Chapter 7
Evangeline
Something soft and delicate caresses my face.
For a moment, I’m transported back to a time when I was a little girl, cuddling in bed with all my stuffed animals.
Early in the morning, before Daddy had to leave for work, he would always come into my room and gently run his fingers along my face until I woke up.
He’d flash a smile reserved only for me and kiss my forehead.
Then, just before he’d leave, he’d place a glass of chocolate milk on my desk, next to my bed, because he knew it was my favorite.
The sensation shifts suddenly, no longer a simple touch but an incessant buzzing and the feeling of something crawling on my face, like the persistent hum of a fly.
Eyes still closed, I swipe at it, expecting to shoo away the nuisance, but my hand collides with something solid. Definitely not an insect.
A startled gasp escapes me as my eyes fly open, and I find myself staring up at two unfamiliar faces.
My mind struggles to make sense of what I am seeing.
One of them is impossibly small—no bigger than my hand—with iridescent green wings that shimmer in the light.
His wide, curious eyes examine me as if I were some strange specimen under a magnifying glass.
“She’s awake!” he cries, punching the air in excitement.
“Back up, my little love, let the woman breathe. You were right to come get me. She may need my attention,” the woman says.
She has beautiful red hair, braided back away from her face.
Though her face is youthful, she carries fine lines that hint she’s older than she appears.
Peeking through her flaming hair are two pointed ears.
I scream.
The small green person screams too.
“Finnick, stop. You’re scaring her,” the woman chastises, and the small green person—Finnick, apparently—closes his mouth but doesn’t look happy about it.
It is a testament to how much shit I’ve seen today that I don’t find a six-inch flying person odd.
Better him than one of those creatures from earlier.
At least I can step on him if he threatens to kill me.
“Maybe she was saying hi to us. I was just trying to be nice,” he pouts.
“Hmm, you do have a point.” The woman rubs her chin, as if actually considering his strange observation.
I struggle to push myself off the…ground? Why am I on the ground? I scramble back until my back hits the tree, staring at these strange people. No, not people. What did The Guardian call them? Fae? Hopefully not the murderous type like that giant creature was.
Everything comes back to me at once. Leaving Grym Hollow.
The Guardian bringing me here, only to leave me alone to face those horrid creatures.
I had nothing to defend myself! Nothing but the pots and pans in my suitcase.
As far as weapons went, they were shitty but heavy.
Getting hit with one of those things isn’t pleasant.
I would know. I have dropped one too many pans on my toes, and that pain could bring a grown man to tears.
“Those creatures,” I blurt, head swiveling around to make sure we aren’t about to be attacked. “Where did they go?” More importantly, are they coming back?
The woman reaches for my hand, her fingers trembling with hesitation. Instinctively, I recoil, pressing myself against the rough bark of the tree as if it could swallow me whole. Instead of looking insulted, the woman only offers me a kind smile, folding her hands together in front of her.
“The creatures are gone. My girl, you are safe,” she says, her voice soft. Maybe too soft, and she’s attempting to lure me into a false sense of security.
I let out a bitter laugh, my hands curling into fists.
“Like hell I am.” These people—fae—aren’t going to sit here and gaslight me.
Nothing about those creatures was safe. If those monsters live here, what other evil creatures dwell in the shadows?
I was so eager to get out of Grym Hollow, I didn’t properly think through what that would mean and the type of fantastical creatures I would encounter.
Is my life going to be in danger every day?
I’ve lived in survival mode without my family for so long, I had hoped that wouldn’t be the case here.
I don’t know what I expected. Maybe a fairy tale world I read in stories?
Where the prince would come and sweep me away, and we’d live amongst the cute forest creatures.
Like deer and bunnies. Not whatever the hell that thing was.
The small green person flutters over to me, perching on the tip of my boots. Part of me wants to shake him off again, but I resist. Barely.
He studies me once more, tilting his head. “You aren’t fae,” he determines. “What are you? What’s your name? I’m Finnick. This is my mother, Lady Thalia.”
“Pleasure to meet you, young lady.” Lady Thalia acknowledges me with a slight bow.
“My name is Evangeline,” I sputter out, even though my heart is beating rapidly, fear threatening to consume me again.
“Is…this Mescos? I’m supposed to be in the fae kingdom.
” Damn The Guardian for leaving me like he did.
Is this how he treated the others? Did they even survive their arrival to Mescos?
I chide myself for not asking when I had the chance.
Finnick and Lady Thalia share a glance, speaking without words. “Yes, dear girl, these are the fae courts. Where did you come from?”
“Grym Hollow…with The Guardian,” I gasp, my breath ragged. The weight of my reality crashes down on me all at once, suffocating me.
I’m alone.
In a strange world.
A world where the people aren’t really people—where creatures exist that could kill me without a second thought.
Panic grips my chest like a vise. “I can’t be here. I have to go…” My voice shakes, and I get up, turning in frantic circles, searching for something—anything—to ground me.
My suitcase lies overturned on the damp ground, its contents scattered, clothes soaking up the moisture like they, too, have accepted their fate. But none of it matters at this moment. Nothing in that suitcase can fix this. Nothing can change the fact that I’m trapped in a world I don’t belong to.
“The Guardian? Ender brought you?” Finnick zips over to flutter in front of my face. “You’re a human!”
Lady Thalia presses her lips into a tight line, and then I feel her hands on me. The modicum amount of stability I still possessed snaps. I can’t be here. I can’t do this. The Guardian made a mistake.
“Evangeline? Are you okay?” Lady Thalia’s voice is soft, soothing, reminding me of my mother’s after a nightmare. But Lady Thalia isn’t my mother, and this place isn’t my home.
The trees seem to press in around me, their towering forms twisting, leaning closer, suffocating. My pulse pounds in my ears, drowning out reason, drowning out everything but the primal urge clawing at my chest.
And then, I break.
I turn and run.
Lady Thalia shouts my name. Finnick calls after me. But I don’t stop. I don’t look back. I just run.