Page 11

eight

G alen snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared, hovering above his upturned fingers. It grew higher and higher, until it almost touched the pergola above us. He switched it off with another snap.

I turned to Rafael. He hesitated for a moment, then held out his hand as a small seed appeared.

Within seconds, the seed grew from a sprout, to a bud, to a blooming black rose.

He handed it to me. It felt real . The petals were silky and the thorns so sharp, I pricked my finger as I ran it along the stem.

I should’ve known that a gift from him would be booby-trapped. A small drop of blood appeared and I sucked my thumb to remove it. The brothers looked at me with interest.

I glanced down at my thumb to find the wound had already sealed over. The rose unexpectedly turned to black dust in my hands, causing fine powder to sieve between my fingers and onto my plate.

“I have the power to create. And destroy,” he said indifferently, shrugging his shoulders, while I blinked at him in disbelief.

Galen rolled his eyes. “You just can’t resist showing off around pretty girls, can you, brother?”

Rafael glared at him. Louis laughed and leaned over to take the empty glass I’d been drinking from. He hovered his hand over it and water streamed down from his fingers. He handed it back. It was icy cold in my hands. The water looked clear… drinkable.

Setting it aside, I asked, “And you can shift into animals?” My mind drifted to the grizzly bear I’d seen in the streets yesterday. Gears slowly turned as I tried to connect what I’d seen with what they were telling me .

“Our shifting forms will be revealed on our terms. It’s impolite to ask a faerie what their pneuma is,” Rafael replied coolly.

His attitude was getting tedious. And so was his perma-scowl. I didn’t even know what a pneuma was and I didn’t press it. Instead, I set my hands in my lap and took several deep breaths.

Magic was real. I could handle this. I’d always suspected that something more existed—my garden was living proof—but I hadn’t dared to dream this big.

This was incredible. A wide grin spread across my face, before fading to a dubious frown.

“How are you like vampires?” The biscuit sat in my stomach like a rock.

“Before we get to that, let me tell you the history of how we came to be here.” Galen reached across the table and took my hand.

“Up until two-hundred years ago, humans and faeries shared Erador.

Fae are long-lived… nearly immortal, which means we reproduce at a much slower rate.

Humans have always been the dominant species because of their ability to breed easily, along with their propensity for destruction and war.

“Our people prefer to live with the land. We feel a kinship with nature—a foreign concept to those who lack the ability to see its magic. For much of history, faeries avoided human society, choosing to live a nomadic lifestyle. Humans, however, were set on an insatiable path of progress. They built civilizations and then fought between themselves, devouring the natural world in the process. Faeries tried to adapt, but we were hunted… deemed monsters and demons. The Fae eventually found strength in numbers. We sailed across the sea from the Old World and discovered land that hadn’t been tainted by humanity.

We created a home that was ours—a haven for faeries.

We protected it with spells and wards, keeping humans out. ”

“Wards?”

“Invisible walls of magic. With strong wards, a place can be hidden in plain sight,” Rafael answered. “Even an entire city, when enough faeries are gathered together.”

Galen eyed him and continued. “We named our Kingdom Aurelius, which translates to golden in the language of the Fae. It was a golden age for us, lasting thousands of years. Humans rarely stumbled into our sanctuary, and if they did, we made sure they never left. We were able to grow our numbers and thrive. ”

Aurelius… my Aurelius, was an ancient Fae civilization? I stopped breathing.

Galen gave me a grim expression before continuing.

“We were cursed one-hundred years before we were exiled to this world. We still don’t know how or why, but one cloudless evening, all faeries felt magic leave their bodies, like part of their soul had been ripped from them.

Some of the elders instantly died, unable to live without magic.

Some children became ill and perished, from a sudden lack of immunity.

Later, we found out that humans began producing magic that same night—housing our stolen magic in their blood, like wine in a bottle.

Most of them couldn’t access it, their bodies incapable of channeling it.

“The Fae wouldn’t have learned that magic had found a new host, if there hadn’t been some that could wield it.

