Chapter 4
Afew minutes later, an older woman known as a healer, entered my suite.
She came complete with pointed ears and white robes that looked very doctorly.
Her demeanor was calm as she came in and took my vitals.
It was weird, because all she did was stick little square stickers on the back of my neck, wrist, and front of my chest, and told me to chill for a bit while her tablet—one that looked very similar to what I see at home, just a little more oval—logged my heart rate and oxygen levels.
“So…what are you?” I asked Liam, trying to hold still while the stickers did their thing.
“You can move,” the doctor—or rather—healer told me with a gentle smile.
“I’m fae,” Liam answered. He was reclining in a leather chair and flipping through channels. “You’re in the fae territory of Enharra.”
“En-hahr-uh,” I slowly spoke, and Audrey nodded confirmation at my pronunciation. “At your family home.”
“The Dahl Family Palace,” the healer interjected with an excited smile. The way she stared at me was unsettling. Like she was fascinated with me. I gave her what I hoped was a friendly smile before turning away.
“Palace? Like royalty?” My clarification was directed toward Liam, but my gaze shifted to Audrey, who lifted a shoulder in a casual, believe-it-or-not way.
The healer’s eyes widened at me with curiosity as she asked, “Do humans not have royalty in your realm?”
“Humans?” I asked her.
“Some territories do,” Audrey answered the healer. “Not the one we’re from—well, we’re not supposed to, anyway. Celebrities often get idolized to the level of royalty, though.”
“Interesting,” the healer responded.
“Okay, wait. Back up.” I shook my head, trying to keep a steady head during this mindfuck of an experience. “What the hell is a fae?”
Audrey giggled while Liam and the healer both waited for her to answer. “Think of fae as like…faeries?”
I blinked at her. “…Like Tinkerbell?”
Audrey jutted a thumb toward Liam’s massive frame lying back in the chair. “Does he look like a Tinkerbell to you?”
“Okay, well, where are your wings?” I asked both the healer and Liam.
“They don’t have any,” a feminine voice answered, making all three of us turn toward the double doors.
A tall woman gently strode into the room.
She wore a pale green gown that exposed her waist, covering her bust all the way up to her neck.
The gown shimmered with her steps as she entered and closed the doors behind her, but it wasn’t sparkly. I couldn’t place what the material was.
When her back was toward the room, though, I saw wings.
Clear, insect-like wings. Almost transparent if it weren’t for the tendons that flexed them. They were folded against her back but flittered as she turned and smoothed some wrinkles out of her gown.
She smiled at me in a warm, friendly greeting. Her blonde hair was knotted with a crown of braids, keeping it all out of her face and encouraging the curls to flow down her back, over her wings.
As she stepped toward me on the bed, the healer stood and clasped her hands in front of her, dipping her chin lightly. The woman smiled at the healer, at the same moment as she ruffled Liam’s hair in passing, dodging his hand as he swatted at her in retaliation.
“Are you two siblings?” I asked the woman, noting how similar their features were. Blonde hair, blue eyes, sharp features.
“I’m Liam’s twin sister, yes.” The woman nodded as she made it over to my bed.
“Vanessa.” Audrey gestured toward the blonde-winged woman. “This is Ada Dahl, Liam’s sister, and Queen of the Fae.” I raised my eyes and nodded, smiling, panicking, because how the hell do you address royalty in a magical realm?
“Shit—sorry—hi—” I made my way to stand so I could properly bow.
“Please.” Ada raised her hand to stop me. “We don’t need to be so formal in the privacy of my home.”
Oh, thank god.
“When you greet her in public, though,” Audrey interjected, “It’s best that you dip your chin to show respect, at least.”
“Got it.” I gave Ada a thumbs up, and she pressed her lips together with her smile at me.
“What did the council say?” Liam asked Ada. I looked toward Audrey for any sort of context, but she was busy focusing on Ada and Liam.
Ada blew out a tired breath and crossed her arms, “They’re annoyed, but not upset. Additionally, King Ilia denies any involvement.”
“Well, he’s lying. His men were there. But the fact that everyone is only annoyed is good.” Audrey placed a hand over her heart in relief. “So what do they want us to do?”
“The good news is they approved her grant, which she should have in the next day or so. You’ll be able to return to your realm soon.”
“Hold up,” I interjected. “I’m stuck here until I get a grant?” Like a money grant?
“A grant is documentation,” Audrey explained. “Think of it like a tourist visa to visit Hyvenmere.”
“Oh.” I nodded. “I won’t get arrested for being here?”
