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Central Park in the middle of the night was not a safe place. There were a lot of hidden deals going on in the darkness as humans stayed in the shadows. Those who were brave enough to walk through the park so late did so with extra security. It was apparent with the way they held their hands inside their bags or in their pockets.
This place is not safe. Too many humans who smell of blood.
“Agreed. At least your presence keeps them away.”
He growled. They will not touch you. I will bite their dicks off.
“Berriar, where have you heard such things?” Shocked laughter escaped me.
Did you not hear that woman with little clothing? She said it to a human man.
“Please do not pick up bad habits from the hookers.”
It sounded like a good threat, and she has barghest blood in her. She will enjoy herself doing it. Amusement filtered through. I am glad I got to try using the threat. It sounds effective.
“It’s only effective if they hear you say it.”
You have my permission to use it if anyone tries to hurt you. I will do it too. I won’t enjoy it like the barghest mutt, but I will do it.
I laughed, leaning down to give him a hug. “You are a good familiar.”
Just do not call me puppy like that tree did. I do not appreciate such foul names.
I hid my face in his neck and laughed harder. Of course Berry would hate being compared to a dog. He was too proud of a familiar. Berry pushed into me and purred, loving the affection I was giving him.
Finding the tear took a while. Alder wasn’t specific, only giving me an area to search. Central Park was huge. By the time we found it, I had hours before the sun rose. We worked through the entire night.
This is not natural. Not meant to be. Berry continued his rant as I stared at the tear.
It called to me, colorful magic twisting out of it and spreading out along the ground. The grass in the air was overgrown, the trees thicker and luscious. I stepped closer, the itch that I had become attuned to since coming to the human realm disappearing. A feeling of complete contentment settled over me. I felt like I was back in Faerie again.
Do not get closer. Berry bit at my jacket and pulled back. When that didn’t work, he jumped in front of me and pushed back, effectively forcing me to step away from the tear.
I buried my hands into his fur and used that to ground me as I blinked away the haze that had fallen over me.
“I’m good.”
Are you sure?
“Yes. I’m good. I won’t get closer than this.”
It is an addiction.
“It calls to me.”
That means it calls to others. We can’t stay here long. I can already sense them moving closer. These fae will not be accustomed to tasting Faerie. That is dangerous.
“Okay, give me a moment. I need to shake that off.”
Staring directly at the tear was a bad idea, so instead, I focused on its effects. The changes matched Faerie’s taste perfectly. There was a lot to take on, a new level of existence to everything within the vicinity of the tear. Grass had a sheen to it, brighter than normal grass. Each blade stood tall and thick. The trees were full of life already, despite it being early spring. There were still weeks to go before the leaves grew, but these looked fully bloomed already. A glow floated around the tear and it took a moment for the details to come through. A butterfly. Already changed to suit Faerie’s taste.
We must go.
“Hold on.” I kneeled, resting my hand into the ground. Pushing magic into it, I felt it out. Nature was there, but she was weak, hurting. Seething too because of the new force that was taking over. The ground itself was warm when it should have been cool and wet. Magic thrummed through the ground and when mine touched it, some of it changed course, coming for me. It hit me, feeling like an electric shock. I gasped and jumped back, breaking the connection.
But it was already too late. My body felt charged, humming with the excess magic. It whirled through my body, demanding to be put to use. I fought with it, forcing it to listen to me. My skin ached against the pressure as the magic tried to burst out of me to do as much damage as it could.
“This is dangerous,” I whispered, finally containing the new surge of magic, tucking it away safely to be used later. If I had been weaker, it would have killed me or used me to do its bidding.
“Looks like someone beat us here tonight,” a high-pitched voice said. I turned to the direction of the voice as a lanky woman stepped out of the darkness. Her green eyes glowed, fixed on the tear.
“Word is getting around.” A shorter male fae came out, standing next to her. His attention was on me instead of the tear. I shivered, hating the feel of him. He was darker than his companion.
“I suggest you leave,” the female fae said, finally looking at me. “We have claimed this area.”
“Really?” I looked around. “I don’t see your name. Anywhere.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not in the mood for games.”
Berry growled at my side. Now would be the time to use the threat.
“Not yet.”
“Who are you talking to?”
I grinned and motioned to my familiar. “Him.”
“The dog?” The fae came closer, eyes narrowed. “No, that isn’t a dog.”
