Dark Promise (18 page)

She narrowed her eyes. “Looks like you’re trying to escape. That’s a sure way to get yourself killed.”

“If that was the case, I’d be running.” I sighed. “Do you have to take me back?”

She nodded. “We’ll take the long way.”

I followed Lena as she led me down a different hall. “The library is on the right. Full of books from the human world as well as our world. Living area on the left.” She kept on walking. “Sewing room, where all the clothes are made.”

“Who makes the clothes? The dresses are amazing.”

“Servants.”

Of course. Probably light faeries that owed Varwik something.

“Further down is the kitchen, which connects to the dining room we eat in. Varwik’s quarters are on the other side of that.”

“And Kallan’s?” I felt heat rise to my cheeks.

She glanced over at me, one dainty eyebrow raised. “There as well, down the hall from his father’s.”

I wondered if he was asleep and what his room looked like. I quickly admonished myself and touched my bracelet, visualizing Adam’s face.

“What do faeries do, Lena?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“School? Work? Is there a whole faery town out there?”

Lena chuckled. “Of course. There is a whole village. But Varwik won’t let you off the palace grounds until you’ve accepted your fate and married Kallan.” She paused, as if considering her words, before she continued. “There’s work to do, most of it out in nature. You’ll learn more about that later. Right now, it’s time to get back to your room.” She turned a corner and stopped in front of the door.

Startled, I stared balefully at the cell where I’d spent the last five days of my life. We’d gotten there so fast.

“Thanks for the walk.” I opened the door and went inside.

“Don’t ever leave your room again without an escort.”

This time, I heard the lock clang into place.

The next morning, I got up and in the shower before Lena had a chance to come harp on me. I let the water run down my wings, making them tingle in the intimate way I had come to love. I was able to relax, if only for the moment.

I stepped out on to the plush gray rug, wrapping a towel around my wet hair. With the hand towel from the sink, I dried off the mirror so that I could see myself.

I ran my fingers around the outside of my ears; the points seemed even pointier than usual. It still felt weird. My fingers traveled to my birthmark, which glowed a little, letting everyone know it was there. It was like a having a gigantic pimple waving a flag on the tip of your nose. I wondered how long it would take for me to get used to the changes.

I flapped my wings a few times, letting the droplets left on them hit the walls. They were beautiful, even if I did wish they were on someone else. In this faery world, I didn’t have to use glamour. I was free to be who I was. The person staring back at me in the mirror was who Kallan saw. But not who Adam saw. What would Adam think if he saw me like this? Would he still love me?

A rap on the door brought me out of my daydream. “Just a minute,” I called.

“Hurry up, Oleander. They want you there for breakfast today.” It was Lena.

I grabbed a short blue dress from the closet and stepped into it. Then I brushed my hair up out of my face, using a clip to hold it in place. On the bright side, it was a nice change of pace not to have to use makeup. Shower and go. I’d been missing a great thing.

“Good choice,” Lena said as she looked me over.

“Where are shoes?” I asked her. “I’ve been barefoot for days.”

I had actually startled her. She blinked. “Most faeries don’t wear shoes.”

Right. Being barefoot definitely made me feel more like a faery. I sighed and motioned to her that I was ready.

“I think I know the way by now,” I told her as we entered the hallway, and Lena pulled my door shut.

“It’s my job to escort you to the dining hall and be there in case you or Varwik might need something.” This time, she linked her arm in mine instead of grabbing my bicep. Just that small touch of humanity made me feel a little better.

I heard raised voices as we reached the dining room, and Lena paused, her arm falling away from mine. We were silent for a moment, both of us straining to hear through the double doors.

“We’re not compatible, Father. She’s a light faery, and I’m not. She has an entirely different life out there. She didn’t grow up here. She doesn’t know our ways. We have nothing in common.” It was Kallan’s voice, highly agitated.

“Then show her our ways,” Varwik grumbled back.

“Neither of us wants this. What about me? What about what I want?”

For some reason, I felt a rush of pride that Kallan was standing up to his father. Maybe our talk at the fountain had opened his eyes.

Varwik’s tone was furious when he answered. “Are you talking about the faery girl you had your eyes set on recently?”

“What if I am?” Kallan challenged.

“She’s not right for you. She’s not good enough for our bloodline.”

“And Oleander is? Give me a break.”

“If you do not marry her, I will be forced to kill her. You do understand that, right?”

A long pause followed. “Yes, Father.”

Rage filled me, and I shoved open the door, brushing off Lena’s startled grasp on my arm. I cleared my throat as I barreled into the room. “It’s not polite to talk about your guests without them present,” I said sarcastically.

Lena rushed in behind me, her face stricken. “I’m sorry, my lord. I tried to stop her from entering.”

Varwik held a hand up to Lena and studied my face. “I’m sorry you had to overhear that.”

It wasn’t worth answering. He wasn’t going to apologize for being a heartless beast, and Kallan wouldn’t apologize for being in love with someone else at the risk of my own life. I sat down and looked around the table at the huge selection. It was enough to feed an army, not four people. If I focused on breakfast, maybe I wouldn’t cry. I grabbed a croissant from one of the baskets, and piled eggs, sausages, and potatoes onto my plate.

“What did you think of the grounds, Oleander?” Lena asked in a gentle voice.

I shrugged, tearing a piece off the croissant. I didn’t want to admit how beautiful their world was; it felt too much like giving in. “What I saw was nice.”

A servant passed by and refilled my glass of juice. I smiled up at her.

“Very different from the human realm, isn’t it?” Lena prodded.

“Yup.” I picked at the croissant and didn’t say anything else.

Lena kept trying to get us all to talk, but it was useless. Another uncomfortable meal. I would never belong in the faery world.

