Wayward
One reviewer (one of the most observant ones, too) pointed out that if Kaye had to save Corny's life again it would be retracting Tithe's plot. Well, Corny knows the hazard (or at least knows a little) of being Kaye's friend. She pissed off a lot of faeries both good and bad with her stunts in Tithe. But remember what Corny said at the end of Tithe—that he'd never be powerless again. Ever, no matter what it took.
That said, I'm building up to what's referenced in the summary for this fic. I also apologize once again for waiting two months to update this. That is hideously too long, even for how erratic my other updates have been.
I've also pondered starting a sequel to Valiant. The cast would include Val, Ravus (claro), Ravus's siblings, Ruth, Kaye, Roiben and more of those dauntless faeries we were introduced to at Seward Park, plus a very hairy and slimy plot in which Vravus shippers might hang me if I don't give them the ending they want. Let me know whatcha think?
End of the long author's note, because I know you guys wanna read chapter four…most of it's dialogue, and it is shorter, but I'm giving you KR fluff, so I think you'll forgive me ;)
A big thank you to all the reviewersfor getting me off my lazy arse and getting these scenes typed up!
o O o
Recap
If Corny hadn't been there this morning, then how could she know if it was really him or not? That thought startled Kaye—because she had talked to him, and he had acted like Corny, and sounded like Corny. He was Corny. She was sure.
When she looked up again, Kenny was observing her with a concerned expression.
"I've got to go, catch you later," Kaye said, stepping back out into the rain, and ignoring Kenny's protests to give her a ride.
Again, and not for the first time that day, Kaye wondered what the hell was going on with her life.
o O o
Chapter Three
"Swift as a shadow, short as any dream."
—"A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Kaye watched the sky turn from blue to periwinkle as the sun continued to sink beyond the horizon line. She didn't picture the sun's wrists bleeding into the water anymore. Now, if she had been at the shore, she envisioned a red shimmering mirror.
"How long can these moments last?" Kaye asked.
Roiben met the gaze of the sixteen-year-old pixie in his arms, and quirked a smile.
"So long as someone isn't plotting your unruly sacrifice," he said blandly, despite his amused expression. At times, Kaye could surprise him with how mature she could be, and other times…she was still a teenager. But she kept him guessing, and Roiben figured that was best, since he much preferred her surprises for him than the dangerous web he spun as King of the Unseelie Court.
Kaye twisted in Roiben's gentle but firm grasp, away from her bedroom window, and into liquid mercury eyes. They still made her catch her breath, even if she had seen them many times fore.
"That would ruin things," Kaye conceded, a smile forming at the corner of her lips.
Kaye really hadn't had any time alone with Roiben that was as quiet as that moment. Ellen was gone; probably in New York since Meow Factory had gotten their first major paying gig last week. Kaye's grandmother was out shopping for dinner; the left over Chinese was going on four days now. And there was her and Roiben, sitting on Kaye's poor excuse of a couch, trying to escape the surreality that had become their lives.
She had watched Roiben slip into a distracted expression more than once, though, and it worried her. When something could distract a king, it generally wasn't a good thing, unless that distraction was in the form of Kaye.
"Has anyone tried plotting my death again?" Kaye asked Roiben, more seriously this time, not breaking his gaze.
Roiben seemed to waver in indecision for a moment, and let out a sigh finally.
"The Faerie Games," Roiben began.
That had jogged something in Kaye's memory, but she couldn't remember what. Though, anything that had 'faerie' and 'games' in the same sentence could not bode well. Faeries were deviant. Kaye shuddered at the thought of what kind of games they played. Hadn't she already been a pawn in the Tithe?
"It's a centurial event," he continued reluctantly. Roiben had done everything in his power to keep Kaye out of involvement with this. He didn't care if it was the manifestation of human emotions or something stronger, he didn't want anything hurting Kaye. Both Courts knew that enough not to touch her. But he couldn't protect her from Wayward—
"So our winged friends get to together every one hundred years and play poker?" It was meant as a joke, but Kaye saw the anger form in Roiben's eyes.
"It's no joke," he said coldly, pulling back from her.
Kaye was helpless in this situation. She had only just learned of her pixie self—how did Roiben expect her to know everything about the faerie tales Lutie, Spike and Gristle had told her as a girl?
"Then spit it out!"
Shehated how childish she was acting, but what loyalties did the King of the Unseelie Court have to her? This was who she was—a confused sixteen-year-old who was with a supposedly evil faerie King, living in New Jersey and on the brink of patience.
Roiben closed his eyes, took a calming breath, and sat down on the windowsill. His black garb contrasted with the bleakness of the walls and the now pitless night sky. Kaye stood waiting, feeling awkward, the annoyance already ebbing out of her nerves.
"You could compare it to poker, I suppose," Roiben said slowly, opening his eyes and locking gazes with Kaye. Her attention was undivided now. "But the poker chips are humans," he said grimly.
Kaye felt a chill trail done her spine.
She had only seen a fraction of faerie life uninterrupted, and even then, she had been in a trance.
"I'm sorry, Kaye." Roiben's tone was softer now.
Kaye looked up.
"What are you sorry? You haven't done anything." The statement was unsteady to her ears.
"I have to go." Roiben stood.
"Wait—" He cut her off with a kiss, one that vaporized any semblance of Kaye's thoughts, brief as it was, and he was gone swifter than wind.
Kaye stood there after he had left, heart fluttering, her lips still stung from his own, both annoyed and swept away at once with the action. Still breath taking, if not inconveniently timed.
"That's not fair," she called to the silence,smiling despite herself.
o O o
"Have you seen your mother?" Kaye's grandmother asked her as she walked into the kitchen.
Kaye's head was still mist and fog after Roiben's departure, but she managed a "No," for the woman, watching her grandmother fix her a dinner plate that consisted of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Kaye stopped herself from recoiling when she caught a whiff of the acid scent of the new dishwashing soap her grandmother had bought. The label didn't lie when it said natural, Kaye mused as she collapsed into a chair, letting the day sink into her.
"She's probably just late getting back from New York, then," Kaye's grandmother said distantly, as if trying to convince herself of the truth. "I didn't hear her come in yet."
That's sweet, Kaye thought, she thinks Mom'll be back before midnight.
Kaye couldn't count on both ands how many times her mother had partied all night long, and ended up crashing at a guy's place she'd met at said party. Meow Factory would take care of Ellen—the members were all her mom's friends.
But the simple logic didn't rule out what Kaye had just learned about the Faerie Games. And it made her worry, even if Ellen not coming home 'til early in the morning was routine.
"Mom'll be back," Kaye echoed her doubtful thoughts, a poor attempt to reassure her grandmother, and herself.
o O o
That night, it had taken Kaye two hours to fall asleep. She had paced in her room for a good few minutes, googled 'Faerie Games' enough times to make her head spin, and sat watching out her window, hoping her mom, Corny and everyone else she cared about would be okay.
The lady knight Morwen knew this, because she had watched the glamoured pixie untilthe knightwas sure no danger would threaten Kaye Fierch that night.