Silver (Wicked Woods #3) (18 page)

“There is only one way to keep you safe, Princess.”

He didn’t wait for an answer, and Briony wasn’t sure that she was in a fit state to give one anyway. It felt like Pietre’s nails had gouged into her, and right then, she was having a hard time simply remaining conscious. Archer carried her toward the gate, paused only briefly at the entrance, and then stepped into the fog it held.

Briony had just enough time to see the gate closing behind them before exhaustion fil ed her, and she blacked out.

Briony opened her eyes to the sight of Aunt Sophie kneeling above her as she lay on what felt like grass. She wasn’t alone. Archer was there, stil in his human form and looking down at Briony with obvious concern. To Briony’s other side, and next to Aunt Sophie, stood a man with pale, delicate skin and hair that fel in a shimmering silver wave almost to his waist. His ears rose to delicate points, and Briony found it impossible to place his age. Though the fangs he revealed when he smiled down at Briony might have had something to do with that.

“Aunt Sophie?” Briony struggled to sit up, ignoring the sudden pain in her stomach. “The gate…”

“Easy now, darling,” Aunt Sophie said. “Try not to move too fast. We’ve had to take a large chunk of one of Pietre’s nails out of you as it is.”

“Briony.” The fanged man’s smile widened. “You’re here just in time.”

“In time for what?” Despite her great-aunt’s warning, Briony pushed herself to her feet. It didn’t feel too bad.

“For the transformation, of course,” the man said. He obviously caught the look of confusion that passed over Briony’s features, because he turned to Aunt Sophie. “Am I getting ahead of myself?”

“Only a little,” Aunt Sophie said. “I haven’t told her much.”

“Then perhaps now is the time to explain things.”

Aunt Sophie nodded, and Briony didn’t know whether to be glad or not. On the one hand, she had been hoping for a ful explanation of what was going on almost since she had come to Wicked. On the other, she suspected that the explanation was going to be every bit as strange as the things that had passed before it.

Aunt Sophie put a comforting arm around her shoulder. “You have to understand, Briony, that I didn’t think any of this would happen so quickly. Just a short human lifespan, and already, I am transforming into what I real y am. Into what we
both
real y are.” She looked back at the fanged man. “Do we have time?”

“I have waited fifty of your years and more for you to arrive, Sophie. I can wait a few minutes more.”

That was said tenderly, and Briony couldn’t help wondering if there might be something between the two of them. After al , there had been Uncle Pete, and Pietre, so why not…

“He’s my father,” Aunt Sophie said, and Briony found herself faintly embarrassed. She had forgotten about Aunt Sophie’s mind reading ability for a moment or two. Another thought came to her.

“Hold on. Your
father?
He doesn’t look old enough.”

“Thank you,” the man said, turning a smile on Briony that was ful of warmth and compassion, despite the fangs.

“Our people are long-lived. What we are… wel , one of the peoples of your world cal s us the Hugtandalfer. The fanged elves, in your tongue. As you probably know, this is our land. Palisor. It is a place that retains enough magic for our kind. For al kinds of creatures your world would consider mythical.”

“Not
all
kinds,” Aunt Sophie added.

“Not the dark ones, true.” The fanged elf nodded.

“But others. So many others. And you have a special place here, Briony.”

“Yes,” Aunt Sophie said, squeezing her tighter.

“Welcome to Palisor,
Princess
Briony.”

Briony could hardly think of what to say. It was true, what Archer had said?

“Of course it is,” Aunt Sophie replied, apparently stil picking up her thoughts.

“But wouldn’t I be… way down the royal pecking order?” Briony asked. “I mean, if you’re my aunt, then what about my mother? What about Jake? What about
you
?”

Aunt Sophie shrugged. “Hugtandalfer stay looking young and handsome for long enough that their family trees can get a little complex, once humans are involved. My father is not your great grandfather, because he was not a father to my half-sister, your grandmother.”

“But then where do I get
my
Hug… fanged elf blood from?” Briony asked.

