Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Sierra groaned as her alarm projected its shrill tone throughout the small apartment, and pulled the pillow over her head.
She wanted nothing more than to sleep just a little longer, but she had set her alarm for nine, only giving her an hour to get ready before Aodhan would arrive to ‘collect her’, as he had worded it.
Sierra’s call with her mom had gone late into the night, but nothing had been resolved.
Mrs. Lopez desperately wanted Sierra to fix her problems with her youngest son.
But Sierra was done being the peacekeeper between them.
It was time for her mom to figure it out on her own.
Not to mention that Sierra was halfway around the world, and she didn’t see what she could possibly do to rectify the situation.
Sure, she could call Diego, but she also saw his side of things, and she wanted her mother to grow up and learn how to rekindle her relationship with her youngest son on her own.
She wished that she had left the conversation in a better place, but it had ended with her mom hanging up on her again.
She figured now that it was only a matter of time until one of her other siblings called on her mom's behalf.
They were probably drawing straws now, but Sierra figured it would be Antonio or Cecilia since Maria had called the last time.
Sierra begrudgingly climbed out of bed, groaning as she flicked on the light, and headed into her tiny bathroom to shower.
As she stripped off the shorts and t-shirt she slept in, Sierra tried to avoid looking in the mirror.
She loved how her face looked, but her skin always made her cringe, and after the events of the night before, she was feeling even more self-conscious than normal.
She showered as quickly as possible, trying to leave enough time to dry her hair. It had been getting colder in Dublin as winter drew closer, and she didn’t want her hair to freeze on the way over to Aodhan’s.
Slipping on one of her few matching bra and panty sets, Sierra chanced a glance in the mirror, only to grimace.
Brushing off her embarrassment at the sight of her skin, she slipped on an undershirt, sweater, and jeans over the cute matching set.
Sierra wished she had a different body; one she wouldn’t be embarrassed to see when she looked in the mirror.
As she brushed out her hair and slipped in her silver hoop earrings, Sierra wondered what Aodhan’s place would look like.
All she knew was that it was close to here and that he apparently had servants who had done her dishes last night.
She knew he was wealthy in his world, but she wasn’t sure how that translated to this one.
She had just finished braiding her hair in the mirror when Aodhan’s face peeked around the bathroom doorframe. Even though she was now aware of his talents, it still made her heart skip a beat with how quickly he appeared and disappeared.
“Good morning.” He smiled as his eyes roamed over her outfit. “You look absolutely breathtaking.”
Sierra blushed at the compliment. While she always received them in the US, it was different when the compliment came from someone you were romantically interested in.
“Are you ready?” Aodhan asked. Sierra nodded and left the bathroom, coming to stand in front of the door to her apartment with Aodhan just a step behind her.
“Are we walking or…”
“Yes, we will walk. While I can shift myself and things, most Fae can’t shift people. Only very powerful ones, and even then, not far and only within the Fae realm.”
Sierra slid her feet into her boots. “Interesting.”
“Very. And since magic has been disappearing, I haven’t heard of anyone who can shift people or other Fae in a long time.”
Sierra slid her arms into her jacket and her purse over her shoulder. Aodhan took the lead and held the door open for them. Sierra locked it, and they headed down the stairs.
“So, tell me more about your place,” Sierra asked once they were on the sidewalk, wanting to be prepared for what she was about to see.
“Well, it is very hard for my people to find homes here since we don’t have personal public service numbers like other Irish residents do. We also frequently don’t have bank accounts or credit histories, and very few landlords are willing to rent to us without these human things.”
“Oh.” Sierra hadn’t thought of that, as she, even on a student visa had been issued a public service number so she could get healthcare while she was here. She hadn’t even considered how hard it would be to live here without one.
“As a result, we almost always have to stay with other Fae that have relocated here with a human partner, or in a place owned by a Fae family for hundreds of years, before public service numbers were invented.”
They turned the corner. “Makes sense. So, who do you live with?” Sierra looked up at Aodhan, but his eyes remained straight ahead.
