“I don’t know if I can do this,” Shade whispered. “You saw how I hurt Dylan by kissing you. I just don’t know what to do.” There, I said it. She really didn’t know what to do. She loved both of them. Dylan’s extended absence had taken a toll on her. She’d thrown herself into the teachings of her grandmother, weapons training and anything to keep her mind off of him. She hadn’t let her mind wander to him as much anymore because it seared her so painfully inside, she could burst out crying any moment. But she didn’t want to be sad anymore. She didn’t want to hurt anymore. Her grandmother’s death and Dylan’s absence were the worst things that had ever happened to her.
Pushing the thoughts from her mind, Shade tried to feel more at ease. She felt peaceful resting on Soap’s chest as his embrace warmed her chilled bones. She let the moment continue, afraid to break the spell of its comfort.
She finally sat up, letting the warmth of his arm slip away. Sighing as she looked into Soap’s ever expectant eyes, she hated not knowing why a twinge of fear knotted in her chest.
“Okay, I’m not promising anything, but we can see where this goes, all right?” Shade held her breath as she waited for his answer, her eyes scanning his face while looking for clues about his feelings. She felt the flutters in her stomach once again as she saw his jeweled emerald eyes light up again as his grin grew across his face.
“Wow, that’s just awesome! You won’t regret this. You have no idea how happy you just made me!”
“Wait.” Shade licked her lips as Soap paused, his face frozen in a half grin. “You have to promise to tell me everything, especially what Dylan meant back at Ursad’s castle.”
“Yes, Shade, of course.”
“And if this doesn’t work out, I don’t want you to hate me. You are special to me, and I don’t want to proceed if I risk losing you. Will you still come around, even then?” She pressed her lips together so hard they were turning a pale white. She almost didn’t want to hear the answer to her question. She just knew that if she lost Soap, too, she would lose her mind.
“Yes, Shade, I would still want to come around. I could never hate you.” He reached over and held her chin in his hand. The sweet wave of warmth spread across her face from his rough warrior hands. Weapons training had been hard on her hands, too. His were as callused as a faery’s hands could get. Hardly anything affected the softness of their skin. She reached up, placing her hands over his and pulling him closer, letting his arms embrace her again.
“Wow, I really am in a bit of a shock, Shade. I’ll make you so happy!” Soap exclaimed while hugging her. He lifted her up and swung her around, letting his contagious laugh ring out across the yard. Benton ran out the front door, looking alarmed, but frowned as he saw them spinning.
“Do you have to be so freakin’ loud? I thought something had happened! Keep it down. I’m talking to Mom!” He scowled at them and stomped back into the house, not wanting to watch their sickening embrace any longer.
Shade’s face flushed red. She wiggled loose from Soap’s hug, but didn’t let his hand go. Shaking her head, she turned toward Soap and laughed aloud again. She liked how she felt. Feeling happy for a moment in time, though not long, felt exhilarating.
*****
DINNER HAD BEEN more than interesting. Jade had given the fridge a shake of her head before deciding to order pizza. Since Camulus had left before their big talk earlier, only Soap remained to eat dinner with the family. Jade eyed him several times during dinner while also glancing at Shade. It was no mystery why he was staying. She just didn’t know what to say to him.
The silence became a little too much to bear for Shade. She chased a bit of pizza down with her Coke and caught her mother staring at Soap again. “Mom, can you please stop staring at us? What’s the matter? Do we have sauce all over our faces?”
Startled, Jade straightened up and frowned at Shade. “I was just trying to see what the heck is going on around here. First I start remembering things I should’ve known all along, and I desperately want to know why I couldn’t before. Then your brother becomes a pyromaniac, setting things on fire in the garage, so I have to keep fire extinguishers around….”
“Wait, you did?” Shade interrupted as she turned, giggling at Benton.
“Shut up! I was trying my powers out!” he grumbled as he stuffed another bite into his mouth.
“Don’t interrupt me, Shade! Now, I won’t have you treading in and out of Faerie like some Fairy Princess, oblivious to the dangers there and with who knows what powers you’ve inherited to keep under control. Let alone bringing one of them here! When is he leaving?”
