Chapter 37

That wooden door was heavy. Like, immensely heavy. Fucking heavy. It always took a Ryan a few seconds to lug it open when answering the door, which could have been chalked up to it be heavy even for him or his attempt at being flirtatious. Still, this door must have been made out of some expensive, imported wood because it was like lifting black matter.

It didn't seem that way now. Before Ryan could slip his key in, that door plunged into the house, as if it were being blown by hurricane force winds. I wondered if it would fly off its hinges or come crashing back to smack me in the face.

But it didn't. A tall figure held it open with one hand, her back straight as a skyscraper and her eyes wild like an animal's. Before, I said that I would kill for a beauty like hers. Even now, with her feral blue eyes and figure on the verge of pouncing, I still considered her to be the most beautiful person I knew, almost rivaling the Seelie rulers.

"Silvia! I'm so glad you're safe!" Alma squealed as she jumped onto me, her body seeming to weigh one hundred pounds more as she covered my entire decrepit body with her perfect one. I was used to her displays of affection, but normally never responded. Those times, it had been because of my dislike of physical contact. Now, it was for a completely different reason.

Excalibur burned at my side, once again warning me. It didn't seem to like this place; these people.

Who are you really, Alma?

I thought I knew. About her ex-husband and her restaurant and her life. What hadn't she told me? What were they hiding? As their supposed 'mother,' it only made sense to assume that she was the head of their little operation. But if she knew that I was aware of the truth, why was she still acting the same? Sure, the hug was a bit more abrasive than usual, but couldn't she feel the distrust and malice seeping from my body? I tried to conceal it, but as she let go, so did my self-control.

"Get off!" I shouted right into Alma's unnaturally pointy ear, my voice cracking from the force of my frustration. It had leaked out a bit when I was in the car with Ryan, but this time was different. I shouted at Alma. Sweet Alma who cooked me sickly dinners and hugged me too tight and who acted like a mother that I couldn't have.

And told Alex to not get too close to me.

I felt like everything I held dear was being ripped from under me. Why me? My mother, and my house, and my other family—

Why did they have to do this to me?

I could feel myself trembling, but I still refused her hand, flinching every time it drew near in apology. She whispered, "Silvia…" and I responded with silence.

After a few moments, Alex took the lead and grabbed both of my arms by the sides. "We should probably go inside. It's hot out here and Silvia really needs to sit down." It surprised me, but ultimately brought me back to my senses. I needed to move on. I needed to talk to them and learn why before I started feeling all helpless.

Alma stepped back from the threshold, allowing us and our hoard of weirdos to shuffle awkwardly into the house. By instinct, I started heading toward the parlor room to the left, where we normally hung out during my visits. After gently placing Excalibur on the floor, but still within arm's reach, I plopped myself onto the black velvety couch. I thought momentarily that it felt like a silk blanket, the most gentle and consoling thing I'd felt all week. While lost in reverie, I was slightly embarrassed when Alex pushed the matching ottoman closer to me, insisting that I prop up my legs.

"Where did Grim scamper off to?" Puck asked, jokingly checking under a table for the elusive feline.

Meghan observed the iPad on the table, clicking it a couple times and then withdrawing reluctantly. I could only guess what her duties as the Iron Queen were, but she clearly had a penchant for electronics that didn't exist in the other Halflings. Even while in the car, she had seemed relaxed; at home. "He said that he was going to visit an ogre that lived nearby. Said he had some business with him to take care of."

"Tsk. Didn't even say goodbye. And he rags on me for having no manners."

So that's why he stayed. Even though our deal for him to accompany me back to my world was completed, he passed through the trod along with the rest of us so that he could haggle some other poor sap elsewhere.

"On another note, this house is absolutely beautiful."

"Thanks. Leanansidhe built it for us."

Who? A contractor?

"Yeah, Lenny's trod is how I got to the human world in the first place, but I've actually never been here before." Mae ran her slender fingers along the smooth edges of their grand piano before giving Alex a stern look. "I was never invited."

"I didn't realize that you needed an invitation." He replied as he leapt onto the couch, his hand resting protectively on mine. His shoulder leaned against my fairly uninjured right side. He smelled dully of sweat and woodsy musk.

His body was touching mine at almost all points, which was painful in some places and delightfully warm in others. I knew that trusting him was a bad idea, but while everyone else was too afraid to touch me, especially because I was currently a ticking time bomb of fury, this act of skin ship was mellowing but stimulating.

"You're not in pain, right?" He whispered devilishly into my ear.

