***
Shade’s eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the blue flickering light in the room as it intermittently broke up the darkness. The rock seemed to bounce the glow around and reflect the blue coloring. She blinked again and sat up, confirming that she was still in her stone dungeon. Realizing her light stone wouldn’t be as bright as the glow shining in the cave, she rubbed away the sleep from her eyes and looked around.
Did someone just call my name?
“Shade! It is you! I knew you were close, but I never thought that you would be here!” a male voice said, filled with relief and eagerness. She stared at the figure; electricity crackled and flames radiated from him like a torch. She stood up quickly, wavering for a moment, eyes wide in disbelief.
Dylan! It was Dylan, without glamour, aglow in the most amazing blue fire swimming along his skin. It licked the air around him.
“Dylan? How did you get here? How did you find me?” Her eyes scanned him, waiting for his still-familiar face to change into someone else. Her heart leaped with the utmost happiness at the sight of him. She smiled and tried to stand until a sway of dizziness changed her mind.
“I don’t know. I came to an ancient riverbed with enormous boulders throughout it. I was compelled to be there, and I’d been tracking you for a while. I can feel when you’ve been in a place, almost like I’m experiencing a feeling of déjà vu. It felt so strong there, but I didn’t even know where to look. Suddenly, the land opened up and sucked me down between the boulders, and here I am. That’s never happened to me before, definitely a first.” He paused, beaming at her. “I was meant to find you. I can’t even explain it. It’s the weirdest thing to fall and be right here with you. No, wait. Don’t get too close. You might get burned.” Shade retracted her hand, just realizing she’d been reaching out to him.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
He smiled and nodded. “It’s ok. You know how we look without the glamour to encase our actual bodies. If you were to touch me, I could hurt you.”
Shade pressed her lips together, confusion flashing across her face. “Darren touched me when he was unglamoured like you are now, and I didn’t get burned. I asked Soap and Jack about it, and they had no answers for me. It makes me think that I might not be harmed if I do touch you.” She admired his flames and took in his handsome face.
It was a mask of shock as he shook his head. “I don’t know about that, Shade. Maybe it was a trick of his. He could do so many things with mirrors that would make you believe things were real when they were really just illusion. He was a genius at that.” Dylan’s face was grim at the thought of his brother.
“No, I know because he was shocked when I didn’t burn. He said that much, and I saw it in his eyes.” Her eyes glazed over with the memory of the malice stamped on Darren’s face. He was filled with so much pleasure when he’d seen the fear wash over her. She looked at Dylan and almost expected to see Darren standing before her. They were similar in appearance, but even as brothers, they didn’t exactly look alike. They certainly didn’t behave the same way.
“Well, if you must, Shade, I will tone the flames down. Then you can touch my skin with just a finger. That way it won’t hurt you too much. Deal?”
She nodded and watched his flames shrink back into just embers glowing across his skin. She studied it and watched how his skin looked smooth and untouched under the heat. He watched her as she walked forward, extending her arm and hand up toward him. They both held their breath as she reached her finger up to his skin and slowly ran it up his arm. Dylan was still holding his breath when her soft touch reached him, seeming to freeze time.
Nothing… is happening. He felt warm, not hot. There was no pain, flying ash, or fear. She extended the rest of her fingers out to brush his forearm. His flames spread to full glow, and she remained unscathed. She brought her hand back and studied it. Dirt and drying scrapes peppered the skin across her hand but no burns or soot. She looked at Dylan, who was as stunned as she was. He was observing her intently, making her suddenly aware of his closeness.
“Dylan, nothing happened. What am I? Why am I protected from your fire?” She stared at him, awaiting an answer.
Dylan seemed to come back into himself, shaking off whatever was holding him in his thoughts. Gazing at her, he shook his head. “I… I don’t know, Shade. I wish I knew. There are so few who can do what you just did, so very few. Most are just Teleen, but you….” He kept his head shaking back and forth in disbelief. “Amazing,” he whispered and then looked back at her, a smile now hiding the seriousness of his face.
“Do you know what that means, Shade? You could marry a Teleen. You could, without difficulty, find a mate within our court. Being a female, you have no idea how rare you are, and how well you shall be received.”
