; “Well, we can’t use much. We just chose not to disclose that for our safety," River explains sheepishly. It makes sense. If humans thought they could fight back easier, they would be more likely to retaliate out of fear.
“Fair enough," I respond as I put my shirt back on. “Are you guys hu..” I’m cut off by louder than normal yelling from the hallway. I point to my room, urging them to get out of view. Watching, I wait until I can’t see them before opening my door to see what the commotion is about.
“There’s a group of at least fifty fae!” One guy announces. “The men in town are talking about a militia. Shit’s getting crazy. I’m glad we go home now that finals are done.”
“Why, they’ve never hurt us? It doesn’t make sense," another man responds.
“Where are they?” I ask, practically yelling into the chaos. The group turns in my direction and I suddenly feel uncomfortable. It’s not like they can be mad about me eavesdropping when they’re yelling it through the hallways.
“The edge of campus, the park near Diamonds apparently,” another guy finally answers me.
“Where did you come from?” The first guy asks in confusion. I roll my eyes and point at my apartment door.
“Dude, a cute girl lives this close and we didn’t know?” The second sounds appalled, already forgetting about the fae. I ignore them and hurry back to my room, locking it behind me for good measure.
“Guys we have a problem," I announce as River and Gwen peak around the corner. “A group of fifty or so fae just got into town. The assholes in town are discussing a militia. We have to find somewhere safe for everyone. What the hell is happening?!”
“That’s so many, Andras and I have tiny homes!” River says frantically.
“What about the forest at the edge of town. We planned to stay there before Andras invited us in.” Gwen’s quiet voice of reason calms River down.
“Without tents? I could maybe buy a few, but I’m not exactly rich," I frown at the thought of fifty people sleeping on the ground, with no shelter.
“It’s a start at least. I can take a few in my home, but the rest won’t have a place to stay," River looks thoughtful as she pulls out her phone and starts frantically texting. We are all lost in thought for several minutes before my loud ringtone breaks our concentration. I see Jacob’s name on the display and answer. He must not have found someone to cover me.
“Need me to come in, I’m doing okay now," I say, but he quickly cuts me off.
“It’s bad, Bella. Stay inside with Gwen and River. There is an all-out war happening on main street. We’ve locked down Deb’s.” My pulse slams in my veins as my anxiety rises. Not for the incoming fae. This time I’m selfish and freaking out about Jacob. Deb’s front windows are all glass, he’s not safe there.
“The same mob?” Before he can even answer I hear glass shattering in the background.
“Stay home,” he yells back before the line goes dead. He clearly doesn’t know me. I’m not going to stay home while he fights for his life.
“Stay here and don’t open the door for anyone, understand? The fae and town militia are killing each other downtown. I have to go, Jacob is in trouble.” I toss my extra key to River just in case and bolt out of the door. I run as quickly as I can in the direction of Deb’s café, but it’s a fifteen minute walk. As I sprint there and try to keep my panic from overtaking me, I have to push away the awful thoughts popping up in my mind.
Jacob is fine, he will be okay.
He can take care of himself.
Please be alright… I need you.
My thoughts quickly morph into prayers while my feet pound against the pavement. The noise is deafening before I can even see the battle. But when I step onto main street, it’s like something out of a movie. One of those incidents in life, that you never think you’ll witness. Wounded and unconscious bodies line the street. I won’t say dead, until I’m sure. Men are fighting with fists and weapons. Screams and slurs are shouted back and forth. At the sight of someone getting stabbed, bile rises in my throat and I turn to the side to throw up, unable to handle the gruesome sight.
When I’ve regained my composure, I spot Allwyn a few feet in front of me, trading punches with an older human male. Allwyn is graceful and strong, but the man is determined. Since he is holding his own, I turn and start to run for Deb’s when I hear a gasp from Allwyn. Turning, I see a gun in the man’s hand and Allwyn has his hands up. The man clicks off the safety and aims, no hint of empathy in his eyes. Not even thinking about what I’m about to do, I run up and push Allwyn out of the way, just as the man fires. Allwyn twists around once we hit the ground to see who knocked him over. The moment he sees that it’s me, he looks horrified.
But I can’t seem to focus on him as a burning sensation sears across my side for a moment before the adrenaline ebbs away until pure, unfiltered agony is all that’s left. I gasp for air as the pain overtakes me. My body shakes and the temperature seems to drop significantly. Tears stream down my cheeks and I can feel the warm pool of blood under my body. This wasn’t supposed to be my end.
“I’m sorry, Miss, I didn’t realize you were human,” the man mumbles, trying to help me, but Allwyn blocks him with an arm.
“You’ve done enough!” He bellows, before ripping off his jacket and applying pressure to the wound. “We have to get you out of the street,” he urges in a soft tone. I can’t help the whimpers of pain as he pulls me to my feet. I look around at the devastation and I can’t stand it. It’s like a switch is flipped, my emotions reaching a boiling point until the pain, anger, and grief explode inside of me, with a swirling burst of heat.
“Enough!” I yell, as a shockwave of power bursts from my body, hitting everyone who is close enough. The fae seem to be immune, but the humans slump down where they once stood.
As the shockwave dissipates, a tingling sensation courses through my body mixing with the pain in my side until I feel like my skin is being pulled off, layer by layer. My screams echo in the street, loud in the aftermath of the battle.
“You are Fae?” Allwyn gasps, almost dropping me. I can’t focus on his words, too afraid I just killed all of the humans. How did that even happen? Could it be true?
“Tell me they aren’t dead? Did I kill the humans?” I ask in a shaky voice, looking around at the poor souls that dropped because of me. I can’t stop the fresh tears streaming down my face. Despite my gritted teeth he makes out my words.