Chaos broke out in human society; fires were accidentally started, people turned their loved ones into dust in the midst of an argument, some drowned as their lungs filled up with water.

The magic rebelled. These stories trickled into Aurelius and some faeries left to look for answers—to find a way to break the curse.

Naturally, they began to mingle with humans again.

“Desperate Fae ripped humans apart as they tried to take back what was theirs. It wasn’t until they tasted human blood that they realized they could get their magic back. In doses. Temporarily.”

“This is why we’re compared to vampires,” Louis chimed in. “But we’re nothing like them. They’re soulless —resurrected from the dead. They can’t even—”

“A topic for another time, Louis,” Rafael said, silencing his brother with a hard stare.

Galen cleared his throat. “Once humans realized we required their blood to use our powers—that Aurelius existed and housed an entire community of Fae—they began to strategize. Their goal was simple; eradicate faeries from the world, while we were at our most vulnerable. We fought back, so they exiled us.”

Galen sighed, his eyes softening as they met mine. “We’re still cursed, which means we must drink human blood to wield magic.”

I pulled my clammy hands from his, shivering in the heat of the day. I was sitting with three faeries who drank blood?

Did they view me as a food source ?

I blanched, resisting the urge to back my seat away from the table and run.

Actually, running was probably a good idea. I forcefully pushed my heavy chair back and stood. The brothers were watching, waiting to see what I did next.

I stood locked in place, paralyzed with panic. My heart was beating wildly, my stomach was in my throat, my eyes were fixed on Galen. Had he been thinking about my blood while he was kissing me last night? My stare sharpened as fear turned to anger.

Galen carefully stood, as if he might spook me if he moved too fast. “Marigold… please sit down. We’re not going to hurt you.”

“Why should I believe you? W-what do you want with me?” I asked, voice quivering.

Cautiously, he made his way towards me, walking around the table. “You should believe me, because I’ve gone out of my way to protect you and make you feel safe since we met. And I’ll continue to do so. As for what we want… if you sit down, I’d be happy to tell you.”

He was standing beside me when he'd finished speaking. His hand reached out, but I jolted back.

“Don’t even think about touching me."

“I won’t touch you. Now, sit.”

I looked at the other brothers. Rafael had a smug little smirk on his face.

“Does my fear bring you joy, sadist ?” I snarled.

His smile dropped as he stared at me through thick lashes. “Actually, I was enjoying the sight of Galen getting his ass handed to him. It doesn’t happen nearly enough, in my opinion.”

Galen was about to lunge, but I turned towards him next. “I’ll sit. Just please… don’t growl again. I’m still recovering from the last one.”

Rafael and Louis both laughed, while Galen helped me into a seat. Veins bulged in his arms and neck as he silently seethed.

“So… I have magic in my blood?” I asked while gazing at the blue and purple lines that ran along my wrists.

“Yes, you’re human, but you’re likely also Fae,” Galen replied. “In fact, I’m confident that you are. Some faeries can use magic without drinking blood, because they’re also part-human. We refer to them as hybrids. They aren’t common; faeries and humans don’t usually interbreed. ”

I laughed. cackled . I was beginning to disassociate. “You can’t be serious. I can’t use magic. Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m just a simple, boring human . What did your mother call me… a pet ?”

“My mother is a piece of work. And I’m perfectly serious. Last night… when we kissed… I could feel your power,” he whispered.

A surge of heat rushed through me and I dropped my gaze. “Oh,” I squeaked.

Louis laughed and opened his mouth to speak, but Galen shot him a look that shut him up.

With a thick voice, I asked, “Who cursed you? Why?”

Rafael answered as he stared out towards the mountains.

“We don’t know. The accepted theory is that a human got hold of a spell book—one that doesn’t require magic to wield.

Whether they meant to or not, they shifted the flow of magic.

Energy can’t be created—only transferred.

Giving magic to humans took magic from faeries.

There were attempts to break the curse—whispers of spells and prophecies.

But none of that mattered once we became trapped here. ”

“A world walker tricked you.” I looked to Galen. “You told me that yesterday.”