On top of it all, an entire species depended on me, and that only weighed me down.
Cue constant naps.
From the countless training sessions with Tyran, I also knew that I was still human enough to feel utterly sapped of energy after practicing. It was my human side battling with my Fae abilities. According to Tyran, when at full magical capacity, Fae didn’t need much rest to feel rejuvenated if I dipped into my power. It wasn’t until much of the magic well was used up that Fae needed rest to reinvigorate.
Another weird thing: Most everyone evaded me like I had the plague. It wasn’t as if they were rude or anything. In fact, I’d had to repeatedly tell Fae to call me Rae and to stop with the bowing. More off-putting, Cora and Tyran never left me alone. Ever. If I stepped out of my room, one of them magically appeared beside me. Sometimes they even sent Teagan to escort me. It was as if they were on Rae duty, but quite frankly, I didn’t have the brainpower or the desire to question it. I already had too much on my plate.
Oddly enough, I found myself missing Rian. But he was always busy. He was some big shot Fae Guard leader. According to my sources—namely Cora—he’d also had to take Roark’s position. So, he was gone more than half the time, rotating to protect the portals.
As I observed the Fae and how they’d managed to adapt without magic, it was humbling. It almost reminded me of medieval life. Everyone had their position, and it was all in an effort to keep the little society functioning. I felt like a total sloth since they wouldn’t put me to work. Instead, I focused on training. Just another reason why my lack of progress was disheartening.
There had also been nothing on the magic unbinding end. After I told Tyran about the prophecy Sabine had been going off about, the entire reason she chose to kidnap humans with the most powerful Fae blood, he’d been excited. Seers were constantly being harassed about seeing anything more, but nada.
“I can feel you thinking,” Tyran called out, and I groaned. Damn him.
“I just can’t concentrate. Could we move on to something else?” I whined, and something occurred to me. “Maybe learning how to fight will help my mental blocks.”
He shook his head and scratched his eyebrow. “It would be pointless to know how to fight if someone can get in your head and cut it off while you thought you were seeing your best friend in their place.”
He stood and strode to a corner of the room and slid a part of the wall over. On closer inspection, I realized it was like a little cubby with a whole lot of buttons. He reached in and fiddled around. The floor shuddered, and to the far left of the room, two panels from the ground opened, and a sleek gold machine rose.
I got to my feet and approached it. “What is it?”
“It’s for running.”
I threw him a confused look. It was like the Fae were a perfect balance of past and present, and I never knew which one to expect.
“So, like an elliptical?” I guess I could see how it looked like one. The sleek bottom gold was different in the middle where the band would generally go.
“I do not know what that is, in all honesty,” he said, and I smiled at his weird phrasing. “Get on.”
I looked over at Tyran to see him smiling at me with a soft expression. Running was not my thing, but I couldn’t deny it had gotten easier.
I puffed a breath out and clambered on. I almost slipped, but Tyran reached out and grasped my waist before I slid headfirst into the dull side of the running machine. His touch sent a shock through me, not necessarily bad, but not all good. I pulled away, feeling like an idiot.
“Thanks, Ty,” I mumbled and shot him a sheepish grin.
“I like it when you call me that.” The smile on his face made nervous butterflies erupt in my stomach.
“How do I turn it on?” I asked and turned back to the machine. This time, I stepped higher into the middle of the light-colored strip. As soon as my weight settled on it, it started moving. I flailed for purchase. Ty reached out, grabbing my hand to steady me. I managed to get myself upright and stilled.
“You’re going to have to build up your speed.”
“How the hell am I supposed to balance on this crap?” I was unsteady and not only because the contraption felt an awful lot like a death trap.
“You need to start at a slow walk. I’ll be here to catch you if it’s needed. Trust me. You will be okay. This was used for training our young. Stay straight and start slow. It’s simply to gauge your speed and endurance so you know your limits.”
I still wasn’t sure if I should trust this damn machine, but I put a step forward, and the thing moved under me, requiring another step forward. I kept up the stumbling pace, holding onto Ty’s hand the entire beginning. Once I caught some wind, I kept my position and let his hand go. It wasn’t long until I fell into a rhythm.
I slowly picked up speed, and my hair whipped behind me with how fast I was going. My breathing was even and steady.
“I think I got this down,” I huffed, and my concentration broke. I managed to catch the rhythm again before I went flying. I heard Tyran laughing, and I glared. As I kept up the speed, a sheen of sweat beaded on my forehead.
“I didn’t realize Fae sweated,” I said, disgruntled. I hated the feeling.
“We don’t. It must be because you haven’t fully transitioned.”
That made sense.
