The Day I Died
Being born a Fae, I've witnessed events most people couldn't begin to imagine I’ve crossed the planes of existence between our world and the human world, watched empires rise and fall, and attended some of history's greatest moments. A couple weeks ago, I would've said not much surprised me, but that was before I saw my own obituary.
My cousin, Kiril, and I have been on the run from the Fae Queen. Quick family history lesson; She's my grandmother and his aunt. Tanith had her favorite daughter, the late Amalia, by his father.
Yeah, she slept with her own sister's husband. Nice, huh?
Fae family trees are gnarled and twisty, full of dead leaves and poisonous vines, enough to give any genealogist trying to follow it a stroke.
Perhaps all the weird inbreeding can account for some of the madness running rampant.
Kiril and I crossed Queen Tanith and jumped up on her list of people she wants wiped out of existence. What did we do? I stole back my magic and Kiril gave me a forbidden book. To add insult to injury, I announced my possession of the book and my willingness to spill the beans far and wide. Fast forward to today, we've been crisscrossing the world in an attempt to stay one step ahead. Exhausted, we're both ready to go home.
I reclined on the musty bedspread and flipped on the television in the two star hotel we rented for the day. The news has been all over the place with the revelation of The Shadow World. Vampires, Shifters, Fae; anything non-human falls under the realm of what the media dubbed 'The Shadow World.'
The blonde newswoman on the screen sported an 80's hairdo, must've taken a whole can of hairspray to shellac in place. “Vampire King, Manias Artorious, assures the president humans are safe from feedings as vampires have an alternate food source. No word yet on what the alternate source is.”
Vampire King? I snorted.
His title is Regis. Vampires did have an alternate food source, real food and the blood of other vampires. Human blood was bad for them, I've heard its effects were similar to opiate drugs.
The newswoman turned to look at her co-anchor, “What’s the news from the Fair Folk, Bob?”
Fair Folk? Gag me.
“It's a sad day, Louise. Summer Court Queen Tanith announced that the charred bodies of two Fae were identified as her nephew Kiril and granddaughter Winter.” Bob glanced at Louise for a scripted reaction, she delivered a puppy eyed frowny face.
Bob continued his report, “Winter was also the granddaughter of the Winter Court King and was unique in her dual citizenship. A state funeral is planned for tomorrow to allow their friends and family to say goodbye. The media was granted permission to attend, but both monarchs have asked that the affair remain closed to the public. Back to you Louise,” Bob said.
The camera panned to Louise again. “Our condolences to the families of Kiril and Winter.” Louise's phony sad face made me want to throw the remote through the window.
Shock transformed my face, my eyebrows were high on my forehead, merging with my hair line. “Uh, Kiril, you need to come in here for a second,” I hollered at the closed bathroom door.
Kiril opened the door and poked his head out, water dripped from the tips of his black tresses. “What's up?”
I pointed to the TV, the headline featuring our demise rolled across the bottom screen.
“We're dead, man.” A hysterical laugh bubbled up.
Kiril glared at me, “Not funny, winter.”
I felt sick, my stomach heaved and I ran for the bathroom. “Move, or I'm gonna puke on you!”
Kiril held onto the towel around his waist and jumped out of the way. I lost my breakfast down the toilet but didn't feel better. On lead feet, I staggered back to the bed and collapsed on my stomach.
Kiril sat in a rickety chair by the TV, he'd pulled on a pair of jeans. “I can't believe she 'killed' us. Who do you suppose took our place in death?”
I closed my eyes tightly and said, “A couple of unlucky Fae no one would miss. Does it matter? They're dead and we might as well be. She's cut us off from seeking out help from anyone.”
Kiril ran a hand through his soggy hair and cradled his head, “What do we do now?”
I buried my face in the mattress and groaned.
Why do I have to have the answers? I just wanted to let Tanith cool down and go home.
I pushed up from the bed and sat on the edge facing Kiril. “We either find a place to disappear that Tanith can't reach us...”
Kiril rested his chin on folded hands and scoffed, “Yeah, right. Or?”
“Or we look for a way back in. We need a bigger trump card than the book, something she won't risk us revealing. Then we could live in peace,” I rolled my eye. “Maybe.”
It was a long shot.
Kiril shook his head in defeat. “Planning to bust into the vault? Anything Tanith would be afraid of is dead or locked up tight.”
“Not necessarily. The book had pages missing, if she had those pages she would've kept them with the book. There's a chance they still exist somewhere out there,” I said.
Kiril leaned back against the chair's slatted back. “Huh. You might be right. Where do we start looking?”
I smiled, happy he was on board with my plan. “We start in the oldest ruins that still have power emanating from them. I'd wager we'll find them in one or something even better.”
Today I'd rest and let myself process my grandmother's treachery. Tomorrow I'd start a little treachery of my own.
Title: Lost in Paradise (World in Shadows #4)
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