Eternal Promise (Between Worlds Book 3) (4 page)

Sierra put the car in drive and started home. “Can I tell you something?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“I’ve never been happier. Not with Trent or Ian or anybody else. Nobody has ever made me feel the way Drake does.”

I smiled. Knowing that she was happy made my happy. “I’m glad.”

“I’m scared though. What’s going to happen? I’m not a faery. Will he be forced to dump me?”

I didn’t answer her for a minute. I didn’t have the answer she needed. “I don’t know.”

She nodded and gripped the steering wheel. “If it was up to you though…”

“Sierra, if it was up to me, you two could be together forever.”

“Thanks. Just knowing that you support our relationship helps.”

“Of course I support you. I haven’t figured out how the two of you can stay together, but I will. I just need to understand how everything there works, then hopefully I can find a way.”

“You’re really going to go live there when school is finished?” She glanced over at me quickly.

“Yes. I’ll visit all the time though and you’ll visit me too.”

“It won’t be the same.”

“I know, but things were going to change with college anyway.”

She pulled in my driveway and parked. “You’re my best friend.”

“And you’re mine.” I reached over and hugged her. “Stop worrying.”

Sierra sighed. “I’m trying.” Her phone was buzzing and she looked down at it. “My sister…again. I hate the drama.”

“Keep your head up.”

She bobbed her head up and down. “She’s trying to get child support from the father and has to work all the time. If it’s not a babysitter she needs, it’s someone to talk to, but I just don’t care anymore.”

“She has to understand you’re a senior now. You can’t spend all your free time helping her out or you’ll miss out.”

Sierra shrugged. “I don’t think she cares about my life.”

“Tell her. Talk to her. Or talk to your mom. Make them hear you.”

“I’ll try.” She gave me a half-smile.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“Anytime. Talk to you later?”

“Yup.”

I climbed out of the car and walked into my house and right into Kallan.

Chapter Four

“W
hat are you doing here? Thought you were going back to the faery realm to deal with something.” Not that I wasn’t thrilled he was here, I was just confused as to why.

Kallan shifted and said, “I did. Kyro was waiting for me. The elders are meeting and we need you there. Will you come?”

“Now? Like right now?” My heart sped up.

“Yes.”

I knew this was coming, but I didn’t think it would be so soon. I rubbed my temples. “I will come, but I don’t know what’s expected of me.”

“Just be there. You’ll know if something needs to be done.”

“How come you have such faith in me?” I asked.

“I know you. You can do this.”

“My parents aren’t going to like this.”

“I know. I could use my power. Get them to give you permission to go.”

I seriously thought about that, but then shook my head. “I just can’t do that to someone unless absolutely necessary.”

“Okay, so how do you want to handle it?”

“Leave a note, I suppose. Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?”

“I’ve heard that.”

I scribbled on a notepad and left it on the kitchen counter. I was almost glad there was no communication in the faery realm. No doubt my parents would be calling my cell phone non-stop.

As we made the long walk to the other realm, I interrogated Kallan. “What should I expect?”

“A lot of faeries.”

I scoffed. “And?”

“It’s like a meeting. We’ll sit at a table, they’ll call it to order, and talk,” he explained. “It’s pretty formal.”

“Great,” I retorted. “All these elders…are they like seniors? Like old?”

Kallan guffawed. “Not quite like a senior citizen in the human world. They are some of our oldest fey, but they don’t look like elderly.” He helped me over a log. “Also, using your power is forbidden in the meeting.”

Once we crossed the boundary to the faery world, I saw Azura waiting for us. “Is she part of this council?” I asked Kallan.

“No.”

I wondered what she wanted. Was she just here to say hi? Or was there something more? I was never quite sure what to expect.

“Wonderful to see you, Rylie.”

I smiled. “You too.”

She handed me a garment bag. “A dress for the occasion.”

I looked down at my casual school clothes. Guess I wasn’t exactly dressed for a formal council meeting. “Thank you,” I said, taking the bag.

“May I walk with you?”

“Of course.”

She fell into step with us. “You’re headed to a big meeting.”

“So I hear.” I gulped. “Anything you want to tell me?”

“There are many rules that you will learn of. I know this is all still new to you and I’m sorry you have to jump into some of the demands of faery life, but I know you can do this,” Azura said, and her calm, confident tone reassured me somewhat.

“Where are we going?” I realized we were headed down a path I hadn’t been on before.

“To a meetinghouse in the middle of our lands,” Kallan answered.

“Other than it being formal and not being allowed to use talents, is there anything else I should know before it starts?”

“Only council members are allowed inside. No using powers. Don’t speak out of turn,” he repeated.

“Sounds…stuffy.”

Both Kallan and Azura laughed, which made me laugh too. “You have a unique outlook on things, Rylie. I like that.”

“Thanks…I think.” Glancing over at Azura, I asked, “Why do you call me Oleander sometimes and Rylie other times?”

“I know you like Rylie better, so I’ve been trying to call you that, but when others are around, I use your faery name. They wouldn’t be so understanding,” she explained.

I felt guilty. She must have loved the name to choose it for me. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

We came upon a large structure made of long sticks tied together with vines. I could tell the boundary line literally ran right down the middle of it because of the color difference between sides.

“This is as far as I go,” Azura said. “I’ll wait here for you.”

I paused and looked between her and the meetinghouse. Part of me couldn’t wait to see what was in store for me. The other part of me was scared of what was coming. I took a few deep breaths and said, “Let’s go.”

Kallan put his arm around me and we walked toward the house. “I love your spirit.”

