“GET UP and get dressed,” Aiden said, pulling my blankets off me.

I’d been at the court for a little over four months, and Aiden loved surprising me with random little treks. The months had passed by quickly, and I’d been able to settle into life in the court—even if I still largely kept to myself. Most of my time was spent with the fledglings, with Aiden, or reading in my room.

“What are you doing in here so early?” I grumbled, trying to fold in on myself and get back to the blissful state I’d been in only moments earlier. I’d been comfortable, warm, and, best of all, spending time with Clay in my dreams before I’d been so rudely awakened.

“We are going to put on our exploring hats today.”

I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my palm and yawned. “Okay, but why do we have to go so early though?”

“The sights I want to show you are a wonder to behold. For instance, today you will be lucky enough to witness firsthand exactly how beautiful the sunrise is from the roof of the school on North Brother Island,” he said.

“But North Brother Island is inaccessible—unless you’re talking about a pre-dawn kayak to a protected area, which really isn’t my idea of a good time.” Was Aiden monitoring my habits? Over the last few weeks, I’d been borrowing books from the fae library to learn more about New York. Just last night I’d come across an article about the General Slocum tragedy on North Brother Island. When I’d read further, I’d discovered that the island was an old quarantine station that had been repurposed a few times before being permanently closed for use as a protected bird sanctuary.

“Will you please just trust me and get dressed?”

I groaned. “There’s no way I can say no, is there?”

He grinned. “Nope.”

“Fine,” I grunted, giving up any notion of going back to the sweet dreams I’d been having. I pulled myself out of bed. “Give me five minutes.”

“I shall return in two,” he said with a laugh as he swept from the room, dodging the pillow I’d thrown at his head.

As much as I disliked the rude interruption to my sleep, I had to thank him for it. It was all part of his desire to keep me from wallowing, which was what I’d wanted to do more often than not. As much as it bothered Aiden having to remain inside the court, he stayed in each day for as long as he was allowed just to ensure I had company. The hours he spent away on duty were when I escaped to the classrooms or the library. The excitement and splendor of the fledglings were contagious, making the school corridors one of my favorite places to visit. After discovering that I spent most days indoors, he created these impromptu dates to get me outside.

I dressed as fast as I could, throwing on a clean pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Just as I was tying a scarf around my head to cover my hair, Aiden came back into the room.

“We must be going, or we will be late. Dawn will break soon,” he said, taking my hand and yanking me from the room.

Through the net-like exterior that covered most of the common areas of the building, I could see the creeping grayness that indicated the sun was about to rise. “We’ll never make it in time,” I said as I struggled to keep up with him. There was no way I could think of that we’d be able to reach North Brother Island before the sun rose above the horizon.

“Just trust me,” he said again.

Dragging me behind him the whole way, he raced through the corridors that led to the back of the court. I wanted to say something because we were going the wrong way to get out of the building, but I bit my tongue. It was too early in the morning to be admonished again.

Eventually, we reached a part of the court that I had yet to visit—a large indoor forest filled with flowers and trees, the like of which I’d never seen before. All thoughts of North Brother Island and sunrises were swept from my mind by the beauty of the room in front of me. Tangles of vines twisted endlessly around gnarled tree-trunks. Roots snaked out of the ground and coiled around makeshift pathways through the trees. Bursts of bright colors in every hue imaginable almost appeared to explode in vivid displays of blossoming bouquets from among the deep greens of the foliage. The air was filled with the delicious intermingled scents of the multitude of different blooms. Through the flora, I could see the fluttering of wings belonging to fairies of various ranks. The whole garden seemed to thrum with energy and life.

In the middle of the whole thing, the series of pathways weaved together to form a large meadow. Dotted across the grass were rings varying in diameter to accommodate different group sizes and each was decorated with mushrooms or small mounds of earth.

“This is our Grand Central Station,” Aiden explained as he dragged me toward one of the circles. Holding out his hand to me, he stepped over the mushrooms and into the circle. “Our ticket to anywhere. Care to join me?”

“What are they?” I asked.

“Fairy rings—they take us to the places we want to go. It is rare for any outsiders to be privileged enough to witness this room, but you’re not just any outsider.”

Taking his statement as a compliment, I took his proffered hand and, after eyeing the ring beneath me skeptically, stepped into the circle.

Almost instantly, the world blurred. I held Aiden’s hand tighter as I was thrown completely off balance. I tried stepping forward, but there was no solid ground beneath me. I stumbled into Aiden’s chest.