"N-no. I'm fine." Shut up! I don't wanna trust you, so stop acting so nice! Why are you so weak, stupid teenage heart?

And then a shadow on my left side, a shaking of the couch as another body joined us in a now cramped space. "Wow! How many chinchillas did you have to shave to get a couch this soft?" Puck's hands rubbed the surface of the couch as if he were trying to start a fire. His awed face was blatantly composed and fake, so I figured he was just looking for an excuse to join us. Even in the human world, he wouldn't leave me alone.

Alex was, of course, aggravated by Puck's jesting addition to our conversation. "Why do you care? You know, I could easily say it's the skin of my enemies."

Meghan and Ash giggled at us from the other side of the room, both leaning against the wall after having inspected some of the artwork. Alma and Ryan were absent, probably in order to discuss something secretly out of hearing range.

Puck's uncovered arm wrapped around the back of the couch, leaving his gray-clad body open. If I peeked a tad to my left, I could see down inside his shirt. He then sneakily weaved his hand under my skull, keeping in contact with my skin the entire time, and rested his forearm behind my neck before I could regain the ability to think in order to protest. Where did he get the nerve? When exactly had we developed the kind of relationship where he thought it was okay to do that?

He answered Alex with a smooth grin, one that used to make me inch away from him but now made me want to slap him and snicker at the same time. "Damn, you're hard core. I'll be civil, so don't turn me into a recliner chair."

"You've obviously proven that you can't be civil."

"Since you only popped out of your egg yesterday, I'll fill you in. I've been heeding the calls of kings and courting sophisticated women at balls since before your old man learned how to use his…beak."

Was that a sex joke? Alex surely understood. "You could be as old as time itself for all I care, it doesn't change the fact that you're as thoughtful and gentlemanly as a middle school brat."

"Hey, I may be an impish, conniving…selfish…cowardly bastard, but I'm a gentleman at heart."

"What heart?"

"Wow. You're good at this. You may even be more fun to bicker with than that Ice Prince."

A glare in protest.

"Awww~ now you're ignoring me? Did I anger the Half-Blood Prince?"

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I burst out laughing, my inner core seemingly exploding, my mouth erupting and releasing high-pitched squeals that I didn't even realize I was capable of. A sound register that even dogs couldn't hear. My laughing fit was so random and uncharacteristic that everyone else stopped, enthralled by the sight of me keeling over in delight. What had happened to my fierce, aggravated façade? But I couldn't help it. They were both too—

"Harry Potter? You made…a fucking Harry Potter reference? Ha! Are you serious?!" I spurted between bursts, my eyes closed by the force of my mouth opening as wide as a stop sign.

While my giggles settled, I could almost feel the mood physically lift. I wondered if they had done that with their immature bickering, or if my sudden change in mood had somehow positively affected everyone else.

But by the time that Alma and Ryan reentered, my chuckling had ceased indefinitely and everyone in the room exchanged mildly concerned, distrustful, and furious expressions. Ryan was more serene than before while Alma appeared to be fretting. I wondered if he had just filled her in on everything I knew and if, perhaps, I knew too much. I leaned forward on the couch, both trying to seem more serious and to escape the feeling of Puck's ticklish and warm palm behind my neck. My hand twitched, feeling the glamour surrounding Excalibur mere inches from my fingers.

Before they could even take a seat, I jumped right into the interrogation. "So why are you here? I've figured at this point that you were specifically after me, but why? What were your intentions?" I used every ounce of breath to get those words out before my voice shook. The entire situation was a little unnerving, but I figured that the sooner I could get the information I needed, the better.

Ryan groaned as he rolled up the sleeves of his striped, collared top and fell into a pompous velvet armed chair. He shifted uncomfortably, adjusting his wings to a chair that was not made to accommodate them. "Ya know, it would be easier if—"

"And how come I can see your wings now? I couldn't before." The questions kept surging up like word vomit, as if my mind was just having a blackout and now was on overdrive. "Was it because I went into the NeverNever? Are there others like you around here—"

"Actually, we can sum that up pretty quickly." Meghan interrupted, her face apologetic. Was my intensity freaking the rest of them out? "When a human goes into the NeverNever, they acquire a Sight that will allow them to see fae disguises in the human world. Now that you've been through the NeverNever, you could see their wings, even if they try to hide them from other humans."

I gazed at a spot on the wooden floor, not necessarily because it was interesting or reminded me of a celebrities visage, but involved in thought. "Why, though? Why would there be fae in the human world in the first place? The NeverNever seems so much better suited for you."

