I ran track for three years at my old high school in Hal's Desert, and let me just say- training with Malik was ten times harder.
Running a 10k? Fine.
400-meter relay? Great!
Trying to defend yourself against an attacker who has the speed and strength of a werewolf running at you full steam?
"Oh shit!"
My butt, for the sixth time that afternoon, met the ground with a loud thunk, bruising both my tailbone and my ego. Gray, however, was giving me a cheeky grin as he stood over top of me. He reached out a hand to help me up and I grumbled incoherently to myself as he hoisted me up with ease.
"So," Malik began, walking over to where we stood in the clearing, "What did you do wrong?"
I groaned inwardly. That question perfectly summed up Malik's coaching style. He liked for me to point out all of the things I did wrong. Except- and get this- if I knew what I was doing wrong, I wouldn't have been doing it in the first place.
"Um..."
"You were off-balance," he cut in, pointing to my sneaker-clad feet, "your stance needs to be shoulder-width apart and bend your knees a little. The closer your center of balance is to the ground the more steadfast you'll be."
I nodded, trying to listen to every word that he said, but it was difficult when Gray was ripping up leaves and putting them in the hood of my jacket like a child. Malik eyed the werewolf and I shoved him away from me, the wind carrying Gray's snorts of delight.
Malik instructed us to go again and gave us some space in the clearing. Gray took a few steps back and winked at me.
I sighed. "Can you try to take this seriously? I'm trying not to die."
Like always, this just seemed to amuse Gray even more and his smile widened. Both of us looked at Malik who held his hand up. I moved my feet shoulder-width apart and crouched down a little lower. My gaze flitted back to Gray, ready for and wary of any possible movement he made.
Malik's hand began to move and I readied myself for Gray's attack, crouching lower and-
"Whisperer, mae arnom eich angen unwaith eto."
All three of us turned to face the two new strangers that had appeared in the clearing. The language they spoke came from a voice that was low and guttural, but came from one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen.
Her long red hair was plaited behind her back with laces of gold and silver braided into it, matching the loose-fitting dress that hung off her delicate frame. The edges of her seemed to glimmer with shades of vibrant greens and blues, creating an oceanic blaze around the crisp, steel green of her eyes. The man next to her resembled her in both fine beauty and delicate features but his hair was a golden honey color that matched the liquid caramel in his eyes. My breath caught in my throat at the pair of them standing regally in the light of the clearing.
Gray straightened immediately and a flood of anxiety filtered through me at his reaction. Malik, however, smiled gracefully. After getting to know him, I could see the smile was tight and forced.
He inclined his head in greeting. "Lady Brighid, Lord Rhiwallon, I was not expecting to see you again so soon."
My mouth was still slack, observing the two radiant beings that had just walked into the training area of the campsite. The man and the woman paid Gray and I no mind and focused their sights on my teacher. Malik tensed infinitesimally as they glided toward him. Their feet barely seemed to touch the ground.
Gray, who had at some point pulled me so I was at his side, nudged me with my elbow. Slightly dazed, I looked up at him.
"Who-"
He scanned my face, warily. "Tylwyth Teg."
My brow furrowed further in confusion. "Huh? What language is that?"
Gray nodded to the two people now conversing with Malik. "It's Welsh. It's what they call the Fair folk. They're the two ambassadors from the Queen's court in Scotland."
"Like God save the Queen? The Queen?" I repeated, tasting the word on my tongue.
"The Queen of Faerie," Gray sighed out, "Are you sure you're supernatural? You are certainly supernaturally uninformed."
I nodded my head slowly, agreeing. The two people across from me were faeries. As I watched the greenish-blue aura surround the woman and the gold aura surround the man, I realized that I had known when I saw them that they were creatures I'd never seen before.
"Brighid is a Lake Maiden and Rhiwallon is Elven," Gray explained further.
"They're beautiful."
Gray shrugged and began pulling me closer to the three creatures talking near the treeline. As we walked, he whispered in my ear, "Look a little closer."
