Discovering Fae

We stayed on our hill by the lake for three days before guilt started to trickle in. I knew Mal could feel it, too, because he kept watching me, waiting for me to say something. On the fifth night, when we had laid down for the night, I finally broke and told him I wanted to go back. I still didn’t know what I wanted, but I couldn’t abandon Zane. Not when I was the reason why he didn’t get the help he needed when his Haze started.

The next morning, we left, returning to Phoenix Hollow.

“Princess,” Raiz inclined his head when he met us on the edge of his territory. “Your father said that they were going to be returning to Royal City soon while Ben and Blaine continue searching.”

“When did they say they would be in Royal City?” Mal asked.

“They should be there tonight if not already,” Raiz answered. “Come. I’ll have some food made for you. And perhaps a bath.”

I laughed and Mal scowled, but he couldn’t argue. We did smell kind of bad, even with the sponge bathing we did out of a bucket of water we asked the sprites for. Once we were clean again, we ate and then left with a small bundle of food for later, in case we didn’t reach Royal City by nightfall.

We landed just outside the city and walked through the gates like everyone else. I did get a few curious looks, but none that lingered. The best part about the Sidhe was that no one cared if you looked different. Everyone looked different and Royal City was like a mixing pot.

I saw all kinds of fae that I didn’t have names for and some that I did. I saw horns, wings, tails, scales, forked tongues and claws. Green skin, nutty brown hide, blue skin, yellow scales, even clear, gelatinous looking membranes that proudly showed off the strange internal structures and organs.

“Try not to stare,” Mal chuckled in my ear after a moment. “No one has seen someone like you, so they’re forgiving only because they are looking at you as well, but you’re bordering on rude and it’s not going unnoticed.”

“Oh. Right,” I said, looking away from the stumpy dryad that was now scowling at me. “I feel like such a country bumpkin here.”

“You kind of are,” he laughed, and I jabbed him with my elbow.

“If we’re trying not to stand out, you aren’t exactly being subtle either,” I looked pointedly at his wings.

As soon as we landed, instead of holding them together behind his back, he had them spread out as far as they could go and held up as high as possible, flashing and flaunting their glow for everyone to see. They only stood out more with it being near dusk.

“I never said that,” he winked at me, adding a dashing smirk that made my own wings vibrate under my skin.

“Do you know where you’re going?” I asked after a moment.

“The big shiny building that people call a castle,” he chuckled, pointing over the roofs to the destination.

“And flying there is not an option?” I lifted a brow as a water fairy flew over us.

“It is, but I’m taking the opportunity to show off, Fae. I am a fairy. We’re proud and like to brag,” he laughed.

“No,” I gasped in disbelief, gesturing to his wings, still on full display. “I never would have guessed.”

He laughed and lifted our joined hands to his lips before pulling me closer, sealing our lips together in a breathtaking kiss that I had come to enjoy these past few days free of my glowering father. He better not stop giving me those now that I knew what I had been missing. Angry glares or not, I wasn’t going to give them up.

As the sun went down, the streets got a little more crowded until Mal finally flew us directly to the castle gates. The guards called their superior who took one look at Mal’s glowing wings and my strange marks and smiled.

“You must be the guests we’re waiting for,” he said, motioning us to follow him. “I was only just informed of your arrival this morning.”

“Does that mean the king and queen are here already?” I asked.

“Yes, they got here late last night. It would seem that I owe His Majesty five vols,” the man laughed. “He said you would be displaying.”

“He would know,” Mal chuckled, his wings vibrating slightly.

“I’m Captain Pik, by the way. Head of the Royal Guard,” the man laughed.

“Fae!”

I stopped and turned around just in time for Mom to sprint down the stairs and hug me tight.

“Tell me, how was your trip?” she grinned, holding my face in her hands. “You look less troubled, so it had to have been nice.”

“It was,” I smiled back at her.

“Well, I’m glad you two got away. You needed a bit of freedom from that old buzzard watching you,” she made a face, then turned to Mal and laughed. “Full display, I see. You are not holding back at all, are you? Good. Maybe shoving it down his throat will get him to stop muttering all the time.”

“One a scale of one to grounded, how mad is he?” I made a face.

“You could have said something before leaving like that, but he probably would have followed you if you had,” she shrugged. “Let me handle his Royal Grumpiness. You’re just in time for dinner.”

“Faella!”

“Mom, he’s doing that thing again,” I groaned.

“I’m pretty sure he does that in his sleep,” she giggled then turned to face Dad. “You leave her alone, Quinton. The way I see it, you being an overbearing jackass led to our daughter running away from you, so back off.”

