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Leajka
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“What do we do?” I ask. I’ve never been one to ruminate over options. I don’t wait for trouble to come to me. I make sure to find it.
“You need a little more background,” Kiki says.
Between her, Val, Soren, and Callen, they go on to tell us about Leith, the false king and demon from the Northlands and his ink curse. I learn about the raven kingdom and the people’s suffering. Then we jump over the sea to the Westlands and the glamoured queen, her ensorcelled sister, and Rikurd the Dread who’d forced Callen to be a night howl. Even I shiver at the sight of his otherworldly copper eyes. Tyrren gives him a dude-nod of respect like he understands the insatiable hunger.
Then we hear about Gerda, Callen’s aunt who was actually his mother, Timolian his father, and how neither of the guys knew their true parents. I shoot a glare at Ivan. There will be time later to deal with his deception. Right now, I need action.
“Oh, I know that look.” Val waggles her eyebrows at me.
“It’s the same one you have,” Kiki says with concern.
“Yeah. She means business. Unseelie business,” Val says, tilting her head in my direction and wearing a wicked grin.
“An unseelie shadow fae seems especially dangerous.” Soren lets out a long exhale.
“We need to find the stone before Glandias does.” Kiki paces as though movement will lead her to it.
“I have a feeling we’re going to need to slay some demons in the process,” Callen says.
“But the demons are posing as humans,” Heather says. “It’s hard to tell who’s who.”
“Not hard to smell them,” Val mutters.
“Do you think Emeric brought the stone here?” Tyrren asks Ivan.
He shrugs. “I’m guessing the crown is in Borea at the Nefral Palace.”
“So what is the Nefral Weapons Trade?” Soren asks.
“The weapons are—” I point to myself. “Shadow fae.”
“That gives weapons a whole new meaning,” Ivan says.
“What’s so special about the stone?” I ask, getting us back on track.
“The stones were from Count Vlad when he crowned his false kings to rule the four territories of Borea. We believe they amplify power.” Kiki tells us about King Leith and his use of the stone. “And it’s part of the puzzle. We place all four in the compass and it’ll lead us to Count Vlad.”
Ivan rocks back on his heels then turns to Heather, “The demon presence has only been getting worse. I say we take to the streets. Between you and my guys, we can slay as many demons as possible.”
“Officially, that’s police territory so I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” She winks. “In fact, I should be getting back. If there’s anything else I can do—” Heather says.
“In addition to gathering the stones, our fourth sister, and breaking the curse, we need to stop Glandias. It seems she’s gotten it into her head that she’s going rule the realms,” Kiki says. “Can you track her?”
“I can try. Given she’s not from Terra and not in our database, it might be tough, but we’ll look for activity.”
I tell Heather about the warehouse and the vats of stijl.
“Sounds sketchy. I love sketchy.” Heather’s grin makes her cheekbones even sharper.
“If regular police surveillance and investigation tactics won’t work to track Glandias, I might be able to—” Kiki says.
“No.” Soren immediately shakes his head as though understanding her meaning before the rest of us.
“Yes. As Lea said, I have a choice.” Kiki squares her shoulders.
“Remember what Nathina said. It comes at a cost,” Soren thunders.
“What are you guys talking about?” I ask.
“When Kiki left Terra, she went to the shores of the Sea of Dreams. It’s where she got the skyn. She was also given another gift,” Val explains. “She’s a dreamweaver. She can enter other people’s dreams.”
“And the weaving part?” I ask, intrigued. I’ve had plenty of bizarre dreams.
“She can weave her influence and her will into them. But it comes at a cost.” Soren’s tone is gruff, grave.
“A life for a life,” Kiki whispers.
No one says a word and I take the silence to mean the others forbid it.
“If it means I can find Glandias and stop her, it’s worth it.”
“But remember, Leith was a dreamweaver too,” Soren says.
“Why is that a problem?” I ask. I’m well versed in vampire lore, but all of this other stuff is new to me.
Soren explains, “Glandias was Leith’s mage. Before he died, he gifted Glandias with an obligation to carry out his purpose. His curse.”