I did as he suggested and inspected the image of the two Fair Folk. The closer we got to Brighid and Rhiwallon I could see that while they were certainly beautiful, there was a terrifying viciousness underlying their faces. Brighid's skin was marked with ice blue veins that created spidery lines up her arms and peaked out of the top of her dress at her throat. The pale white of her skin and the blueness of her lips resembled that of a corpse. As I inspected Rhiwallon's face, he seemed perfectly ordinary apart from the breathtaking beauty...until he opened his mouth. Each tooth was sharpened to a needlepoint.
My eyes widened and Gray nudged me.
"It's rude to stare," he paused. "Be...careful. The fair folk are our allies right now but you would be wise not to tell them your secrets. They enjoy having fun at the expense of mortals."
I swallowed, nodding.
Finally, Gray and I joined Malik and the two faeries. They both inspected me thoughtfully and I attempted not to shrink under their gaze. Their stares made me feel like I was a bug on a windshield and a wiper was coming quickly to snuff me out.
"Another Whisperer?" The woman, Brighid, asked. Her voice sounded like the low twinkling of a church bell- powerful and beautiful. The accent, however, was impossible to place- like a mixture of English and Scottish. "How odd."
I stiffened at the feeling of her investigative stare, wanting to respond, but Malik beat me to it.
"How so, my lady?"
Brighid reached her elegant fingers out to take a lock of my brown hair in her fingertips. Her smile down at me spoke of a thousand things that she knew, but I didn't. My breath stalled in my throat as she played with the strands, her amusement at my expression was that of a child playing with a doll.
"The other alpha mentioned nothing of a female Daemon," Rhiwallon said stoically. He, I could already guess, was not keen on showing any type of human emotion. "He said that you, my friend, would be found here with the Denvers."
Rhiwallon inclined his head politely to Gray who returned an uncomfortable smile. The other alpha?
"Tucker?"
My voice said the name before I could stop it and Brighid's crisp eyes lit up as if I'd just said the most wonderful thing. Malik cut in before me or the fey could say anything else.
He cleared his throat. "Well, by any chance, Eloise and I are both here to help with what you need."
My eyebrows shot up to my hairline. I was not in the habit of offering my services to anyone at the moment. My powers and abilities ran rampant inside of me with no real way to control them. Trying to help anybody could be dangerous...and not for me. The last person I'd 'helped' had already been dead, no real risk involved.
Gray eyed me warily, sensing my sudden apprehension at being volunteered. Brighid seemed delighted at the mention of my name. Her eyes scanned me and I resisted the urge to bend the shit out of her ley line. All of her attention was putting me wildly on edge, energy rushed through me and my nails cut into my palms.
Without taking her eyes off of me she said in delight, "One of the Court's other emissaries in our company has been injured. She seems to have run into quite the curious spell while exploring your..." she paused as if trying not to offend her current audience, "quaint town."
One of the fey was injured by a spell in town? As the conversation commenced between the fey, Malik, and Gray I was stuck wondering how that was even a sentence that could unironically be uttered in my presence. Rhiwallon mentioned that it was a spell put on a club downtown and my brain began to race.
"I'll help her," I interjected, stopping the conversation.
Rhiwallon nodded his assent and Brighid's amused smile grew into a fully-fledged grin-like that of a predator before it strikes.
I swear if Tilly didn't thank me for fixing the mess she'd caused, I'd hit her over the head with a broomstick.
Brighid's twist of her lips told me that she knew something I didn't.
"You'll like her very much."
***
The two fey led us back into the main part of the campsite where members of the Denvers pack watched us travel through their home. I suppose it was an uncommon sight- two faeries, two daemons, and the alpha's son all traveling together.
They led us back into Anna's large tent at the edge of the campsite. Gray held the flap open for me and I followed behind Malik and the two fey. A sudden smell like burned copper and syrup hit me as soon as I entered.