“It should have passed by now, Lynnie,” he murmured. “You can open your eyes.”

I hadn’t even realized I’d closed them, but my eyelids ached as though I’d squeezed them tightly shut. I opened one eye just a tiny sliver. The magical fae forest had disappeared. In its place stood a large redbrick building surrounded by slender, moss-covered trees.

“Race you to the top.” He fluttered his wings slightly as he said the words.

“Not fair!” I cried as I raced toward the building.

I’d barely taken three steps when his hands slipped beneath my underarms, and he lifted me from the ground.

“Wait!” I giggled. “I’m not ready for this.”

His laughter joined with mine as he struggled to lift me higher. “I am not used to doing this with another person. It is certainly a workout and a half.”

“Are you saying I’m fat?” I pretended to be indignant.

“Hardly,” he snorted. “You would need several more decent meals before I would even go so far as to call you slender.” He dropped me down so that my feet were back on the ground. “I think we should attempt this another way. Turn around.”

I followed his direction. He grabbed my arms and wrapped them around his neck. He hitched one of my legs around his waist. I used the leverage to circle the other one around him as tightly as I dared.

For a moment, he nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck. “That is remarkably better,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me, flexed his wings, and then lifted us both off the ground.

“Is this really easier?” I asked as I tightened my hold around him to ensure that I didn’t fall.

“Who said anything about easier?” He chuckled. “I said better.”

I nudged my shoulder against his chest in response.

“Be careful,” he whispered in my ear. “Or I might just drop you.”

We rose painstakingly slowly toward the roof. Once we’d cleared the top, he whispered against my neck that it was safe. I held on to him for a moment more as I tried to get my bearings. Between the fairy rings and the flying, I’d had enough of unusual travel methods.

Once I was back on my feet, he took a moment to catch his breath. “You didn’t actually have to carry me up here,” I said as he bent forward at the waist to recover.

He stood and slung his arm over my shoulder. “And miss this spectacular view?” he asked, sweeping his other arm in front of him to draw my attention to our surroundings.

My gaze followed the path of his arm, and I drew in a sharp breath. For the second time since waking, I was left utterly stunned by the pure, understated beauty of nature.

This place—which I’d only just read about in books—was the quarantine station. With its crumbling and ramshackle buildings being reclaimed by nature all around us, it really was a spectacular location, completely different to the urban jungles I was used to. The school building we stood on, one of the most recently constructed buildings, was also one of the few that still remained mostly erect.

Even though I hadn’t had a home since Dad’s death, I’d never really been able to appreciate the outdoors either. Or life in general in fact. During the years that I’d been on the road, I hadn’t had the time or inclination to just stop and look at the world like I could with Aiden now. We stood in silence, his arms resting around my waist, as the sun crept over the horizon.

“Wow!” I exclaimed when I was able to find my voice again after having it stolen by the beauty of the moment.

Was Clay out there somewhere enjoying the sunrise too?

The thought passed through my mind without my permission, leaving me bereft. To fight the cold that stole through me, I nestled closer into Aiden. His arm tightened around me. Sometimes it was as if he was able to read my moods better than almost anyone could.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“It really is a magical spot,” I said.

“You should have seen it when it was open. It truly was magical, then.”

“Wasn’t it just a quarantine station?”

He chuckled softly. “You insist on reading the human version of books. They are so supremely limited in their viewpoints. You should attempt to read some of the fae ones from time to time.”

“I can’t. They make my head hurt.” I grimaced at the memory of trying to read the fae texts. They were almost like a movie and a book rolled into one—the memories leaped from the paper to invade your mind. Anything read in a fae book not only appeared real but for all intents and purposes was real. History lessons became a firsthand experience, so there was no misinterpretation of the facts.

“If you practice, you will eventually become accustomed to it. You might even find that you enjoy it.”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to persist, but I didn’t want to offend him by saying so. “Maybe,” I said instead. “But if this wasn’t a quarantine station, then what was it?”

“It was a refuge, for outcasts like . . .” he trailed off.

“Like me,” I finished for him.

“You are most certainly not an outcast,” he said quickly, giving me another gentle squeeze. “You belong in our court—everyone who has met you would agree with that sentiment.”

My heart tore in two. Despite being welcomed into his family, part of me was more alone than ever. The fae had welcomed me in every way, but I wasn’t one of them. No matter how hard I tried to fit in, I didn’t belong in their court. Then again, I didn’t belong anywhere else either.

