Devin grinned at the insinuation. He would have liked that to be true, but their relationship was also lacking in that department. First, he needed to learn how to navigate the emotional nightmare that was Nessa. “You know your cousin. She’s always mad about something. There hasn’t been a time to ask her when she is in a good mood and has recently forgiven me for something I did.”
Ronan laughed and patted Devin on the back. “That I can believe.” Ronan pointed into the room where Nessa was still sitting, glaring at the doorway they had just entered.
Nessa was mad, fuming to be exact. She had been left alone in the empty amphitheater in Devin’s protective bubble. She was safe from anyone harming her, but she also couldn’t move, which could have been a problem if she needed anything
When Devin reached her, he offered her his hand, breaking the bubble. Nessa took it, but once she could move, threw his hand back down.
“What the heck was that?” Nessa asked, marching out of the room.
“I was just keeping you safe,” Devin replied, following behind her.
“Safe? No. That was keeping me prisoner,” she spat out as she made her way to her wing of the palace. “And isn’t that what they’re for?” Nessa pointed to the invisible sidhe assassins that Devin had assigned to follow Nessa all of the time. Two stayed beside her and two behind her. Nessa didn’t like Devin in his protective mode. She wanted to protect herself.
Devin grinned. He had taught Nessa how to see through sidhe magic, and now she could do it without thinking. That was one of the things he loved about her. She might be a night human, and she might be a sidhe, but she was different in how she thought. None of the other sidhe could be taught to see behind the magic. They would never believe it was possible, let alone be able to do it. Nessa could.
Nessa stared at Devin in shock when he smiled at her anger. She stomped into her apartment, and he stopped beside Ronan to say good-bye to him. Devin knew grinning was the wrong reaction as soon as she slammed the door in his face. Ronan began to laugh.
“I understand your troubles, and I don’t see a solution any time soon,” Ronan replied. He patted Devin on the back. “Good luck with her. I’d like to blame her family, but that would implicate me.”
At that, Devin shrugged and grinned at Ronan. He didn’t see his life being different with Nessa, even if he tried. If he attempted to protect any other girl, they would melt at the gesture, but not Nessa. He knew, through the bond, that she did appreciate his effort to keep her safe, but she would never admit it out loud. She was too strong for that. Nessa was just one more puzzle he had to figure out, and he was running out of time. In two days Nessa would be crowned … if they could get everything under control. He’d have to move quicker if he wanted to stand beside her at her coronation. He wanted to let her know she wasn’t alone, that he was never going to leave her lonely.
Devin stared at the closed door. When he saw the magic that lined the door, he knew she wasn’t about to let him in. She was seriously mad. Grinning, Devin placed his hand on her magic, adding his own protection to the whole room. She was back in her protective bubble, but at least this time, it was large enough that he hoped she wouldn’t notice. There was no use waiting around. Since she could be mad for hours, Devin turned from her apartment.
It was getting lighter as day approached, and Devin made his way outside the palace. Nessa would need to be asleep before he could go back in. He could break her spell with his new abilities, but he knew better than to try. She would still be mad from the protective spell he’d put on her earlier, and didn’t need her pissed that he was able to break the spells that were meant to keep him out. He understood that she needed her privacy to sulk a bit.
Devin left through the unguarded doorway and ventured into the village. No one would even know he was gone. He had learned much more about the sidhe by sitting in on their complaints, but he still needed to see everything with his own eyes. His connection to the common sidhe grew with each moment he was in the village and around them. He could sympathize with them because he knew what it was like growing up in Lord Randolph’s estate. Devin wasn’t an elite dearg-dul, but he lived in that world and was always out of place. He was a lowly day human, just like the elite viewed the common sidhe as less than them. Many of the dearg-dul leaders despised him, but he could do nothing to change that. He was only a kid when he was taken in and quickly learned about the divisions that were all too prevalent in the night human world. The common sidhe had those same borders and were treated the same way that he was as a child, so he understood their world.
As Devin wandered around, people were locking up to go to bed. Most didn’t even pay attention to him. A few did stop to stare as he passed, and a few more were people he had met earlier in the night. They didn’t stop him, but they did look at him differently. Devin hated that feeling, but knew he had done the right thing. He’d helped Nessa out and helped the common sidhe out as well, since he could understand their world more than Nessa could. Life outside of the palace was more relaxed and definitely where Devin felt he belonged. Nessa could handle the elite and their selfish ways. He would be there for the common sidhe with their real problems.
It didn’t take long for Devin to walk out of the level dirt path to another pathway outside of the main village. He continued to wander, and stopped to watch a younger female sidhe as she talked to the flowers in her garden. She piqued his interest immediately because she was the only person he’d found actually doing sidhe magic. The seedlings were small, yet growing as she talked. Soon the petals opened as she coaxed them. One by one, the flowers completely opened, her voice providing the motivation to grow. How could she make a flower grow? he wondered, watching intently. Once the last flower was completely grown and open, she wiped her hands and stood back up from her kneeling position. Devin was in awe; he had never seen anything like it, and couldn’t have imagined it before actually seeing it. There was much he had to learn.
