Chapter Twenty-Two
Azura was staring at me when I walked up to her. “Something is different. You’re different.”
“It’s nothing. I just want to go home.”
Her face softened. “I’m sorry, Oleander. This is all my fault. I should have forced my way into your home and told you everything that could happen. I should have prepared you better. Maybe if I had hidden you further away…but I was selfish. I wanted you close by so I could watch you grow up.”
I felt guilty. “It’s okay. We can talk about everything later. Right now, I just really want to go home.”
She nodded. “Don’t forget to glamour yourself.”
Good thing she mentioned that. I hadn’t done it in so long, I would have forgotten. “Thanks.” I quickly visualized myself as a human.
“I’m so glad you’re safe.” She reached out and cupped my face. I let her have her moment. “I love you.”
I just stared at her, unable to respond.
“What did Kallan mean about your eighteenth birthday?”
“Varwik allowed me two years here, and then I’m to return.”
“Why?”
“To marry Kallan. Apparently, this makes my oh-so-special ability ‘theirs.’ Thanks to a deal my father struck.” I narrowed my eyes and glared at her. Even though it wasn’t her fault. She could have picked a better person to have a child with.
“Did you promise this?” She looked worried.
“Yes. I had no other choice.”
“Then you must, Oleander. Contracts in the faery world must always be obeyed.”
“I’m planning on finding a way out of it by then.” I looked towards my house. “I need to go. I’ll see you later.” I left her in the woods.
I wanted to leave behind everything faery.
I ran through the back door of the house, yelling for my parents. The house was so quiet. There were dishes in the sink, mail on the island, and there was clutter everywhere.
I heard a thump, and then footsteps from upstairs. “Rylie?”
“Mom?” I ran to the stairs just as she was coming down them.
Upon seeing me, her hand flew to her mouth and tears sprang to her eyes. Her hair was a mess and she had dark circles under her eyes. I wondered if she’d slept at all since I went missing. “Rylie?”
“It’s me, Mom.” I took a step closer.
She reached out, grabbed me, and pulled me to her. “Oh my God, oh my God. I can’t believe you’re home.” She started bawling. “This isn’t a dream, is it?”
“No, Mom. I’m really here.” I hugged her tighter, inhaling her warm vanilla scent. The tears fell down my cheeks. Being in her arms was a dream come true.
She pulled away and looked me over. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where have you been?” She bombarded me with questions.
“I’m okay. I’m not hurt. I was captured by the dark faeries. They kept me in in a castle.”
She shook her head. “It’s so odd to hear you say that. They didn’t hurt you, though?”
How could you tell your mother that if you didn’t marry a certain faery, they would kill you in a couple years? “No, Mom, they didn’t hurt me.”
“How did you get away?” She brushed my hair out of my face.
“One of them helped me, a boy named Kallan.” I didn’t feel like going into details.
“Oh! We have to call your father! He’s out searching. He’s going to be so relieved.”
“What are we going to tell people, Mom?” I thought about what Azura had said, but I couldn’t believe it was true. I was gone close to two weeks at least.
“Azura said we didn’t have to worry about that as long as you came back shortly. Apparently, time is different in their world. Your friends think you were sick.” She grabbed the phone and called Dad. “She’s home! Hurry back.” As soon as she hung up, her arms were around me again. It felt like she might never let go.
“How long have I been gone?” I asked, wanting to confirm what Azura had told me.
“Today is the fifth day.”
“It’s been almost two weeks for me.”
“Two weeks? My God.”
The time thing was really strange. The days did seem to blur together, and Kallan said they aged at a slower rate than humans. I made a mental note to ask Azura to explain it better. Like it or not, I was going to have to let her into my life so she could explain the faery world. I needed to find a way to get out of the agreement I made with Varwik. I also needed to understand the different types of power that I had the ability to tap into.
Ten minutes later, the door flew open, and my father rushed in. He looked horrible. His eyes were bloodshot and it looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. His hair was standing all over the place. Not the calm and collected father I knew and loved. “Oh, Rylie!” He gathered me in his strong arms. His body shook with sobs. “You’re okay, you’re really okay. I thought I’d lost you forever.”
“I missed you both so much. All I wanted to do was come home.” I didn’t have any more tears left in me. I just let him hold me.
We all sat on the couch. Mom sat on my left side stroking my hair, and Dad was on my right. I filled them in on what happened, skipping over some of the details.
As long as they didn’t ask, I wasn’t lying.