Anthony Boike as Rafi.
***
"So," he begins, "You seem a little confused."
"Oh, if I wasn't dying with curiosity you would be six feet under by now." I say, letting a hint of malice slip into my tone.
"Understood." He says, smiling. He has some very prominent laughter lines.
When I look closer at him, I see his wings. They're beautiful.
Solid gold base colour with streaks of bright green, copper and white. Almost could pass for Seelie wings, but the gold is too deep for the Seelie's pale gold of the sun, its more like golden autumn leaves, and the white is a purely Dark fairy wing tone because Lights hate snow.
I wish my wings were a bit more subtle.
"So, who the hell are you?"
"I'm Rafi Saim, and you darling are Kedua O'Clade."
"I am."
"Well obviously, or you wouldn't be here. No one else would be able to conceal themselves from bounty hunters so well."
"Oh, so that's why the Lights are after me."
"Exactly. You're welcome for the warning, by the way."
"I wouldn't have been in any more danger than I'm used to." I say, frustrated at all the extra work he's loaded on me.
"Sorry about that, but it's not my fault you're so easy to track."
"Oh, if I'm so easy to track, then why am I still here?"
"Because I've been covering your tracks for a while now." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been able to get a job and stay in one place for so long."
"Why are you telling me this? Why are you helping me?" I said, dumbstruck.
"Seriously girl, are you blind?" He said, running a hand through his hair. His dark hair, the exact same colour as my mother's. The exact same as mine. It even had the same slight wave to it.
"You're my b-brother?" I stutter, in awe of my stupidity.
"Yep. Our mother thought I was a stillborn, and had to give me to one of the healers to deal with me, but it turned out I was alive, barely, and so the healer tried to bring me back to my mum, but she was already gone, too heartbroken to stay. You know how risky light and dark mating is. There's like an 80% chance the baby is stillborn, and theres a 99% chance that its a boy, so she never questioned it. They couldn't find her, so they took me in, but when my wings gained colour, they knew, so I was handed over to the Seelie Queen, since my wings could pass as light, and the Queen decided to let me live, provided I do as I'm told."
"So why are you here now? It's not as if you knew Mum. You have no obligation to look after me." I say, my eyes a deep blue of sadness for poor Rafi.
"Platonic relations are very strong for fairy men, so I feel the need to keep an eye on you."
"Since you're under the Queen's protection, does she know that you're with me?"
He winces and says, "Well, yes, but she understands that you are dear to me, so you're safe in the Seelie court if you need shelter. I know you've been living in fear for a long time, and I should've spoken to you sooner, but I couldn't risk leading Gideon to you. He... has a bit of a grudge against me."
"Why, because you're a Mid?"
"Well, that and the fact that I'm married to his sister."
"Seriously? How did that happen?"
"His sister, my wife, is my mate, so we fell madly in love and got married, but Gideon wasn't too happy about it since that meant that going after you would hurt his sister since it hurt me. He had to though, as the Prince's PG, so he hunts you anyway, and now he and Lillia no longer speak. He blames me, even though you can't choose your mate." Rafi says sadly.
"Does that mean I have a mate?" I say, perplexed. I thought that Mid Mates were just a legend.
"Yes, it does, and I hope you find him or her. The way you know is that you find them absolutely gorgeous to look at, in such a way you've never felt before. It's a reflection of how beautiful you find their soul, the perfect match for yours. There's also a sense of warmth and home in it too."
Wait a second. Absolutely gorgeous. Warm and fuzzy. Like the way I felt about Gideon?!
"Kedua, what's that colour in your eyes? What are you thinking about? I can't read you, you're mind wall is too strong."
"Um, Rafi..."
"Yeah?"
"Do families tend to be connected to each other? Like, hypothetically, if you had a mate in one family, could my mate be from that family too?"
"Well the mate gene or whatever it is would stay in a family that didn't branch out, so it's pretty likely. Why do you... Oh wait. Oh no. Do you think-"
"Yeah, I do think that Gideon is maybe sort of kind of my mate."
"Well, shit."
