FAE

My name is Fae Bloom. My parents have a sense of humor, or at least my mother does. You see, I’m half human on my mother’s side and fairy (Fae) on my dad’s side. My mom thought it was cute to name me after my paternal heritage.

I don’t think it’s that funny. You can only imagine how I was teased growing up. At the time, though, I had no idea that my dad’s side of the family was magical. I didn’t even know such things existed because I was raised by my mom in the human world.

Until I turned sixteen. Now that was some birthday! My dad, Blaze Bloom (no joke!) whom I hardly ever saw since I’d been told he traveled a lot for work, came by to visit. When he asked me to take a walk with him, I didn’t think anything of it. After all, we usually went for walks when he came to see me.

But when he waved a hand and bushes parted and I saw a whole new land … well, to say I was in shock would be a vast understatement. And that’s when he told me who, or what, I really was. A fairy princess of all things!

Now, I knew my folklore, so I had to question Dad. The Fae were in Europe, not here in America, I’d argued with him.

To make a long story short, my dad and his brother, both princes, had some sort of falling out and they were always fighting. When Dad met Mom, he fell in love with her, but she was human and a marriage between a Fae prince and a human female was strictly forbidden.

My dad didn’t care, and he followed my mom back to America – she’d been visiting Europe at the time when they’d met. They married and had me, but then Dad’s father, the king, died and he had to return home.

The fight between he and his brother was tearing the kingdom apart with half on Dad’s side and the others supporting his brother.

My father has tremendous love for his people, so rather than keep destroying the kingdom, he took those who supported him and created his own kingdom right here in the United States. Imagine fairies in America!

So, that day, when he’d taken me through the Veil, my entire life had changed. In a way, it was a relief to find out I was Fae. All my life strange things would happen to me, and I had no idea why or how.

For instance, one snowy day I really wanted some hot chocolate. You know, the kind with the little marshmallows floating on top? But we were snowed in, and Mom didn’t want to risk driving just for hot chocolate.

I was only about five years old at the time, and I was very disappointed. I started crying and wishing for hot cocoa with marshmallows. Then suddenly, all the faucets in the house started pouring out hot chocolate. No marshmallows, but the hot chocolate was real. And caused quite the mess.

As an explanation, Mom tried to convince me it was a dream. She did that with all the weird things that happened to me and I believed her, thought I had a very active and imaginative subconscious.

But when Dad took me to his kingdom, I knew that that I hadn’t been dreaming. Magic existed and somehow, I had magic.

The problem is, I don’t know how to control it or even what I can do. Since I lived with my mom, I didn’t grow up around my father’s people and I didn’t have any training.

So, the first thing Dad did was to find me a tutor to help me connect with nature and learn the old ways. That was nearly three years ago. Not nearly long enough to fit a lifetime of learning into, but I did have some understanding of the basics.

Because my training was so far behind, I moved to Dad’s. I still went to human high school, but right after school let out, I had to hurry through the Veil and begin my lessons.

I also had to learn about our family history, customs, gardening, and a ton of other things, which I’m still struggling with today.

At this moment, though, I’m busy packing. Dad wanted to send one of the women to help me, but I’d refused. I wanted this time alone to think about what’s to come in the next couple of weeks.

I still can’t believe it. It’s the twentieth century, yet here I am preparing for a trip to meet my fiancé, a Fae man I’ve never even laid eyes on.

I’d argued with my father, tried to get him to see reason, but he was adamant. I’m his only offspring and we need to strengthen our family and allies.

I even pleaded with him, shamelessly pointing out how he’d left home to be with Mom, all for love.

“And look where that got us,” had been his reply. Besides, he pointed out that it’s not the same thing since I am not in love with someone else.

“And if I were?” I’d countered.

“Just meet him, give him a chance,” Dad had said, his voice low and tired. “That’s all I’m asking.” He’d paused to glare at me with stern green eyes. “For now.”

So here I am, being the dutiful daughter. Maybe if I had grown up here with these traditions, this pre-arranged marriage thing wouldn’t seem so awful to me.

But the idea of marrying someone I’ve never even seen or talked to freaks me out. And I’m too young. I’m not even old enough to get into bars, but I’m supposed to marry some unknown Fae guy right out of mythology?

I shake my head even as I fold a pink T-shirt and add it to my suitcase. I’d debated on even bringing the shirt that says, “My life is a fairytale, you can’t make this shit up” across the front. But at the last minute, I add it in defiance. Whether I wear it or not is another matter.

Unfortunately, even though it’s a small shirt, my suitcase is pretty stuffed. It won’t even zip closed until I scrunch and shove everything inside and then practically lay on the stupid thing.