“Daughter?!” Captain Pik choked.

“Yes, we finally found her,” Mom beamed and took my free hand, pulling me, and Mal, up the stairs. “Try not to let that slip out, Pik. There’s a lot to talk about before we make it known.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Captain Pik put his fist to his chest and bowed slightly before going back to whatever it was he did.

“After being alone for the past few days, I’d guess you don’t want a bunch of company right now, so do you want to eat in your room?” Mom asked. “We can catch up over breakfast.”

“That would be great,” I sighed in relief.

“Alright, I’ll let Maudy know to bring up a tray and introduce you to the maids that will be seeing to your needs while you’re here,” Mom smiled over her shoulder as she led us farther into the castle and up three more flights of stairs. “Here’s your suite. We tried to keep it updated, so you won’t have to worry about sharing a child’s bed.”

“There was no sharing that,” I laughed. “We slept on the floor.”

“Well, that won’t happen here,” she sniffed and opened the doors for us.

“That’s not the same bed we had put in here,” Dad said, as Mom pulled me in, and I pulled Mal behind me.

“No, it’s bigger,” Mom narrowed her eyes at Dad. “And not one more word about it, Quinn.”

“She doesn’t need a big bed,” he muttered, and Mom pinched his arm.

“They need room to move,” she snapped at him.

“He needs his own room. Away from Fae,” he crossed his arms.

“Fine. Do what you want, Dad, but I’ll just be there instead of here,” I shrugged.

I heard Mal’s wings vibrate as he tugged me against his chest and kissed my cheek, chuckling softly.

“See what you’re doing?” Mom snapped at him. “You know we can’t keep them apart, so stop trying.”

“I don’t have to like it,” Dad glared at Mal.

“No, but you will keep it to yourself,” I snapped, glaring at him. “Mal is mine and if you keep acting like a sour puss, you’re going to force me into choosing. You know who I’d pick, so don’t force the issue.”

Dad just harrumphed and left, looking like a storm cloud of death, which made Mom scowl as she went after him, no doubt to give him a piece of her mind as well.

“I’m yours, huh?” Mal kissed my cheek and let me turn around.

“Yes. I can stamp it on your forehead, if you want,” I nodded.

“I’d absolutely let you. You’re incredibly attractive when you’re possessive,” he grinned. “More than usual, which I didn’t think was possible until just now.”

“It was fun, getting him to glare at you, but now that I’ve had the freedom of just us for the first time without parental supervision, it’s time to get everyone on the same page,” I said.

“If it makes you feel any better, he’s probably always going to glare at me,” he laughed.

“Probably,” I smiled.

We ate and sat outside on the balcony, watching the city slowly go to sleep in silence. Once most of the lights were gone, I looked up at Mal and smiled.

“What?” he asked, a smile growing on his face.

“I think I know what I want to do,” I said.

“That’s good,” he smiled wider.

“I don’t want to be a queen, but I can’t just walk away, either. Not until I have a sibling who decides this is what they want,” I said, settling back against him. “There’s no telling how long that will be. Mom and Dad have a long time on the throne still, so it’s not like I’m going to be crowned in a week or anything.”

“They do still have a long rule left,” he nodded. “Between now and the time they decide to retire, you could have several siblings. Or none. What then?”

“Maybe I’ll change my mind by then,” I shrugged. “Either way, I have a lot of time to be sure.”

“So, what do you want to do, then?” he asked, tucking some hair behind my ear.

“I want to run away,” I grinned up at him. “I want to hide, just me and you, for as long as possible.”

“You’ll get sick of seeing me all the time,” he laughed. “But whatever you want.”

“And I want to be able to go back to Earth. Can you show me how to make illusions?” I asked him.

“I can try,” he nodded.

“And when these blasted wings come in, you’ll teach me to fly, right?”

“Of course,” he chuckled. “Anything else?”

“Ben with a nightcap on his ears and tucked into a bed like the big, bad wolf,” I giggled.

“I think we can do that,” he laughed. “I might even be able to get Blaine back into that tutu.”

“That would be great,” I laughed.

“So, we find Zane and do what we can for him, then run away,” Mal said thoughtfully. “I like this plan. Hopefully, your wings won’t be here by then, because I like holding you when we fly.”

“Even if they are here, you still have to teach me to fly, so chances are you’ll be carrying me still,” I kissed the bottom of his jaw.

“Every chance I get,” he nodded. “Come on, princess. Let’s go get some sleep.”