Queen of the Undying (Wings and Whispers #2)
1. Homecoming Queen
1
Homecoming Queen
Aliza
H ome .
Three weeks had passed since I’d embarked on the camping trip from hell. Twenty-two days, fourteen hours and a handful of minutes. More than once in that time, I’d given up hope of ever making it home.
I hesitated in the shadows between the streetlights, staring at the little house on the other side of the road. This wasn’t an affluent area by any means. The building itself was a perfectly standard, semi-detached two-storey of reddish-orange brick, but it stood out from the rest of the street because of the tangle of climbing roses clinging to its otherwise boring facade.
My dad had always loved his garden. It was his pride and joy, yet the usually pristine hedges lining the little wall were overgrown. Beyond their fluffy outline, a faint, welcoming glow seeped through the closed living room curtains. I didn’t need to see beyond the glass to know that a desperate dad sat in his favourite armchair, watching the ten o’clock news for a sighting of his missing daughter, as though the police wouldn’t have made him the first to know. As though I wasn’t dithering outside the door.
“Are you alright? ”
The whisper had me pasting a smile across my face as I tore my gaze from my home to the dark-haired prince at my side. “Yeah. Fine.”
Even with a glamour disguising his fae features, Idris was too handsome to be seen dead in a place like this. As for me, I didn’t look like myself at all. As though restoring my precious rainbow of hair to its boring, natural shade of dark blonde wasn’t bad enough, Idris had glamoured my face. While it was weird to see a complete stranger peering back from my phone screen, it was probably wise to avoid being recognised and bringing weeks of media and police attention down on me. What was I supposed to say?
Yes, officer. It’s me. I’ve spent the last few weeks cavorting with witches and fairies, breaking curses, and attending royal balls.
That would earn me a one-way ticket to a padded cell, and now that I was no longer human, I couldn’t risk an extended stay in the non-magical world without poisoning myself. Every day, every hour, would sap my strength, and Idris’ power, but a little thing like certain death wasn’t going to keep me from letting my parents know I wasn’t rotting in a ditch somewhere. Not when I’d been gifted a second chance.
“How’s my face?” I asked.
Idris’ face, still his own, if a little less glowing than usual, softened as his pale green eyes darted over my new features. “Unrecognisable.”
“You don’t need to sound so happy about it.”
He smirked. “If only I could change your terrible personality too.”
“Many have tried,” I quipped, but without any real humour.
My gaze drifted back across the street. My shabby, beaten-up little car sat dark and unmoving at the far side of the road. The last time I’d seen it, it had been parked in a field in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by tents. On the morning that my friends and I had set off on our ill-fated hike, I’d gazed longingly at that car, dreaming of the hour it would return me to civilisation. Instead, I’d ended the day perched in a tree, chatting to a vampire, and my poor car had probably been subjected to all sorts of police scrutiny. God, what if they’d discovered my snack stash, hidden in the glove box? What if they’d taken it? I’d been saving those treats for my return journey, never knowing that when I did eventually come home, it would be via public transport, with my face unrecognisable, and a magical prince tricking the poor bus and train drivers into believing an old leaf was a valid ticket.
“You’re sure you’re alright?”
“I’m okay, Idris.” I glanced up and down the quiet street. There was nothing to see but parked cars clogging up the kerbs, and a pair of glowing cat eyes lurking beneath one. “Keep the glamour up until we’re inside, just in case.”
I’d gone over the plan dozens of times on our journey here, but Idris had been nothing but patient, letting me witter on without complaint whenever my nerves got the better of me, which had been most of the time.
“I will.” When his finger brushed against mine, I almost flinched. Not in a bad way, far from it, but it was taking me time to adjust to my new, immortal body and all the sensations that came with it. Idris, with his lightning powers, sent sparks shimmering over me whenever our skin touched, even here in the human world, where magic was weakened.
Even so, I laced my fingers with his, squeezing tight and trying to ignore the tingles shooting down my spine. Whatever lies I told about being fine, I needed him. The idea of coming home had been exciting, but now, my nerves were frazzled and my heart didn’t seem to know how to beat properly anymore. I was pretty sure I was having palpitations, but now wasn’t the time to deal with a medical emergency, so I was just going to have to get a grip of myself before I passed out. The only way I could do that was by cutting off Idris’ blood supply to his fingers.
The prince squeezed back gently. With a deep breath, I edged my way between two cars parked nose to tail, and crossed the street I’d played on as a little girl. With no brothers or sisters to fight with, Mum had always encouraged friendships with the neighbour’s kids. Most had moved on now we were all grown up, but I still saw them from time to time. Thankfully, all I saw tonight were memories.
The security light flared to life as the metal garden gate opened silently, admitting us to the narrow path squashed between a lawn of overgrown grass, and a flower bed full of weeds. I frowned at that. It was one thing to let the hedges grow a little wild, but weeds ? Dad hadn’t spent all this time moping, had he?
Worry gnawed at my gut, but everything was going to be okay. I was home, if only for a day or two. I had quite a story to tell, but whether my parents believed me or not, at least they’d know I was alive. That was all that mattered.
My hand trembled as I reached into my pocket and pulled out my keys. Idris had retrieved my meagre belongings from the castle, the day he’d rescued me and turned me fae. Everything had been accounted for, apart from the clothes I’d been wearing when Idris' uncle, Maelgwyn, set me alight, and the diamond tiara I'd intended to give to Mum and Dad. My captors had obviously made off with my hoard. As galling as it was to return home without the riches I’d pilfered, at least I’d made it here. It had been touch and go for a while.
As quietly as I could, I slotted the key into the lock and turned.
I’d forgotten what home smelt like. A comforting waft rushed up my nose, scented with the fragrance of roses carried in on the night breeze, and Mum’s favourite pomegranate candles mingling with something cheesy inside. We’d missed dinner by hours, but my stomach grumbled at the lingering smell of food in the air. Mac and Cheese. How had I missed that ?
Sure enough, the dreary tones of the news drifted from the room to my left. I turned to Idris as he closed the front door with a soft click, and instantly, with the sensation of cool water trickling over my face, the glamour lifted. Idris’ remained in place. My return would be shocking enough without a pointy eared, exquisite prince lurking at my shoulder. Speaking of pointy ears… I touched a hand to my own. The glamour still clung to them, making them appear rounded, just like they’d been during my mortal life. In the darkness of the hall, Idris was nothing but a shadowy silhouette with faintly gleaming eyes, though my remade eyes adjusted quickly, and his silver features came into view. He gave me a knowing smirk.
“Human,” he breathed, his voice barely discernible, even to me.
The word set my stomach fluttering. To him, I’d always been human, or mortal, or some other word that wasn’t my given name, uttered with distaste. He meant it differently tonight, but even after everything he’d done for me, everything we’d shared, I still found it hard to believe that he didn’t despise me, as he had done in the beginning. Hard to believe that he was here, helping me. That he’d saved me. That, because of him, I wasn’t human at all.
Gulping, I reached for the doorknob, and stepped into the living room.