Wings of Shadow (The Underground Trilogy) (11 page)

“The village Fae have never done this in the past?” Meghan inquired.

The queen stood imposingly over Meghan. “Do we look like a group that engages in such disgusting and depraved activities? Look at your plate! Nothing which has been harmed touches our plates. Our only foods are ones we have grown in our gardens and lovingly tended with our own hands.”

Meghan sank lower in her chair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.”

With a flick of her hand, Alannah dismissed them and strode from the room. Meghan and Avery hurried out the front door.

As they made their way down the cobblestone path, Avery laughed. “Well, that was a way to end dinner quickly!”

She could not help but giggle in return. “What a mess! I really put my foot in my mouth.”

“Foot in your mouth? Humans do say the oddest things sometimes.”

Meghan thought for a moment. “It means that I said the wrong thing. It’s an idiom.”

Avery looked even more puzzled.

“What would you call it if you said something embarrassing?”

He thought for a moment. “‘Tripping over your wings.’ That is something that typically happens only to faelings while they are learning control over foot and wing.”

Still laughing, they entered Selena’s cottage where she was tending a steaming kettle over the fire. She looked up, concerned. “Well, ‘twas not a very long dinner. Did everything go well?”

Meghan cringed. “I sort of asked the queen if the village Fae drink blood, too. She didn’t care for that question.”

“Mother was asking Meghan all kinds of questions about the blood-drinking,” Avery noted, in her defense.

Selena poured hot tea for the three of them. She addressed Meghan. “My dear, of course you were curious. The truth is, Fae have always maintained a no-harm lifestyle. We are the healers and nurturers and caretakers of nature. Alannah was interested in the blood-drinking because we have never heard of any Fae doing such a thing before.”

“How did the Fae separate? Will you tell me that story?”

The faerie elder slid into a chair and made herself comfortable. Meghan knew that Selena liked nothing more than to weave a tale with her words.

“After Anya’s great sacrifice, the Fae divided. Some of the Fae were angered by their treatment at the hands of the humans. They wanted to pursue acts of vengeance for their suffering and their loss. This was especially true of the Fae who had lost loved ones during the ordeal. That was such a terrible tragedy. There were few Fae in number, so to lose even one was unimaginable.”

Avery spoke then. “The other group wanted to prevent future conflict. They agreed that things could not remain as they had been, with humans and Fae interacting. They chose the path of complete and total isolation.”

“Like your mother,” Meghan observed.

“Yes, my mother’s people were of the mind that isolation was the only way to protect the Fae in the future.”

Selena added, “But some of my people were eager to attack, to show the humans how fierce the Fae could be, so humans would avoid us in the future. The two groups of Fae began to feud amongst themselves. Peace was lost within the village. Something needed to be done.”

“What happened?”

“We tried to unite the two sides and end the conflict, but it was futile. Eventually, Killian took the dissenters and left Solas. He had his own ideas for the future of the Fae.” Selena shook her head. “One may have good intentions when harvesting the mushroom crop, but if you choose the wrong mushroom, the poison spreads quickly.”

Meghan thought about the hidden letter. “Selena, are you sure Lord Killian would not enter the village boundaries?”

“He has not entered for the past seventeen years. I do not see why he would breach the treaty now.”

Meghan gazed into the fire. She had a difficult decision to make and only half a day to choose. She dragged a stick through the embers, remembering her own ordeal involving a fireplace. She didn’t want to be foolish. Half of her yearned to discuss the secret invitation with Selena and Avery, but the other half wondered why it was sent in such a mysterious way. She gave up attempting to resolve her dilemma. Maybe the answer would come in her dreams.

*

Meghan was distracted the next day. She bungled task after task until poor Selena sent her on a walk. Watching the antics of the nearly-grown lambs, Meghan thought. She could tell Selena or Avery about the scroll, but they were both Council members. What if they had no choice but to report the message to the Council?

She wondered if the message was urgent. Could Wish be sending a warning to her? Had he heard Lord Killian’s plan? And if the scroll hadn’t been from Wish….

Last night’s dream had not helped her in her decision-making. She had dreamed of the charming Kiernan she remembered from the days before they entered the Underground. She hated that she continued to think of him, and how she had such confused thoughts: anger that he put her in that situation, sadness at how things had ended, and revulsion. Why drink her blood? She deserved an explanation. A part of her yearned to see him again, but she hoped she was not making a mistake. This decision would be fully hers to own, with no one else to blame.

After she returned to the garden, Meghan hurried through the remainder of her duties. She forced herself to be friendly and pleasant throughout the sundown meal, but found herself rushing to finish her nut loaf and salad. She climbed the stairs to the loft and grabbed the hawthorn amulet.

“I’m going for an evening hike,” she announced.

Avery rose. “I would be happy to accompany you.”

Butterflies danced in Meghan’s belly. She hated lying to him. “I really need some time to myself. I have been lost in my thoughts all day.”

As she headed to the door with a final apology, she heard Avery blaming her mood on his mother.

“If she had not forced her to talk about the blood-sharing….”

The conversation faded as she stepped from the house. She hoped she was making the right decision.

~ 10 ~

Meghan sat in the clearing, watching the sun disappear behind the tree line. As the sky grew dim, the birds stopped their dusk-time squawking, and silence spread. Along the tree line, wildflowers grew —the yellows of lady’s bedstraw mixing with the purples of greater knapweed and meadow cranesbill. She watched the shadows cover the wildflowers, contemplating who could have sent the mysterious invitation. She could not help but hope...

“No!” she scolded herself. From what she had learned of the Dark Fae, there was no hope for a relationship.