Ada frowned at me and asked, “Did you commit a crime?”
“Not that I’m aware of, but did I accidentally enter this—er—realm ‘illegally?’”
Audrey muttered, “That’s a loaded question.”
Understanding dawned on Ada’s face, and she flicked a glance over to Audrey before explaining to me, “It is not ‘illegal,’” she emphasized the word with air quotes, “to enter Hyvenmere if you are not an official citizen of Hyvenmere. We are not cruel like the human realm seems to be.” I was filled with relief from her words.
“Your realm does not know about our realm, as has been the design for hundreds of years. However, because several discussions are going on about officially opening the Mellhawn Gates to the human realm again, the council has decided that the humans who are aware of Hyvenmere and its territories must have proper documentation, so governments can be aware of who is exploring our lands.”
“I—” I shook my head once. “I don’t see myself paying this place a ton of visits.” I didn’t understand how a person traveled between realms. How did we even get here? Was there a bus? A train? A boat? Who the hell knew?
At my words, Audrey’s face fell a little bit, and I immediately wanted to take it back.
But I was still trying to fight off memories of the men who attacked me on my boat, and if those were normal occurrences here, then whatever the hell was going on in Hyvenmere was none of my business.
“That’s fine, but this way, when you carry your grant on you, my court will be notified of your arrival in the realm.”
“Ada is basically vouching for you,” Audrey summarized. “So if you do decide to visit, you’re her responsibility.”
I quirked my lips to the side and slid my gaze over to the Queen of the Fae. “Thank you. That’s nice to do for someone you’ve never met.”
“It’s not without a request of my own.” Ada settled herself on the edge of my bed, folding her hands in her lap as she tilted her head at me. “Would you be willing to tell me what happened? In your own words?”
I inhaled a deep breath before saying, “I don’t know if I even understand what happened, yet.”
“Maybe just start from the beginning.” Audrey kneeled next to me on the bed, resting a hand on my shoulder. I reached up to squeeze her fingers with mine before addressing Queen Ada directly.
“It was nighttime, and I had a drink.” I blew out a breath at the feel of my heart picking up speed, my body remembering the anxiety of the moment all too well. “At first, I thought I was too intoxicated. That’s why the men seemed very tall and very…odd.”
Ada’s blonde brows pinched at my words before she turned to Audrey. “You said it was Leon and Sergei trying to take her?”
Audrey nodded. “Yes. Without a doubt.”
“You don’t happen to have any evidence that it was them?” Ada pressed.
I frowned at her question. “I don’t have security cameras on my boat. Never thought I needed them.”
Ada hummed in understanding. “What happened after they showed up?”
“They were very…I don’t know. Annoyed. The blond specifically acted inconvenienced.”
“Leon.” Audrey chimed in.
“Sure, whatever.” I waved my hand. “They were bickering. Leon sounded like he just wanted to grab me and go. I jutted a thumb over my shoulder. “But the brunet mentioned something about me needing to be…unharmed. He just kept telling me to come with them.”
I still ended up being, what I considered, very much harmed.
I rubbed at my chest, attempting to soothe the burning anger I felt from the memory. The fact that my well-being was being debated between two seven-foot-tall men was disgusting.
“Interesting.” Ada frowned, her gaze shifting to the side. “Did you consider listening to them?”
“Absolutely not,” I snorted with my reply. “I can usually keep a level head when men try to push me around,” (or attack me, tomayto-tomahto). “But then Leon said something, and I suddenly felt stuck.”
“Stuck?” Ada pressed.
“Yeah.” I curled in on myself. “What he said wasn’t even that much more threatening, but for some reason, my fear just…
” I paused, not sure how to describe the reaction I had, “…took over. I think I may have considered going with them for half a second, because I was so terrified.” I glanced up, making brief eye contact with all four people in the room, finding comfort in Audrey’s empathetic gaze and Ada’s respectful one.
“I don’t usually let my fear of men control me like that. It caught me off guard.”
Liam released a deep, heavy sigh from his spot on the recliner. “Sounds like he used his sinndra on her.”
I perked up at that and pointed at Liam. “Yeah, I think they said that word.”
“They said they were using their sinndra on you?” Audrey asked, scooting closer so that her thigh was against mine.
“No.” I shook my head, dropping my gaze to my lap to try to remember. “…the brunet, uh…” I looked to Audrey.
“Sergei,” she filled in for me.
“Yeah, Sergei,” I nodded and continued. “He scolded Leon. Called him a prick for, what was it…using his sinndra on me.”