“Some gift, but what exactly was his curse?” I ask.
“To fulfill the promise of the commander of the false kings—Count Vlad.”
“Wait. Wait,” Tyrren repeats. “Even through the haze of my warped vampire mind, my ability to keep track of details is operational. If Leith gave Glandias this provision to carry out his curse and serve Count Vlad, wouldn’t that prevent her from obtaining the ultimate power she seeks? Won’t she always be subject to the curse?”
I want to give him my smile, the one that’s only his. But I can’t bring it to my lips. I hope he sees it in my eyes.
“That depends,” Callen says. “Likely, but mages can layer spells and curses.”
Val shakes her finger. “No, I think Tyrren is onto something. The question is does Glandias realize it or is she so drunk in her quest for power that important detail escaped her notice?”
“Or did she perform a nifty little spell to break it?” Callen counters.
Val steps closer to him. “You, of all people, should know the extent of mage influence over previously existing curses.” Her eyes cut into Callen.
He closes the space between them. “Maybe we should test that theory? You, after all, are the great-granddaughter of a grim unseelie fae.”
“Would you like that, Wickedly Handsome Prince?” Val asks.
The fiery flirtation between them is practically visible.
Kiki huffs.
Soren clears his throat.
Ivan claps his hands together. “On behalf of your parents, I’m going to intervene here. I’m pretty sure both of them would like to see each of you happily reunited with your sisters and find true love. Be that as it may, you can call me Uncle Ivan—”
“You never made me call you uncle,” I interject.
“Correction, you refused, Lea. They say the toddler years are rough, try parenting an unseelie fae in another realm.” Ivan brushes his hand down his face. “Also, the teenage years haven’t been easy either.”
I cross my arms in front of my chest. “I was a perfectly respectable ten-year-old.”
“Ah yes, that was a golden time.” Ivan steps closer to me. “I’m sorry I haven’t told you everything. Much of it was bound in secrecy. The rest was to protect you.”
“Bound in secrecy sounds like something having to do with the Library of Memories,” Kiki says.
Val retorts, “Get off it, Kiki.”
She rolls her eyes.
“Girls,” Ivan says.
If I wasn’t shrouded in shadow, this entire scene would make me smile. And the way Tyrren looks at me, on the edge of hunger, like I’m the only one who can satisfy him, does, at least on the inside.
“I’m going to gather up as many of the X-Crew as possible. Do some serious demon-slaying. Kiki, do some of that dreamweaving you mentioned. We need to find Glandias. When we do, Lea, you’re going to do what you do best.” Ivan edges closer to Heather.
“I take it you don’t want me to be my adorable ten-year-old self.” I roll my eyes.
Ivan smirks. “No, quite the opposite.”
“Soren, Callen, and Val, you’re on stone duty. This may mean a trip to the Southlands. If so, make sure nothing happens to our girls.”
“And possibly the Eastlands. We need to find our fourth sister.”
Ivan scratches his temple. He opens and closes his mouth. Like before, it’s as though there’s more he wants to say and it’s on the tip of his tongue, but he either won’t say it or can’t. “I wish it had been different. But not even wishes on birthday candles or pennies can change things.” He looks at me.
I wonder what he means. He leaves off wishes on stars. I hold onto my little girl wishes with the hope that they could still come true.
Both Ivan and I turn to Tyrren. My uncle speaks first. “I never thought I’d say this, but as for you, my newest and favorite vampire, welcome to the Brooklyn Vampire Club. We’re humane vamps, but we don’t mess around.”
The rest of us start talking and I notice Ivan drifts over to Heather with a shy smile I’ve never before seen on the devastatingly handsome vampire.
Ivan brings us back to the city in his black Cadillac. Because there are so many of us, I’m smooshed into the front passenger seat with Tyrren. There’s something about being so close to him that brings me comfort amidst all this craziness. He’s always been there for me and now, as a vampire, he’ll be around for as long as I am. Then again, I’ll do what I have to do, even if it means sacrificing myself to protect the realms. I may not be a peace officer like Kiki or even a police officer—more often than not I’m on the other side of the law—but knowing what Glandias and Count Vlad are attempting to do to us brings out all the fight in me.