“What? I don’t want to get married. Well, at least not yet. Where did that come from? I… I’m just a kid. Why would I even think of that yet?” She huffed, flustered at his statement. “Dylan, what do you mean there are so few who can do what I did? Do you mean the not getting burned part? Who else besides a Teleen can do that?” She waited and watched his smile fade just as fast as it had come.
“Our race is dying out, Shade. We can only marry another Teleen, and very few of us are able to have children. Only another race compatible with us would help strengthen our line. Our clan dies otherwise. The only other races of faeries that would even be compatible with us, strong enough to withstand our powers, are even rarer than the Teleen.”
“Who are these people?” she asked impatiently. The look on his face was definitely disapproving that she’d even asked him.
“Changelings, for one thing, or elementals of fire, such as fire-witches. Finding someone like that is so rare. I have only known of one changeling and one elemental fire-witch ever, and they were paired already.” He paused, narrowing his eyes at her. “Do you know if you are either of those, Shade?”
“Me? No, no way. If I am, I wouldn’t know it. I mean, what’s a changeling and an elemental witch? How would I know which one I am if I am one of those?”
“Well,” he offered, “a changeling is simple. They’re capable of changing into anything they want to. Human, bear, squirrel, different types of fey, like Teleen, Enlors, which are sprites, or Gidals, which are trolls. Anything really. It’s a rare ability like I said. An elemental fire-witch is, well, a mortal human witch, in every meaning of the word, but with an affinity to fire. They can control it, wave it around, and send it roaring through a forest. Whatever you can imagine doing with it, they can do it. They can cast spells, charms, curses, and things of that nature. There are many kinds of witches, Shade, but rare is it to find elemental witches. They’re special.” His face darkened as his eyes met hers.
“Shade, if my people knew that you could be one of this kind of unique individuals, especially since Darren exposed it with his attack…I have to warn you and let you know that upon returning to Teleen, all unmated, unmarried males in my race will be courting you for your attention. You’ll probably be bombarded by them, pushed to choose one of them for a mate.”
“What? Oh no, no, no. They can’t make me do anything. I won’t choose anybody. I won’t be staying there at all. I wouldn’t return there after what happened, and besides, I’m going home.”
Dylan nodded and sighed. “Yes, Shade, of course, you will want to go back, but I must warn you. Even at home, you will not be left alone. Teleen men are relentless. Our Queen will not stop them, either, not until you choose one of them as your mate. Only then will it be ordered by our Queen to leave you alone. It is vital for the survival of our people. I’m sorry, Shade. At the very least, I had to warn you before that happens.”
Shade let her face screw up in disgust. Marriage was the least of her worries. She wished he hadn’t said a thing about it at all. She turned and slumped down onto her sleeping bag again. She still felt tired and was now irritated on top of it all. She stared up at the ceiling, lit up in Dylan’s glow
. The whole cave was flickering in the light. There was still no sign of a way out. She pulled the blanket over her head and curled up into a ball.
“Dylan, how are we getting out of this place? I looked everywhere. I don’t even see where I came in! What is this place? I feel claustrophobic, and it’s cold down here.” She closed her eyes and waited.
“It’s a place to forget oneself or forget about someone. It’s either a blessing or a curse, depending how you look at it. This cave is one of the ancient prisons of Faerie. People were left here for years to forget about themselves, wither away, or to emerge fresh, with a clean slate. It’s an immortal’s dungeon, or oubliette, Shade. I am surprised you stumbled across one. Usually, they can trap only immortals.” He paused. She listened to the silence, waiting for him to continue while pondering his words. “It does make me wonder why you are down here. You must be immortal then, to end up in such a place. You could be a powerful changeling for all we know.”
“Who gets people out of these things? Who made them? Was it the Unseelie?” she muttered. She felt her eyes become heavy with sleep, rubbing them as she struggled to stay awake.
“No. As I said, this room could be used as a prison but not always. It can be a safe place, you know, like when you’re being pursued and you need to seek a sanctuary. No one gets people out of these places except for the faery who put you here. In your case, it’s you. You must will it so yourself–to escape, I mean. You must get us out of here, Shade.”
She thought of his last words as she drifted off to sleep.
What a bunch of crock.
Chapter Twenty