• Chapter VI: part 4


    I FOLLOWED Seth all the way down the spiral staircase into the same room where I practiced shooting targets. This time, though, there was the beautiful scene of green mountains in the background.

    “Iceland,” Seth said. I was starting to wonder if Vincent had lied about being able to read my mind. Maybe it was a skill that all Other-worlders had, and I just hadn’t tapped into mine yet.

    “Hm,” I mumbled thoughtfully as I propped myself up on a table. “That’s where you’re from, right?”

    “How did you know,” he asked curiously.
    My chin rested comfortably on my knees, and I smiled as I watched him fool around in a box of goodies.

    “Well your accent definitely isn’t American. I just now figured out what it was when you told me that that was Iceland in the background.”

    I could see his cheek shift upward a little as he smiled. “Very insightful of you.”
    A sense of relief flowed through my limbs, and I felt more relaxed now than I’d been for a long time. It was strange because the source of that reprieve was Seth of all people—or Faeries. For some reason, he seemed pretty relaxed around me, too.

    Maybe he was just worried about Vincent.
    “Where’s Vincent going?”

    He laughed to himself and slammed the lid of the box shut before turning around to reply. “Don’t worry, he didn’t leave.” My eyebrow arched.

    Either they’re lying about being able to read my mind, or I’m way too predicable.
    “But who knows with him,” he continued. “Maybe he just needed to take a walk. There’s a lot about him that I don’t understand.”

    “But you’ve known him for a long time.”
    I watched attentively as his lips formed a vague smile, and his purple eyes lit up ever so slightly. “Yeah,” he said softly. I bit the inside of my cheek when an interesting thought crossed my mind.

    “Do you love him?”
    I started at the loud laugh that erupted throughout the room. It was a magical laugh. Every fiber of my skin was tingling.

    “Are you asking if I’m in love with him?”
    I looked off to the side with a sheepish look on my face.

    Seth exhaled noisily through his nose and walked over toward me. I flinched slightly whenever he propped himself next to me, but, still, I was honored that he was that comfortable. He seemed more personable this way. Almost human.

    “No, I’m not in love with Vincent, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a special place for him in my heart. Vincent is the closest thing to family I’ve had for a very long time.” The tender look on his face tugged on my heart strings, and I found myself wanting to know more about him. “Did you know that I was only half-fey?”

    I nodded, and my stomach balled up with excitement. “Vincent told me.”
    “My mother was an elf in the Icelandic Fey court. She was married to one of the queen’s knights.” I tried to imagine a Fey court. The only thing I could conjure up was the stereotypical worlds of magic manifested in Hollywood productions, like Disney. Kingdoms full of exotic greenery and extravagant castles. I wondered, though, if that was really the home that Seth lived in and would I ever have the chance to see one?

    My heart clenched. Odds were I’d never have the chance.
    “But she loved another,” Seth continued, oblivious to my reveries. “He was a Warlock from Ireland.”

    “A Warlock?” I asked curiously. Vincent had mentioned that Seth was half-Warlock, and again, the only thing I could imagine was the animated version of Merlin.

    “Warlocks are half-demons,” he replied. “They aren’t uncommon. I never actually had the chance to meet my father, but my mother spoke of him often. She said that it was too dangerous to see him, but that one day we would unite. She promised.” His pupils dilated slightly, and I knew he was remembering in vivid detail.

    “No one knew about him?” I asked.
    Seth smiled faintly and rested his head on the wall. “No. Luckily I resembled the Fey well enough that my father thought I was his. But she knew.” He looked over at me with wistful purple eyes. “She saw my father in me.”

    I smiled contritely at him, keeping my gaze set steadily on his own. I took in all of his features and tried to picture his mother. Her long, silver hair. Her glowing violet eyes. I imagined she looked like nothing short of an angel. My chest tightened. I envied her. A woman I’d never even met.

    Seth’s smile slowly faded. “Unfortunately she wasn’t quite as lucky the second time. When my younger sister was born, the elves immediately knew she wasn’t a full blooded Faerie, which meant that she wasn’t my mother’s husband’s child.”

    I scooted closer to Seth and compassionately placed my hand on top of his. I was pleased when he didn’t flinch. From a third perspective we might have actually looked like lovers. “How did they know?”

