Becoming Fae

I couldn’t face Blaine and Zane’s parents when they came to the Sidhe. I couldn’t even face Blaine. Or Ben. I barely was able to bear being with Mal, knowing what was going to happen. A mother would lose a son, a brother would lose his twin, and a father would be the one that kills his son.

I stayed hidden in my room for three days before Mal told me it had been done. Zane was gone and now, so was Grim. I managed to come out of my self-loathing to show up at the funeral when Zane was buried at the family home in a region called Oriala. It was a beautiful place. The white birch and golden red leaves that never grew green and the clean air would have been calming and refreshing if we weren’t there for any other reason.

Mom had told me that if my Bond with Zane had been intact, I would have felt it when he died. The fact that I felt nothing at all meant that there really wasn’t anything left of my friend to save. I tried to find some kind of comfort in that, but it didn’t help much.

We’ve been in Royal City for a few weeks now and I think it’s one of the better choice’s I’ve made so far. The four of us kids have joined the training sessions for the palace guards. Rollie and Naz have even started teaching a few of the more promising guards whenever they aren’t beating me black and blue. I’ve started lessons in demon history and etiquette with Mom, taught by Naz, before the two of us, and Rollie, leave the city for magic lessons.

Gluttony returned to the Pits after feasting on the remainder of Grim’s army and has already started giving us information on Greed and Ambrosia. Nearly every second of my time has been dedicated to my new goal of claiming and destroying the Infernal Throne. Lesser demons have already flooded the city and that was now the issue being addressed.

“Wouldn’t it just be simpler to send them back to their lives?” Mal asked me, interrupting the droning of the city official that was not shy about expressing his distaste for having so many demons in his city.

“Unless we want them dead,” Naz answered, and I looked at him. “The lesser demons are sport for the rest of us, but they out number us by a great deal. If they flock to the queen, pledge loyalty, the stronger demons that don’t want Fae as their queen will go on a spree.”

“Is it possible that we might be able to commission some of the other fae to create temporary shelters, then?” I asked.

“Using what money?” Mom asked.

“Damn,” I muttered.

“You could sell one of your feathers,” Rollie shrugged.

“No,” I said firmly, the wings behind me rustling softly as the feathers shook.

“You could make them yourself,” Mal suggested. “Wouldn’t it be good practice for you?”

“I’m barely managing control right now and that’s with defensive magic. Creating is entirely different and I’m no architect,” I laughed. “They would be better off in the elements than in something I make.”

“That is true,” Mom made a face.

“Don’t look at me,” Rollie said when Dad lifted a brow at him. “I don’t have that kind of power anymore.”

“What if we set aside an area where they could build their own shelters?” Mom suggested. “A field, perhaps.”

“Most of the ones here are more inclined to hiding and wouldn’t feel comfortable in a field,” I shook my head.

“A section of the royal forest, then,” Dad nodded.

“Your highnesses, that’s just... You can’t let them destroy a section of the royal forest,” the official blustered.

“Are you telling me what I can and can’t do with my own property?” Mom asked.

“Oh. Of course not, your majesty,” the official bowed quickly.

“Then it’s settled,” Mom said with a smile at me. “We’ll have a survey taken of the land and let you know where the best locations are by breakfast tomorrow.”

“I’ll need to have a head count taken as well,” I nodded.

“I’ll have the hounds take care of it,” Blaine nodded.

“I’ll see if the foxes wouldn’t mind help fund the essentials,” Ben added. “If they can be found, that is. It would appear that the plenty of Royal City has suddenly dried up these days.”

“Just make sure our lookouts aren’t depleted in the process,” I nodded.

“We had another three packs arrive this week alone,” Blaine said. “And I believe another two dens of foxes, right?”

“More or less,” Ben shrugged.

The hounds started showing up the day we arrived in Royal City. They weren’t exactly demons, so they weren’t called to me at all, but to Blaine, their Alpha. Ben, being one of my Bonds, had become the unofficial spokesperson for the demons that had arrived so far. Mal spent a fair amount of time acting as the buffer between the needs of the demons that had come to us and myself, dealing with the smaller matters on his own.

“Then, perhaps we might be able to send a handful of both with the surveyor to make sure our needs will be properly met without wasting the time of having separate parties go,” I suggested. “I know hounds and foxes get restless quickly.”

Ben grinned and Mom and Dad both chuckled.

“That would speed up the relocation process significantly,” Rollie nodded in agreement.

“Only they don’t get along so well,” Naz pointed out.

“Then we’ll consider this a practice in future relations,” I said firmly. “If they want to fight, as many have claimed, then they’ll need to understand who they’ll be fighting beside. I will not have anarchy and chaos beneath me.”

