21. Kaia

Feryn’s home is exactly as I expected. It sits on the edge of the woods, the entire thing covered by the canopy of trees. The logs that make up the walls look haphazardly put together, with moss and ivy growing on all sides. There are a few small round windows and an arched front door that looks like it may fall off its hinges at any moment.

It looks like something straight out of a fairy tale.

My blood pressure is up, I can feel my heart beating against the cage of my chest, and as I gaze at the home, Thoren is by my side, squeezing my hand in a comforting gesture. I know this must be hard for him, to willingly walk his mate into a place that might give her the means of walking away. And I know this because when I put myself in his shoes, I feel the same way. If someone tried to take him from me now, I would probably die with the pain of it.

But I know I need to speak to Feryn. I need to know if there’s a way to get me home, even though I want to stay. Because not knowing would leave a question mark hanging over me for the rest of my life.

“Feryn is kind, but she’s alone a lot. She was cast out from her clan and has been living on the edge of the woods here ever since,” Thoren explains. I want to ask why, but I feel like now is not the time, not when we are thirty feet from her front door. “So she may seem odd, but she means well. She just doesn’t get a lot of social interaction.”

“I think it would take a lot to scare me these days,” I say, trying to laugh. “I’ve seen a lot since falling into this world.”

He nods in agreement and rubs his thumb over my knuckles. The small movement helps settle some of my nerves. What if she knows how to get me home, and I suddenly have a moment of weakness where I decide to just go back where it’s safe and predictable?

“Remember what I said, Kaia. I will respect the decision you make,” he assures me again. “It is your life that was turned upside down, and I want you to make the decision that’s right for you, without worrying about what will happen to me. Yes?”

I swallow the lump forming in my throat and nod. “I will.” I stand up on my tiptoes, asking for a kiss. He gives it to me, his mouth slanting over mine tortuously slow, his tongue swiping across the seam of my lips. I let him in, tasting him one more time before I go make the most important choice of my life. He holds me close, and I savor the heat and hardness of his body.

When we finally untangle ourselves, his lips are swollen, and my cheeks and chin tingle from the scratches left by his stubble.

“Are you ready, Goldilocks?” He smirks down at me, trying to be his normal, playful self. But I can see the strain behind his eyes.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I take a deep breath, steeling myself for walking through that door.

But as we take the first step, the door swings open slowly, the hinges moaning as it does. The person who I can only assume is Feryn takes a few steps out onto the small front porch, a smile on her face that looks kind and welcoming. Being Fae, I expected her to be terrifying. Her muted green skin blends in with the natural surroundings, but that shock of long, white hair sticks out like a sore thumb.

“Thoren.” She nods toward him and then looks directly at me, her smile growing. And now I see the sharp incisors. A chill runs down my spine. “And Thoren’s mate.”

“Kaia,” I say, finding my voice. “You can call me Kaia.”

We close the distance, Thoren by my side the entire time. My palms are sweaty, and I let go of his hand to wipe them on my dress before offering to shake Feryn’s. She looks down at it for a brief second before extending her own arm. Her skin is cool to the touch, her palms soft, but her grip almost breaks my hand. I pull away, trying to discreetly shake off the pain.

“I apologize,” she says, looking down at my flexing fingers. “Sometimes I forget my own strength. It’s been… a while since I’ve seen a human. I forget how fragile you all are.” Her irises are so pale a green that they almost blend into the whites of her eyes. I don’t want to judge because I’m sure humans look weird to her, and every being here seems to have their own unique characteristics, but hers are almost threatening.

She stares for just a second too long, holds her arms at her sides in a way that seems unnatural to her, and I swear the woods behind her have fallen silent since she’s come out. It feels like everything is waiting on bated breath for her to make the next move.

“You’ve seen a human before?” Thoren asks, his voice sounding shocked at the revelation. I figured he knew she had, and that’s why we were here.

“Many times.” Her eyes close and open slowly, like it takes effort for her to blink, and then she moves them from my face to Thoren’s. “They’re always wandering in and out of worlds, stumbling like baby deer into places they don’t belong.”