“I may have told your mother a few too many stories about our kind,” Aunt Sophie said. “And of course, with the gate so close by, she had to go and investigate.”

“So my father is…”

The fanged elf man supplied it. “My brother. The king.”

Briony tried to fit it al together. It wasn’t easy. Her mind kept coming back to the thought of everything her mother had kept from her. To the fact that the man she had thought of as her father was not.

“Try not to judge her too harshly,” Aunt Sophie said.

“Your mother didn’t plan for any of it, and your hugtandalfer father didn’t know. The gate closed, and cut them off. Your mother did her best for you, and married a good man...your human father.”

“So Jake…”

“Is his,” Aunt Sophie said. “He’s stil your half-brother, and nothing wil change that.”

Briony moved a little away from her great aunt. “I can’t believe al this. Suddenly, I’m this… elf. I mean, I look just like other people.”

“Prettier, perhaps.” Aunt Sophie moved around so that she was back in Briony’s eye-line. “Even those elves who aren’t ful -blooded inherit a lot of that ethereal quality they have. And your blood is different. Look closely, and you’l find that there’s a silver tinge to it.”

Briony put her hand to her stomach where Pietre had sliced it, coming away with a few dried flecks. At first glance, they seemed normal, but in the light, they gleamed ever so slightly.

“Then there are your fangs,” Aunt Sophie’s father said. “Have yours shown up yet, Princess?”

Briony could only nod.

“At first, they only appear when we are excited,” Aunt Sophie said. “Eventual y, they are present more often. And I know of course that you have started to feel an inexplicable attraction to a certain vampire.”

“Fal on.”

“Though I suppose inexplicable is a little harsh in that boy’s case.” Aunt Sophie smiled grimly. “He’s certainly an improvement on Pietre, and I married
him.
”

Wel , it certainly explained a lot. Right then though, Briony suspected that they had bigger concerns.

“Aunt Sophie? What happened to the gate? We need to get back. When I left, Kevin and Jake were in trouble, and I couldn’t even see Fal on. I only came here to fetch you.”

Aunt Sophie looked suddenly uncomfortable. “Ah.”

“Ah?” Briony knew she wasn’t going to like the sound of this.

“What my daughter means,” Aunt Sophie’s father said, “is that it might not be as simple as that. From this side, the gate is… unpredictable. It opens and closes on its own schedule. Hence my being unable to get back to Sophie’s mother.”

“I can’t go back?” Briony looked around the three others. Her eyes settled on Archer. “You brought me here when I can’t go back?”

“I thought you would be happy.” Archer looked genuinely puzzled as to why she might be upset. “It’s your true world, after al .”

“And you have a kingdom waiting for you,” Aunt Sophie’s father said. “My brother wil be delighted to learn of you, Princess.”

“But I
have
to go back!” Briony insisted. “I never thought I’d say this about Wicked, but I have a life there now. They need me there…”

Archer touched her arm and looked earnestly at her.

“Briony, there is a reason why I came after you in Wicked. It is your time to be here. Your people need you, too. You are the Princess we have been waiting for…our champion.”

Archer looked serious now. “It is an immense honor for me to be the dragon to the princess of Palisor, who wil restore peace and balance to our land.”

Briony was about to point out that she couldn’t even restore peace and balance to her own life when Aunt Sophie doubled over in apparent pain.

“Aunt Sophie?”

“It is the transformation,” Aunt Sophie’s father said.

“It is upon her.”

“But what
is
the transformation?”

“Briony,” Aunt Sophie’s voice sounded pained. “I just want you to remember…”

“Yes?”

“Remember that even after this, I’m stil your great aunt, and you wil stil do as you’re told, young lady. No matter what I look like.”

“What?”

Aunt Sophie didn’t answer. Light flared around her, Aunt Sophie didn’t answer. Light flared around her, a pure and bril iant white that should have been too bright to look at, and yet somehow wasn’t. It blazed like a second sun across her skin, and drifted through Briony’s great aunt as though she was not there. Aunt Sophie fel to her knees, and the light became stil brighter, so that Briony genuinely couldn’t look at it.