A
fter breakfast, Kallan asked, “Do you wish to take another walk?”

Part of me wanted to say no so I could go back to my room and wait for them to kill me. But the other part was so captivated by the outside world, I found myself nodding. “I’d like to see what it looks like at this time of day. It’ll be nice to stretch my legs.”

“Very well.” He stood and almost offered me his hand, but must have thought better of it, walking instead to the door, where he waited patiently for me. At least it seemed like he wasn’t horrified at the idea of walking with me anymore, not to mention he’d figured me out enough to know I didn’t want to be coddled.

The beauty of the land struck me speechless. There were so many colorful birds dancing through the sky above us, and the grass and trees were so lush and bright. It was like something from a dream.

We walked under the bright sun for a while before either of us said anything.

I finally had to break the silence. “You have a girlfriend?”

“In a way. It’s not like what you’re used to.”

“You like her?”

“Very much.”

“So you’d rather be with her than be forced to be with me?”

He paused. “I’m not sure she’s ‘the one,’ but I don’t wish to be forced to marry you—or anyone else for that matter.”

I stopped walking. “Then why aren’t you standing up for yourself?”

“You heard him, Oleander. He’ll kill you. I may not want to marry you, but I don’t wish to see you dead. I would rather not have that on my conscience.” He paused, glancing away with that ever-present tick in his jaw. “I’m not a monster.”

I peeked over at him as we continued walking. His face was thoughtful, maybe even a little peaceful compared to the atmosphere in the dining room.

We approached a Japanese-style bridge flanked by long, leafy ferns and quaint rock sculptures. The bridge itself was arched gracefully over the stream, painted bright red. Halfway across, I stopped and stared down into the rushing water. Golden fish played in the water, darting about as if in some kind of water ballet. The water was a strange turquoise; I had never seen quite that shade of blue before. It was stunning.

“What do you like to do?” I asked after the silence started bothering me again.

Kallan shrugged. “We train a lot, so that takes up most of my free time. I really enjoy fencing, and I like to play sports. Father doesn’t allow me a lot of time to do trivial things.”

“Sports? What kind of sports?” Just the thought of sports made my heart ache. Adam was obsessed with sports.

Kallan stared into the water. “We have many sports that are similar to the humans. My favorite is close to what you would know as rugby.”

“That’s cool. I’ve never watched a rugby game before.” I finished walking over the bridge and glanced back at Kallan, who looked deep in thought. As he joined me on the opposite bank, I asked, “Do you have friends?”

He laughed, and that beautiful sound made me smile inside. “Of course I have friends. Do you find me so repulsive that you don’t think anyone else could possibly like me?”

I stole a glance at him, and for the life of me, I just couldn’t imagine him having friends and playing sports. He wasn’t
normal
. “No, it’s not that. It’s just hard to picture. I guess I just don’t know much about you.”

“I don’t know anything about you, either. What do you normally enjoy?” He directed the question to me with eyes that seemed interested in my answer.

“I’m in the choir. I love singing and dancing. I’m horrible at anything athletic. Mainly, I like to hang out with my best friend, Sierra, and Ad—” I felt really uncomfortable talking about Adam to the guy I was supposed to marry, so I changed the subject. “Do you ever go into the human world?”

“No,” he said curtly.

“Never? Not even once?”

There was a long pause. “I’ve gone once. My father doesn’t like it. And I don’t either. I don’t see what’s so great about it. Our world is far superior.” His voice was filled with hatred.

I wasn’t sure I understood his answer, but I knew better than to question him anymore. I wondered what had happened that made him hate the human world so much. It seemed to be much more than just his upbringing.

A thought crossed my mind, and I spun around to look at Kallan. “What’s your power?”

“I wish you hadn’t asked me that.” Kallan ran a hand through his dark hair, and the front stayed spiked. It was eccentric and cute. “People fear me because of my power.”

My curiosity was piqued. “Tell me.”

He stopped in his tracks, studying me intently as he said, “Mind control.”

“What do you mean ‘mind control’? Like compulsion?”

“Kinda, but I also have the ability to completely erase someone’s memories. I could turn someone into a blank slate.” He looked at the ground. “It’s a powerful tool. Your mind is your most valuable asset, and knowing you could lose control of it is scary.”

I heard Varwik in the assessment. It was seriously like he’d been completely brainwashed from birth. “I could see where that could cause fear.”

“I would never use it on you,” he told me quickly, one hand darting out to touch my hand where it hung at my side.

I met his eyes and was about to question whether or not he really would when I remembered that faeries can’t lie. Suddenly, I had another thought. “Why don’t you clear your father’s memory of me, and I can escape?”

He frowned, and I could tell he warred with himself over his answer. I could only imagine how difficult it would be to love and hate your own dad. “I wish I could. My father is immune to any kind of power. That’s how he became leader of our land. No one could best him.”

“Really? Immunity is his power?”

“More or less,” Kallan agreed.

That power would be one to truly fear. “I still don’t know what my power is. Can you help me figure that out?”

“No, it doesn’t work that way. Gifts just show themselves when it is time. I’m sure you will find yours soon enough.”

“Figures,” I said under my breath. Nothing was easy in the faery world, it seemed.

A few minutes later, he escorted me back to the castle and up to my room. “I’ll see you at dinner?” His tone of voice made it seem more like a question than a statement.

Like I had a choice? “Sure.”

I walked into my room and the door closed behind me, the lock sliding into place. Apparently, they told him to make sure the door was locked. Just my luck.

I flung myself on the bed and thought about what Kallan had said about his abilities and Varwik’s immunity to all abilities. Even if I had an awesome ability, I couldn’t use it on him, at least not now.