Queen of the Fae (Book 1)

Ten

"NIGHT IS NOT SOMETHING TO ENDURE UNTIL DAWN. IT IS AN ELEMENT LIKE WIND OR FIRE. DARKNESS IS ITS OWN KINGDOM; IT MOVES ITS OWN LAWS, AND MANY THINGS DWELL IN IT."

-PATRICIA A. McKILLIP

e v a

I woke with a start, loosing a sharp gasp at the sudden pain tearing through my body. I felt heavy, the new appendages I'd unexpectedly gained were weighing me down with their unfamiliar weight. My heart pounded loudly inside my head as I blearily looked around, taking in the tiny cottage bedroom with little more than a mirror and small nightstand along with a small bed. I grimaced as my tail thumped, moving with no encouragement from me. A chill skittered down my back as it flicked back and forth lazily, like a cat stretched out on a tree limb.

Looking down, I had to fight against the fear and vomit that tried to come up as I took in my clothing. I wore a burgundy wrap-style thing that was made out of some kind of netting, it was almost rubbery to the touch and stretchy, but melded to my every curve, or what was left of them. It was heavily slitted to leave either side of my ribs bare, and fell to just above my knees in full length. Because of my wings, I suspected the fabric wasn't wrapped traditionally. Someone had taken great care to take some of the weight off of my back. For that I was grateful.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to regain control of myself. I felt foolish for running from Kaisa. I knew she'd hunt me down and may not even be far from here. I was terrified of what she had planned for me and this family when she found me. When I was able, I managed to sit up and swing my legs over the side, nearly toppling over as one wing shifted. I saw it out of the corner of my eye and froze.

Something was different.

I turned my head to look over my shoulder, my face draining of all color as I caught sight of them. Despair tracked tears down my face, the forced acceptance of what I'd gone through, forever linked to me by wings almost identical to Jinx's. They were big and scythe shaped, with two large bone spikes at the tips. The inner sides of the wings had minute holes scattered along the edges, as if they'd been burned and tattered. When folded in, the in between-joints folding together rather neatly. They were of course, a deep ebony color to match the rest of me. Sighing, I noticed a small mirror hanging by the doorway.

I fiddled with my split lip, mumbling to myself. "Better get this over with." I approached it nervously, closing my eyes for a moment.

"It doesn't matter what you see looking back at you, Ev's. I will always love you."  My throat clogged as I remembered my mother's words, and I steeled my resolve. I hadn't looked at myself since the attack, but now I finally had a moment to myself to breathe.

I peeked my eyes open, then a little more, until they widened at the sight of the woman staring back at me. On the outside, I looked like I'd been hit, rolled over, and shredded in a meat grinder. I didn't give myself the easy way out, I didn't look away. I forced myself to take in every bruise and cut, my chest shuddering at the purple finger marks still lingering on my throat. In addition to bruises, my face and left eye were still a mess. Though the last of the swelling had finally abated, everything was purple and blue, my cheeks, my arms. My breathing came in harsh and painful pants, the horror threatening to kill me. The world blurred as I stared at my dirty fingernails, flashing back to when I gouged the male pixie's face.

He's gone, he's gone, he's gone. I chanted over and over to myself, retreating to the other side of the bed, grateful for my wings as they wrapped around me. I rocked back and forth, continuing my mantra, trying to find ways to escape.