I would always be an outcast.

An ache built at my temples and I rubbed my head to try to shift it.

“Years ago, this island was a refuge to hundreds of others. In the end though, it proved perilous to gather so many extraordinary beings in one place, out in the open for all to see. The hunters came one day and destroyed so many lives. They were unyielding in their attack until eventually all had perished or fled.”

“The Rain?” I guessed.

“You know of them?”

“You could say that.” I gave a mirthless chuckle.

“You’ve had a run-in with them?” he asked.

I nodded as the unwelcome vision of Clay’s brother behind the wheel of a Hummer came to haunt me.

“Then you are indeed most lucky to be standing here alive. Not many escape. The Rain is too ruthless and its followers too well-trained.”

“Tell me about it.” My mind turned over all of my first-hand experiences examples of that very fact.

“You will be safe with us . . . with me.”

I nodded and leaned my head against his chest. He was able to keep me safe. He could bring a smile to my face and laughter to my lips, even if he couldn’t quite make me happy right down to my core.

I wanted it to be enough.

Why couldn’t it be enough?

Turning to face him, I pushed thoughts of the Rain, of Clay, of everything else, out of my mind and brought my lips to his. It was the first time I’d initiated any physical contact with him, and I tried uselessly to convince myself that the gentle warmth in the pit of my stomach as our lips moved together was lust and not guilt.

The sound of his wings fluttering with a shiver told me he wasn’t exactly unaffected by my touch. The speed with which our clothes fell away should have proven that there was desire. The tenderness that he used as his fingers trailed paths across my skin should have been enough, but it couldn’t be. It wasn’t the sound of Clay’s loving whispers in my ears or his strong arms wrapping around me to hold me securely against his body, and that was truly what I wanted.

 

 

RE-DRESSED and lying among the debris on the roof of the school building, we enjoyed the sound of birdcalls all around as the sun crept toward the middle of the sky.

“We should probably consider heading back soon,” Aiden said.

I nodded against his chest before pulling myself into a seated position.

As Aiden helped me to my feet, my head spun. I clutched his arms tightly for support.

“Lynnie, are you all right?” he asked as he held me upright.

“I feel . . . strange.”

“Look at me,” he instructed.

I lifted my gaze to meet his, and suddenly everything came into greater focus. Instead of having to concentrate on his face through the wisps of blue light that had twisted around his body since my first taste of enchanted food, I could see his features with perfect clarity. The wings that I’d grown so accustomed to seeing on his back were conspicuously absent. As the strange sensation passed, it was as though a fog had been lifted from my mind. Aiden appeared like an average young man again—albeit an excessively attractive one.

“When did you last eat?” he asked. It was refreshing to see him without blue haze for once.

I shrugged. “Dinner, I guess?”

“I should have woken you earlier and ensured that you had some breakfast,” he said with a frown. The expression sat oddly on his features.

“I’m okay,” I said. My mind was clearing more with every passing second.

“Well, of course. Physically you are perfectly fine, but the enchantments are wearing off,” he said. “The fae world will no longer exist for you in a moment. I have got to get you back before that happens. Otherwise, you will be stranded here and might have to kayak back.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “Let’s just enjoy this beautiful day for a while longer. You can get me something later, and it’ll be okay, right?”

He seemed uncertain but eventually relented. I sat assessing the difference between seeing the world through fae enchantments and seeing the world normally. The fae world was much more bright and beautiful; the colors were richer in a greater array of shades, but somehow I could think clearer without it imposing itself into my mind.

Eventually, Aiden’s worry about me not having an enchantment any longer grew to the point where he insisted on heading back to the court. If I’d thought the sensation of Aiden flying me up to the rooftop was strange, it was nothing on him carrying me back down. At least on the way up, I’d still had some of the enchantment running through me and was able to experience his wings beating. With our descent, it was almost as if we were both falling to the ground, just incredibly slowly.

“You will have to wait here,” he said. “It will be impossible for you to travel via the rings until you have been enchanted again.”

I nodded. The island was so tranquil that I didn’t mind staying there alone with my thoughts for a few moments. In the end, Aiden was barely gone five minutes before he came back and offered me a milkshake.

“It’s not much, but it will be sufficient to get you home.”

Even as he said the word “home” it struck me that I still didn’t think of the court that way. I wasn’t sure that I ever could.