Chapter 16 #2
Sierra stuck out her hand, but to her surprise, Kaye enveloped her in a hug, and when she was done Braan followed suit and did the same.
“Welcome to our home. Aodhan has told us so much about you,” Braan said with a warm smile.
Sierra looked at Aodhan, whom she had only really been on good speaking terms with for a day or two. “That’s concerning.”
Everyone burst out laughing, which made Sierra smile, but she truly wondered what he could’ve possibly told them since they weren’t even officially dating just yet.
“Nothing bad, we promise.” Kaye took her hand. “Come and sit. We have prepared tea.”
She practically pulled Sierra into an old-fashioned sitting room.
She wasn’t familiar with interior decorating trends, but if she had to guess, no one had ordered new furniture in at least a century.
The room was lined with bookcases on every wall and a fireplace at one end.
There was one window, but it was covered by the heavy blue drapes she had observed when they were standing outside.
A lamp sat in the corner, providing most of the light in the room.
The center was occupied by several Victorian-style chairs and couches around a coffee table which held a tea set and several plates of sweets and cakes.
Kaye released Sierra’s hand by the couch, which Sierra took as a sign for her to sit.
Aodhan sat next to her while Kaye and Braan made themselves comfortable on two of the chairs on the other side of the coffee table.
Aodhan slid off his beanie, revealing his ears, which he clearly didn’t need to keep hidden here.
“Sooo, Sierra, Aodhan mentioned you work at the library together.” Kaye picked up the old-fashioned teapot and began filling the dainty teacups with hot water.
“That is true,” Sierra replied.
“And you’re studying at the university?” Kaye finished filling the cups and passed around a wooden box filled with tea bags. Sierra chose a clove tea.
“Yes, aging and fragility.”
“That’s an interesting course of study,” Braan replied, as he chose his own tea bag and a second one which he placed in Kaye’s cup.
“It is. I am very interested in medical sciences.” Sierra picked up her cup, blowing the steam from the top as the tea steeped.
“Have you thought of becoming a doctor?” Kaye asked.
Sierra winced. Although this topic frequently came up, she still didn’t like discussing the reasons why she wasn’t becoming a doctor.
“I studied pre-med already. However, I am much more interested in the science behind medicine rather than treating people for illnesses.” Sierra scoped out the treats on the table, careful to avoid eye contact.
“Help yourself,” Braan encouraged.
Sierra reached for a brownie, setting it on the plate next to her teacup. “So, you’re Aodhan’s cousin.” It sounded dumb, but Aodhan hadn’t exactly prepared her properly for this type of social event, and Sierra felt uncomfortable and desperately wanted to get the attention off her.
“That’s correct,” Braan answered. “Our fathers were brothers.”
Sierra noticed the word choice. “Were?”
“Yes, I’m sure Aodhan has told you, but it is very hard for the Fae to have more than one child. When Aodhan’s father was born, mine was already well into the middle of his life. He passed to the next life some time ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she replied sympathetically, wondering what Fae believed the next life to be, but feeling it was an inappropriate time to ask.
“Don’t worry about it. It was over a hundred years ago.”
Sierra nearly choked on her first sip of tea at Braan's statement. “I forget that time is different for you,” she explained, blushing at her faux pass.
Kaye shrugged, fixing her hazel eyes on her husband. “You get used to it. Sometimes, I am very envious, as I feel we humans aren’t given the same time to properly heal from mental traumas and the trauma of loss as we would get if we lived longer.”
“I understand.” Sierra surveyed the table again, hoping they wouldn’t judge her for taking more than one treat as she hadn’t had anything to eat yet today.
“Not to give you false hope, but there are many advances in the study of aging and why humans age. So maybe by the time you have to worry, human science will have solved some of the major causes and effects of aging.”
Kaye smiled, showing off her beautifully straight teeth. “I sure hope so.” She looked between Sierra and Aodhan, an emotion Sierra couldn’t read dancing in her eyes. “So, how did you meet Aodhan here? He wouldn’t tell us.”
Sierra laughed. “Believe it or not, Tinder.”
Kaye and Braan both laughed. “Us too! But it was over ten years ago, before Tinder was as widespread as it is now.”
Sierra took a bite of her brownie, smiling as the delicious chocolatey taste filled her mouth. She chewed slowly. “Oh my, this is delicious.”
Braan smiled. “That’s because we mostly cook with Fae ingredients.”
Sierra must’ve looked confused because he continued. “We work as traders between the Fae and human worlds. Though many Fae have come to work and live here, they still miss products from home. So, we make trips home to keep them stocked.”
Sierra’s eyes widened, realizing she hadn’t yet asked Aodhan how one got from the Fae world to the human world. “How often do you go back?”
“Not too often. Sometimes, when I know someone is coming this way, I have them bring stuff with them.”
“And you can’t just shift the items?”
It was Aodhan who replied. “As I mentioned before, while all Fae have shifting abilities, they aren’t what they used to be. Plus, shifting between our home realm and here doesn’t work.”
“Why not?” Sierra was still trying to get her mind around this shifting thing.
“We aren’t sure,” Braan replied. “But we think it’s because we can only shift things that share the same plane.
Most Fae believe the realms are stacked and, therefore, have different planes.
Even bringing stuff back and forth is tedious, as only what can be carried can be brought at one time.
Usually, we have a vehicle on one side of the barrier and go back and forth a few times to fill it with everything we plan to bring. ”
Sierra saw her chance. “The barrier?”
Aodhan cut in a second time, “The barrier, or the door between our worlds, is located up north by Culkeeny, which is why I said I was from there when we first met. It’s not a visible barrier, but if you know where to look, you can see the place where the air twists.
Well, at least we Fae can see it. I guess I never asked a human. ” His eyes drifted to Kaye.
She nodded enthusiastically, “I can see it as well.” She looked to Sierra, who was taking bites of something she assumed was a scone. “Many humans have stumbled into Sidhe over the years out of curiosity when they see the way the air glimmers differently.”
Sierra was having a difficult time picturing this portal and wished it was closer so she could see for herself. Sierra looked at Aodhan, and he must’ve been reading her emotions because he stood from the couch and announced, “I’m going to take Sierra on a tour of the house now.”
“Oh yes, of course, go ahead. We will catch up to you later.” Kaye and Braan looked at each other, something unspoken passing between them as Sierra rushed to swallow the large bite of food she had just taken and brushed the crumbs from her lap onto her nearly empty plate.
Before Sierra could say anything else or take a last sip of her tea, both Kaye and Braan stood and left the room. Sierra looked over to see Aodhan had also stood and was holding out his hand to her. “Are you ready?”