Okay, not sure if I should be offended by that baby deer comment. It’s not my fault my bathtub turned into a fucking portal.

“Then you know how to get her back.”

“Kaia,” she says, turning toward me once again. “Come inside. I have prepared tea.”

“Oh, can Thoren not come with me?”

Feryn’s smile turns almost predatory, and I can feel the air still around us. This is the first time since being here that I’ve felt wholly uncomfortable about someone new. No one else has had this air about them, where you want to know more but are terrified to ask. I pull the heavy shawl more tightly around my shoulders.

“She wants to speak to you alone,” Thoren answers when Feryn does not. I look up at him, and I can see that he doesn’t like this either. But he’s doing it for me. He’s letting me go in there and find the answers on my own because he knows I need them. “I’ll be right here the whole time. You yell for me, and I will beat that fucking door down.”

My jaw drops, and I laugh at his language. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before.”

He shrugs. “I took notes from my mate. She has a delicious mouth.” He leans over, kissing me one last time, and then swats my ass to get me walking in Feryn’s direction. She has watched the entire exchange with interest shining in her eerie eyes.

“Come, Kaia.”

As I approach her, she steps sideways so that I can pass by her and through the door. The house is dark inside, with the trees blotting out most of the sun. There are candles lit on tables and shelves, giving the entire room a flickering orange glow to it. The fire on the far wall isn’t burning brightly, but I can still feel the heat from it as the door behind me closes with a whine.

Well, no going back now.

“Sit.” She holds out her arm, pointing to the chairs next to the fire. There’s a small, round wooden table between them with two cups of steaming tea on it and a plate of biscuits in the middle. “I do not get visitors often. I apologize if I am… off-putting. But I have tried to do what I believe is customary when you have guests?”

When I look over my shoulder at her, I can see the small amount of vulnerability there. She did try, and she does feel bad that her presence had seemed to put me on edge. So I buck up and smile, walking over to the worn and ratty chair that looks like it came out of a haunted mansion. Feryn follows closely behind, only sitting when I have. Her eyes flit between me and the tea, and I take the hint.

I take the smallest sip, testing the flavor, kind of scared that she may have put something in it. But it tastes like normal black tea with a bit of honey, bitter at first with a sweet aftertaste. When I smile, she smiles and picks up her own cup. Some of the tension leaves her shoulders.

“So you would like to go home?” she asks, her eyebrow raised slightly.

“I would like to know if there’s a way for me to go home,” I correct. I’ve heard stories about the Fae. Even back in my world, they were known as tricksters, so I’m trying to be as literal as possible with my words.

“Smart girl.” She hums and sits back in her chair. “I have gone through many different worlds and timelines in my life. I’ve been around for quite some time, did he tell you that?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know much about you, if I’m being honest. He just thought you might have the answers.”

“I have many answers to many questions.” She sighs, and I think it’s the first time she’s shown any signs of breathing since I got here. “I haven’t always lived like this, alone and banished,” she says, looking out the window on the wall behind me. “I used to be with my family, my friends. I was loved, and I loved them. But things took a turn, and I was cast out. I’ve been here ever since.”

“What happened?” I can’t stop myself from asking. Now that we’re alone, the softness of her voice is pleasant, the tea soothes my nerves, and the crackling of the fire has taken the chill away. I feel almost comfortable.

“Someone with power took an interest in me.” She shrugs. “The feelings were not mutual, and the Fae are known to have tempers, especially the males.” Feryn’s head shakes slowly back and forth as if she’s trying to shake the memory. “And so I was banished, my old clan hidden from me by magic until the day I perish. I can never see my friends or family again, and so I live here, alone, until my body finally gives out and I can be reunited with them in the afterlife.”

“Oh, Feryn,” I whisper, my hand reaching across to the table to touch her hand. Her fingers twitch, like she wants to pull away, but she lets me comfort her for just a moment. “I am so sorry.”

When she finally pulls her hand away from mine, she clears her throat and straightens her spine. “There is a way to get you home, Kaia. I know of it, and I can tell you how. But a decision needs to be made quickly because you are fading, and the option to leave will not be open to you forever.”