"Have you learned nothing?" A hardened but genuinely worried voice piped up from the corner. From the pink mouth of Alma, who was leaning on one side against the wall, one stocking-clad leg crossed over the other. She was shoving back and forth a picture frame with her delicately manicured finger. It was a picture of her and her sons. Now that I thought about it, I never saw any pictures around the house of them as children. "I'm sure one of these numbskulls told you at some point about glamour, right? It's fucking Fae 101."

Was I the only one whose mouth was agape at the concept of Alma Pierce cursing? What a game changer. Not only was she not human, but she wasn't even herself. Ryan and Alex hadn't changed so drastically, besides Alex acting 200 times more protective than usual and Ryan's clear spiral further and further into douche-dom. Was her usual upbeat and bubbly façade just a precaution? To make sure that I liked this faux family so that they could complete their plan with fewer complications?

It sounded a bit strange, but after the week I'd had, I would believe anything at that point.

"Fae gain life energy and strength from absorbing the creative energy of humans." Ash reminded me, even though I wasn't in need of a reminder. His arms were crossed but his eyes were wild, as if he were trying to take it every single spot or scratch or pigment of every object he observed.

The woman in Alma's skin closed her gorgeous eyes, I supposed resigning herself to no longer faking her personality. "This entire house is a part of the Veil, an extension of Leanansidhe's kingdom. It's a compilation of glamour that has been used to connect the human plane and the NeverNever."

"Meaning…?" I implored.

Her thick lids lifted for only a moment to give me a knowing glance, "Meaning we have a trod." This kind of gaze was too strange. Too cold. It felt wrong coming from the gentle eyes of Alma Pierce. I couldn't look.

I suppose that made sense. For fae, if glamour was a necessity in order to sustain life or power or whatchacallit, congregating near a park (a major hub for glamour) and imposing a trod for easy travel to the NeverNever whenever one pleased would seem understandable.

"Oh, of course! I guess this entire house is a portion of the Between, huh? No wonder I felt such a strong magical presence upon entering." Meghan sounded intrigued by this development. Maybe it was an artificial trod, like the one she created that bridged to Louisiana so that she could visit her brother. Were artificial trods uncommon? "I'm actually fairly close to Leanansidhe. Maybe you can tell her that I stopped by."

"And make sure to leave out that I was anywhere near here." Puck piped up, his face seemingly drained by this mention of someone whom I no longer assumed was a contractor.

"And who are you?"

"Meghan Chase, the Iron Queen."

"Oh, yes, I've—"

"Where is it?" Enough with the pleasantries, please. This is serious. I was timid, fearing that the answer would be 'the bedroom you stayed in' or something of the likeness to them stealing glamour from me. Does it count as stealing? "Where's the trod?"

Ryan both sensed and dismissed my anxiety with a sassy, nonchalant eye roll. "Don't have a heart attack, stupid human. The trod's nowhere near your bedroom. We're not that creepy. Besides, you produce the same amount of glamour as a fifty-year-old accountant."

I lifted my head, seeing from my peripheral vision that Puck and Alex were avoiding my face and Meghan's reaction was definitively unfavorable. Ash, understanding that it was now his responsibility to answer, coughed awkwardly. "Well, I would not have constructed it so rudely…nor do I know what an ac-coun-tant is…but I suppose it is an accurate description."

Saying it in mildly Olde English almost made it worse. He didn't even know what an accountant was.

Although my confidence was somehow shot, I spoke up once more, my eyes locked on one of the black keys on the piano, thinking about playing the instrument, Alex beside me on the black bench, only a few months ago. "And who's Leanansidhe?"

Alma sneered, "That's not important now."

"Then who are you?"

I was a bit shocked to hear Puck bring a question to the table, but I appreciated that he was at least trying to keep this moving while everyone else stood silently in various degrees of understanding. He lifted off the couch, moaning as different parts of his body cracked. He placed his hands on his hips, bringing my attention to the checked brown and tan belt he'd manifested for himself, which matched his brown Sperrys. I supposed he was more fashion-conscious than I presumed, in a douche-frat-boy kind of way. "Now, I'm no straight shooter myself, but it would be greatly appreciated if you could answer this kid's questions ASAP so that I can stop getting vicarious stress headaches from her. It kinda messes with my usual upbeat sassiness."

Alma was taken aback, "Oh, well—"

"And do you have any of those bottled drugs that look like tiny red candies?"

"Y-you mean Advil?"