“Mom!” Shade dropped her half-eaten slice down on her plate, glaring up at her mother. What the rampage was about, she hadn’t a clue. “Did you forget I’m one of them, too?” She stood up, letting the chair fly back onto the floor. Everyone else sat stunned, including Soap. James fidgeted in his chair but began to pick the pepperoni off his pizza and fling it at Benton.
“Stop, you little brat!” Benton gave him a light whack but pulled away as Jade’s voice boomed out.
“Both of you stop that right now!” She pushed away from the table and also stood, staring back at her daughter. “I know perfectly well what you are, Shade. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you. It’s just….” She pointed her slender hand toward Soap, his face serious now as he watched her, glancing quickly at Shade. “He is one of them, Shade. Faeries don’t care how you feel! They’re not human like us! He’ll steal your heart and won’t give it back. He’ll trick you until he gets what he wants and then leave you all alone!” The tears flowed down Jade’s face as her sobs exploded from within. She sank back into her chair with her head in her hands. Her body shook as she cried, and her lonely wailing echoed in the room as the rest of them sat stunned, not knowing what to say or do.
Shade ran around the table and embraced her mother. She knew the pain of her mother’s memory rushing back to her had taken its toll. She hadn’t expected to see Jade fall apart in front of all of them. There was nothing to do but hold onto her and let the grief pass. She realized eighteen years of living in a lie can mess with you immensely. Shade’s own tears streamed down her face and wet her mother’s shirt as she rubbed her mother’s shoulder. Shade hated seeing her cry. She didn’t often break down. She’d always been the family’s rock.
As Jade’s sobbing quieted to nothing, Shade looked up to see Benton had shuffled James and Anna out of the room to watch TV. Only Soap remained. He walked over and handed Shade two napkins. Shade nodded as he removed himself to join the others. Now alone, she pulled away from Jade to offer a napkin. Jade took it and wiped her face, sighing deeply and shaking her head.
“I’m sorry, Shade. I didn’t know when everything came rushing back to me it would get to me so badly. I shouldn’t have said those things. I do hope your friend is not too offended.” She blew her nose and sniffled. She looked at Shade with red-rimmed eyes and studied her daughter’s face. She reached out, touched Shade’s cheek and smiled weakly. “It’s not easy loving a faery. No one can ever replace them, Shade. Usually, a human will love a faery forever, but forever is but a blink of an eye in their lifetime. Don’t forget that. Never underestimate them. I lost years of my life because of it. Your real father may have loved me, but he didn’t ask me if it was okay to erase my memory and make me forget who I was—what I am—and who you are. It will never be okay.”
She sniffled again, wiping her nose and sighing as she nodded. “I’m fine now. Please tell everyone I’m going to bed. I’m pretty exhausted from the shielding spell today. Goodnight, Shade.” They stood for a moment, staring at each other when Jade broke the connection and made her way to her room.
Shade’s eyes lingered in the direction her mother had gone. The weight of the world felt like it was pushing down on her and waiting for her reaction. She cleaned the table off and wiped the crumbs away, relishing the calming effect of such a mundane task.
Chapter Nineteen
THE F
AERY WATCHED from the edge of the woods. Evangeline let the crisp breeze of wind play with her black-as-night hair as she leaned against one of the mulberry trees. She watched the house where her sister lived. Shaking her head, she smiled as she thought about living in the human world. Her mortal sister had chosen that life, and she hadn’t. They had both grown up in Faerie until she was around seven, then they had moved to this house with their mother, near the edge of the human and Faerie borders. Jade had stayed, and Evangeline had left as soon as she could to live and work in Faerie. Now, staring at her human dwelling brought a rush of memories of them as young girls, laughing and dancing around the backyard. Their giggles echoed in her head as she stared at the soft glow of lights from the kitchen as they blinked off.
She knew why Jade had remained in the human world. She knew all about Verenis and how hard Jade had fallen for the handsome Faerie King of the Southern Realms. She had warned her about falling in love with fey. Watching her sister fall had not been easy. Even when Aveta had ordered Verenis be hunted down, no one could’ve gotten Evangeline to reveal Verenis’s love for Jade. She had remained silent.
