Dark Promise by Talia Jager (free novel 24 txt) 📖

Chapter Seven

I stood in front of my dresser and stared into the mirror; I’d been doing that a lot lately. I got as close as I could to my reflection, so close my nose almost touched the glass. Physical changes? I knew I had noticed some things recently, but would I really look like her? Her ears were pointed, not just a little pointy, completely pointed. And wings? Could that be the reason my back had been hurting? Wings? Oh my God! Would I really have wings sticking out of my back?

“Calm down, Ry,” I told myself. I put both hands to the smooth, cool surface of my dresser and looked away from my own reflection. This woman had to be crazy. Right? Maybe she spiked our food, and now we were hallucinating? I took several deep breaths.

Tomorrow, Rylie will finish her transformation. The woman’s words echoed in my head. What did she mean? What else would happen? There was no way I was going to sleep tonight. Maybe if I stayed awake, none of it would happen.

There was a knock at the door. I didn’t want to answer it. I didn’t want to talk to my parents or that woman. She said we could take a DNA test, but that would take time, and if she was telling the truth, I didn’t have that kind of time. I’d be a…faery…tomorrow! My stomach turned.

Another knock was followed by my mom’s voice. “Rylie, can I come in?”

“Go away!”

“Rylie…please.”

I stomped over to the door and threw it open. “Is that even my name? Or is that your baby’s name?”

Tears welled in Mom’s brown eyes, and I immediately felt guilty. “Your name is Rylie. We didn’t settle on a name until minutes before we left the hospital to come home. And it was only after looking at you for a couple of days that we decided. So don’t you ever wonder about that.”

I looked down and muttered, “Sorry.”

Mom wrapped her arms around me. “You are our daughter. Nothing will change that. Even if what this crazy woman is saying is true, you will always be our little girl.”

She sounded so sincere, but I wondered if that would be true even after I “transformed.” “I don’t want to be Tinkerbell, Mom.”

A musical laugh came from out in the hall, and I realized Dad and Azura were standing there just beyond my line of sight.

“You will not be anything like Tinkerbell,” the lady assured me, her hands clasped in front of her as she came closer. My dad stood behind her with his cop face on.

“Am I going to shrink?” I asked, my voice shrill.

“No. We’re not tiny. You’re thinking of piskies.”

“Piskies? I thought it was pixies?”

Azura nodded. “Depends on what area they come from. The pronunciation can differ.”

“Interesting,” my mother said, much more calmly than I expected.

It was surprising. I could barely believe anything of what was happening, but my mom seemed to be taking it as it came.

I swallowed hard. “What else is going to happen to me?”

“Well, one thing the folklore has correct is that you won’t be able to tell a lie. Ever. You will use glamour so humans cannot see your true form. I can teach you how. It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it.” Azura paused, eyeing me. “Every faery has their own special ability. I’m not sure what yours is, but you’ll soon find out. And because you’re an Aurorian faery, your ability will be much stronger than most.”

“What do you mean ability?” I wrinkled up my nose and stared at the stranger standing in the hallway outside my bedroom. It was too close for comfort to my safe zone.

“My ability is air manipulation.” Her gaze never faltered, but a low whistling sound filled the house, and suddenly the papers on my desk flew into the air like a little mini tornado. It only lasted a few seconds, but it seemed longer.

I watched the papers fall back onto my desk in a messy pile. “Whoa.”

There was a beat of dead silence.

“You…did that?” my dad finally said.

Mom and I turned as one back to Azura. The faery just nodded.

“You said I was in danger. From what?” I left the doorway to fall onto my bed. My knees couldn’t hold me anymore. I just wished everyone would leave me alone, and we could act like this day never happened, because I wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.

“Yes, what exactly is the danger?” my father agreed.

The three of them entered my bedroom—even Azura. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but it wasn’t a comfortable feeling.

My mother joined me on the bed, and my father stood beside us, while Azura stayed by the doorway. Her stance was relaxed but somehow light-footed, as if she could run if need be. “The fey are divided into two groups, if you will. Light faeries and dark faeries. The name comes from their source of magick. We are light faeries and get our magick from the sun. The dark faeries get their magick from the moon. They offered my husband access to their magick in exchange for our daughter.”

“What did they want with Rylie?” my mother asked.

“Her ability. They want her on their side.”

I barely paid attention to Mom’s question or Azura’s answer, because I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. “My father was going to trade me?”

“I’m sorry, I have no excuses. I was foolish and in love. I didn’t realize he was such a—” She stopped herself. Clearing her throat, she said, “He always felt inferior because of his ability.”

“Which was?” I probed.

“Making fragrances. It’s a wonderful ability to be able to decide what something is going to smell like, but he was constantly teased about it. He often talked about getting access to moon magick, which is what the dark faeries have. He thought that maybe he’d get a better ability from the moon. So when the dark faeries offered a trade, he jumped at the chance.”

I let my head fall into my hands for a moment while I processed the information. When I looked back up, I asked, “Where is he now? Does he know I’m alive? Is that why I’m in danger?”

“No, baby, he doesn’t know. He thinks you died. He disappeared that day and I haven’t seen him since. Nobody knows where he is.” For the first time since she walked into our house, I heard true emotion in Azura’s voice. Despair.

I didn’t know what to say.

“I know this is a lot to take in,” Azura said softly.

“Ya think?” I glanced up at my real parents, the people who raised me and loved me. My father had his hand on my mother’s shoulder. I felt a sudden pang of sadness for them. I couldn’t imagine what they were feeling.

“I’m not leaving my parents.” Or Adam. My heart raced at the thought of him. What would he do if he found out I wasn’t human? Would he love me anymore? Oh my God! I couldn’t lose him.

“Honey, you’re not going anywhere. I don’t care who this woman says she is. She’s not taking you from us.” My father moved to put an arm around my shoulders. I felt a little better, because my dad was a man of his word. I always felt safer when he was around.

“You might not have a choice, I’m afraid,” the faery said softly.

“The hell we don’t,” my mother practically yelled. Her calm demeanor had left her, and now she was visibly shaking, her fingers digging into the comforter on my bed as if she’d rather it were Azura’s neck. “Even if what you’re saying is true, she’s been fine with us. There has been no danger. We can keep her safe from whatever it is you say could hurt her. Which, by the way, you have completely avoided giving us a straight answer. So tell us, Mrs.-I-can-tell-no-lies, what does my daughter have to be afraid of?”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t ask me directly. The deal Oleander’s father made—”

“Oleander?” I balked.

Azura blushed. “I’m sorry. It just slipped out. Your faery name is Oleander.”

“What? Oleander? Are you kidding me?” It took everything in me not to burst out laughing.

“We’ll talk more about that later. The dark faery that your father made the deal with is not a nice man. Varwik is a very evil faery of our kingdom. He controls the dark land. Everyone fears him. I cannot allow him to get his hands on you. The danger lies in your transition. Once your transformation is complete, other faeries will be able to spot you. Other faeries will be able to see your faery self even when you use glamour. Once Varwik knows you are alive, he will expect us to give you to them.”

“It’s unlikely this Varwik will ever know she’s alive,” my mother remarked dismissively. “We’re quite safe here in a small town.”

“The mark of the Aurorian faery is well known.” Azura turned her penetrating gaze to me and touched the side of her eye.

My own hand shot to my birthmark. Oh. My. God. It wasn’t just a birthmark. No wonder it acted funny, changing colors and refusing to be concealed. Of all the