Anna was standing in the center of the tent speaking with two other men that I immediately placed as faeries. If not for their terrible beauty, the slight greenish tint to their skin and solid blue eyes (no pupil and no whites) were telling enough. My pulse quickened as their strange eyes looked me up and down. Brighid led me to the girl that was laying at the feet of Anna and the other faeries.
The smell of burnt copper was getting stronger.
"Lou?" Anna looked surprised to see me and I shot her an indistinct shrug.
"You know me," I said, "always here to help."
She looked amused at the sarcasm in my voice. We'd found a strange understanding since I'd first met her. Both of us respected the other's power, and both of us needed each other to protect the people we cared about. But I still didn't trust her as far as I could throw her- which, if today's training was any indication, was not very far.
The three of them moved out of the way so I could finally see who I was supposed to be helping. She was laying on a cot, wrapped in multiple blankets, exhibiting what looked like flu symptoms.
Relief flooded through me as I realized the girl resembled more of a human than her other companions- there were no fangs. The only significant indicator of her supernatural lineage resided in the light purple shimmer surrounding her figure. When she opened her eyes, however, I noticed another.
Exactly half of one eye was a stark violet, while the rest was a soft blue. Her blonde hair stuck to her forehead with sweat and her fair complexion was feverish. She looked to be my age, but her features were smaller and more delicate. Pretty- like a flower.
"Who the fuck are you?"
And thorny too, apparently.
Immediately, I smiled. Brighid was right. I already did kind of like her.
"My thoughts exactly," I told her.
Rhiwallon leaned down next to the girl and eyed her sternly. "She is here to help you. Be polite."
The girl made a face.
"I don't need any help-" she began to sit up as if to prove her point when her face screwed up in pain, "fucking magic."
She fell back onto the bed, gasping. Everyone seemed to crowd around her in concern and she looked slightly overwhelmed as they all stared down at her.
"I- uh, I need everyone to leave in order to work."
They all looked at me, curiously. The faeries looked as if they would die before they left the girl alone. Luckily for me (and her), Anna cleared her throat.
"Well, that's alright. Malik, you and I can talk to our emissaries here about how to continue the search for the missing fair folk. My lady, my lords we can discuss outside."
Never had I been more thankful for the authoritative tone that only Anna Denvers could pull off in a tent full of otherworldly creatures. Her voice ensured that it was not a request, but a demand. I shot her a grateful look as they all filed out of the tent, leaving me with the girl and my thoughts on the missing fair folk. I bent down next to her on the cot.
"She seems nice," the girl joked half-heartedly, wincing slightly.
I shrugged. "She tried to kill me once." The girl raised an eyebrow at my casualness.
"Don't worry," I added, "I almost killed her too."
The girl seemed to laugh despite herself.
"Well, as long as it's fair."
______________
PLEASE READ!!!!
YOOOOO. I have two pieces of exciting news- in addition to Luminary, I will be continuing the creation of this supernatural world with a new story. And guess what? You just met the main character!
Did you guys ask for a faerie spin-off? No? Well, too damn bad because you're getting one.
I'm almost done writing Luminary (updates will be staying regular) and have started the planning process for this new adventure.
If you have ANY questions, please know that you can always message me, comment on here, or on my wall! I seriously LOVE talking to you guys and hearing all of your thoughts- even if you want to murder my characters sometimes (lmao).
What do you guys want to see from the spin-offs?
SECOND PIECE OF EXCITING STUFF: Wattpad reached out to me this morning and invited me to join the Wattpad Stars!!!!! After freaking out in my kitchen for about an hour and explaining to my mom what that meant, I began the process.
Just wanted to tell you guys, that it's literally because of YOU. ALL OF IT. I love writing and I love talking to you and Wattpad is such a wonderful place to do BOTH!! WOWOW. I'm so grateful for you all!!!!
Anyways, monologue is over,...leave me your thoughts on this chapter and an introduction to a new kind of creature!
Thanks for reading!
Stay safe. Be kind.