Discovering Fae
To the West

“Zane?” I whispered, not quite believing my eyes.

“I believe I was called that once,” he said thoughtfully, then he grinned a sickening grin. “Now, I am Grim.”

“What happened to you?” I shook my head.

“Clarity,” he held his arms out. “Everything we’ve ever been told is a lie and now I can see it for what it is.”

“You... You’re still Hazed, aren’t you?” I frowned, shaking my head.

“The Haze,” he scoffed. “Something we’re told to fear, but it’s what brings in the darkness so you can see the truth.”

“I don’t understand,” I looked around us.

“You will. Soon enough, you’ll see the truth, just like I did,” he nodded. “But first, you must purge your mind of the lies you’ve been told.”

“What lies? Zane, this-.”

“Do not call me that!” he shouted, his voice echoing in the cave as his chest heaved with rage.

“You’re insane,” I whispered sadly.

“Perhaps. But don’t be afraid. I’ll make sure no one is left to whisper lies in your ear again,” he grinned that vicious, unhinged grin again. “Starting with that annoying fairy.”

“What are you planning?” I shook my head.

“Why, removing the threat, of course,” he chuckled. “Once they’re all dead, you’ll see it was really me you were meant to love. I am worthy, not him.”

“Mal is my Bonded, Zane,” I said firmly.

“Lie!” he shouted again.

“He is my Bonded!” I shouted back. “If you kill him, you kill me. You hurt him, you hurt me.”

“They have filled you with lies, Fae! It’s me who loves you the most, not him! I didn’t leave. I didn’t walk away!”

“This isn’t love, Zane!” I kicked the metal bars of my cage.

“I didn’t think you would understand right now,” he said calmly. “It will take time for you to see the lies for what they are. To hate the ones that have twisted you up like they deserve. The liars. The betrayers. The ones that gave up.”

“I used to think of you as my friend,” I shook my head, my eyes stinging as I realized this was what everyone meant when they told me that Zane was gone. “I’m sorry this has happened to you. I’m sorry that you’ve become this... thing. I know this isn’t you, Zane, and I’m sorry for being part of the reason you didn’t get the help you needed in time.”

“I don’t need any help,” he chuckled. “Accepting the darkness is the best thing I’ve ever done.”

“They’ll come for me,” I said firmly. “You know that don’t you?”

“I hope they do, my queen,” he grinned.

“So do I, because when they do, I hope they kill you,” I said as a tear slid down my face before I closed my eyes. “And I’m sorry for that, too.”

Mal

Once again, Fae is gone.

Honestly, I shouldn’t even be shocked. I’m not, actually. But I am pissed. How in the hell did someone get her by me? Sleeping or not, I was right in front of the door. After weeks of sleeping with the fear of something sneaking up on us, a breeze wakes me now, so how did someone get through the creaky door of the barn, down the equally creaky stairs, then back up and out with Fae in tow?

Most importantly, how come she didn’t struggle or fight? Rollie had said she was meditating, and I could feel that she was deep within herself, but to be that deep to not notice she was being moved?

“I can feel her,” Blaine looked to the west. “It’s a very long way.”

“Yes, I can sense her, too. She’s awake now,” I nodded.

“Is she okay?” Ben asked.

“She’s sad. Resigned and angry, but mostly sad,” I said, feeling our Bond carefully. “I think she knows who took her.”

“It almost smells like Zane, but it’s not,” Blaine shook his head. “Whoever it is, they might have had contact with him at some point, but it’s very faded.”

“Do you think they took her to Zane?” Ben asked.

“If that was the case, she would have woken us first,” I shook my head. “I don’t think she went willingly. But I don’t think she fought either.”

“I don’t think she could,” Blaine nodded. “So, what do we do now?”

“We do what we always do,” Ben snorted. “Find Fae.”

“I swear, I’m chaining her to me this time,” I huffed as Ben and Blaine shifted and I picked Ben up. “This is getting out of hand.”

Blaine sneezed and took off running.

“He’s going to outrun me, isn’t he?” I sighed and Ben yipped. “Figures. Show off!”

Rollie

I watched as my cousin was taken.

I’m ashamed to say that, while I could have stopped it, I didn’t. Instead, I watched it happen with Garloth beside me. We had sensed something dark lurking about, and it wasn’t a demon. Close, but not quite.

I suppose he went by Naz, these days.

Whatever.

Like me, he was trying to outrun his past. Like Fae was trying to hide from her future.

What a family we made.

“How long should we wait?” I asked Naz quietly.

“As long as it takes for her Bonds and Bonded to arrive,” Naz answered. “This isn’t our fight. Not yet.”

“Do you think only three of them will be able to handle all of this?” I asked him, looking at the hundreds, if not thousands of people milling about.

“Blaine alone could take them,” he nodded. “He’s the alpha hound for a reason, even if he is young and newly bound. That Bonded of hers would certainly put more than a sizable dent in them as well.”

“I’m concerned about the fox,” I frowned.

“I’m not,” he snorted.

“You never are,” I rolled my eyes.

“Aside from him being a fox, I’m not concerned. He’s clever, even by their standards, and creative. Being friends with a dog Morphi and a hellhound, he’s learned far more physical tricks than he thinks. He’ll never be strong, like they are, but he’s far more capable than any other of his pitiful kind.”

“Racist,” I scoffed.

“Elitist,” he corrected. “I could care less about his race. I value skill, power, and strength.”

“All things considered, Fae has a very solid set of Bonds around her,” I admitted after a second.

“Yes, they do balance each other out well,” Naz nodded, his tail swaying idly by his ankles. “Makes me wonder what it would be like if they hadn’t lost one.”

“Two,” I corrected. “I very much suspect that thing in there is the one they’ve been looking for.”

“You think so?” he tilted his head to the side. “This should be entertaining.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Naz always valued situations on the amount of entertainment he could replace in them.

Mary

Something was very wrong. I only felt something like this the night before the castle was attacked and my father was killed. It was this stifling, cold feeling of foreboding and dread. It was thick in the air this morning.

“I don’t like this,” Quinn said as we packed our belongings and continued in the direction of where Blaine had said Fae was.

“Something isn’t right,” I agreed, then pointed to the west. “But it’s that way.”

“What do we do?” he asked, and I bit my lip.

I wanted to be with my daughter, but Blaine hadn’t returned, meaning she was safe, despite the pain that Mal had felt before he took off. Ben hadn’t activated the wisp he stuck on us before he and Blaine left, either. Fae had her Bonds and her Bonded with her.

Whatever was going on to the west, it wasn’t good.

“I think we need to go there,” I nodded west. “As much as I hate to say it, Fae is plenty taken care of right now. She doesn’t need us, but someone over there might.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Quinn sighed. “I think you’re right. Something very, very wrong is going on over there.”

“I have a really bad feeling about it, Quinn,” I stared into the distance. “Something is going to go very wrong.”

I looked at him and he had the look that matched how I felt. Something bad was coming our way, no matter what we did. I just hope we were choosing the right option.