Discovering Fae
Dark Times and Shadow Talk

Quinn

I liked that boy. I didn’t show it, of course, because what father likes the idea of a guy around his little girl? But then again, Fae wasn’t a little girl anymore. The last time I saw her, she was so tiny and pink.

Delicate.

Fragile.

Now, she’s grown up almost. Fierce, like her mother, and stronger than even she knows. Still delicate, still fragile, but in different ways than before. That’s why I liked that boy. He was good for her. He helped her tap into that strength and made her look at herself not as someone that must stay hidden, but as someone born to stand out.

She may not look like either of us, but she was absolutely Mary’s daughter. I saw pieces of me in her behavior, but by all the gods, she was so much like Mary, it was a little daunting. I now had two headstrong women in my life all of a sudden and I have to admit, I didn’t have the slightest idea of how to handle all of it.

But my talk with Fae seemed to help her a little bit. I really had no idea how well she would do suddenly being forced into the role she was meant to be raised in. I felt the anger trying to raise up again and I pushed it back as I watched Mal and Fae.

We had stopped for the night and our earlier discovery had clearly upset her. She had been quiet for the rest of the day, and it was really starting to worry me. I wanted to make my little girl feel better but had no idea how to. I was just about to open my mouth, no doubt to put my foot in it, when Mal stepped up.

I had left our little camp, to give them a not entirely private moment. He had moved her around until she was sitting on the ground with his legs wrapped around her, using a knee to support her back as she leaned into him. I smirked. I’d bet my wings that they had no idea what they were doing right now.

She needed him. Her body language practically screamed it when we made camp for the night. Even now, I could see one of her hands gripping the leg of his pants like she was afraid of something happening. In response, he was putting as much of himself between her and the rest of the world as he could.

There was no danger. I would know if there was long before it got to us. Mal knew that. Fae did, too, in some small way, but he was still looking to protect her, even if it was from her own mind.

I shook my head, hating the reason why my daughter jumped at shadows. I may feel at home in the darkness, but I was born and raised that way. I knew from the day I was born the kinds of twisted things that lurked there. Fae wasn’t raised that way, thank Fate. She had been spared the nasty parts of my upbringing. I frowned.

No, she got a glimpse of it. She had seen a small part of it and it made me want to end that little shit’s life all over again. He got off easy when Mal killed him.

Fae was talking to Mal, looking uncertain. Then, he said something back to her, making her roll her eyes and smile at him and say something else. With her being so much like Mary, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself, knowing she probably said something quick witted and snarky.

I could read lips, if I wanted to, but I was more interested in what wasn’t being said. At least not with words. She was on edge, still, but her grip on Mal’s pant leg was a little more relaxed, almost casual. She had pushed herself closer to him and had relaxed a little more, sensing that, with him, she was safe.

Almost all of Mal’s focus was on Fae. I don’t think he even knew how in tune he really was to what she was needing from him because he gave it to her so easily. The soft smile, the way his arm went behind her shoulders and his hand rubbed up and down her arm while the other touched her cheek. Even more was the look on Fae’s face when she looked up at him. It was the same look I saw when Mary looked at me. Adoration.

“Damn it. Now I have to like him,” I muttered.

Even if he appeared to be completely focused on Fae, I knew he was very much aware of their surroundings. I wouldn’t be shocked if he knew I was here. It didn’t stop him from leaning down and kissing her though and I turned away, not wanting to break his bones into dust.

I hated it, but Mal had things well in hand at camp. It was time for me to go hunting.

Mal

Gods above, I was one lucky idiot. How in the world did I end up getting her forgiveness? I mean, I wasn’t complaining, but I left her. I hurt her. I couldn’t replace her because I had damaged our Bond so badly, I couldn’t feel where she was.

I looked at her sleeping face and smiled. She was beautiful, no matter what she was doing, but right now she looked peaceful, and it made her that much more breathtaking. I wanted to see that look on her face more, not just in her sleep. I had to be patient, though. That much I knew, but after her talk with Quinn that I couldn’t help but overhear in the still silence of the woods, it was more obvious that she was struggling.

I hated that I didn’t know how to help her. I hated that she needed that kind of help in the first place. I felt the corners of my mouth pull upward in a small smile as she pouted in her sleep before turning her face into my chest and sighed. The sound was soft and relaxed and the feeling through our Bond was one of happiness and contentment.

“You should be sleeping,” Quinn said from the shadows.

“Can’t,” I sighed. “Bad dream.”

“Hers?” he asked, and I shook my head. “You know, I do have a fair amount of experience with things like this.”

