Realm of Wings

Jade, waking up from her sleep:

The smell of bacon wafted into the room, which made me jolt up in delight as I was as hungry as hell! My stomach hurled out a growl in agreement and Trixie laughed next to me. “That’s what you get when you don’t eat for two days!” She said and when I looked through the room I noticed that not only she was here but also Neil and Kallan.

I was grateful to have them here, as I didn’t want to be surrounded by any other person right now. I didn’t have the trust towards Kallan’s parents as I didn’t fully understand the things that they have been thinking about in my near vicinity, and I still don’t know who the other, distant voices were from. But I could trust the ones that were in this room now.

But two days? I have been inside my shield for more than a day’s worth of time? Wow, no wonder my stomach is growling like a rabid bear.

Kallan made up a plate of food for me, filled it to the rim with extra bacon and then walked over to me and sat on the side of the bed. “Here you go.” He said emotionless.

Again, it was caring, but not in the loving kind of way. I still don’t know what to think about him, I mean he has done some pretty nasty shit to me, that would make a sane woman steer perfectly clear away from him in the other direction, but not me. I don’t know what is pulling me towards him, but we need to talk this through, soon.

After I have eaten, of course!

“Maybe we should get a DNA test done on Earth, to see if she truly is, what it is that your parents say.” I suddenly heard Trixie think, still sitting beside me on the bed. But I tried to ignore it, not immediately wanting for them to know about my mind-reading capabilities.

“I don’t think that works on Fae people.” Kallan replied to her. I chuckled at the seriousness he applied to Trixie’s question, but as soon as I did, Neil looked towards me with a confused face.

“Oh, it’s nothing, I’m just laughing at the amount of bacon I could eat right now.” I replied to his facial expression at which he nodded awkwardly.

“I’ll get you some more.” Kallan said out loud and he walked towards the door.

“Yes, go get your Queen some more food, servant-boy.” Trixie mocked him through her mind which resulted in a growl from him to her. I nearly choked on my food as I wanted to laugh when she said that, but as she thought that I had swallowed my food wrong, she quickly slapped my back to help me get rid of it.

Kallan turned around to see if I was alright and once I had swallowed my food I chose to let them know what I could do now.

“Yes, servant-boy, please go and fetch me some more of that delicious pig.” I said out loud, copying Trixie’s word that she had relayed to him through her mind. Neil scolded me for calling Kallan that, but Kallan on his turn didn’t get the hint and just rolled his eyes and walked through the door.

Trixie on the other hand looked at me with wide-open eyes and open mouth and stopped breathing as well. I poked her in the chest at which she came to and started to stutter incoherently. “Can you… Can you… read our minds?” She asked me and I shook my head with a smile.

“But, but, how?” She asked me and I raised my shoulders in not knowing the answer either. “Oh, my, we don’t need a DNA test after all! You truly are her!” Trixie shouted and Neil gasped.

His thoughts show that he had heard from Kallan about me and my heritage but he had been hesitant to believe it too, but hearing Trixie say this, made him believe otherwise in an instant.

“And the idiot didn’t even realise!” Trixie said, referring to Kallan.

“Nope.” I said, popping the word.

“But how long have you known you could do this?” She asked me and I explained to her that I had heard something for the first time when we were at the Tibetan Conclave. “Right after you have gotten hold of the grey marble.” Trixie pointed out and I looked at her in surprise, never again realising that I had that item in my pocket yesterday.

But I wasn’t wearing the same clothes now, so where was it? Did someone take it from me? “Here it is.” Neil said and took the little box out of the drawer of the nightstand and handed it over to me. A sigh of relief stopped my panic attack and I quickly opened the box to see if it was still inside there.

Trixie suddenly realized that I hadn’t asked her about anything she had just said. “So, you know?” She asked me a little ashamed.

“Yes, I have heard Kallan’s parents when they stood near me when I was incapacitated. But I still can’t believe it to be true, even though I can read minds.” I explained to her, at which she gave me a curt nod in understanding my feelings.

“I can hear their minds too.” I repeated, to emphasize the severity of the power that came along with my mind-reading, something that Trixie didn’t catch up upon.

“Wait, what?” She asked. “You can read the King and Queen’s minds?” She asked dumbfounded and I shook my head. “Really?” She asked me again. “Yes Trixie, I have heard everything they were thinking. About me being the rightful heir to the throne as apparently, I am the offspring of the King and Queen that Kallan’s family have taken the lives of.” I answered her and she lowered her head in shame and empathy towards me as well.

“So, what are you going to do? Are you going to leave us? Do you hate us?” She asked while still having her head down.

“Trixie, look at me.” I said to her, which made her lift her head again.

“I don’t want the throne, I never cared for such a thing, so I’m not going to pursue it now. Nor am I going to leave Kyalthemar because I want to know what this grey marble does and what the history is behind my bloodline. And last, but certainly not least, I do not hate you, nor do I hate Kallan. Neither you nor Kallan had something to do with the killing of my parents, and judging by how Kallan has responded to me all this time, he didn’t know about it either.” I told her at which she nodded and told me how grateful she was.