“I’m glad because it’s part of who I am.”

“I never want you to change.”

I looked at him curiously.

“Just for the record. No matter what, don’t change who you are.” He opened the door for me and I walked inside.

I held up the garment bag. “Where shall I transform into a more sophisticated member of the faery society?”

Kallan laughed and pointed to a door. “It’s a closet, but it’ll do.”

I smirked and walked over to it. “I’ll just be a second.” I changed quickly in the oversized, yet still cramped, closet, leaving the jeans and shirt in a neat pile on the floor. I walked out dressed in a long flowing blue dress.

Kallan smiled. “You look beautiful.”

“Will it get council approval?”

“Yes.” He took my hand and guided me to the table in the middle of a large, empty room. There were eleven chairs around the oval table. Five on one side, five on the other side, and one at the head. There was no chair across from that one.

“Who else comes?” I asked, looking at all the chairs.

“The leaders, the advisors, and the second, third, and fourth in command.”

“I have no idea who any of those are.”

“You know some. I am the high leader of the dark faeries.”

“Who is the high leader of the light ones?”

“Brigid, but you are the high faery of both.”

“Wait. What?”

“The Aurorian is the highest-ranking faery of all faeries.”

My lips curled up. “So I’m like your boss?”

He nodded. “Yup.”

“I could tell you what to do? Hmm,” I said with a joking smile.

Kallan smiled too but then turned serious. “That’s right, but Rylie, with that authority comes great responsibility. Your decisions affect every faery and sometimes humans and nature.”

My shoulders felt like a huge boulder had been placed on them just as the door opened and faeries began filing in.

Chapter Five

“W
elcome, Oleander,” a faery that I would consider older said to me. Her hair was a platinum blonde and although she still looked incredibly young, I could tell she was very old. She, too, wore a long dress—a copper color that matched her wings. “We haven’t had a chance to meet yet. I’m Brigid.”

I smiled and nodded, not sure the proper way to respond. My eyes scanned the long, oval table the elders sat at. The faeries on the right side of the table all had light-colored wings; the faeries on the left had dark. The invisible line ran lengthwise down the middle of the table, dividing the two.

“Please sit down,” Brigid said.

Kallan pulled out the chair at the head of the table where that line would intersect. I sent him a confused look, but he just gestured to the chair. Slowly I sat and after pushing it in, he took a seat to the left of me. I felt like half of me was in the light world and half in the dark. I was the one holding them together.

I observed Kyro whisper something to Kallan as he sat down next to him. His hair was as black as it had been the day I was thrown in front of him by the dark faeries that had captured me. I had always thought of the fey as attractive, but Kyro was the opposite. He gave me a cold, hard stare before turning his attention elsewhere. Drake pulled out the chair next to Kyro. I smiled, seeing a friendly face, but I noticed the surprise on the light side of the table when Drake sat on Kallan’s side.

As each faery sat down, Kallan whispered their names to me. “Zanna and Sebille,” he said as two female dark faeries took their seats. On the light side of the table, Brigid sat next to me and then the others began taking their places. “Sheridan, Alston, you know your grandmother, and Rosa.” My eyes traveled from one person to the next as Kallan softly spoke their names. When they rested on Móraí, she winked at me. I realized both sides sat in order of importance.

“Shall we commence?” Brigid raised her hand.

The faeries responded, “Aye.”

Brigid began, “It has been a long, long time since our council has convened. We’ve been at odds for years. Today we hope to begin healing our relationship. The dark and light used to live together in peace. Let’s make that happen again. In fact, I think it’s imperative we have a united front. There’s something coming, something that will tear us apart if we’re not unified.”

I opened my mouth to ask questions, but Kallan shook his head slightly, so I closed my lips.

“Before we get into that, we need to figure out how to get our people to trust each other again.” Brigid looked around the table, her eyes landing on each faery.

“The light faeries don’t like us on their territory,” Zanna said.

Sheridan leaned forward. “Your kind destroyed our land and you just want us to welcome you back?”

The dark faery retorted, “Just because one was a bad seed doesn’t make us all that way.”

“It was more than just one—”

Kallan cleared his throat. “My father was an evil ruler. He made you hate each other. He did things to keep it that way. He’s gone! Let that black cloud of hate dissipate. We can fix this.”

“Maybe a party?” I suggested. All eyes turned to me. I had forgotten I wasn’t supposed to speak out of turn, but how did I know when it was my turn? I might as well keep going since I was already in the spotlight. “Ya know, a big get-together with both the light and dark so we can all get to know each other. Is there somewhere that would be possible? Someplace in neutral territory?”

A few murmurs traveled around the table. Rosa, the faery next to my grandmother, answered first. “By the waterfalls in the eastern fields.”

Kallan nodded. “That would be a good spot. Let’s plan to do it this weekend.”

“Very well.” Brigid didn’t look thrilled at my idea.

“What’s next on the agenda?” he asked all businesslike.

“There’s something going on in the southeastern corner. A toxin of some sort is killing plants and animals. We’ve sent out scouts, but they can’t figure out what it is. Do you have some fey who could go with us and see if they might be of assistance?” Brigid asked Kallan.

Kallan nodded. “Of course. I’ll send you some at dawn.”

“Thank you.” Brigid smiled—it was a little on the forced side, but it was something. “Do you have anything you’d like to discuss?”

Kyro whispered to Kallan and he nodded. “A couple of our fey have gone missing—”

“Missing?” Sheridan raised his voice.

“Yes, Sheridan. Two fey including my second in command who I have replaced with Drake. No trace of where they went.”