Page 12 of The Wars of Monsters
“She’s not one of them,” Xander replied. “We all know the humans in Katakin were turned into monsters. She must be from somewhere else.”
“Even if she’s innocent and has nothing to do with them, it doesn’t explain why she’s here,” Samson countered. “Nathaniel has already told me about the portal. If she came through while you had it open, you must send her back.”
“To where? She can’t tell me where she’s from. That portal was for us to get here. There’s no way to explain how a human used it to cross worlds.”
Cross worlds?I nearly choked, but I cleared my throat when all four of them peered my way.
“She’s obviously not a threat,” Xander said, pulling their attention back to him. “If we leave her out here alone, she’ll die.”
“He’s right,” Ellis said, nodding enthusiastically. “We found her running from a Choram bear. She’d be dead in minutes.” He stretched his neck, looking Samson up and down. “Say, you didn’t bring any food, did you?”
My mouth dropped open at how casually they were talking about my death, and Xander gave me a sympathetic look.
“She needs our help,” he said to Samson. “When we find out where she’s from, we can send her back.” Samson still didn’t look convinced, but Xander added, “Just imagine the stories she has about a world beyond our own. She could have useful information for…uh, educational purposes.”
As Xander said the last part, curiosity sparked in Samson’s eyes, the reluctance finally leaving his expression. His gaze swept over me like he now saw me as a treasure trove of information. Unfortunately for him, I still had no intention of telling them all about my island.
“Hmm fine,” Samson muttered, still staring at me. “But she can’t go into the camp looking like that.”
“And that’s why you’re here,” Xander replied, his demeanor brightening now that the older male had agreed to let me join them. “We need you to glamor her ears so we can pretend she’s a runaway from the city.”
I pushed off from the tree. “Glamor?”
Samson’s eyes brightened even more, like the fact I didn’t know what the word meant only further fueled his curiosity.
“Can you do it?” Ellis prompted, ignoring me.
Samson rubbed his chin. “It’s been some time since I’ve had to glamor anyone, and it’s never been to disguise ears, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.”
“Good,” Xander replied. “Make sure it’s convincing.”
Samson nodded and took a step toward me, but I jerked away, self-preservation kicking in. He halted his approach and turned his head to Xander, who smiled at me in that way that made my heart pound.
“It won’t hurt,” Xander assured me calmly as he stepped forward and took my hand in his. “It’s been a long time since our kind have seen a human. Samson will only use a little magic to disguise your ears.”
“Magic?” Even though I’d seen Nathaniel charm that bear, it was still hard to come to terms with the word being used so casually. The closest thing we had to magic back home was when our physician would use natural poultices of herbs to heal people.
“Yes, magic,” Xander replied, and I was all too aware of how his hand was still clutching mine. “We’ll remove the glamor when we can return you to your kind, but for now, this will have to do.”
“And I’d better do it with haste,” Samson added, looking pointedly at Xander. “They were expecting you to return hours ago. The celebration has already started, and I fear my absence will also be noticed.”
“Not to mention, I’mstarving,” Ellis added, making a show of rubbing his belly. His mood had improved considerably at the mention of the celebration. Xander gave Ellis an unimpressed look, and I didn’t move away as Samson approached me again, my hand still held firmly by the fae with the dazzling blue eyes.
Samson’s face scrunched with concentration and my ears and face began to tingle and heat. Just when the sensation was bordering on pain, the tingling abruptly stopped, and the older male stepped back. All four fae stared at me, and I trembled as I let go of Xander’s hand and reached up, my eyes flaring wide as I felt the elongated curves of my ears leading to pointed tips.
“I-I can feel that they’re different,” I stammered.
“They’re not the only things that have changed,” Ellis commented, and my heart hammered as I moved my hands to my face. My nose was sharper, and my cheeks more defined. Even my eyebrows felt like they were a different shape. “What did you do to me?”
Samson rocked back on his heels, looking very proud of himself. “Yes, well I did say it had been a long time since I’d had to glamor someone. Does it matter if my magic changed more than her ears? At least she looks more like a fae, and we can always remove the glamor when needed.” He beamed at Xander. “I dare say no one would question that she belongs in Zalei now.”
“I still don’t think this is a good idea, Xander,” Nathaniel commented, his expression serious.
Xander ignored him and said to me, “Come. Let’s get you introduced.”
CHAPTER 9
~ Cara ~