"Yeah. About a gallon of those would be reeealy great right about now."

In order to satiate Puck, since he probably wouldn't stop pestering until he did, Ryan emerged from his chair and motioned for the impatient fae to follow him into the kitchen. I could picture the skinny top drawer now, filled with drugs and medicines that never seemed to run out. As if I were the only one who ever used them. I was pleased with his outburst though, because it still held everyone's attention, even after he left the room.

"Well?" I prodded, feeling the AC brush my left side, now that Puck wasn't here to block the chill. "Answer his question."

Alma tapped her long fingernails on the glossy wooden table, the other hand sweeping her fabulously styled blonde hair behind a startlingly pointed ear. Even though the boys had those gigantic wings, her awkward lobes seemed to be the only difference about her. Well, besides her drastic personality change from an exuberant sweetheart to a rude delinquent. "Ryan's full, but I'm a half-fae, like Alex. Half wood nymph, to be precise. I was placed in Leanansidhe's care as a child and she's the one who assigned me to this mission. Two years ago, me and these two tengu were bumped down to the human world and told to make friends with you and only you. We got some general rules about dos and don'ts, but mainly, we just had to make ourselves appear like a normal, racially mixed and slightly dysfunctional but still completely normal and related family. Sorry to burst your bubble."

Did she look genuinely sorry? I couldn't tell. I was so used to her childish expressions and wide smiles that her current grimace seemed entirely out of place. I couldn't get a read on it. Was she lying?

I decided to probe deeper, even though my companions seemed almost content. I didn't think I would ever be. "Why me? Is it because I can wield Excalibur? Because I can read the Ancient Verses—?"

"You can what?" Ryan's voice grew louder, along with his heavy footsteps, as he returned from the kitchen, probably after getting Puck the drugs, a cup of water, and receiving more than a few skeptical stares.

"She spoke to a dragon." Ash declared, his booming tenor almost scaring the pants off the rest of us. "She spoke in a way which none of us could comprehend, but the creature understood perfectly. I assume that that is the Ancient Verses to which she is referring."

"We know what it is, you slow Prince." Ryan rolled his eyes at the Meghan's icy husband, met by his stern glare. "We just…didn't think she did. That wasn't exactly in the syllabus when we were told to keep an eye on her." He took Puck's spot to my left, his wings limiting the space even further, causing me to huddle closer to Alex, another warm ball of black feathers. I wondered if he had done that on purpose. "We were just told that one of Leanansidhe's confidants wanted her to take care of this human, but didn't give us a good reason why. Either way, I guess whoever it was is pretty important, so we were shipped out here immediately and told to bring her into the NeverNever after—"

"Don't!"

Crash.

At the same time that Alex had blurted out his demand, Puck had reentered the room in fashion, by bumping clumsily into the wooden table near Alma's lounging form. The red-headed fae looked guilelessly down at the iPad case, which was now stern open, and the picture frame with glass that had been smashed to smithereens. And we all looked at him. With his hands raised, Puck mumbled with bated breath, "Sorry. I was trying to look at the…thing…well, no. Um. That picture just really pissed me off?…actually, that's a lie. It's a really nice picture…uhhh, the floor's slippery? Does that sound believable? Ha ha. De ja vu, right guys?"

Meghan and Ash shook their heads simultaneously, not wanted to acknowledge Puck's desperate attempt to claim that he didn't just trip like a dweeb and knock over the picture frame.

"If you want a summary:" Alex continued, his voice less aggressive now that Puck's mistake had lightened the mood. I tilted my head up, but instantly regretting it once our faces were a mere inch from one another's. He was so much taller than me, but this couch leveled the playing field a little too well. "Meeting you and becoming friends with you was just a plan to gain your trust. We just wanted to do what Leanansidhe asked of us, which was get you into the NeverNever." The sides of his mouth turned down, his tan skin faded to grim pale, even his chocolate eyes darkened with grief. A pitiful expression if I ever saw one.

"I'm sorry." He finished, his voice so choked and raspy that I barely heard it, even though my ear was nearly touching his lips.

So I stood. I saw my shadow rise on the dark wood and I refused to look up. I knew I would see their conflicted faces and their patronizing glares and the chandelier that perpetually reminded of the fake life they lived. The life I thought they had tried to share with me. The one that was used to manipulate and confuse me. My shadow was comfortable.

I watched as my feet shifted, my unwashed, abused white boots leaning to the left before taking a step closer to the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Meghan asked, her casual and undemanding tone making me feel only slightly less betrayed by this entire situation.