Arms encircled her, as
his
voice whispered in her ear, “No what?”

Meghan gasped and instinctively tried to run. She had dreamed of Kiernan returning, but her imaginings were safe. She had no idea if the real-life Kiernan could be trusted.

He tightened his hold on her arms, but his voice was soft. “I cannot stand that you are frightened of me.”

“Well, what am I supposed to feel? The last time we met, I was locked up, and you cut me. You compared me to a bottle of wine.”

Kiernan shuddered and loosened his grip. “I let you go. I faced the wrath of my father rather than hurt you anymore.”

She could hear the sadness in his words. Meghan turned around. As he hadn’t fully released her arms, this placed her within his embrace—much closer than she wanted to be. She tried to take a few steps backward, questioning the doubts that had plagued her for these past few weeks. Was Kiernan as dangerous as his father? Did he truly have the kinder, gentler side she had witnessed during their first magical days together?

“I tried to escape. You locked me up. You drank from me. I pleaded for help, but you ignored me.”

Kiernan cringed. “That is how it had to be, how it had to appear.” He began to pace the clearing. “I want you to understand. I am risking everything to be here tonight to help you understand.”

She thought about leaving, but before she could turn away, he took her hands. Her willpower wavered as she felt his thumbs graze her palms.

“Please, will you give me tonight?”

She hesitated. A part of her was thrilled with the idea of spending the evening with Kiernan, but her more pragmatic side remembered his betrayal. Why was she so drawn to him? She fingered her hawthorn amulet, thinking.

“I give you my word. I will not hurt you. I only want to explain.”

Meghan could no longer refuse. She needed this opportunity to ask questions and get answers. She closed her eyes and focused, remembering Selena’s instruction about following her intuition. Sensing safety, she agreed, “One evening.”

He led her to the center of the clearing where they sat on the thick carpet of grass. Moonlight shone on Kiernan, reflecting off his silver necklace. His intriguing tattoos seemed to sparkle, their magic drawing her closer. He gazed at her without blinking.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“For what?”

“Thank you for giving me this time.” His voice lowered. “Thank you for not shunning me after all that I did.”

He placed his hand over hers. Meghan’s heart quickened. How could she have this intense a reaction to such a small touch?

Kiernan was quiet. He watched the moon, holding her hand. “My father is a ruthless man.”

“I didn’t pick up on that while I was imprisoned,” Meghan scoffed.

“He would not have hesitated to kill you, in front of me, had I disobeyed him. I am sure he would have drawn it out, to extend my punishment.”

Meghan shuddered. “So, you played along—”

“Even though it was torturing me to do so.”

“I heard the story of how the Fae separated, of how the Underground began.”

“My father is convinced his beliefs are correct. He met Charles Darwin years ago and is an absolute disciple of his theories. In my father’s mind, it is either adaptation or extinction. He is not willing to let his people die out.”

Meghan nodded. “I remember all the Darwin talk.”

“He thinks the village Fae are on the path to extinction. With the world’s overpopulation, sprawl, and toxins, it is hard to maintain an isolated way of life. Each year, there are fewer and fewer faeries left in the world.”

Shaking her head, Meghan said, “It’s nearly impossible to envision your mother and father married. They both have such strong beliefs and disagree on every topic.”

“Their marriage was not by choice. It was an arranged marriage to unite the two feuding factions of Fae. Their marriage was supposed to end all of the conflict.”

“Well, it’s easy to see that didn’t happen.”

Kiernan looked at her again with sad eyes. “No, they were too different. It was too much to expect two young Fae to do. Even the elders had not been able to stop the fighting. Besides, my parents were more dedicated to their ideologies than to each other. How could an arranged marriage, without love, possibly stop the feuding of an entire civilization?”

“It almost sounds like you are a romantic.”

He rose abruptly and walked to the tree line, his back to her. As Meghan hesitantly followed, she wondered if she had offended him.

“Kiernan?” She placed her hand on his arm.

“Is it so hard to believe that I am not governed solely by vice and evil?” he asked, the hurt evident in his voice.

Meghan stood quietly for a moment, confused. Aside from her personal attraction, she had taken Kiernan at face value. Maybe she had been hasty in her judgment. Before Meghan could respond, Kiernan spun around and gripped her arms.

“I cannot blame you.” His eyes flickered with emotion. “You have only experienced the dark side of me. And I was forced to… I should have never...” He seemed to be searching for the right words. “Meghan, please forgive me for… for… drinking from you,” he pleaded, his expression tormented.

She didn’t feel ready to have this conversation. Meghan sighed, lowering her gaze. She didn’t know how to express the fear and exploitation she had been feeling these past weeks. She felt her cheeks grow hot as she remembered and hoped that Kiernan wouldn’t be able to detect her blush in the shadowy darkness.

“The other Fae do not, um, follow this practice. They won’t even speak of the… the drinking,” she noted in a quiet voice. “I’m not sure I’m ready to forgive what I don’t even understand.”

Kiernan’s face fell, and Meghan continued, “But I do want to understand. Please tell me more.”

“Blood-sharing is our name for the practice.” Kiernan took her hand and led her to a tall lichen-covered stump in the midst of the clearing. He helped boost her to the top of the stump, hopped up beside her, and placed his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder, without speaking.

Finally, she broke the silence. “So, tell me more about the blood-sharing. What is it like for you?”

Kiernan pondered her question. “I suppose it is similar to some of the human addictions, like heroin or cocaine. There is both intense pleasure when one is partaking, but also immense guilt over the desire. It is difficult to stop once you have become accustomed to the blood, and you begin to crave it.”

Meghan was surprised by the honesty of his answer.