didn’t matter. A person was made by their own morals, not by the morals of their blood.
Tal and Rhoan were old and had some grudges against the Unseelie. I understood that, even if I wanted to fight against their ideals.
“Ostara is not going to like that,” Tal warned.
Feri’s head bobbed in agreement. The little ferret had his arms crossed over his chest like he was the utmost authority on the matter.
My heart skipped a beat. We needed Ostara’s alliance. I…I needed her to tell me about my family.
Straightening, I turned to look myself in the mirror again. I pulled a veil of my arcana over myself and a capelet of hanging flowers tumbled over my shoulders. The pale pink wisteria blossoms delicately grazed my arms and back.
“Ta-da!” I tossed my arms in the air like I’d performed stage magic.
Tal sucked his teeth. Rhoan said it would have to do for now. I scowled at the both of them. It was hard to feel indifferent about this curse when the others were looking at me like I might stab them at any moment.
While I would, it wasn’t because of the curse. It would be out of general frustration.
Tal snapped his fingers and the dress disappeared beneath a glamour. The magic was so strong that I felt the soft cashmere sweater that he’d conjured. It was almost real, even though I knew it was nothing more than an illusion.
Nifty trick, I thought.
Rhoan complained when Tal told him that we were leaving his motorcycle behind. The fae warrior patted his bike and told it that we would be back later. The enchanted steed whinnied, which was a very odd experience when I was looking at a black motorcycle and not ahorse.
Feri wound himself through my hair and muttered his disdain from atop my crown. I reached up and started to pluck the rodent from my carefully maintained curls, but Tal caught my wrist and shook his head. He explained that pulling Feri out would ruin my hair.
Tal gave Feri one look, and the rodent scurried down to sit on my shoulder.
The trip upstate took two and a half hours. I asked why we couldn’t just step in-between, but Tal explained that Ostara’s realm is protected by several spells hiding her from Beryl’s prying eyes. There was no magic that would allow us to simply teleport there.
We had to drive.
And take a ferry, because Lady Ostara’s realm was hidden inside an unfinished castle on the St. Lawrence river. The beautiful man-made island was in the shape of a heart. Rumors said the castle had been a gift from a man to his lover. Supposedly, she’d died, and he’d refused to have it finished. So, now the castle stood as nothing more than a tourist attraction—and Ostara’s hideout.
We stepped off the boat onto a small dock. The air smelled of flowers and river water. The sun shone down, caressing my skin with a warmth that I missed. The cool fall air had been trying to sneak in for weeks now. I craved the heat of summer, but I knew that it would be a long while until I felt it again—especially with this Unseelie blight darkening my inner garden.
Tal looked back at me. “Are you ready?”
I sucked in a deep breath and felt the butterflies stir in my gut. Lady Ostara had been my biological mother’s best friend. This woman could answer many of the buzzing questions I’d been holding back for a long while now. I wasn’t ready to open that box.
Though, right as I opened my mouth to sayno, Rhoan took my hand. The small touch grounded me. I said nothing. I wasn’t about to scare him away now.
