Fae Giveth, Fae Taketh
It wasn’t until several days later, walking to work, that I saw firsthand our town’s woes because of the fae and their carelessness with the magic they supplied.
Not that it was new, but it was worsening.
I noticed that the fire was out in most of the lamps lining the street, and the flowers that used to grow in vibrant pinks, purples, and yellows below the shop windows were brown, crunchy, and decaying.
Even the townsfolk out and about looked as dull as the dead flowers.
The air felt…thin. Fae air magic was supposed to keep Briarstead from feeling stifling in summer, but today it hung stale and heavy, as if the whole town were holding its breath.
The last thing I saw before I walked into the bookshop I worked at was the owner of the café next door dumping a pitcher of brownish water into the street. “Disgusting,” she said with a shake of her head as she turned to head back inside.
I tried not to dwell on it, or else I’d get angry and reckless.
I loved my job. The tall, sagging shelves were filled with books that were an escape from this meager life.
It paid just well enough that I could bring home some fabric and string for Nella’s quilting, and some extra food for us, seeing how Cassius and Aemilia made sure we got nothing more than scraps—just enough to stay alive.
I couldn’t watch Nella wither away any more than I could let myself, so the wages weren’t enough to save up to leave this place for good.
Fadric came into the bookstore a few hours into my day, like always with an inviting smile and a coffee, tinkling the bell above the front door as he entered.
He was handsome with his brown curls and dimples.
He had a powerful look about him, even though he wasn’t the tallest guy around, and he was good at making me feel good.
With my love so focused on my sister, I cared about him as deeply as I could, which admittedly wasn’t deep.
But I know he tried. So I let myself smile back at him.
“Hi, beautiful, I brought you a coffee just the way you like it—nothing in it except the coffee.” He chuckled as he handed me the paper cup over the dusty counter.
We’d been doing this for several months now, since our relationship started. Fadric was my first real boyfriend if you didn’t count my five-year-old romance that had started with a boy pulling my ponytail on the playground at school, and me then pushing him to the ground.
“Thanks, Fadric.” I took a halfhearted sip. It was way too hot, and I was way too groggy. And I swore there was a metallic taste to the water used to make it like Nella had mentioned the other night.
“Are you feeling okay? You look like you’ve been through it,” he said, much to my dismay.
The constant stress, anxiety, and fear didn’t allow for much sleep. The failing magic in town didn’t help either, and my face showed it in the dark circles and premature wrinkles. That could also have been the shitty drinking water and the lack of a full meal most days.
“Yeah, Fad, feeling fine. Is that concern for my well-being or just how I look?” I snapped back. I wasn’t in the mood to be patronized today.
“What? No, I just…I feel like maybe you didn’t sleep, so I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I huffed out a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m fine, just tired like you said. Thanks for the coffee. It helps.”
I offered him a small smile, and he seemed to accept it as he jumped up onto the counter and sat next to the fantasy book I had open. I liked this one. It was about a princess who rescued herself from the bad guy and stole the prince’s noble steed to ride off into the sunset by herself. Classic.
“So I was thinking we could go to The Flayed Pig later for some drinks and a quick bite before heading off on our own, my treat.” He gave me a knowing grin that told me what “on our own” meant. “I assumed your dad would be at the king’s raffle, and we could be alone for the night.”
At that suggestion, he scooted a little closer to me and reached out to touch my cheek.
He was right about one thing—my dad would, indeed, be occupied, vying for a single gold piece from the king in a monthly, raucous event tonight at our local tavern.
The night would start as a raffle drawing for who got the gold piece but would soon descend into an all-out brawl of fists and boots in a show of strength for whoever felt they deserved it most, raffle be damned.
The thought of it made me sick. One gold piece, once a month, tossed out to mortals like scraps to dogs.
King Caedryn called it “charity.” The rest of us called it what it was—a reminder of our place.
The gold piece could buy a month’s worth of food for an entire family.
But knowing Cassius, he would spend it on booze, maybe some food, and new clothes for Aemilia—if he ever won, which he didn’t.