Just as suddenly as it had come, the light faded.

Aunt Sophie rose to her feet… except it wasn’t Aunt Sophie as Briony remembered her. The woman who stood there was younger, far younger, looking no more than twenty or so. She was beautiful, too, with the kind of ethereal beauty that her father possessed, giving a delicate edge to her.

Only the young woman’s eyes had the same hint of steel to them. Only they were truly familiar.

“Aunt Sophie? Is that you?”

“It is.” As Aunt Sophie opened her mouth, Briony saw the fangs there. “You know. That feels
so
much better.”

******************

Wicked Woods continues in

Fal 2011

Sneak Preview of the New

Dystopian Series

DESIRE

kailin gow

Perfection. That was how best to described the day.

Blue skies with the hint of lilac and buttercream, fat fluffy white clouds gliding by added to the beautiful day. It was the perfect way to end a sunny school day. With my hand nestled warmly in Liam’s, I walked at his side, my face tilted up to the sun, my nostrils breathing in the fresh air that smel ed like Spring lavenders and fresh linen. The fragrant air made me think of Spring formals, garden parties, and outdoor barbeques. The day could not be more enjoyable if it’d been planned that way. If I had not grown up anywhere else besides the state of Arcadia, I would have thought this else besides the state of Arcadia, I would have thought this was the way it always was everywhere.

School had gone wel , tests and exams had been passed with flying colors and the birds seemed to be singing perfectly. Like every day in Arcadia.

As we approached Nel ie’s Diner, I caught a glimpse of myself in a store window and was pleased with the reflection I saw. My long blonde hair cascaded down my back, freshly brushed and tidy. The lustrous locks fluttered in the breeze in a way that always made Liam smile, and it al added a bounce to my step.

That morning I’d chosen to wear my pale green smock dress, the one that he always complimented me on.

“That dress sure does make those hazel eyes of yours pop,” he’d always say.

Always told I was a pretty girl, I never real y believed it until Liam and I began dating in high school. At his side I felt beautiful. Was it his striking features that enhanced my sense of beauty or was it simply the look of adoration I saw in his eyes every time he looked at me that made me feel so beautiful?

“How’d you do on your math test?” he asked.

Though I’d always managed to get good grades, I never failed to get nervous and edgy when test time came around. “I think it went wel ,” I said, smiling at him and adoring him al the more for the concern he always showed for me and my studies.

“I think I pretty much aced that History exam this morning,” he said with pride.

He was so handsome, his fair curls so angelic. It He was so handsome, his fair curls so angelic. It never failed to amaze me how sweet, kind and generous he could be. A guy as handsome as Liam could easily break a thousand hearts, yet he was thoughtful and considerate in the way he treated every woman he met, and he was particularly attentive, loving and caring with me.

“Maybe my Life’s Plan should have been to become a history professor,” he added as he opened the door to the diner, his bright blue eyes twinkling with laughter and amusement.

I shared his hope and promise, and questioned what my own Life’s Plan would be. With my eighteenth birthday quickly approaching, I would know al too soon. It was as though I had been waiting al my life to find out what my Life Plan would be. Al of us under the age of eighteen waited with anxiety and anticipation to find out what our Life’s Plan held: our profession, who we would marry, where we would live, and how many children we would have. It would al be written in our Life’s Plan.

“Kama! Liam,” Sarah cal ed from across the crowded diner. “Hey, you love birds, over here.”

I couldn’t count the number of eyes that watched us as we made our way to our table. We’d been voted the best-looking couple in school for two years, and some even said we were the most attractive couple in town. Some claimed I had pale violet highlights that shined in the bright summer sun, though I can’t say I ever real y noticed them myself. Some even hinted at the added degree of elegant glamour my recently fashioned bangs gave me. Others were envious of what they cal my porcelain skin.