"My room is upstairs." Was that me speaking? It sounded like a ghost. A figment of a voice.

"Wait—" Alex's fingers graced my own, but I yanked them away before he could take hold. I had no definite way of knowing how long I had been awake, but it felt like a while day. A whole week. A millennium.

"I just need to sleep on this. REM sleeps helps process and store memories and replenish energy." I sounded like a zombie. A dorky zombie. "You all can go now." I addressed Meghan and Ash, figuring that they were going to come and go whenever they pleased, as they had been doing so far, but wishing to give them that extra push. It was nothing against them, but I was in desperate need of solitude.

I heard a sound from Meghan sort of like affirmation and accepted it, still without turning my eyes upward. They needed to return to their Iron Kingdom, especially with a lunatic Half-fae like Drystan who, as I gathered from his piercings and clothing, could actually touch iron, unlike normal fae.

When I was passing through the French doors of the parlor room, my upper arm was quickly apprehended, providing me no means of escape. The grip was firm, but also gentle around the fingers, being sure not to dig into my already sensitive and heavily bruised skin. I saw brown boating shoes and slouching pants. Puck.

Lips on my ear suddenly, making my body quiver. "I don't know if you need it anymore, but…"

He slipped something course into my hand: the picnic basket I had been carrying around with my religiously. With Alex's rain jacket, my iPhone, the book—

Since when had he gotten a hold of this?

Despite my usual distrustful nature, the sight of the basket was so relieving that I couldn't stop myself. "Thank you," I whispered, my teeth not moving quickly enough to clamp down on those vile words before they had escaped.

He chuckled, again in my ear, making me desire to punch him in the gut grow to a dangerous level. "And if you don't mind, I'm gonna stick around for a little longer."

Why? What's the point? So you can laugh at me as I have a breakdown and watch how my world has fallen apart? "Che. Do whatever you want."

"As per usual." Although I couldn't see the smirk on his face, I heard it just as clearly in his words.

Walking to the stairs felt like walking to my noose, a relatively short but immeasurably grueling distance. I peeked up finally and was face-to-face with Mae. I wondered why she hadn't joined the conversation. She was sitting on the third step with Grimalkin, who had obviously returned successful from his haggling by the enhanced haughty aura surrounding him.

"Mae—"

"Sorry! Am I in your way?" The tiny fae girl leapt up from her stooped seat and motioned toward the now-empty stair like a bouncer inviting me into a fancy party. Something I've only experienced through films, of course.

"Mae, I—"

"I'm gonna stay here with Alex for a little while." She answered my question as if she possessed telepathy. Just like usual. "You need rest for now, but if you need me, I'll be here." A cutesy smile to finish off her decree.

I was so thankful for her and Puck. For still managing to act like themselves, even though I was slowly falling apart.

As I trudged up the stairs, almost to the top, I heard Grim bellow from beneath me, "And don't forget, human," I ceased all movements, not even allowing the squeaking of my shoes or the rubbing of my hand along the rail to interrupt Grim's warning, Or threat. "Don't forget that you have a bargain to upkeep."

Of course, it was a threat.

The smell of my room was fresh but alien, as if I truly had been away for months instead of just over one week. My ridiculous king sized bed was the same. The Victorian styled furniture was the same. The rug covering much of the floor had not a stain on it.

But none of it felt right.

After locking my door, I threw myself face-down onto the comforter, fighting unsuccessfully the urge to cry. An urge so strong that I hadn't felt since that one night reminiscing about my mother in the NeverNever. Since I thought that all of my fae comrades were injured or dead or worse during Drystan's invasion.

I was crying so much lately. What was wrong with me? Then again, right now, what was right?

I didn't want to think about what would happen in the morning. How much school I'd missed. What my status at the University of Virginia was. Had I dropped in rank for my graduating class? How would I even pay for college? All of this NeverNever shit would get in the way. Was getting in the way. Wouldn't stop getting in the way.

I wanted to fall asleep and wake up in a college dorm. Underneath an intricately designed comforter, with a cheap fan blowing disgusting dorm air in my face. I wanted to wake up and worry about missing my 8 AM class, Introduction to Biology. I wanted to make sure to take my student ID card with me, because it was my connection to my meal-plan and any food I desired. I wanted to spend the afternoon on the Lawn, watching passersby and joggers and fellow students without a care in the world. I wanted to stay up late in the library with friends studying for a Chemistry quiz that was still days away.

I wanted that. I wanted all of that. Only that.

And I would never, ever have it.