“Aren’t you a smart one?” My sarcasm slipped through. “He was just telling me how hungry he was.” I looked down at the man’s crotch to make my point. “I don’t think you have enough meat to curb his hunger though.”
Oh, I like that insult.
Pink covered his cheeks. “Bitch.”
Oh, I must have hit too close to the truth. I shrugged off his threat. “I’ve been called worse.”
“Kill her,” the woman said. The two of them shed their glamour, turning into something a bit more ethereal. The woman had leather wings on her back, and a tail whipped around dangerously behind her. The man grew taller, his skin graying, elk-like horns growing out from near his ears.
I want him.
“You can have him. I’ll take the princess.”
We dropped our own glamour. Berry grew bigger, his head as high as my chest. His body thickened, his eyes glowing. His ears grew longer, his muscles expanding his body into something more monstrous and stronger. His battle form.
My skin paled, the golden lines on my skin glowing as magic surged to the surface. My ears burned as they became pointed. My eyesight sharpened.
Magic burst from the woman and I raised my hand, catching her magic. It stung as it moved through me, but I adapted, twisting it into my own magic. Since I’d been born a human, it made making my own magic naturally difficult. I made some, but not as much and as quickly as others. My strength came through taking other magic and making it my own. Faerie had made it so. I could draw on it from other attacks, making them useless, or from the air, ground, anywhere. If magic were in something, I could claim it as my own.
In the human realm, it was harder, the magic not as prevalent like in Faerie. That was what most of my charms were for. They were storage. I wasn’t going to waste them on these fae, so I used the female’s magic instead.
Her eyes widened as I sent a wave of magic at her. She flew back, smashing into a tree. The tree snapped against the impact and fell.
A snarl came from my left as Berry charged into the male fae. The two of them tumbled on the ground. The male fae howled and I had a feeling Berry followed through with the threat. I wasn’t going to look too closely to check.
The air whistled and I dove to the side as leaves brushed against my skin. The female had thrown a part of the tree at me. She snarled and ran at me. The ground underneath me shook, trying to knock me down.
I rode out the movement and grabbed the female when she slammed into me. We fell to the ground. I twisted my body so that I landed on top. I wrapped my hand around her neck, choking her out as my other hand went to above her heart. Magic slammed into her, making her body buckle.
She wailed and another one joined her as the male did the same. I felt it as her heart shattered within, becoming useless.
Her body went limp, her eyes glazing over as life left her. I jumped to my feet, Berry at my side.
Are you okay?
“She’s small fry compared to what I had to deal with.”
Look.
I gaped as the body melted into the ground, the earth swallowing her whole. The same was happening to the male fae too. “Shit. This is too much like Faerie,” I said.
It is her doing, but she isn’t here. She does not have the control to actually be here.
“Consider that a blessing, friend. We better get back. I’ve seen enough.”
A twig broke and I whirled around, expecting another fae.
It was worse though. So much fucking worse. The one thing I feared in the human realm was right in front of me.
The last three people I had ever expected to see stood before me, faces pale, eyes massive, disbelief written all over them. The one in the center was the tallest, black hair over brown eyes. A strong body peeked out from underneath his clothes; his body had been honed to be a weapon. The military did that to a person, chipped away at their bodies until all that was left was a hardened body familiar with violence.
The man to his right was well put together, with light brown, almost blond hair, expensive clothes, and hazel eyes that cut through me. Something deep boiled underneath his expression as he gaped at me.
The third man was the smallest, with a lean body. His black hair was buzzed cut, glasses sitting on his face, framing his honey-brown eyes. Dark lines peeked out from the collar of his jacket.
Their very presence slammed into me, stealing all the breath in my lungs. No. They couldn’t be here. No fucking way.
“J-Josie?” the man in the middle spoke.
“F-Foster. W-What are you doing out here?” I stuttered out.
No. Joslyn, no. We must leave. Berry nipped at my hand in warning. He was right. We couldn’t stay. Not like this. Not with them.
Pain lanced through me as I reached down and grabbed a charm. My fingers shook as I activated it. Soft golden magic whirled around us and then we were gone, leaving behind the last three men I had wanted to see on this planet.
Tears fell as my hotel room formed around me. My legs gave, and I crumpled as a wail broke out of me, decades of pain and loss forcing its way out. They were there. All three of them.
And they saw me. Saw that I wasn’t me any longer.
They knew I was back.