Stepping back, I look at my luggage with a concerned frown. The thing is bulging and looks like it might burst its seams at any minute.

I shrug. That will just have to do. I’m not sure how long I’ll be in that other land, and I want to make sure I’m prepared for everything.

I even packed my cell phone, even though there isn’t any reception behind the Veil. Who knows, maybe it will work somewhere along the way, but even if it doesn’t, I can at least take pictures.

And one super nifty talent I have is that I can charge the battery by pushing energy out through my fingertips. It’s not very powerful, at least not yet, but it works to charge my cell.

The sun is setting, which means I’d better hurry and get dressed. Dad is having a feast in my honor tonight, and if I’m late to that … well, it’s better not to think about it.

I look at my bed with the long, formal forest green dress laid out and waiting for me to put it on. With a grimace, I pick it up and hold it up to my body. I’m more of a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl, so this is a bit intimidating.

The fabric is made out of, well, I don’t know exactly what it’s made from. It’s soft like silk, but durable. Dad had it created for me, so I’m sure some kind of magic went into making it.

It kind of reminds me of those ball gowns women wore back in the 1800s. But there are a few glaring differences. For one thing, and the one that freaks me out the most, is instead of lace around the neckline and hems, there’s spiderwebs.

Yep, spiderwebs! Fairies can communicate with all things nature and spiders were coaxed to make the special “lace” for my dress.

I try not to shudder as I strip out of my pants and shirt to slide the dress on over my head. I have to be very careful not to crush the delicate flowers and petals sewn into the fabric. A row of pretty, yellow flowers march up and down from the floor-length hem to the cinched-in waist.

A belt made from a long chain of daisies circle the waist and I nearly break the thing when my hand snags it as I smooth out the skirt.

I turn to look at my reflection in the large floor-standing mirror. My emerald green eyes widen at how I have transformed. The dress fits like perfection and as I twist from side to side, the skirt billows out and flows around my feet.

My long blonde hair is piled atop my head, held in place by artfully placed twigs. I’m amazed at how magical I look.

I start to head out of my room then backtrack to my dresser to grab the golden crown I’m supposed to wear to represent my status and my father’s house. Setting it carefully atop my head, I turn my head from side to side, looking at it.

It was hand-crafted but I can’t tell by looking at it. The gold is so smooth and shiny, soft to the touch. It’s light as a feather, too, and has several jewels attached to it so that they glimmer in the light.

I shake my head, wondering again if this is some kind of dream, leave my room, and go downstairs to the main hall where a party has already begun.

Dad is standing at the bottom of the stairs and waits for me to descend. He looks me over and smiles in fond approval.

“You look like the princess you are,” he says softly before placing a kiss on my forehead.

“Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself,” I grin cheekily. And he doesn’t. He is a very handsome man who really doesn’t even look old enough to be my father. That’s because fairies age differently and many can live for hundreds of years.

I don’t know if that’s true for me since I’m only half fairy, and I haven’t asked because I’m not sure how I’d feel about that.

With my arm hooked in the crook of Dad’s elbow, we turn and head toward the serving table, but we only take about two steps when the huge double doors open.

We turn as one to see who the newcomers are, and I can’t help the gasp that escapes from me. It’s a group of four men and two women, all of them tall and powerful looking.

They aren’t Fae, I’m sure of it. They are dressed in jeans and shirts, for one thing. But what really sets them apart is the almost feral look in their expressions as their eyes travel over the guests in the room.

One of them, the leader by the way he is standing in front of the others, is a very tall male with long hair so black it almost looks blue when the light hits it just right. He’s taller than the others, more muscular, and has the most arresting golden eyes I’ve ever seen.

When our gazes meet, I suck my breath in sharply and instinctively step closer to Dad. There’s just something about him that screams primal danger.

“Conall,” Dad says, smiling at the dark-haired stranger. “Welcome.”

The man called Conall walks over to us, his eyes never leaving me until he’s standing directly in front of Dad.

“Blaze,” he says in greeting with a nod. His voice is deep, but smooth. Almost mesmerizing.

“Fae,” Dad says, turning to me. “This is Alpha Conall. He and his pack will be your escort.”

“Pack?” I ask with a frown, drawing those golden eyes back on me.

“Conall is a werewolf,” he announces calmly, as if he is telling me the grass is green.

“Werewolf?” I practically screech. Holy shit, I had no idea they existed. Did that mean vampires existed too? What about Santa Claus? The Easter Bunny?

But, wait a minute. Dad is entrusting my safety to a pack of wolves?