Even after she removes her hands, she studies us both a long while. “They’re not Unseelie,” she says at last.
This seems to please Arth. “The ghosts of Nine Days are both a blessing and a burden. They keep outsiders away, but it’s rare anyone makes it through.”
“What happened there?”
“A long time ago the mage settlement incurred a vampire’s wrath. Using grim magic, they protected themselves from becoming demons.”
“Why didn’t he just turn them into vampires?” Soren asks.
“They’d rather be ghosts than demons?” I follow up.
“No one knows,” Thea says gravely.
Arth adds, “Demons are villains through no fault of their own. Vampires can suck blood to satisfy their appetite or use venom to turn someone into a vampire. During Bortimal’s reign, he worked with a grim mage to make it so people who were victim to a vampire’s thirst and died after being drained of blood became a demon.”
“Most magicals can’t become vampires. Though from what I understand, bargains can be made using grim magic.”
My own blood chills. I refuse to believe vampires are real. Magic, fine. Demons, I’ve seen them with my own eyes, but there’s no way vampires are actually a thing.
I swallow thickly. “Do these so-called vampires feed on fae?”
“Certainly. Though according to magical medicine and physiology, they don’t thrive on fae blood or that of other shifters. Like mages, vampires don’t have innate powers of their own. Sure, they have heightened abilities, super strength and senses, and are immortal, but the potency of a magical’s blood, like a fae, for instance, isn’t ideal for a vampire. I believe this is because they were once human and it’s not compatible,” Arth explains.
I scratch my head. “Okay, but if humans are only born in the Terra realm, how did vampires get here?”
Arth smiles genially like he’s pleased to offer this Magic 101 class. “Before the Rift, the portals were plentiful and diplomacy was favorable between the two realms. However, not all magicals behaved themselves while in the Terra realm. Our Unseelie Fae kin performed trickery and acts of evil upon the humans. Even though vampires are native to the Terra realm, they were lumped in with the magicals and the Borean delegation was forced to take responsibility. The vampires were sent here using a grim spell. Since the Wicked War, relations between the two realms have failed and now only native Boreans can travel between the two.”
“What about vampires?” I use air quotes around the word because I really don’t want any of this to be true.
“Unfortunately, they can travel between realms too.”
“And I thought my government’s politics were complicated.”
“I think that’s enough lessons for today,” Thea says.
“Wait, I have another question. Can a vampire bite a fae and steal their shadow?” My skin prickles.
“Demons steal fae shadows,” Soren answers. “Maybe the mages didn’t want a life of fae-hunting to be their fate.”
Arth nods as though that’s possible. “Many demons remained from the Wicked War but seem to be multiplying in recent years...as if they’re preparing for something.”
“To create a Shadow Army,” I say.
Thea stills a startle and takes my hand. She closes her eyes again. Her fingers are rough and stiff, but they seem to close and seal around mine as if moving through skin and bone and into thought and memory.
“What do you see?” the man in blue asks.
“Dreams not her own.”
I pull away, suddenly uncomfortable.
Thea must realize this because she drops my hand and smiles apologetically. “Please, eat and drink.”
“Thank you,” I say.
They lead us past the fire where couples continue to dance, along with people our age and children, all wearing flower crowns and wreaths in their hair. We reach a table laden with food—juicy meats, roasted vegetables, squash filled with toasted nuts, honey-hued rolls, and plump berries topped with cream.
Another fae summons Thea and Arth, calling them back to the celebration. I’m left deep in thought and take a breath, realizing I was holding it.
After we eat, Arth leads us to the doorway of one of the domed mounds I saw when we were approaching through the meadow.
“This is my turf house. You’ll be very comfortable and warm. Please, make yourselves at home.”
“We don’t want to impose,” Soren says with stiff politeness.
“Please stay the night, and on behalf of the Court of Briar and Knoll, I wish you a safe journey to the mountains.” He turns to leave.
Soren and I collapse into the beds at the back of the low-ceilinged house.
I’m exhausted, but I can’t sleep, my mind spinning with thoughts of the journey, what’s to come, and an obscure truth that can’t find a place to settle.
“Are you awake?” I ask Soren.
“Yeah.” His voice is low and scratchy.
“I’ve always ignored my dreams even though they often seem more real than some of the stuff my brain makes up. School, my mother, and life, in general, did not prepare me for everything that’s happened in the last few days. I knew demons were real, which suggested that magic was too, but not how it’s a part of my life.”
I wait for Soren to speak mostly because I want answers. But he doesn’t, leaving me feeling empty and alone.
Chapter 16
Soren
In the bed beside me, which feels much too far away, Kiki falls quiet as my father’s stories and fae whispers morph from memory into clarity. I don’t think this conversation should wait but have had to put a lot of thought into how to best approach it. I cross the room and light a candle.
She sits up, her eyes wide with alarm, rimmed red, and tracing my every move as though afraid I’m going to fly away and leave her alone.
I take a risk, sit beside her, and draw her close. She nestles under my