The Queen was still none the wiser about Jade. Unfortunately, Verenis’s presence around Jade wouldn’t have gone unnoticed for long. Verenis had realized the danger of Jade’s discovery, especially with her pregnancy at stake. Vange had watched him erase her sister’s memory, watched her forget everything under the spell, even her own sister. She knew immediately Jade wouldn’t remember who she was or who Vange was, either. It had pained Vange to turn away and leave, never to speak with her sister again for fear that Queen Aveta would kill Jade and her unborn daughter.
It had been eighteen years since that fateful day. Now Vange was on the hunt for her niece on the Queen’s orders. She never would’ve guessed Shade was the baby she had turned from to protect so long ago. Vange smiled, looking up at the twinkle of stars which gazed down at her. Oh, the irony of it all, she thought. She knew the moment she’d seen Shade up close, she was Jade’s daughter. She looked like Queen Lana, but Jade’s features stuck out from her like a knife. Vange had hoped Shade wasn’t her long lost niece, but alas, fate was not so kind.
Pondering what she would do or even say to Jade, Vange began her walk down to the house. Her long coat kept out the chill of the night, and she cast a floating witch light in her path to illuminate the way. Vange’s fire powers from her mortal mother were strong in her, just as they were in Jade. The fey blood amplified them even more. There was nowhere she could go that she would ever be in the dark or cold with power like hers. She wondered if Jade was starting to remember anything. Memory charms fade with time, and it could very well be near the time to replenish the charm’s powers. She’d have to do it since Verenis was now long dead. She didn’t want to, but if Shade was to stay safe, she had to make sure Jade remembered nothing.
Vange stopped abruptly, watching her witch light suddenly bounce off an invisible wall. Tilting her head, she scanned the dirt until she spotted what she was looking for. Crouching down, she lit the ground around her with the witch light and frowned, noting the trail of salt and the specks of still-drying blood. Standing again, she reached out to touch the invisible shield before her.
Damn! Jade already knows.
The shield rippled under her hand and sent a vibration of pain up her arm. Pulling her hand away, she winced from the slight shock. Vange had no choice now but to call her sister out of the house and speak with her. The protection shield was strong. Even she could not penetrate it. She concentrated on the shield, feeling not one but three powerful essences embracing the spell. If Jade had found two other Witches to perform the spell with her, they were now as safe as anyone could ever be from faeries, aside from hiding in an oubliette. No one could enter the home without their permission. No one and nothing could penetrate its magic.
Vange paced back and forth for a moment, thinking hard on what she would say to her sister. Maybe she could enter if given permission. She ran her power along the barrier again and found it laced with a disabling spell. Jade had foreseen something. Maybe she had known Vange would come back here for Shade. If she were allowed to enter the grounds, she would be stripped of her powers while within the shield.
Clever, Jade. Very clever.
Vange swallowed back her frustration as she stared at the house beyond the barrier. It had become worn with the years. The exterior structure boasted old, peeling paint and fading bricks. She felt a twinge of longing as she scanned her childhood home. She hadn’t felt the homesickness in so long that it felt nauseating and made her lose her breath as it roiled in her stomach. Squeezing her eyes shut, she breathed in until the pricks of pain eased away. Her eyes fluttered open and narrowed as she called out to her long lost kin.
“Jade! Jade, I need to speak with you! Jade!” Vange paused, waiting for movement from the darkened house. The lights flickered on inside and lit up the living room window. She grinned as she saw shadows shuffle behind the curtains, waiting patiently to see her sister once more.
Jade flung the front door open. The crack of the door slamming on the wall echoed across the empty yard. Shade, Soap and Benton popped out behind her, eyes wide in surprise and puffy with sleep. They stopped as she came into their vision. Gaping at Vange, Shade looked the most baffled by her sudden appearance. She gripped her mother’s arm, but Jade shook her off. Nothing but recognition danced furiously in Jade’s tiger-brown eyes.