“An old friend of my family, Braan. He came here about a decade ago to be with his human wife, Kaye.”
Sierra was quiet for a moment. “But won’t she, you know, die long before him?”
Aodhan glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before looking forward again.
“There are many complications when a human and Fae fall in love. The main one is the aging; the second is that the human world can be tough for a Fae to reside in permanently, and many humans don’t ever feel fully comfortable in the Fae realm, even if they live their whole lives there.
But,” he took a breath, “when you agree to date someone, there is no guarantee they will live the same amount of time as you will anyway. You could fall in love with a human your exact age, and they could die tomorrow. Time is never promised, and it’s not worth not enjoying the person you love because there is a risk that they might die before you. ”
Sierra had never thought of it that way, but Aodhan was right.
Aodhan cleared his throat. “As for Kaye and Braan, Braan was over 60% through his lifespan when he met her. While she will still likely precede him in death, it may only be by a few decades.”
Sierra was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed that they had come to a stop in front of a large house, something which was uncommon in the Dublin city center.
It was built of brown bricks and looked to be at least a few hundred years old.
Vines climbed up the side of the house, and empty flower boxes lined the windowsills of the white framed windows.
The curtains in all the windows were closed, ensuring that no one on the street would be able to see what was going on inside.
“Are you ready to go in?” Aodhan turned to face her.
Sierra looked from the house to Aodhan. “Almost. I wanted to ask one thing more.” Aodhan’s eyes bore into hers, and Sierra took that as permission to do so. “Is there any way for a human to become Fae? Or vice versa?”
Aodhan froze. Sierra could tell he knew the answer, but instead of opening his mouth, his eyes searched her face, clearly scavenging for a way to avoid answering the question.
“You promised not to lie to me.” Sierra reminded him.
Aodhan let out a breath, “I’ve heard rumors…that humans can become Fae, but it is very complicated and rare.”
“What do you mean?”
“For a human to become Fae, they must petition Mother Nature, also called Gaia, that they are needed for a purpose and that being human would impede that purpose. Mother Nature has the final say, and she may or may not make the change. If it is discovered you asked for selfish reasons, she could also leave you with a curse.”
“Do you know anyone who has been changed?”
“No.”
“But you just ask?”
“Sierra, I really don’t want to discuss this right now.”
Sierra bit her lip; Aodhan’s angry tone wasn’t one she had ever heard him use before, not even when they had been arguing. “Okay, let’s go inside then.” She replied as she took a tell-tale step back, putting a buffer of space between them.
She expected Aodhan to reach past her to twist the doorknob, but to her surprise, the door floated open on its own as they said the word ‘inside’. She raised her eyebrow at Aodhan, but he just laughed. “You’ll get used to it.”
Aodhan stepped in first, and Sierra followed.
They were barely in the door when it drifted shut behind them.
Before she could ask about anything else, two forms filled the hallway in front of them.
One was a man, who was clearly Fae by the look of his pointed ears.
His hair was a similar sandy brown tone to Aodhan’s, and he had a similar height and build.
Sierra hadn’t asked, but now she was wondering if they were somehow related.
The hallway was wide with tall ceilings, but the man was imposing enough that it almost felt crowded to Sierra.
The house had clearly been built in a previous century, as Sierra noticed the wooden floor creaking as she shifted her weight.
Her eyes were also drawn to the opulent chandeliers, of which there were at least three, though the hallways continued around a corner and out of sight, so she couldn’t be sure.
Directly to her right was a large staircase with a bright blue runner covering the centermost part of the steps.
But Sierra found that, despite all of the obvious opulence, her eyes kept returning to the woman who stood next to the man.
She had fiery red hair, which fell in waves around her distinctly human ears. She was taller than Sierra and very beautiful, even in her comfortable-looking oversized sweater and leggings. She looked to be in her early thirties. Sierra figured this must be Kaye.
Both of her suspicions were confirmed when Aodhan stepped forward and introduced them. “Sierra, this is my cousin Braan and his wife Kaye.”
Well, that answered her question about the family resemblance.
“And this is Sierra,” he told Braan and Kaye.