“We could use a field for practices in that regard, actually,” Mal added. “Many of them aren’t comfortable training with the royal guards.”

“Demons and their secrets,” I rolled my eyes.

“There’s also a lot of concern about... crime,” the official piped in.

“Don’t make up issues where there are none,” Dad snapped. “Shockingly, I still maintain open communication with the law enforcers in this city. If anything, crime has fallen since the demons have showed up.”

“Petty theft is often not reported,” the official pursed his lips.

“If the ones that have been wronged refuse to admit they have, indeed, been wronged, then how am I to correct it?” I asked tersely. “It may surprise you to know that I don’t read minds, nor do I control them. As it stands, thanks to the closed-minded fools such as yourself, my people are more focused on more important things, like finding shelter or feeding their families than to stoop to theft, though if the trend continues, I can very well see it happening. Perhaps, Magister, it would do you and the city well to remind yourselves that demons possess the same basic needs for survival as the rest of us do.”

“Prejudice is such a toxic trait, don’t you think?” Mom smiled sweetly at the official.

By the end of the meeting, I was ready to choke that stupid city official, but Mal told me that wouldn’t be smart. I think the threat of it was enough to make him shut his flapping mouth hole and let the rest of us get on with the important things like preparing to go to war with nearly all of the Demon Lands, if need be. Also, lunch.

After eating, I went to one of the towers to get some air and not be bothered by people constantly wanting my attention. It was, for the most part, quiet up here. Only the loudest sounds reached me, and they had little to do with what everyone needed me to do. The soft hum of Mal’s wings made me sigh and turn around as he landed on the other side of the round space.

“You’re doing great, Fae,” he said, leaning back on the huge stone battlement.

“I don’t feel like it,” I went to him and leaned into his arms. “I’ve barely talked to Blaine about anything that isn’t related to demons or hounds. After Zane... And Ben? He’s being forced into responsibilities. All of you are. No one asked, they just assumed.”

“You know as well as I do that if Ben didn’t want the responsibilities, he wouldn’t be doing them,” he laughed. “And Blaine never was the sharing type, from what I understand. He’s sorting through it, just like the rest of us.”

“Are we, though?” I leaned back to look at him. “It’s different than losing Nando. We had time, then. Now it seems like it’s all just... pushed to the back.”

“Losing Zane is not at all like losing Nando, Fae. Zane’s Haze took him away and there wasn’t anything we could have done to save him by the time we found him,” he answered. “Nando was different. There were a million chances where his death could have been prevented.”

“So, that’s it? We just shrug it off and move on?”

“Of course not, but what else is there to say? You and Blaine already had the exact discussion you’re wanting to have before we even came to Royal City. What didn’t get said then that makes it so important now?” he asked me, rubbing his hands up and down my arms.

“I don’t want them to hate me, Mal,” I sighed.

“You do know that it’s impossible to hate you, right?” he looked at me like I was insane. “I tried, remember?”

“Vividly,” I said flatly.

“Yeah, I walked into that one, huh?” he wrinkled his nose.

“Like a car into a wall.”

“As far as the whole responsibilities thing goes, are you not happy with how things are being handled?” he asked me.

“No, but it’s so much weight, you know?” I sighed and laid my head on his shoulder. “We’re teenagers, Mal. Ones that weren’t intended for this kind of leadership.”

“You were kind of born for it,” he chuckled.

“But not raised for it. We have no clue what we’re doing in our own lives and now we’re responsible for so many others. Not only that, but we’re jumping right into it with a war,” I sighed, and he tightened his arms around me.

“You should talk to your mom,” he suggested. “Her reign started the same way. And your dad will have more than a little insight on not being intended for the role he has. But, before you go doubting yourself more and second guessing every little thing, I should point out that if you were mucking things ups, Rollie and Naz would certainly speak up.”

“So far, they only comment on how terrible my fighting stance is or how poorly I recall history lessons,” I scoffed.

“Then you’re doing fine,” he kissed the side of my neck. “I do think you need to be seen by the people you’re going to be leading, though. Even if the goal is to destroy the Throne, you will lead them there.”

“Is this your way of saying the morale in the demon population sucks?” I smirked against his neck.

“It doesn’t suck, but it’s not good, either,” he said. “The prejudice of the people in the city and the lack of basic essentials is enough to make anyone grumpy.”

“Grumpy demons don’t sound like a good thing at all,” I laughed. “Gods, I really could use a break from all of this, though.”

“Then, we’ll take a break from it,” he nodded. “Kiss a few babies, shake some hands, a few words of appreciation and assurance. I think it’ll be great. Besides, you have a dozen hell hound packs at your back, thanks to Blaine. What could possibly go wrong?”