“Besides that, I do need friends who can help me with all these things, as I can’t figure them all out on my own.” I said with a smile.

“Figure out what?” Kallan suddenly said as he came through the door with another plate filled with slices of bacon.

“Trixie, could you please give her the bacon, I don’t want to come too close anymore. It hurts too much.” Kallan thought to Trixie, at which she shook her head and became as red as a beet in an instant. “Trixie, cut the crap and give it to her.” He scolded her in his mind again and put the plate on the food cart that he had brought in earlier.

“I’m going to take a shower.” He now said annoyed and out loud while walking towards the bathroom.

“Kallan!” Trixie yelled to him, making him turn around and look at her in a quizzing look. “She can read minds!” She blurted out, which made him instantly look towards me while I had folded my arms.

I hadn’t said a single word about his thoughts, wanting him to come clean about whatever is bothering him in the first place, but Trixie had prevented that from happening by blurting out what I could do. This wasn’t the most ideal situation, but at least now he was forced to tell me about his messed up thoughts!

“Come Neil, let’s give them some room.” Trixie said and Neil quickly stood up to follow her lead.

Kallan stepped closer to me and once he was close enough, he sat on the side of the bed again, just like he did when he gave me the plate of food earlier.

“I guess there is no chance of hiding it now.” He whispered at which I didn’t reply and just let him think.

“Jade, this is hard for me to tell you. So please just listen until I am finished, alright?” He asked me while he let his elbows rest on his knees and folded his fingers in front of him. I told him to continue and he sighed deeply.

“When I turned of age to go through the ritual, my parents wanted me to find myself a suitable wife before they would do it themselves. So, I went on a search for a year, spent my time on different realms until I found her.” He said and now it was all starting to make sense.

He was in love with another woman and now that he was home, he couldn’t be so carefree in showing his emotions to other women anymore. That must be it!

“But I didn’t realize that I was starting to like her before she was brought here, home.” He continued and I lowered my head in understanding.

I don’t know why but I’m actually a bit disappointed that it wasn’t me he was caring for. I have never been this soft in emotions towards a man before, so why am I now? I mean, I have cried over the loss of my Sisters at the Conclave, but I have never cried over a man! I have one-nightstands or just a fling or two, here and there, but never have I felt the contradicting emotions I feel now.

“But my parents told me that I couldn’t be with her, as she apparently seemed to be my cousin.”

That’s awkward, he fell in love with his cousin? Okay, I’m smiling softly now, because I’m both happy that he can’t be with her and thus for me to have a shot of making him mine. Or at least have one night with him…

“But even though I still not truly believe her to be my cousin, I feel this urge to take care of her in a different way, a servant kind of way. I mean, she still is meant to be the true Queen of Kyalthemar.” He said, dropping the bomb on me…

He wasn’t talking about someone else… he was talking about me!

He looked me in the eyes before he continued. “Jade, my great-grandmother has killed her sister, Queen Ayanna, which is your apparent great-grandmother.”

“No!” I said in total disbelief.

I know that I’m aware of the fact that his family has killed mine, but that we were related was something that was left out in any of the thoughts that I had heard before! My plate fell down the bed as I was scurrying myself to get out. I needed to leave this room and find out more about this whole shitshow!

“Jade, calm down, please.”

“Calm down? CALM DOWN?!” I roared. “You don’t get to tell me to calm down! I hadn’t been angry at you because you didn’t know about this, but your father did and he still sat on the throne while my family should have been! Besides, if I’m the last living offspring of this Queen Ayanna, then where is the rest of my family? Where are the other two generations that I’m missing here? Huh?” I questioned and he genuinely thought about it.

I stood up from the bed and walked over towards the door, I turned the handle but before I could open it Kallan had pushed his hand against it to stop me from going.

“Please Jade, don’t make any rushed decisions. We have to come up with a plan.” He said in a defeated voice which made me instantly calm down, knowing that this is not his fault. Besides, he was right, with my talent to read minds, any mind for that matter, and just a little practice, we need to come up with a plan.

“Why?” I sighed while leaning my head against the door, questioning myself what I’m going to do with him and myself.

“Because my parents don’t know you can read minds and that could come in handy.”

“That’s not what I meant.” I said, knowing that my new talent could obviously come in handy.

“Then what do you mean?”

I hesitated for a moment to say what I wanted to say as I didn’t want to get this situation any weirder than it is already. But I can’t allow lying towards myself even though I really can’t have this kind of distraction, ever again.

“Kallan,” I said while turning myself around, only then noticing that he was awfully close to me. “I don’t know what it is about you, but I’m feeling drawn to you. I don’t like it but I care for you too, in some sort of strange way, and all I’m wondering is, is why? Why do I feel like this, why is this happening to me, to us?” I explained while he looked at me with his dark green eyes, biting his lower lip as he actually got nervous because I reciprocated to him the same feelings he has for me.

“But if we truly are cousins, we can’t-

But before I could end my sentence he had come down with his head and crushed his lips on mine.