    Seth fidgeted with his lip ring with a troubled look on his face for a few seconds before finally answering. “She didn’t have Elfish ears. They were rounded like a human’s. Adultery is forbidden in our Kingdom and punishable by death.” I gasped. “She was executed.”

    I couldn’t believe it. His mother. Executed for loving another. It made me think of my mother, and I immediately wanted to reach out to Seth. To connect with him in a way that I’d never connected to anyone. Even though I couldn’t remember, I knew we’d both had our share of tragedy.

    “What about your father?” I asked.
    “There was nothing he could do about my mother, I’m sure. Most likely he ran. He’s still out there somewhere—I hope.”

    And for that, I was jealous.
    “Come on, let’s practice,” he said before leaping off of the table.

    I moaned and followed his lead. “I don’t see why I have to do all of this training if Vincent’s just leaving soon.”

    Seth threw a punch at me, and I blocked it with my forearm.
    “Precisely,” he replied with another punch. “You never know who might slip through my glamour.”

    I ducked from his fist and planted my own into his forearm. “Yeah, but still. I don’t understand why he doesn’t just take me with him.”

    Seth stopped abruptly and laughed, but it wasn’t a bitter one. “That’s probably not a bad idea.”

    My eyebrow arched. Wasn’t a bad idea? I was kind of surprised that Seth actually agreed with me considering just yesterday he was trying to convince Vincent to kill me. “It isn’t?”

    He shook his head and paused from fighting. “No. It would be a lot easier, actually. I wouldn’t have to glamour you every ten years.”

    I rolled my eyes when he winked at me. “So why doesn’t he then?”
    Seth chewed on his lip ring and shifted his stare to the staircase. “I’m not entirely sure,” he said. “Like I said it’s hard to know what Vincent is thinking, but he probably doesn’t want you involved.”

    “But I already am.”
    Seth half-smiled before throwing another punch at me. This time I was barely able to block it, but before I could counter-attack, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him. His lips touched my ear, and I shivered. He slowly inhaled, and I could feel my hair move slightly when he breathed out.

    I flinched. Every inch of my body was aware of Seth, and every part of my mind was wondering what to do. So I stayed still. Allowed for his fingers to run through my hair. Allowed for his lips to train across my cheek. And to be quite honest, I wasn’t too bothered. It wasn’t until he pulled away that I realized I hadn’t been breathing.

    He looked me in the eyes with a rueful smile that confused me. “I can see why Vincent is so fond of you,” he whispered ever so quietly.

    I snorted softly. “Fond of me? He can barely stand me.” When I averted my eyes away from his, he tugged my chin so that I was staring into him again. I swallowed.

    “No,” he said. “He is. I’ve known Vincent for a long time, and I’ve never seen him so—”
    “Irritable?” I interrupted.

    He laughed lightheartedly. “I was going to say happy.”
    This time I pushed him away. “How can you say that? All I do is get on his nerves, I can tell.”

    Seth smiled and his eyes glinted with a warmth that made my heart leap in my chest. My first impression of Seth couldn’t have been farther from the truth. “You have much to learn about Vincent, Miss. Kida.”

    I wanted to say that I would never have the opportunity, but instead I threw a punch. He blocked it and laughed. We continued practicing different offensive and defensive hand-to-hand combat for a while. He even allowed me to give a sword a shot. Unfortunately I wasn’t strong enough to use it efficiently, but I liked it more than the gun.

    I wondered, though, after a while, if Vincent really planned to come back.




    “I WANT to go to the restroom real quick, if that’s okay with you,” I said as I wiped the sweat form my forehead, my breaths more even than they probably should have been after that workout.

    “Be my guest,” he said. “Bathroom’s up the stairs and to the left.
    I nodded and made my way up the staircase. When I didn’t see Vincent immediately, I decided to take a quick look in the other room. Maybe he was napping on the couch. Even though he said he didn’t have to sleep during the day, I still had my doubts.

    Unfortunately he wasn’t on the couch either.
    A sudden nervousness came over me. I was afraid that maybe he really did leave. All I could imagine was the look on his face right before asking me to leave with Seth.

    His eyes were filled with a confusion that immediately set me on edge.
    A bad feeling was lingering in my gut, and I couldn’t shake it off.

    When I made my way back toward the staircase, I couldn’t remembering whether Seth said to take a left or a right. So I went right.

    If only I’d known how wrong I actually was.