The last moments of battle rush back to me, as fresh as the day it happened. I was Captain of the Spring guard. I was supposed to help protect her, but I failed her. The Spring King went down first, then one by one the others fell. By the time I was able to return to the Court of Spring… the princess was missing and those left behind were slaughtered. It was pure devastation.
One by one the survivors were drawn to the portal when Faerie turned hostile. We fled and our shame is thrown into our faces every day in this awful realm. The humans hate us and are afraid we’ll use magic against them. And now we hate them just as vehemently.
Now, as I watch Arabella rest, I know she is the reason for the magical pull. Her powers must have been slipping through the shield, this last outburst the final straw before it broke completely.
The main question is, who bound her magic and genetics? They had to have been powerful and affiliated with the court. What happened to her parents is the second mystery on my list, though I doubt I’ll get my answers anytime soon.
“You holding up okay, Allwyn?” Gwen’s soft voice interrupts my thoughts. I give her a small smile but don’t bother to look away from my charge. We’ve grown closer after travelling here together, but my focus has shifted.
“Just thinking over what happened in Faerie and hating how it feels like it’s repeating itself on Earth now," I reply, solemnly. I can understand Arabella’s horror at seeing the aftermath of the battle today. I felt it many times during the war.
“We won’t let it get that bad. I don’t think they’ll try again. Though I’m unsure what to do about Bella. She still has a life here, but she isn’t the same person she was this morning. She doesn’t know yet, does she?” If I woke up and found out I wasn’t a fae anymore, I would be devastated, but she doesn’t hate the humans as I do.
Finally, I turn back to Gwen. “No, but I think she will adapt better than we think. She has too much acceptance in her heart to struggle with it for long. She also has Jacob and the rest of us to help her along.” If we can teach her about Faerie and what went wrong… maybe we can use her to fix this.
All I offer is a shrug before turning my attention back to Bella. I watch her breathe, making sure the rise and fall of her chest is keeping a steady pace. She seems stronger now than before the bullet was pulled from her side, especially after the healer stitched her wound. She’ll have a decent scar from this one, unfortunately. The amount of blood she lost was astounding, we’re lucky she survived at all.
She drew me in, even as a human, though I fought it. But I need to keep my heart separate from this. There’s too much at stake and far too many battles ahead.
Chapter 6
The sound of Jacob talking in a cutesy voice wakes me up. This time opening my eyes is easier, I blink only a few times before the grogginess fades.
It’s not hard to recognize that I’m in Jacob’s apartment. Though apparently Jacob’s lost his damn mind. He has Dormouse in a small travel cage, complete with his burrowing fluff and tunnel. His face is pressed against the side and my tiny mouse is hanging on to every word.
“I promise Dormy, she’ll be just fine. The healer promised," Jacob coos. Dormouse already noticed that I’m awake and starts to scratch at the side of his cage, trying to get to me. When my best friend finally notices, he turns and lights up at the sight of me being awake. “Bella! How are you feeling?”
“Better than the first time I woke up." I try to sit up, but my abdomen is bound tightly in bandages and the smallest move feels like I’m pulling my stitches out.
“We need a strong man in here!” Jacob calls, grinning at me before putting on a blank expression. Allwyn and Andras come into the room at the same time. “She needs help sitting and Dormouse won’t calm down, so I didn’t want to set him down," Jacob explains with a shrug and a flirty smile.
“Be careful, my queen," Allwyn says in his somber tone.
“Moving will probably hurt, may we assist you?” Andras asks politely, giving a slight bow. What the heck is wrong with these two. Why are they being so formal?
“I’m hardly a queen, just help me sit up you weirdos. Tell me how bad the casualties and injured are. Are the other humans throwing a fit?” I ask through gritted teeth as they pull me by my biceps until I’m sitting.
Andras tucks an extra pillow behind my back and I give him a smile of gratitude before relaxing into it.
“The humans are oddly quiet, which probably doesn’t mean anything good. We lost two of our Fae brothers and I believe only one human died. We pulled our people away and called the police before leaving. We couldn’t stick around, the police would have arrested or killed all of us for it," he explains in a sad tone that has me cringing. This is my fault. I sent that blast into them… speaking of which, what the hell was that? I’ve had so many weird things happening lately, I don’t even know where to start.
“It was probably the best choice, Andras,” I say softly as I give him a light pat on his arm. “Thank you for the assistance.” With the last part I finally look at Allwyn, also trying to make sense of his dramatic mood shift.
“How is the pain?” Allwyn asks quietly, almost as if he thinks the loud noises and voices will have me crying out in pain. I’m hardly a delicate woman.
“Alright, I just have this weird tugging in my abdomen," I use my hand to point where the tugging is coming from, when I notice my skin looks weird. I hold my arm up to the light and shriek. “What the fuck is wrong with my skin?!”
“Girl, you’re fae now," Jacob says in a matter of fact tone. Leave it to him to break any news in a brutal, yet honest way. At least he doesn’t fumble around his words or sugarcoat shit.
“I am not," I say with an eye roll. Though as I say the words, I know he isn’t lying. He never lies to me… he just isn’t that type of person.
“You are,” Allwyn adds. “In fact, you are the queen of the fae. And because of that, I pledge myself as your personal guard. I was your mother’s personal guard before you. Even if we are never able to return to Faerie, I will be by your side.”
“Whoa there, stud. Here on Earth, we don’t just have bodyguards or pledge our alliances," I exclaim, trying to scoot away. He seems unfazed by my protests, but then the part about my mom registers.
Before I can ask, he’s already continuing. “Usually you don’t need them. However, when you’re the last descendant of fae royalty, and the only mixed-court royalty, it’s necessary,” he explains in a patient voice, like he’s speaking to a small child. Biting down my urge to smack him, I choose to focus on more important things.
“Tell me about my mom?” I ask quietly.