Beyond the Fairy Gate

Chapter 11

Nyline

Nyline ended her movement skill right outside of her house, then shouldered the door open and slammed it behind her. She leaned her back against it as she looked down at her arm. The warmth from the boy's hand was a print on her skin. It made her mouth form into a thin line as she thought back to the image that had flooded into her mind when he had touched her. He had always dreamed of a girl that was always smiling at him, giggled, and had poise.

Nyline felt her mouth open in a laugh at the thought. Her dainty and giggling? What a joke. Her laughter stopped abruptly as she walked into the kitchen, dropped her arm warmers and mp3 player on the counter. A scout, not a queen, had brought her up. She didn't know the first thing about edict or how to even deal with other people, much less rule them. She shook her head as she walked to the fridge and opened it. She didn't grab anything or even really see inside, so she shut it and pressed her head against the surface. It was warm under her skin as she took several deep breaths in. Pushing off the fridge, she jumped onto the counter, her mind wandering back to what she had just done. She had used influence on not only three teens and the front lady at the school but also a darkling. It had been so easy. Raising her hand above her head, she looked at it long and hard. It was still her hand, dark-skinned with all of the lines she had had all of her life.

The darkling was a completely different story; its mind had been so human. It scared her. The look in those orange eyes had been something that she had seen before. Pain shot across her mind, and she placed her hand on her face. Truthfully, she had stolen some of its memories, but she had also replaced them in a very inefficient way. The pain built up behind her eye, making her press her palm into it even harder.

An image flooded her mind; she was moving through a snow-covered forest as if she was an animal on all fours. After several feet, the movement changed to running like a human. As she turned a snow-covered tree, a man appeared. He was standing in a snow-covered forest, his platinum blond hair shining as the sunlight hit it. As the image seemed to focus, she saw that he had ice blue eyes and his face was smooth of lines. The man's mouth moved as if he was speaking to her, but she couldn't hear any of the words. After a moment, the man moved closer to her and looked directly into her eyes. She felt as though she had been physically knocked backward. The image flying from her mind as the ceiling came back into focus. When had she ended up on the floor? Nyline stood suddenly as she heard the door opening; she rubbed the back of her head where it had connected with the floor.

"Uncle John, is that you?" Nyline walked through the kitchen door and stopped as she saw the entire group of people took up the entryway. She stopped suddenly as their thoughts started to enter her mind. There was a painful throbbing behind her eye as she stumbled as the inner words began to bombard her mind. She glared at her uncle, the only person whose thoughts were quiet.

"Nyline," John spoke softly as he closed the door.

"What are you doing? How could you bring them here? This is our space!" Nyline crossed her arms as she looked at them before throwing her hands out gesturing to the house. She turned and ran up the stairs, her hand pressing into her eye as she went.

"Nyline, wait!" Her uncle shouted after her. She rushed to her bedroom, where she closed the door a little harder than she meant. What was he thinking bringing people over? This was her safe place away from everyone's thoughts. Walking to her bed, she fell into it. Her hand still over her eye as it throbbed again painfully. There was a soft knock at the door before it opened without her responding.

"Nyline, you need to at least listen to what I'm going to say." Her uncle spoke as he walked in and sat down on her bed. She hurried up, so her back was against the headboard. "That boy down there is Elizabeth and James' son. He's your mated pair." Nyline shook her head which only made it throb more. Her hand covered her eye again, pressing into the socket.