Finding Elora

Chapter 1

It's what killed her mother, and it's only a matter of time before it does the same to her.

Lill's mom refused to drink the tea after realizing there wouldn't be enough for her and Lill. She wanted to save what was left for her daughter, and she withered away and died within five years of coming to the human realm.

Lill told everybody it was cancer, which I suppose isn't too far from the truth.

Faeries need magic to keep their bodies running, but the human realm has none. Not a drop. Lill says the tea she drinks is loaded with it, and it's the only thing that's kept her alive all these years. Now, though, she looks just like her mother did in the months before she died.

It terrifies me.

"Stop staring at me," Lill says. She hurries to put the lid on her canister, but there's no point. I already saw just how little is left. "I'm just about to start dinner."

I shake my head and grab her teacup. Her hands tremble, and I don't want her to spill. The tea is too precious to spill.

Lill's eyes fill with tears as I lift the cup to her mouth and urge her to sip. I know she's embarrassed, but this is what family is for.

"I'll order pizza," I say.

Lill takes another sip of her tea, and I carefully pull it away and carry the cup into the living room so she can sit and rest. She needs to, otherwise her symptoms will grow worse. The tea is so diluted I know it won't heal her, but it'll alleviate the worst of her pain.

At this point, that's all we can hope for.

"I'll clean up tomorrow morning," Lill promises.

I wave away her words. I've told her a million times that I don't need her cleaning for me, but she refuses to listen. I think it makes her feel useful, and it probably helps remove some of her guilt over letting me support her.

Lill takes a seat on the couch, and I head into my bedroom to change. My laundry basket is overflowing, and I grimace as I throw today's clothing on top. I've been needing to do laundry for days now, and there's no more putting it off.

I had to wear my uncomfortable and unflattering gray slacks today, and while I tried salvaging the outfit with a tight black t-shirt, I spent all day feeling bland.

The small marketing firm I work for is full of bright, energetic twenty-year-olds, and they have me feeling old at twenty-six. Objectively, I know I'm still young, but when I show up in my boring gray outfits and they're in bright green patterned tops, I feel like a fucking crypt keeper.

I throw on some comfortable clothes before carrying my basket into the hallway. Lill patters around, probably tidying up the living room, as I throw my dirty clothes in the washer.

I hate how she feels the need to clean constantly, but she gets angry whenever I try to tell her to stop.

She collapses onto the couch when I finally emerge from the hallway, and I resist the urge to groan as I spot the freshly cleaned coffee table. Lill tries to pretend she didn't just do anything as she sips her tea, but I can tell by the shaking of her hand that the few minutes of cleaning took it out of her.

I wish she would just open a damn portal to the faerie realm. She refuses, for reasons still unknown to me, but I know just breathing the magic in the air would be good for her. I've picked up through context clues that her mom was running away from something or someone, but Lill was a child when she came here and I doubt anybody would recognize her.

She's told me most faeries have white hair and purple eyes, so she wouldn't stand out.

She could live in a small cabin in the middle of nowhere. I'd miss her terribly, but at least she'd be alive. Plus, she'd be strong enough to open a portal and visit me whenever she wants.