That cowardly piece of shit would rather hedge his bets at winning a raffle than make any decent wages at an actual job.
“Honestly, Fadric, I want to just stay home with my sister tonight and enjoy my Cassius-free hours. I have a break in thirty minutes if you want to meet me out back.” With each passing day, I felt myself pulling further away from him, but the sex was a good momentary release from everything else in this forsaken life, one small thing I could steal for myself.
He stared at me for a moment, confused by my brashness. “Um, well, if you’re not free this evening, then I would love to steal a few blissful moments with you on your break.”
Ugh, he tried to sound so gallant about fucking on my lunch break behind a bookshop.
Okay, maybe it was kind of hot, but there was no need for the facade.
He was too nice to call it what it was—I had little to no room in my mind and life for unnecessary pleasantries.
I didn’t want a future and roots here; I wanted wings.
I gave him a half-smile. “I’ll be out back in thirty.”
There was no denying that the release sounded pretty good right now.
My mind had been on the fae and the king and my wretched father and electric, hellish sister, and how cruel our situation was for Nella.
I wouldn’t mind forgetting all of that for just a little while.
I needed to work off some steam. And Fadric was alright.
He was easy. He was a good guy, even if he would not be mine forever.
Because I wanted everything to do with this town obliterated from my life once I could get myself and Nella out.
He knew how much I wanted to get out of Briarstead, and I didn’t think for a second he would stop me or that I would let him be what held me back. This was always temporary.
We had never had the conversation, but it was the idea of him I loved, and I think he knew it. I didn’t think I’d ever actually loved anyone other than Nella.
Fadric shot me a devilish grin over his shoulder as he left the bookshop, tinkling the bell again. His ass looked good in those tight beige pants, so I didn’t feel too bad about the situation I’d just planted myself in.
I spent the next half hour shelving books and thumbing through the few that snagged my attention.
I had just flipped open Nox Incineram when the clock on the wall chimed noon, my lunch hour.
After closing the heavy, leather-bound tome, I bounded toward the back exit to find Fadric already waiting for me in the dirty and quiet alley.
He pushed off the wall and smiled at me when I walked out, a slight shiver in the air. It was summer, but the first cool breezes signaling the approaching autumn wafted through the air.
Without a word, he brought one hand up to cup my jaw and the other wound around my waist to pull me in close to him.
There was suddenly no distance between our bodies as he pushed me back into the brick wall.
He let out a sigh of need that mirrored the ache I felt between my thighs and into my core.
I was ready for the pleasure he could offer.
One of my hands found his soft curls as he leaned down to kiss me, our lips meeting in greedy need and expectation. My other hand trailed down the hard lines of his chest and toward the waistband of his pants.
His kisses became more demanding. His tongue pushed against my lips, urging them to open for him, and I obliged. I wanted a distraction—just pure desire, not loving affection.
He grabbed the back of my non-whipped thigh and pulled it up to his waist and lifted me, silently asking me to wrap my legs around him. I allowed my weight to fall into his grasp as I leaned my weight against the wall and lifted my other leg to entwine my ankles around his back.
His lips moved from mine across my jaw and down my neck.
I tilted my head back against the brick as I felt the flickering heat build in my chest again, more than just desire.
The top button of my white shirt was undone, giving him access to my chest as I ground against him, encouraging him to give me more.
He complied and ripped the rest of my shirt open, the buttons flying in all directions.
Damn, I loved that shirt… But as he lowered his mouth to my breasts and I felt his hot kisses on my skin, I didn’t care as much. His fingers found my slip and tore the front in two to gain access to my bare chest.
Oh, no…that was just too much. Something in me snapped, as if I were a thread pulled too tight. “What the fuck, Fadric?!” I yelled.
He pulled back in alarm.
I pushed at his chest to give me space and set my feet on the ground. “You ruined half my clothes!”
The flickering heat in my chest suddenly burned hot, as if it were alive.
I couldn’t understand where this burst of anger had come from as I pulled out of his grasp.
He just stared at me. I mean, yeah, it was a nice slip, and I only had two in the way of undergarments, but this rage seemed out of body. Out of my control.