Chapter 13
ZAK
Car doors slam behind me, but my focus is on Rose’s figure, glowing green on her porch, beautiful and ethereal and eerie all at once. Her face is worried as she glances between me and the wolves, and I give her a small wave.
“Can you see her?” I ask quietly, not bothering to turn around.
“Yes.”
“Yeah, it’s fucking creepy.” I frown at Seth, and he lifts his hands in a placating gesture. “Sorry man, I just mean this whole situation. There’s even a ward around this property. You didn’t tell us that.”
I stare at him, confused, and then look to Evander.
“You didn’t know?” Evander asks.
“No. What do you mean, a ward?”
“That’s what it feels like. Someone has put this property under a spell. We have one around the vineyard.”
“And what, you can sense it?”
Both brothers nod. “Our mom is a witch,” Seth adds with a shrug. “We’ve both learned a little more about magic in the last few years. Technically, Ellie is a witch too.”
“Ellie is fae,” Evander says, his brow creased as he stares at Rose. “I see what you mean about them both.”
“There’s almost a resemblance,” I nod, feeling validated. I wasn’t just seeing things; having just spent time with Ellie earlier, the similarities are uncanny. “It must be a fae thing.”
I walk across the front yard, stopping in front of the porch. “What is going on?” Rose asks, glancing behind me and back again. “Zak?”
“Hey, these guys are here to help us. I met them at the wedding; we just came from there.”
“That was today?” She plays with the fabric of her skirt, the way she used to when I first started visiting. I hadn’t realised how much of a nervous habit that was for her. “I thought I must have skipped a night here again, since I couldn’t remember a time when you were not here.”
“Nah, I saw you just yesterday.” I climb the steps carefully, avoiding the busted ones.
I’m sure my foot will go through the remaining wood one of these days, but right now it’s the least of my worries.
“These guys are both wolves,” I say quietly, reaching out to her.
When I brush my hands down her arms her form holds, and I can feel the texture of her blouse under my fingers.
That’s a good sign. Her eyes are filled with worry as she cranes her neck to look up at me, her hands clutching at my suit jacket.
“I told you I work with a werewolf, right? They’re like him.
They’re brothers, and the older one is married to a woman who looks like you.
We think you’re the same species, so they came to meet you. ”
She peers around me at them, and I move a half step so I’m not completely blocking her view, though her hands still hold my jacket in a tight grip. “Rose, meet Evander and Seth. And this is Rose.”
“Hello,” she says softly. “I suppose I should invite you in.”
With introductions and most of the explanations completed, we stand around in the main room while I confess to Rose that I’ve been keeping a secret for the past week.
“Antlers?” she asks, her hands automatically landing on her head. Her hair is still up in a bun like it always is at the start of every evening, making her look more historic than she usually does. “I don’t have antlers!”
“You did, for a moment before you disappeared. It was when you made the mushrooms appear and glow.”
She shakes her head, her lips pursed. “I don’t remember any of that. I remember hearing the birds, and wanting to see the sunrise.”
“I know. You did so well to make it until then. You were working hard. You were using magic. I’ve seen Ellie use the same magic today; she —” I click my fingers, “snap, made antlers appear on her head. They’re branches of wood, actually, with little flowers on them.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Rose, babe, we’ve spent the last month thinking you’re dead and a ghost. Your house has stuff preserved from 1915. Nothing makes sense anymore. And your ears are the same. You’re not the only one who is like this; there are others out there. It means one of your ancestors was fae.”
“I know it’s a shock,” Evander interjects, his voice very much fitting the profile of a serious alpha.
“My wife felt the same when her antlers first appeared. And I was just as confused and worried as you are, Rose. But I think this is potentially good news. I don’t know what happens to people when they die,” he says, his voice turning sombre, “but I don’t think a dead spirit could use magic that way. I could be wrong,” he shrugs.
“I don’t think you’re wrong,” Seth adds, hands in his pockets.
He’s been pacing around the room for the past ten minutes, eyes examining every wall and item of furniture in the soft glow of the portable lamp.
“She’s gotta be trapped in the First Realm, right?
