Between Shadow & Ruin (Fangs & Fae Saga Book 2)

seventy-three.

We celebrated Odie's birthday at home with his favorite dinner and a chocolate cake. The weekend after Odie's birthday, we readied for his party in the fae realm. Elijah requested us, and we unfortunately had no choice but to go. Fifteen was a big deal in the fae realm, and there was no way we could avoid or change it.

"Odie? Are you ready?" I asked, as he came down the stairs with Ella.

"Ugh, do we really have to go to the fae realm for my birthday? You guys know how much I hate it there..." he said, groaning.

"I tried Odie," Val said. "But you're the child of the Eminence. There are certain customs we can't break... It's only a few hours. Besides Ella is coming."

"I know you don't wanna go, Odie, but I'm kind of excited to see where your parents grew up," Ella said.

"It's not much different than it is here," he said. "Plus, I have to wear these stupid pants every time I go that are impossible to put on..." Chris laughed as he came upstairs from the bathroom.

"I have trouble putting them on too, kid," he said.

"Oh, do I have to wear anything special?" Ella asked.

"If you'd like to," Val said. Ella nodded, excitedly. Val and Zane opened up a portal to the fae realm, and everyone stepped through. I heard Bee and Ella gasp as the portal closed behind us and they saw the realm for the first time. Val leaned over her favorite stand and got a bunch of pastries for everyone as we walked through the market to the golden building in the center. We took the lift up to Val's home. Ella and Bee were mostly silent in awe as we reached the living room.

"Holy crap! You guys live in a gold building!" Bee said. "Why would you ever want to live on Earth if you could live here?"

"While it all seems nice and luxurious," Aria said, "living here full time isn't practical for us. Not to mention, we would've never met you if we lived here." She reached for a hug, and ruffled through his hair.

"And time moves differently here. When we get back, it will be Sunday night," I said. A fae came in through the front door and greeted us with a pile of fabric in different colors.

"Ugh..." Odie said, grabbing his pants. "Mom, can we please do something about this? I don't mind being here... but wearing these pants is so uncomfortable."

"Why is that?" Zane asked.

"Because everyone stares at me in them..."

"Sorry, kid," Zane said, laughing, as he grabbed a pair of wrap pants from the pile. Bee, Chris, Ray, and Noah grabbed theirs as well. I took a pair for Ella and she and Aria went to the room to change. After Ella changed, I noticed a large scar across her ribs that matched where she was hit with the dark magic from the fight with Kalial and Liam.

"This is pretty comfortable... I don't know what Odie is complaining about. The fabric is so soft," she said, rubbing her hands against her legs. We all met up in the living room and I heard Ella's heart skip a beat and watched her blush as she saw Odie.

"Why don't you two have this problem?" Odie said.

"Maybe because you're wearing them backwards?" Chris said, laughing. "Come on, let me help you put them on properly..." They disappeared into the bedroom. Val came and handed me something to wear and offered to help me put it on.

"Here, these are for you..." she said, quietly.

"Why are you whispering?" I laughed.

"I don't know," she laughed back. "But this will be more comfortable than what you usually wear here, and it will give you some better coverage." The pants were different; they didn't tie along the sides, but slipped on like a regular pair of sweatpants and the top was basically a bright blue tanktop with some ruffling along the front. The fabric again was incredibly soft and I was thankful. After everyone was properly wearing their clothes, we walked towards the hall. Celia and a few other fae were still setting it up.