Beyond the Iron Gate (The Faery Meadow Book 1)

The tiny window behind the bed was the only form of light entering the room. Elaine decided to get to the bed first so Lorcan would have to sleep somewhere else.

She quickly walked passed the narrow space by the wall and sat on the bed pulling the thin covers over herself. She rolled on her side facing the wall assuming Lorcan was going to leave.

To her dismay, she felt the bed dip as a certain someone sat on the other end of the bed.

“What are you doing? Get out!” Elaine screeched.

She sat up trying to push him off the bed with all her strength, but his huge body only rammed into the wall. He wouldn’t fall off the bed because the space between the bed and wall was so tiny.

“Like I’d let you have the bed to yourself. You thought I would sleep on the floor? Well, there’s no room!” Lorcan retorted.

Then he smirked and laid on his back. He turned on his side and faced away from Elaine so he wouldn’t be squashed against the wall.

Elaine glared at the back of his head. “There is no room on this bed for you either!”

“Well, then you can sleep on the floor.”

“Fine,” Elaine gritted back.

There are less than five inches separating us. The bed has no pillows so I’ll stay on my side. As long as he stays on his side of the bed too and doesn’t push me off I should be fine.

“Human,” he chided.

Elaine turned to face him. “What?”

“Quit fidgeting and lay still.”

Once again, I am scolded like a child, he’s not even that much older than me! Well, at least, he doesn’t look like it, Elaine thought.

She sat up in annoyance, but at the same time Lorcan flipped on his side and yanked her hair painfully. She yelped.

“Let go Lorcan,” Elaine demanded. He let go of her hair and she scooted closer to the edge of the bed watching him.

“Goodnight.”

Elaine wanted to scream or kick him, but she remained still. Her words dripped with deep-rooted disdain, “Goodnight, Lorcan.”

The young woman convinced herself she would just have to make the best of her situation, but Lorcan’s heavy snoring was making it difficult. She was left wide awake and drained of energy. Eventually, though, she shut her eyes and told herself she would just have to get through day by day. Otherwise, she would turn as crazy as him.

***

“Lorcan?” Elaine mumbled only half awake.

Who sleeps with their eyes open or smiling widely for that matter anyway? That’s not where the warmth is all coming from though. Above both of us, like a canopy, are his wings. They enclose around us entirely, I can’t see the ceiling or room at all. It’s as if we’re in some kind of cocoon, she thought while on the verge of a panic attack.

“Shhh,” he said drowsily.

Elaine thrashed in his arms. “Let m-me go!” she yelled frustrated.

However, her body was too tired from all the hiking and walking she did earlier to even get an inch away from him.

His face was way too close to her for comfort. She managed to at least turn her head away from him. A few minutes passed and she heard his steady loud breathing from behind her. It sounded like he was mumbling and talking incoherently in his sleep. She wondered if she would ever go to sleep now.

She studied his wings since she had nothing else to do. The red of them really sort of matched his hair, but the red was duller than his eyes. Now that she looked closer, she could see there were scratches and scars all over his wings.

Lorcan must really be a faery, she concluded.

As if drawn by an unseen force her hand shakily reached out to touch his wings. When her fingertip touched their surface she felt how soft they were -- like velvet. Her heart skipped a beat and she quickly recoiled her hand when he began mumbling in his sleep again. There was no way he was going to release her from his embrace. Elaine was tempted to wake him up, but she figured she’d save the two of them the embarrassment.

Besides, she was too tired to make a fuss anyway.

***

Daylight shined into the tiny room and the sound of the bedroom door squeaked open. Elaine slowly opened her eyes rolling them when she felt Lorcan’s arms are still around her. Her gaze flicked around the room. The first thing she noticed were Lorcan’s wings were gone and when she saw the witch at the door watching her she wondered if she had clipped them off or something.

“Morning kids!” Gurnava said brightly from the door.

“Wake up,” Elaine growled at Lorcan still mortified by their position.

As if right on cue, Lorcan groaned and woke up glaring at Gurnava who was impatiently tapping her foot. Lorcan released Elaine and stretched his arms while sitting up. Once Elaine escaped was free, she bounded up from the bed and away from him.

“Well, what do you know? Young love,” Gurnava said in a monotone voice. She turned away from the door and started walking downstairs.

Elaine’s face turned red, but Lorcan only chuckled darkly in response to old Gurnava’s sarcastic comment. Nothing happened though. All he did was just hold onto me like I was a teddy bear, she assured herself.

“Where are your wings?” Elaine wondered out loud.

His voice was cheery and Elaine frowned feeling the opposite, “Away, I don’t need them right now so I haven’t released them. Let’s go downstairs."

Once downstairs, they found the witch with the portal in the rather empty room, “Now kids I finished the portal, but, let’s see how should I put this...there are a few...bugs? Yes, bugs.”

A murky green mist floated inside the surface of the portal hypnotically.

“We need to get a good head start. Thanks for the help,” Lorcan said with a yawn.

“No problem. Best of travels,” Gurnava replied. Without another word, she left out the front door.

“Ladies first,” Lorcan announced in a mocking tone. He pushed Elaine ahead of him toward the portal.

“Are you serious? I don’t even know where we’re going!”

Lorcan’s face turned serious, “It doesn’t matter. Only faeries can use this type of portal. You’re just like luggage, human. As long as I’m touching you we will go where I want.”

Suddenly, he grabbed onto her ponytail and yanked her hair. Elaine took a short step backward.

“What? I thought you wanted me to go first!”

“I do. This is how I will hold onto you to keep you with me,” he replied.

She took a shaky breath at his pig-headed behavior.

“Hurry up, Elaine. We don’t have much time!” he snapped at her hesitation.

Lorcan still held tightly onto her ponytail. One wrong step and he would surely rip her hair back.

She stepped forward and felt the portal ripple when they entered through it. It felt like static to Elaine and made her skin crawl. She inhaled sharply at the strange electric snapping feeling. Suddenly, they were all the way through and heard the chatter of people talking.

Elaine looked around feeling comforted by the sound of people. They were in a market place. They finally reached civilization.

However, when Elaine looked closer at the people realization stabbed her in the gut like a knife. These weren’t normal people.

“Lorcan you have a lot of explaining to-” Elaine croaked as her mind swirled, but he shoved her into an alleyway.

They stood beside an old stone building. The floor was covered in broken glass and gross muddy puddles.

Lorcan looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening or watching. “Now, I will explain what exactly is going on.”

Finally, she thought she would get some answers, but out of all the places? An alleyway wasn’t her top choice especially this one particularly. It was dark and dirty. An old shriveled up looking faery sat on a stoop by a giant box of what smelled like dead fish.

He could have explained everything back at Gurnava’s. Why did he wait until now? he probably thought I would have tried running again. Is this real? Are we really here in the faery realm? Could he be right about my parents, that they want to see me, Elaine wondered.

She kept her thoughts to herself for the time being and waited for Lorcan to hopefully answer them.