Lachlan gave me a searching look.
“You want me to stay, little one?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged, uncomfortable at the intent way he was studying me. He was just so good looking in that dark, intense way of his that having those black-ringed emerald eyes trained on me made me feel shy and unworthy.
No, I’m pretty now, I reminded myself. Really pretty. And supposedly I had magic powers too—but I wasn’t ready to get into that yet. It was sufficient to know that I was Lachlan’s equal—at least in the looks department. Not that good looks are what make you a worthwhile person, of course, but it was nice to know I was on equal footing with both my gorgeous Fae guys.
Looking up, I made myself meet Lachlan’s eyes.
“No, I don’t want you to go,” I said clearly. “At least, not until you tell me your story—the story of how you and Bran met.”
“I don’t wish you to go either…Lachlan,” Bran said, using the other boy’s first name for the first time since he had summoned the Dark Fae. “I know our story is painful, but maybe there will be some healing in the telling of it.”
“Maybe.” Lachlan shrugged, as though he didn’t care one way or another. But I was beginning to know how to read him and I thought he did care—very much. “Very well,” he said to Bran. “Should you tell it or should I?”
“I will,” Bran said. “But feel free to jump in if I get anything wrong.”
“Don’t worry—I will.” Lachlan gave us both his lazy, one-sided smile. “Let’s get comfortable—we may be here for a while.”
We all scooted up to the head of Bran’s bed and got the pillows situated behind our backs. Then Bran began.
“In the beginning,” he said, “Everyone thought Lachlan was just my invisible friend—someone I had made up to play with because I was lonely…”
35
“I was young—only four or five—when Lachlan and I first met in the forest that bordered The Dark Lands,” Bran continued.
“The Dark Lands?” I asked, frowning. I hated to interrupt but I wanted to be sure I understood all the details.
“That’s the name the High Sidhe of the Seelie or Summer Court give to the part of the Realm where the Winter or Unseelie court is located,” Lachlan told me dryly.
“The point is, I lived near the border of the two lands, and that’s where I met Lachlan,” Bran said.
“We used to play every day, the minute both of us could sneak away from our homes.” Lachlan smiled. “Remember, old friend? How we used to play Wizard and Warrior or Mage and Knight?”
“With you being the Wizard and I being the Warrior, of course.” Bran nodded, also smiling.
“Even then we knew where our natural inclinations would lead us,” Lachlan remarked.
“So you played every day as children?” I asked, frowning.
“We did.” Bran nodded. “Even after my father forbid it.”
I didn’t need to ask why Bran’s father would forbid their friendship—it was pretty clear that he had an unreasoning prejudice against anyone who came from the “wrong side of the tracks” in the Realm, as Lachlan apparently did.
“How old were you when he forbid it? I mean, forbid you guys to see each other again?” I asked.
They looked at each other and Bran shrugged.
“Ten? Eleven?”
“You had just turned eleven summers and I was about to,” Lachlan agreed. “If you remember, I didn’t want you to introduce me to your family.”
“I know.” Bran looked unhappy. “I didn’t understand how badly my father would react. At the time, I just wanted to prove you were real—not a figment of my imagination.” He glanced at me. “My mother had started getting worried that my ‘imaginary friend’ was still hanging around despite my age.”
“So…I’m guessing your father wasn’t too happy when you brought Lachlan home for supper?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“That would be an understatement,” Lachlan said dryly and once more I saw the hidden hurt in the emerald green depths of his eyes.
A pained expression came into Bran’s blue eyes.
“I’m still shamed by the way he treated you that day.”
“At least you stood up for me.” Lachlan looked at me. “Bran isn’t one to abandon a friend—no matter how much it costs him.”
Well, I could certainly vouch for that, considering that the tall Fae had just renounced his name and his family in order to stay with me and keep me safe.
“My father’s hatred of those born to the Unseelie Court is blind and unreasoning—I refuse to join in it,” Bran said in a low voice.
“So…the Fae of the Seelie Court really dislike the Fae from the, uh, Dark Lands?” I asked.
“There is a great deal of prejudice against the denizens of the Unseelie Court,” Lachlan acknowledged. “Mostly because of the caste system used in the Realm.”
“Caste system?” I said. “How does it work?”