Mom always says we don’t know shit about what the fae are up to behind their borders. ”
“If that’s the case, she hasn’t aged since 1915.”
“Yeah, well, she’s fae, right? Maybe Ellie will be the same, and outlive you by a hundred years.”
“Can we talk about next steps?” I interrupt, before Evander can speak. The deep frown he wears says enough. “Will you talk to your mum? Will she want to help?”
“She’ll help.” Evander turns his attention to Rose. “You wouldn’t happen to know who the current owners of this property are, would you?”
She shakes her head, and I step closer to her, putting my hand around her waist. If she’s annoyed at me for not telling her about the antlers, she at least doesn’t shrug me off. After a brief glance upwards she leans into me, wrapping her arms around my middle, and I give her a squeeze.
“Why would that matter?” I ask.
“Apart from the fact that you’re trespassing on private property daily?
” Evander says, nodding to the pile of things I’ve left stacked on the floor: blankets, pillows, torches, candles, snacks, and the lit up lamp.
“I can’t ignore the ward here, and the more I think about it, the more fae it feels, which makes me a little nervous.
You’re sure the ward isn’t something you’ve put in place?
” he asks Rose again for what I’m pretty sure is the fourth time.
“It wasn’t me, I swear it. I thought I was human until Zak told me otherwise.”
“I don’t sense any fae from it, it just feels like regular magic to me,” Seth mutters, frowning off into the distance.
“Yeah, well, you’re not mate-bonded to a fae woman like I am.
It has the same quality as Ellie’s magic; I keep getting stuck on that fact.
I don’t think we’re in danger here,” he adds quickly, seeing the panic on my face.
“I know what it’s like to be at the mercy of fae magic that is dangerous, and this isn’t it.
Not all fae are of the kidnapping, let’s rule the world variety. ”
“Right. But who’s behind it, if it’s not Rose? And it can’t be Rose, she doesn’t have any control over any of this. It’s why we need help.” I’m still worried that at any moment Evander will turn around and say this is all too weird and back out of the whole situation.
“It’s gotta be a relative, right?” Seth asks. “If the magic is fae like Van says it is, then it would make sense that it’s from someone already connected to this house and to Rose.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Evander confirms, pulling out his phone.
“Why else would someone be protecting this house and preserving some of your things? I know, Rose, that you’ve mentioned your sisters and believe me, I understand that it’s probably difficult for you to talk about your family given the circumstances, but if you could give me their names — the names of your parents, siblings, anyone that lived in this house — it’ll be a good starting point for finding out more information. ”
“Alright. Well, in 1915 it was my mother and father, Harriet and Theodore Copthorne, myself, and my two sisters, Amaryllis and Iris. Amaryllis was fifteen, Iris was only five years old.”
Evander types it all into his phone, his reflective pupils sharp as he turns his gaze back to Rose. “That’s everyone?”
“Yes. Is this something you’re an expert at? Finding information like this?” she asks. Her fingers dig into my side, and there’s a worried frown on her face.
“No. But I can easily find people that are, and I can cover the cost of that without worry.”
“And you would do that for a stranger, sir? Go to all this effort, to try and discover what is going on, to try and help me, a person you don’t know and just met, who is probably already dead?”
“I’m doing it for my wife,” Evander replies without an ounce of hesitation.
I can appreciate his honesty, at least.
“And also for myself,” he continues, “because I sure as hell won’t be sleeping well at night, having been here and met you — a changeling that I suspect has been taken by the fae — without having more answers.
I’ll be completely honest with you; you seem like a lovely person but I don’t like being here.
I don’t feel comfortable inside this ward.
My wolves are on edge, and I can’t help but…
” His words cut off in a growl that has Rose freezing like a prey animal, and I tighten my grip around her waist.
“The fae threat is always at the back of our minds,” Seth says, his tone more serious than it has been all night.
“We’ve seen it first-hand. We don’t want to lose the people we love.
Ellie has been in my brother’s life since before I was born; she’s always been a sister to me, and a member of my pack.
We’re here because we’ll do anything to protect her. ”
“Do you think I can be saved then, or am I just a lost cause? Or maybe I truly am dead.” Rose’s voice, so forlorn, is like a dagger through my heart.