Page 74 of Storm

My soul aches for him.

I want my⁠—

“She’s fading. I’ll need to do it here.”

“Fucking do it already, Sera. The vines I cast are weak to his mate bond.”

Darkness once again consumes me, and this time, I am met with a white-haired goddess surrounded by flames of blue.

“Human.” The sizzling whisper lingers along my temple.

“Argh.” I tingle all over, heat and the chill of the air washing over me, my body unable to keep a steady temperature. Opening my eyes, green orbs take me in.

“Oh. Sorry to say, not my finest work, but it was my first time dealing with Diviner magic.” The pink fae—the very same who took Sunny—sits back on her heels, the dark entrance to the tunnel framing her, a halo of light showering her from above. “But I think you look rather fetching.” Every sentence that leaves her pouty, dark pink lips is beyond bewildering.

“What happened?” I ask. My prone form lies slightly achy on the rocky ground. Sunlight streaming overhead, I squint. We made it out. Stretching slightly, I find my back pain completely gone. Small miracles.

“It seems your mate is more than Renfir bargained for. It just so happens that I’m an excellent healer.” She twirls her golden braid around her finger, her smile turned up to megawatt.

“Renfir? Mate?” I must have fallen over and bumped my head. What is she talking about?

“Yes, silly. Your mate. The big guy with the sexy silver eyes.” What? Everything feels foggy. I try to sit up. Sights around me go in and out of focus, shapes taking and losing form.

“Whoa, human, take it easy. You’re recovering.” Ignoring her, I push up regardless. “Fine. Don’t listen to me,” she adds, crossing her arms over her chest.

Her sassy attitude cures whatever hangover I’ve acquired, making me smile. “I don’t understand. What happened?”

Finally, the bump before me illustrates the reality of the situation. “Is she okay?” Nothing else matters. Oh, god, and Sunny. Where is he? Did she leave him alone?

She notices my panicked expression, reaching out to touch my shoulder until a rumbling growl travels towards us, and her fingers instantly retreat. “Everyone is well. The babe in your stomach is strong. So is Sunny. And your mate who is tethered to the kelpie, seething at me, is especially capable of taking care of himself.” She leans in close as if imparting a secret. “Girl, he’s packing.” She winks wickedly. Who is this woman?

A delicate flick of her wrist points my attention to the object of my heartbreak. Melek’s soul-spearing glare is on me, while he is roped together, arms tied at his back with what looks to be some sort of interlocking green harness stretched between four furred, onyx beasts in the middle of the barren land between the mountains we’ve exited and the Fairy Lands’ tree line far off in the distance.

Each animal stomps four bulky legs under stocky bodies, four times the size of the colourful fae surrounding them. Thick, wavy black manes stretch from the tops of each of their heads, dusting the ground below, with a tail at the end stretching just as long. There’s nothing I can compare them to, and I’m utterly awestruck. They’re beautiful in their shimmering rawness under the sun’s rays.

“Are you well, human?” Suddenly, Adam is towering over me, blocking my view of the majestic beasts I’ve been enchanted by. A whoosh of limbs soon follows, landing on my legs, trying to squeeze against my rounded abdomen.

“Mama, Mama! Papa is being mean to the fairies. He keeps going like this.” Sunny shows me his milky white teeth and snaps. When he stops and stares, his mouth drops open. “Whoa, what happened to your eyes, Mama?”

“Umm.” I touch fingers to my face, and the pink fae answers.

“A side effect of the fifth element.”

“Fifth element,” I murmur under my breath. Finding Adam, I glower. “Someone better tell me what’s going on now.” There’s a sternness to my voice that usually only comes out when I’m fighting with my husband. Everything is coming at me so fast. I can’t make heads or tails of what is happening anymore.

Crouching before me, the green and pink fae are what my dreams are made of. This particular dream has a lot more flaws than I expected. My chained husband with silver eyes is the most pressing of all my issues, now that I know we are all well-ish. My mental capacity to take any more surprises today is filling up thick and fast.

“My name is not Adam. It’s Ren. I changed it when I infiltrated Halo as a keeper. Melek is not who you think he is. He carries what you call fae solence in him.”

Hazel eyes stare intently at me, Ren’s emerald skin melding into a thick head of cascading brunette hair, fine, point-tipped ears parting through the tendrils. If it weren’t for the green skin and pointed ears, he’d almost pass as human, in his black keeper wear. Both he and the woman next to him are ethereal. Colour seems to stretch around them, follow them.

Fae solence. Does he mean he drinks it or… “Are you saying my husband is one of you?” My gaze casts back towards the irate man roped between four beasts, now noticing four varying shades of rainbow fae on top of each, holding the black manes to steady the legs of the animals beneath them.

“But he’s on the council?” My voice is low as I linger on the strange sight before me. None of this makes sense. He can’t be fae. Adam—no, Ren. My words. It’s going to take me a while to get used to calling him that.

“Yes, that’s true. I’m unsure of when his family line was crossbred. From what I’ve seen, it is unlikely anyone else within Halo is fae. My best guess is that he’s been keeping it a secret, or he barely knows himself, since the land Halo sits upon has all but been deserted by the mother. Magic is dimmed within that place, and it takes a very powerful fae to continually pull energy from the defiled atmosphere that is Halo.”

Holding Sunny close, a question comes to mind that I’m both afraid and somewhat eager to speak aloud. “Does that mean Sunny is fae?” I block his ears so he doesn’t hear, and my boy squirms.