Faye and Ruin

The First Ride

As we were suspended between places, this time the milky black was more of a plum purple and the stars were brighter, no longer silver but an ivory color. There were more of them and the ones that had died were bright and back in their original spots. The milky color swirled around us, moving and twisting more than the black had.

Bayne glanced at me, recognizing the difference, but I remained captivated by the stars. A hollow gasp slipped into my ears from Claire and then the oxygen was sucked out as she doubled over.

When things focused, we were surrounded by slow rolling hills of nearly nothing but crops. Corn stalks were tall and beginning to yellow a little as the seasons were changing. I could feel the crisp autumn air creeping in already. Evening was closing in and the sun was starting to hang low in the clear blue sky.

A few trees littered the surroundings, and only one house was close enough to be seen; standing just down the road to our right. It was my father's house. Simple beige stucco, weathered a little but it was home nonetheless. This was where I'd grown up, learned how to work hard and take care of myself. This was where my dad had sacrificed so much as a single father; although now I knew that my mother hadn't really died, hadn't actually been mentally ill.

But the past couldn't be altered or changed so here we were. Claire pulled my attention from my thoughts. "Did Jessica say wings?" She seemed so shocked and it was only at that moment that I realized Claire knew almost nothing about these men other than they came from a different world.

"Yes, I have wings." Bayne replied, his arm still around my waist. Deimos was standing as close to Claire as he dared without freaking her out.

"Like actual wings?" She said again and he nodded yes. "Do you have wings too?" She turned towards Deimos and he shook his head no.

"He's only half Fae, hence why his ears aren't pointed like mine. I'm full Fae." Deimos answered.

"Same mom, different dads?" She asked.

"Other way around." Bayne answered and Claire shook her head, overwhelmed by everything that was happening.

"And how did we get here so fast?" I could still see the disbelief in her eyes.

"It's called shimmering." I answered and then added a word. "Magic."

"Do you all have magic?"

All three of us nodded yes and she stumbled backwards. Claire rubbed her forehead and paused for a moment. "But Azora isn't a Fae."

"No, she's a witch. Witches are mortals who are gifted with magical powers." Deimos explained. "Bayne and I are Fae which means we are immortal and granted magic. Depending on the type of Fae it can alter what type of magic they are gifted. For example, Faeries in Season Courts are only granted magic that have to do with that specific season, whereas we are granted magic that has anything to do with light, which is nearly everything, and those in the Dark Court are granted a very limited amount of magic. Not evil magic, just magic that's simpler, darker than ours."

"Courts?" Claire was becoming more and more overwhelmed with each passing moment.

"Kingdoms." I clarified and she nodded, though her eyes told me that she was still trying to process everything.

We waited, I waited for Claire to process this bombardment of information. She was handling all of this really well for being thrown such crazy ideas. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't been to Aresford. Fought alongside others in Illesall. Seen the Light Court and experienced everything myself.

Suddenly, a grin erupted across Claire's face. "So can you really fly?" She finally asked, her head whipping back up from staring at the ground, and the spitfire Claire I knew was back.