“Vange, I should‘ve known you would eventually come by here.” Jade’s voice dripped with resentment. Her face crinkled into a scowl as she eyed her sister. Realizing suddenly that Vange had remained outside the protective shield, she smirked and started walking toward her sister.
“Mom, wait! Don’t go near her, she’s Aveta’s lieutenant! She’s here to kill us!” Shade gulped back her panic as her mother waved her away. Jade came to stop near the barrier’s edge and gave her sister a once-over. Jade’s lips pressed together tightly as she took a moment to gather her thoughts.
“Sister, how good to see you after all these years,” Vange said. “I never thought I would ever see your shining face again.” She gave her a sinister grin as she patiently waited for Jade to decide what to do about her.
“Why’d you come here, Vange?” A glimpse of pain flashed across Jade’s eyes as she glared at her sister.
“You know why. Verenis’s memory spell has obviously worn off. Unfortunately, I have come too late to salvage it. It could not be helped, Sister.” Vange’s face became serious as she watched Jade fume. She didn’t want to underestimate her, but she had to speak with her at all costs. She sighed. Diplomacy was going to have to win out tonight. “Look, Jade. I swear I’m not going to hurt you or your daughter. I need to speak with you.” Vange glanced around, suddenly aware of how exposed she felt standing outside the barrier wall. “Please let me in, and I can tell you.”
“What makes you think that I would let a lieutenant of Aveta’s near my home? You work for her, Vange! Why should I even trust you?” Jade frowned, ready to march back into the house and forget her.
Evangeline sighed. Her loyalties battled within. She watched her sister, her best friend until she’d left at the age of eighteen to explore the Faerie world. She felt a tug at her heart in a place which had remained cold and dormant for what seemed an eternity. Longing bubbled up into her chest and caught her in a state of panic as Jade began to turn and walk away from her.
“Jade, stop! Please, I’m still your sister,” Vange pleaded. “Nothing will ever change that. Not even Aveta. I swear to you, as my own fey blood binds me. I will do and say nothing to harm you or anyone else in your home. Ever. I promise you this.” She tried to swallow as her mouth turned dry and her heart quickened in desperation.
Jade stopped in her tracks, seemingly torn between returning to the porch where Soap, Shade and Benton waited. Staring down at the grass in the dark shadows cast by the illuminated windows, Jade wrestled with uncertainty. Turning back to her sister, she knew ju
st what Vange had sacrificed in that one moment. Searching her sister’s eyes for absolution, she saw what she needed. Fear and sadness mixed and swirled in her sister’s dark eyes. Jade approached the barrier once more.
“Mom, no!” Shade yelped from the porch. Jade shushed her and waved her away, her eyes never leaving Vange’s. Her intense stare stabbed back at Vange, but the Faery Witch stood her ground. Finally, Jade sighed, releasing a breath that she’d been holding for a while.
“Alright. I hold you to your oath, Evangeline. You will be powerless when you enter here. I made sure of it.” Jade’s hand pierced the barrier as she held it out to her sister. Vange nodded and took it, gripping it tightly, and stepped through the threshold. A slight tingling rush swept through her as she crossed the barrier, making her dizzy for a moment as the magic swept over her, binding her powers completely. She shook her head and glanced up at Jade, a twinge of panic searing through her dark eyes.
“Don’t worry, it isn’t permanent,” Jade stated blandly. “You will be right as rain when you leave our home. Come.” Jade waved her on and turned back toward the house.
Shade released her bite on her bottom lip. The coppery taste of blood tainted her mouth as she realized she’d been clamping on it too hard. She eyed Vange as she passed her and ducked into the house, not giving her a second’s look. Glancing at Soap, her displeasure spilled across her face.
“We can’t trust her, Soap. What are we going to do?” Shade said.
Soap stepped forward, embracing her tightly as his long golden-brown hair swept over her like a cape. “There is nothing to do, Shade. I think you shouldn’t underestimate your mother. She looks like she could probably handle herself quite well if need be. Besides, she has made sure we are protected here. I won’t let anything happen, okay?” He loosened his embrace as Shade nodded. She was slightly reassured, but still alarmed. She sighed as they turned to enter the house.