The young girl jumped when she finally lifted her eyes and saw Devin standing there, watching her. He held up his hands in surrender to try to calm the girl, watching as several emotions crossed her face: surprise, shyness, panic, and even curiosity. She was torn between running back inside of her house and looking at Devin. He smiled, hoping it would calm her. She reminded him of the deer he’d come across a deer in the forest. Her big brown eyes were eying him.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Devin said softly, trying his best to not make the young sidhe run away from him. “I just was watching. I’ve never seen someone do that before.”
The girl blushed. “It’s nothing,” she said in a mere whisper, obviously not used to compliments.
“Nothing?” Devin replied. How could she think that? “You made the flower grow and open.” It still amazed him to see that done. It wasn’t an illusion. She had grown a real flower.
“Making flowers grow really isn’t a useful power, my dad used to say,” she replied. “He said if I could control my power and make trees grow, I’d have been marriageable.” The girl shrugged, growing more confident in talking to Devin. He was glad. He wanted to know more and hated that everyone was wary of him.
“You can make trees grow?” Devin asked in surprise. That would be another power he had if he wanted to learn how to do it. The old king had given Devin the ability to do anything the sidhe could do. Devin was beginning to see that what he could do now was a bit boundless.
“Nah, that’s why I ended up here,” the girl replied, motioning around her. Devin had not noticed he was surrounded by crude, lean-to houses. From the cracks in the hastily-put-together homes, faces watched him. There wasn’t order like there had been on the road, and now it was more of a messy camp than city. Devin finally realized he had walked exactly where the little girl had told him the day before. He was in the castoff’s camp that he had wanted to visit.
“Because you couldn’t grow trees?” Devin asked. That seemed like a strange reason to disown your child.
&nbs
p; She shrugged. “Sort of,” she replied, still eyeing him over. As if she suddenly remembered, her tone changed to urgent. “You really should get back to your owner. You will get in much more trouble if they find you here. No one is supposed to come to this side of town, especially not a day human. You shouldn’t wander from your owner. Not everyone is nice enough to leave you alone.”
Devin smiled at the idea that his owner wouldn’t let him wander. Devin had no owner, but completely understood what the girl meant. Nessa was worried about Devin being in the sidhe village as day human were considered pets, but Devin wasn’t worried, not before, and especially not now.
“I’m free to go as I please,” Devin replied, not commenting on the owner part. It was best to keep his identity a secret.
“Mara,” a male voiced called as he came through the woods and into view. “I found another seed. I’d like to see how it grows.” The young man came into the garden and wrapped the woman in a gigantic hug.
Mara squealed a little and nodded toward Devin. The male sidhe stopped and stared at him with the same deer-eyed look, unsure if he should run or talk. Devin didn’t mind being a curiosity as long as it meant they weren’t running in fear.
“Hi,” Devin said, breaking the ice. “I was just walking around and saw …” Devin didn’t know what to call the girl.
“My wife, Mara,” the man replied proudly.
The man set the girl down and wiped his face with the rag on his belt. With some of the dirt gone, Devin could see that he was just as young as the girl. Devin had to guess they might only be teenagers, or in their early twenties at most. Why were they alone in the castoff’s village and married?
“I just was passing by when I saw her growing a flower,” Devin explained. “I have never seen that before.”
The young man grinned. “That’s my Mara. She has quite a unique ability,” he replied proudly. “Not everyone can use just words to get a flower to grow.”
“I’d say,” Devin answered. All of the sidhe were amazing to him, but the young man was confirming that Mara was even more unique.
“And what would a day human be doing out without their master? I assure you that we are safe, but I still don’t think you should be here. When whoever owns you comes back, they will be upset to find you here. The elite aren’t really fans of the common sidhe, let alone us,” he told Devin, pointing around the camp.
“I have no owner,” Devin replied for a second time. “I came here on my own, and won’t be in trouble.”
The young man looked dubiously at Devin. All day humans had an owner in the sidhe world. Devin could understand the confusion, but there was no way to say it any clearer without telling them who he really was, and he wasn’t about to do that.
“I assure you. I really have no owner,” Devin added in the face of their disbelief. The young man still didn’t look convinced, but shook his head like he’d humor Devin. “Actually, yesterday I met a little girl that told me about this place. I wandered here by accident, or maybe fate.”
That answer seemed more to the liking of the castoff sidhe. He couldn’t understand Devin being free, but he could understand wandering off. Devin had to suppress a grin. The sidhe were funny people.
“How long have you been in the village?” the young man asked.
Devin shrugged. “Only a few days.” Devin was slowly losing count of how long he had been in the sidhe village. Had it only been days? It felt much longer to him.
“Then you still have a lot to see,” the man replied.
Devin nodded. He did have a lot to see, but this was enough to make him sad. The dirty faces that watched him from the dark corners were not bad people; he could feel the good all around him. They were normal sidhe who didn’t fit in with the plans of the elite, and had been thrown away, as the little girl had told him, for things such as love.
“How did you two end up here?” Devin asked, still looking around at the hiding faces. Some were old, but many were young.
The young man chuckled. “You sure are curious for a day human.” Mara nodded. Devin was unsure how to take that. He doubted they had met many day humans.
