*
The next morning after breakfast, Kallan and I walked back to the fountain. I think he felt bad about making me leave so quickly last time, but it was hard to say with him.
We sat on the bench facing each other. My left leg was tucked under me, and I rested my arm on the back. Being so close to him made my heart accelerate.
“What are you thinking about?” Kallan asked, squinting in the sunlight.
“I don’t know. Everything, I guess. How crazy it is that I’m stuck in a realm of dark faeries? Not long ago, I wasn’t sure there was anything else out there. Now I’m a faery, and not only a faery, but a marked faery. It’s just a lot to digest. I don’t know if I’ll ever see my family again…” Tears sprang to my eyes.
“This life is all I’ve ever known. I’m sure it has all been very jarring to you.”
“You have no idea. Life is so different here. Why do faeries get married so young?” I asked. I had so many questions and no idea where to begin, or if he would even answer them.
“I don’t really know. It’s just something we’ve always done. I think because our life span is so much longer. Time is thought of differently here. Age doesn’t really matter.”
“But you don’t think to question it?”
“I guess not.” He shrugged. “Like I said, it’s not unusual here. It just is. Don’t you like being with someone? I thought even humans dreamed of big weddings and finding a soul mate.”
“Yeah, but sixteen is absurd. We’re still in school trying to find ourselves. I wouldn’t want to be forced into being with someone. I enjoy the freedom of free will.”
Kallan shifted on the bench, his face very close to mine. “Our case is special. Most of the time, we fall in love or are matched perfectly. It’s not something that is forced, only encouraged. Ruling families usually mate. On the other hand, there are also instances when faeries have been forbidden to be together.”
Kallan’s lips were dangerously close to mine. I could smell his sweet breath. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my wits about me. My body betrayed me by tingling all over. I couldn’t let this happen. No matter how attracted I was to him, I had to stay loyal to Adam. I was determined to find a way back to him.
Looking into Kallan’s eyes, I wasn’t sure how long I could resist him. I really needed to get out of there and back to my real life—before I was sucked into this life.
Ask something else, I told myself. “What about divorce? Is that common here?”
“It’s rare, but it happens. Sometimes, faeries just go their separate ways. Like your parents.”
My parents. I still couldn’t think of anyone other than the couple that raised me as my parents.
“Azura and my father are still married?” I hadn’t thought of that.
“Yes.”
“Is it odd for a faery go to missing? How big is the fey world? Could someone go ‘underground’?”
Kallan looked off in the distance as if trying to compose his words before he spoke. “Our world is not very large. It would be extremely unusual for a faery to go missing. In fact, faeries like to gossip so I assume we would have heard something about him. Unless…well, it’s possible that he moved to the human realm.”
“You think my father has been with humans all this time?” I leaned back, trying to take in this bit of information. Could he have been living near me? Maybe it was somebody I knew? Doubtful, as it sounded like he was a coward. He was probably living it up in Hawaii or somewhere nice.
“I’m not saying that, Oleander. I’m just saying it’s an option. I know my father has been searching for him since you came back to let him know the debt has been paid, but he has had no luck. If he can’t find him—”
“No one can,” I finished for him. “Do you think he’s dead?”
“That is definitely a possibility,” Kallan said softly.
I turned to face the fountain, pondering different ideas of what happened to my father. Even though I really didn’t care what happened to the man that traded me for access to dark magick, I had to admit my curiosity was piqued.