The interior of the car is hardly lit and in the darkness, Tyrren reaches for my hand. If I were the same girl as yesterday, full of light and shadow, if I could feel anything, it would be a thrill. It would be a moment that my secret-self had waited for all these years, longed for when we watched movies, danced together, and goofed around.
It’s in that moment, breezing down the highway toward the unknown that I realize my deepest truth. I’m in love with a vampire. Only, Tyrren wasn’t always a vampire. But I love him all the same. As a friend. As more.
The one rule I’ve always had is to forget the past. But I’m going to have to break it. In fact, I have broken it, starting with acknowledging that I’m fae. Unseelie fae at that. I yearned to ignore the attempted abduction when I was little and the attack sophomore year. Now, I’ll have to break another rule. That I love Tyrren.
I was brave enough to break these rules, face Emeric, Glandias, and make the choice to become a shadow fae, letting go of the most precious parts of myself so I could target Glandias. But can I tell Tyrren how I feel? I’ll make the brave choice.
Ivan pulls into an underground garage in Brooklyn. “Oh, by the way, the X-Crew aka Emeric torched the penthouse. New digs.”
Tyrren stiffens beside me. “It was the night I was turned. He was the one who did it.”
“Yeah, like I said,” Ivan replies.
“No, I mean Emeric is the one who turned me,” Tyrren clarifies.
“If I didn’t see him die myself, I’d do the deed,” I grind out.
“That’s my girl. Now, apply that shadowed, unseelie ire at Glandias and—” Ivan goes quiet.
“And Count Vlad. Yeah, I intend to.”
Tyrren gets out of the car and grips my arms. Concern streaks his features. “I tried to go in there the night of the blaze. My vampire instincts stopped me. I’d never have forgiven myself if anything happened to you.”
His eyes drop to mine.
“I know,” I whisper.
“Even now, if anything happens—”
“It won’t, Tyrren. That’s the problem with being shadow fae. I’m indestructible.”
“So you and I are locked into eternity?” He hitches a smile.
Without my realizing it, Tyrren’s arm laces around my shoulders and mine finds its way around his waist. I discover a feeling of belonging amidst the exile of my light.
Ivan spares us a funny grin.
“What are you looking at?” I ask, unable to stop myself.
“What I’ve been looking for.”
“You? The serial dater?” I ask.
“For hundreds of years.” Ivan’s tone is filled with yearning.
“You never told me how old you are,” I say.
“You’ve asked me that almost every day since you were old enough to talk. If you get your light back, I’ll tell you.”
I extend my hand to my uncle. “It’s a deal.”
“Now, I’m going to need the big fella for a bit. We need to go over rules and initiate him.” Ivan’s eyes flash with the excitement I’ve seen at him getting ahold of a particularly powerful vampire. My uncle strides toward the elevator.
I survey Tyrren’s strong build, never really having noticed it before. His biceps and forearms are sculpted, his hands are masculine, and the cut of his jaw is like forged steel. Then my gaze lands directly on his lips.
The shadow pulls at me, at the same time telling me that I’m worthless and to take what I want. I’m not good enough for Tyrren and yet I want him.
He takes my hands.
The gesture quiets the shadow. I find a certain stillness, peace—like stars in a night sky glimmering with light.
His dark eyes tell me he wants what I want. But it’s not for seizing. Rather, it’s for giving.
I lift onto my toes.
The world fades.
Thought dissipates.
This too is a choice that I’ll gladly make.
Our lips brush together.
His hand cups the back of my head and the other presses into my low back.
I breathe in his scent, smoke, warm summer nights, and star-filled skies.
My hands grip his back, feeling the hard planes of his muscles.
The kiss fills me with something other than shadow. It’s light. the brightest day. The best of the past and a promising future.
Tyrren puts all of himself into that kiss and I do the same.
