18. Chapter 18

Chapter eighteen

W endy showed Haven and Roman the second level, through the kitchens where a large brick oven had been full of flames, past some storerooms where they kept equipment for any events the castle held, to a war room that Wendy told them had never been used and finally to the library. They hadn't been in there long before Wendy rushed them out and towards a staircase that went up to the third level. Haven did her best to memorize the way they had come so she could find her way back to the library later to look for the diary from Binahs letter but there were so many turns she quickly lost track. By the time Wendy showed them to where their rooms would be, Haven's head was spinning.

Wendy made quick work of explaining to Haven and Roman that someone would be by shortly to deliver lunch and supplies and to talk with them about meeting with the crown regent. Wendy showed Roman to where he would be staying down the hall from Haven's room and just like that, Haven was alone. Only a thick wooden door separated her from where she'd be staying in an actual fae castle for the foreseeable future.

Turning to face her door, Haven sucked in a breath. For whatever reason this felt big, like fate or destiny or whatever you would call it had been leading up to this moment in time. This moment and place.

Exhaling, Haven turned the doorknob and entered her room. Or at least, what would be her room until her bloodline was discovered and she was sent to whatever kingdom she originated from. Either way, this felt right.

It wasn't something she could explain, it wasn't something Haven could see or hear or touch. It wasn't a tangible feeling, it was simply a humming in her chest that told her that entering this room was exactly what she was supposed to be doing at that moment.

Stepping inside her room, Haven began to take in the world around her. Immediately to the left, on the wall shared with the door, was a decent sized wooden dresser. Next, she noticed the large canopy bed, it had nets that were currently tied back and beautiful soft pink sheets. A small desk and chair shared the wall to her right along with the door to what Haven assumed was the bathroom. Finally, her gaze landed on the doorway to a balcony. Walking over to it, Haven took in another deep breath, attempting to calm her racing heart.

Opening the door and stepping out onto the balcony, she took in the view of the lake, surrounding forest and small courtyard outside the castle before you reached the bank of the lake. She would have preferred a view of the gardens simply because they reminded her of her mom but the lake view was powerful in its own right.

Haven walked to the railing, past a small tea table and chair set to her right and looked around some more. Luckily she wasn't afraid of heights or being out here would be hell.

Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, Haven sat in the small chair accompanying the tea table. So far, she had somehow traveled from her world, been told that not only was she secretly fae royalty, but that she also had magical powers. Next she had been brought to a castle more beautiful than anything she'd ever seen and now here she was, in a room not much bigger than her room in the human world, waiting for someone to show up and tell her about these tests she was expected to take that would tell her what royal bloodline she came from and what powers she held.

The craziest part wasn't the fact that she was sitting here at all, it was the fact that none of this felt wrong or strange. She didn't feel like an outsider to this world. Except for a little bit of skepticism and doubt at the start of this whole thing, Haven had yet to doubt that what was going on was real or the fact that she belonged here.

***

Haven hadn't been sitting on the balcony for very long before there was a knock at the door. Standing and walking over to the door, she noticed a folded letter on the ground that had not been there when she first entered the room. Snatching it up quickly, Haven put it away in the drawer of the desk sitting against the wall. She would have to wait until whoever was at the door went away before reading it, just in case its contents was something she didn't want shared.

Opening the door, Haven was met with a stunning woman wearing a bright smile.

"Hello, I'm here to give you some necessities and talk with you a bit"

Haven nodded and opened the door wider so the girl could enter. She took a moment to look her over. She was beautiful, appearing to be about Havens age, possibly slightly older, slightly taller than Haven with pale skin and even paler white hair. Her eyes were an icy blue and she spoke with an accent Haven couldn't place. She was wearing a plain gray gown with corset straps going up the back.

"My name is Astrea but you can call me Rea, all my friends do"

The woman, Astrea, seemed very friendly and Haven liked her instantly.

"Hi, my name is Haven" She reached out and offered her hand. Rea took it instantly.

"I know who you are, the whole kingdom is already alight with the news of your arrival"

"Really?" Haven asked, "We only just got here, the whole kingdom really doesn't have anything better to be talking about?"

Rea smirked, "To be honest, no. There's been some restlessness in the kingdom recently and people are hoping your arrival might change some things"

Confusion twisted Havens face, "I'm sorry, I'm a little confused. When I arrived here the woman I spoke to told me that more than likely I would end up last in line for any throne and with little to no power. I guess I'm just confused as to how I could change much of anything"

Rea turned away from Haven before she spoke but Haven still caught a glimpse of something like hope on Rea's face.

"If sources are correct, you will be so much more than that Haven"

Before she could ask what Rea meant by that, the girl plopped a basket Haven hadn't seen her carrying down on the bed and cheerfully said,

"Let's get things started"

Rea pulled out all sorts of things, a notebook, pencils, string, a small closed pouch, what looked to be soap, some salves, herbs, crystals, a few tins that held something Haven could only guess at and finally, a dark purple candle. Waiting for Rea to explain what all these things were for, Haven sat down on the bed next to a small pile of what looked like dried lavender.

"Before I begin, there are a few things you need to understand about the way our world, and we as fae work." Rea paused and looked to Haven. Haven nodded for her to continue,

"So, down to the basics, every fae has power. No one knows why some fae are more powerful than others but it has been guessed that our bloodlines have something to do with it. You see, we get our power from within ourselves. There are other species of that have to draw their power from other magical things, vampires drink blood, werewolves draw power from the moon, and so on," Haven wanted to interrupt at the mention of vampires and werewolves but Rea held up a hand to silence her before she could interrupt .

"Currently, there are no other magical beings besides fae in our realm. It has been outlawed for the protection of the fae for a long time so that is not something you need to concern yourself with. As fae we get our power from within ourselves. We have no need to draw power from other magical things like vampires do with blood because we ourselves are magical." Rea paused to make sure Haven was keeping up with her before continuing,

"Again, no one knows why we are able to draw power from within ourselves but other magical creatures have to find it elsewhere. This is just the way it has always been.

With that being said, there are objects that have magical properties we can use to draw in more power. For example, a spell cast under certain lunar phases is more powerful than one cast using just the magic we have inside ourselves. Each fae's power is different. I myself have low level influence over snow and water elements while my three brothers and sister all have influence over earth elements like rocks and soil. My brothers used to use their magic to chase me around by pelting tiny rocks at me," Astrea snickered,

"Eventually I got old enough to dose them in freezing water which usually made them quit."

"There is no telling what sort of powers you will have, although our powers are usually that of what bloodline we hail from. You could have influence over water, earth, fire, air or a combination of all of those. There are more uncommon talents like the influence of shadows or the ability to manipulate time. Overall, there are so many different powers and talents that until you take your tests, we won't know what sort of talents you have."

Rea continued on to explain that tomorrow Haven would meet with the crown regent to discuss when she would be able to take her tests. Rea also explained that it was not a written test like Haven had been expecting. In fact, Rea had no clue what Havens test would be like.

Apparently, each test was different and the only way to find out what she would be doing was to do it. That made zero sense to Haven but she hadn't pressured Rea for more answers simply because she was fairly certain Rea had none.

So many things were swirling around in Havens brain that when Rea finally left it was all she could do to keep from collapsing against the door as she closed it behind her.

Instead, she went into what she correctly assumed was her bathroom and splashed some water on her face. After easing closed her balcony doors, Haven tossed herself down on her bed, not even bothering to tuck herself under the covers before drifting off to sleep.