“Things are going well. Smooth. From the moment I saw her, those times don’t last for long,” I admitted, kissing her forehead and moving her gently to go sit by the small fire. “I’m not complaining, but I feel like, if I close my eyes for too long, something bad is going to happen again. Then, all I can think about is how she looked when I found her. There wasn’t a part of her that wasn’t marked by him. Every day, she said. More than once.”

“You know,” he said, sitting by the fire and poking the embers before adding a small handful of sticks. “Mary was taken from me once. I knew exactly where she was, but I couldn’t get to her. I tried, but there was an army between us, and he knew I would come for her. When I finally did get there, she looked... bad. Her wrist was broken, and her arm was broken, the bone sticking out, her shoulder was dislocated and three of her ribs were fractured. She had a black eye, broken nose, busted lip, and a nasty gash on her forehead. Not as bad as Fae was, from what the healers told us, but I know what you’re feeling right now.”

“How long did it take you to get to her?” I asked.

“A month, almost,” he growled.

“You knew where she was the whole time?” I asked and he nodded.

“We were already fully Bonded by then,” he said. “I felt everything he did to her. He hit her on a regular basis. Probably for smarting off. Mary and Fae are very much alike in that. He would hurt her for the smallest things. It drove me insane until our forces finally broke through.”

“What happened to him?” I asked.

“I didn’t kill him, if that’s what you’re asking,” he glared into the fire. “Mary did. That’s how we were able to get through. Once he died, his thrall army woke up and scattered.”

“Thrall,” I spat. “Vampire.”

“Not originally. Explains the insanity, but that obsession was there long before he was turned,” he glared again. “That’s not the point though. I was right where you are now. Hating myself for not being there, for allowing her to be taken in the first place, not being able to reach her as I felt the pain that wasn’t mine. Let me give you a bit of advice that I wish someone would have told me then. Don’t let the fear of history repeating itself stop you from enjoying the life you have with her. Those calm moments? Cherish them. There will be bad times ahead, boy. That’s a relationship. Being Bonded doesn’t make it perfect. But there’s bad times for a reason. They make you both stronger. Together.”

We sat there silently for a long time before I chuckled a little bit and Quinn looked at me like I was losing my mind.

“Fae said something a lot like that when we first got to Nydal,” I explained with a look over at her, still sleeping peacefully. The markings that covered her skin shimmered slowly and it made her look almost dangerous. “Do you have any idea what those markings are?”

“No, but I sent a message to... well, “friend” might be putting it too strongly, but he likes Fae more than me, so he’ll help as soon as he can,” Quinn shrugged.

“He? He, who?” I glared at him.

“A phoenix, if you must know. That’s where we went before you lost your mind,” he rolled his eyes, something that I knew came from being around Mary. “We were getting answers to a few questions.”

“What questions?” I asked, frowning.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he shook his head. “Now that your Bond is complete, it won’t be long before you know anyhow.”

Fae growled in her sleep and her face pinched in a scowl I knew all too well, having been on the receiving end of it coming from her father. I held my breath for a moment before she kicked her foot a little and settled down, the scowl still on her face.

“She’s having a good dream,” Quinn chuckled, looking around the dark forest.

“Looks like she’s angry,” I commented.

“But she’s enjoying it,” he laughed and motioned to the darker shadows that danced around us. “I’m not doing that. I can’t. Not around her.”

“Huh?” I asked confused. Dark Fairies practically owned the shadows. One being unable to manipulate them, at least a little bit, was... unheard of.

“I tried. It’s like the shadows don’t want to listen to anyone but her,” he shook his head. “Two miles away I was able to barely force them to obey.”

“Is it like that with Mary?” I asked him, my forehead pinching.

“No,” he laughed. “She has no control over the shadows to speak of. That’s a strictly dark fairy thing.”

“Isn’t the royal blood supposed to suppress the other bloodlines?” I asked.

“It does, but I think it’s more to do with those marking than her heritage, though, it would explain a thing or two,” he said thoughtfully. “At least, in part.”

“What are you keeping from me?” I asked, getting angry.

“Don’t take that tone with me, boy,” Quinn growled at me. “The fact that you are Bonded to my daughter does not give you a pass. It will be discussed, sooner than later, if what I think is happening is indeed happening. In the meantime, it would be best if we strayed from the topic.”

What he didn’t say, but I heard loud and clear by the look he gave me before shooting his gaze to Fae’s sleeping form was enough to keep my mouth shut. For her safety, drop it.