Beyond the Iron Gate (The Faery Meadow Book 1)

After a few minutes of making quick turns and walking down narrow streets, they finally reached the center of town. At least, Elaine assumed it was since the streets were much busier. The fae here were more diverse.

She was glad they weren’t drawing much attention. The houses there reminded her a lot of townhouses. However, they were all made of stone and looked much older. The smell of fresh baked goods made my stomach grumble.

“So I take it you’re from here...where exactly are we going to stay?” Elaine asked Colt loudly over the chatter of the fae.

“The cheapest place we can find.”

Suddenly, he yanked her around a bend in the street and came to a halt. A sturdy looking building with moldy stone stood before them. There is an old wooden fence surrounding it and a gigantic smoking chimney.

“This will have to do,” Colt said to her from over his shoulder.

She nodded her head, thinking she had stayed in worse conditions for sure. As long as there was a roof over her head she couldn’t really complain. Colt was the one with the money anyway.

They quickly walked up onto the front porch. Colt knocked on the door twice. Elaine could hear the sound of someone walking down the stairs from inside the house. She looked up over the rusting red door to find a sign reading, Mickin’s Inn.

The door popped open. An elderly looking man opened ut. His beady eyes squinted at Colt and then he looked at Elaine.

“How long are you staying?” the old man said in a scratchy voice.

He turned around without another word. They quickly followed him inside the inn.

“A few days,” Colt replied once inside.

The old man shut the door behind them then walked around a dusty counter. On the other side of the room was a sitting area. A middle-aged fae sat on a chair reading what looked to be a newspaper. Her hair was short and curly. She was wearing a long simple dress that matched her orange tail.

Colt handed the man a small pile of coins. Then the old man opened up a drawer and handed Elaine a small silver key.

“Top floor, last door on the left.”

“Thank you,” Elaine replied.

They walked to the back of the room and started to head up the stairs. It wasn’t long before she reached the third floor. She glanced down the right and left side of the hall seeing no more stairs. Elaine thought they were on the top floor.

She looked at Colt. “Well, this is the top floor.”

“Must be down this way,” Colt grumbled.

When they reached the last door on the left they walked in front of Colt to open the door. She slid the key in the lock and turned it. The old doorknob unlocked and she opened up the door. The wallpaper of the room was a light brown color and there are two twin sized beds in the room. The room reminded her of a motel room. It wasn’t the cleanest. There was grime on the walls, but the floor and sheets on the bed look decent enough.

There was a tiny bathroom too which she was relieved to find. Colt locked the door then took a sledgehammer from out of nowhere and slid it under the bed on the farthest side of the small room. Elaine really had no idea where he could have even hid that.

“Adding some homey touches?” Elaine mused.

She was surprised to see a brief smirk form on his face. He didn’t say anything though. Instead, he sat on top of the bed. She guessed it made sense that he slept on top of the bed he put the sledgehammer under. That left her sleeping on the bed closest to the door.

“I’m going to get a bath,” Elaine announced walking toward the bathroom.

“Okay. When you’re done we can start to figure out what type of faery you are.”

“Alright.”

Elaine shut the bathroom door with a click. She locked the door and quickly started the bath. The warm water against my skin was soothing. She quickly washed herself not wanting to take too long. Soon enough, she let the water drain and dry off. Then she put on her clothes and shook off her cloak over the tub. A few pieces of grass and dirt fell to the bottom of the tub. After she finished rinsing the bottom of the tub out, she finished getting the worst of the tangles out of her hair and slid her cloak back over herself.

Elaine stepped out of the bathroom feeling cold. Her wet hair only made her feel more freezing. She stepped over to her bed and sat down. Colt seemed to be in deep thought as she watched his pale eyes linger on the floor.

“I’m ready to start.”

The faint light of the room made his dark blue hair almost look black. “First, let’s start by you showing me your wings. We can’t do anything until I see them.”

“Okay,” Elaine whispered.

She shut her eyes and concentrated on making them appear. After a moment, she opened her eyes and then looked behind herself seeing nothing.

“Try again,” Colt encouraged in his gruff voice.

“I will.”

Again, I try to make her wings appear, but they wouldn't come out. Frustrated, she opened her eyes again and shook her head in defeat.

“I lost them, didn’t I?” Elaine whispered while resting her chin on her hand.

“No, it might be a while...until they come back. Let’s give it another try tomorrow,” Colt said carefully.

Elaine thought it was almost like he was avoiding saying something. Then again, she didn't think he really knew what the side effects of unmating someone were. So maybe he just really wasn’t sure about what was happening to her.

“Alright.”

He mirrors her on his bed. Elaine thought his bed looked tiny under him. In fact, she was surprised he even fit on the bed. It actually looked quite funny seeing his legs hang off the end of it. A laugh escaped her, but she quickly covered her mouth to muffle it.

“What?” Colt asked confused.

“Nothing,” Elaine whispered while turning away from him with a small smile.

She pulled the itchy covers over her in an attempt to get comfier. Then she heard Colt move to turn the light off. She closed her eyes and then tucked her legs up against herself drifting off.