“This place is different from where I’m used to,” Devin replied. He was curious. He needed to be. How was he to save the sidhe if he didn’t understand them?
Smiling, the young man nodded. “Fair enough. I’m sure I’d find where you are from different, too.” The young man draped an arm around Mara. “I grew up in town, basically on the other side of town from here. I was part of the Miller family, and Mara was a Ferguson. We used to see each other during our chores, and discovered our abilities are similar. While she can grow plants, I can make fruit and seeds grow on trees. We crossed paths often and became friends. When her father went to publicly disown her for not being able to grow more than flowers, I found out I loved her. So we decided to be together. Since I had claimed her, her family and father actually agreed to let her marry me. Her father was just afraid he would never have her married. Once we were, he didn’t find anything wrong with her ability. I don’t know how much of the politics you have been told, but you don’t mix families. Eventually word got to the heads of the families, and the Millers and Fergusons disowned us. We ended up here. Not the best way to start a marriage, but it has worked for us.”
“I’d have ended up here anyway,” Mara added, “but this lug thought he was being all chivalrous by calling out that he loved me. He thought if I was disowned I could join his family. That was not the case when the elite found out.”
“And so you have to live here?” Devin asked. It was on the outskirts of the village and run down, but he didn’t see why it was bad off. They were free of the elite.
“Yes, and we are not allow to participate in functions of the village,” Mara added. She shrugged. “It’s not too bad. We’ve had to learn how to become self-sufficient, but everyone around here helps you learn.”
The young man raised his eyebrows. “Not too bad?”
Mara tried to shush him. “Colin, not now.”
Colin turned to Devin. “Enjoy your life with the elite sidhe, because with them, even as a slave, you still will have more than we do. We are not allowed to participate is the nice way of saying we are cut off. While the village works with cooperation from everyone together, we are not part of the everyone.” Mara looked shocked at his words. It was obvious Colin was hitting on a subject not spoken out loud.
“What do you mean part of the everyone?” Devin asked. Colin was passionate, and Devin was sure he would answer, even with Mara’s panicked look. Devin kind of liked Colin. He wasn’t beating around the bush or lying. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to say what he had, but Devin needed to hear the truth.
“I don’t know how much you’ve seen or been told, but the way the village works is that each person has a job. We work together to survive. The butcher provides meat to all while the baker provides bread. Either your ability gives you a position to help the community, or you apprentice at a job that’s the best fit. We work together to survive. When you live out here, there is nothing. You no longer get meat from the butcher. You can’t apprentice. We have to survive on the skills we have, and trust me, fruit as a diet got old two days after moving here.”
Mara was still looking around like some unknown, invisible sidhe would hear his words. Devin had the feeling that the castoffs were not allowed to complain. Why would it matter? They were already outcasts from society.
“So how do you survive?” Devin asked quietly. It was obvious that the conversation was making Mara worry.
“If we are lucky, we can sell our abilities to the elite sidhe. Good thing they like their fruit ripened just perfect,” Colin replied.
“So they pay you for it?” Devin asked. The sidhe didn’t seem like a money society.
“They give us supplies in return for maybe a quarter of the value of our services,” Colin replied. They were cheated by the elite. Not a surprise.
“That doesn’t seem fair,” Devin said.
“Fair? The elite don’t know what fair even means,” Colin huffed. Mara quickly covered his mouth.
“Hush now. No more talk of this,” Mara scolded both Colin and Devin. “If they hear you complaining, they won’t take your fruit.”
Devin nodded. He didn’t want his questions to keep Mara and Colin from getting the supplies they needed. Colin didn’t look like he had said enough, but with Mara’s begging, he stopped. Their life was harder than Devin expected, and it was due to the elite having unnecessary rules. Why couldn’t someone from one family marry another? What was the harm in that? Where was the harm in love?
Devin looked around the camp one more time. He could feel the anxiety of the people around him. They either feared what Colin had said, or they feared Devin. Maybe they thought Devin would go tell the elite. He had no way to calm them. He knew that as much as he wanted to see more, he was sure that he needed to let the people be for now. There would always be more time to learn about the castoffs, especially when they were not as anxious.
Devin wandered back to the palace and hoped to find Nessa sleeping. He needed a bit of rest too as the morning sun rose. It wasn’t normal that Devin craved sleep, but he felt it now. Devin stopped as he turned at the end of the hallway leading to Nessa’s quarters. She stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. She wasn’t asleep after all, and she wasn’t happy to see him.
CHAPTER 5
Devin was surprised that Nessa actually let him back into the room, but he wasn’t about to mention it to her. He already knew—from peeking in her mind—that she’d been mad at him for maybe five minutes after he had left, and then released her magic to let him in. He wasn’t there waiting as she expected, and when she couldn’t leave the room to find him, she became angry again. He was forgiven for a moment, but was not there for it. Now she was back to being mad. Devin couldn’t help but smile. He had a feeling his whole life with Nessa would be like that.
Nessa ignored Devin as she’d gotten ready for bed. Even though she went to sleep without a single word to him, she’d forgiven him enough to let him sleep in the bed beside her and not on the couch.