Wings and Shadowthief by May Sage
Fairy Warnings
3rd of April 2158
Gwen had the hardest time concentrating on her classes, knowing what was coming the next day. She glanced at Nash, the huntsman in her and Chloe’s class. He was taking notes, unbothered. Their daily lives must be wild beyond belief. They had to do their homework one moment and do something incredibly dangerous at a drop of a hat. How could they deal with that every day?
This weekend, she wasn’t the one who’d be in danger—not truly. All she had to do was open a portal, wait around for a bit, then close it again.
So why was she so scared right now? More so than before any battle she’d survived. More so than when she’d looked into the mirror and seen a monster.
Perhaps it was the anticipation. In the past, they’d been attacked, and there had been no time to think, no choice but to act.
The bell finally rang. She gathered her things next to Chloe, who grunted with each movement.
“How are you doing?”
“I need this thing to come out of me. It’s growing at a crazy rate. No wonder vampire pregnancies are shorter. Another day of this and I’m tearing it out myself.”
“The child is coming,” Fin Varra replied from his desk, without lifting his head. “I can practically sense its name.”
Chloe snarled. “Oh, you’re not getting my baby’s name.”
True names weren’t like given names, chosen at random by a mortal parent. They were embedded in someone’s flesh and entwined with their soul.
Every creature possessed one, even regular humans. Even witches. Only the fae were aware of their own true name, deep down, without ever looking for it.
Fin Varra had taught them a few months ago that that if a fae held a child on the hour of their birth, it was possible for them to sense their names. Chloe wasn’t about to let that happen to her baby, and forever enslave it to the will of Fin Varra.
“I don’t need it,” Fin replied dismissively. “Call for me in the second hour, however. I’d like to see the little princess.”
“What if it’s a boy?” Gwen asked.
Fin snorted, not bothering to dignify her question with an answer.
“Chloe could have wanted to keep it a surprise, you know,” she chastised him.
Chloe rolled her eyes. “I didn’t, actually. But it’s not like I could have asked a midwife.”
Her care had been overseen by Alexius. Human healthcare wasn’t exactly equipped for vampire pregnancies. Their knowledge of vampires was sadly lacking, and as only seven lines could procreate, they knew even less about vampiric reproduction.
“How do I call for you?” Chloe asked. “Where do you live?”
“Here and there, somewhere and nowhere at all. Your little ravens should find me easily enough.”
For the first time, Gwen considered Fin Varra’s living arrangements. He certainly didn’t live in the dorm or anywhere else in Adairford. Maybe somewhere on Cosnoc?
“Wait, child. Linger a moment.” Chloe turned to the fae, but he just chuckled. “Not everything is about you, fledgling.”
Chloe flashed her teeth before making her escape, leaving Gwen with their favorite—and least favorite—professor.
Varra stared for a while. “Not a dark witch, then.”
Gwen hadn’t shared her conversation with Eirikr with anyone, certainly not her teacher. For one, she wasn’t sure how Fin would react to being wrong, but she wasn’t certain said reaction wouldn’t include murder.
“Apparently not.”
“I’ve met several Brides in the past. None felt as testy as you. You were gifted a great boon, one the rest of the world does not share with you. The Brides I’ve known treasured it. Yet here you are. Pissed at the world.” He laughed. “It’s refreshing.”
It was funny that the fae couldn’t lie, when they clearly were able to say one word and mean something else entirely. “You disapprove.”
“Do you need my approval?” Fin countered.
He wasn’t giving her any answer. “Any reason you wanted to see me?”
“I’ll give you some advice, if you’d like to take it.”
Gwen waited, unwilling to give her word. Accepting the offer meant being bound to take the advice no matter what.
“Clever girl.” Fin circled the desk to stand closer to her. “Some say the Brides are aberrations. Some don’t approve of their existence. But they’re mostly left alone. Do you know why?”
Gwen shrugged. “Eirikr went on a murdering spree to protect them?”
“Well, there’s that. But he’s been locked up for a good long while, and though the knowledge may have been lost to the mortal lines, some of the Brides’ enemies have long memories.” He waved an imperious hand to her. “Yet here you stand. Your kind has not been eradicated. Explain.”
He made his request sound like she could solve the riddle, so she gave it a moment of thought. “I guess they’re impossible to get rid of, if a new one is born each time one dies.”
“Nothing’s impossible. Try again.”
Gwen frowned as she thought it out, remembering everything Eirikr had said in his cave. “Power,” she finally said.
Fin smiled. “Power. The Brides are strong, and their bond makes their mates stronger yet—stronger than they would have otherwise been. But you’re weak, Gwen. You know why?”
She stared at the teacher. He was wrong; she’d never been stronger. She finally understood her magic, could direct it, could control herself. “I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”
“Because you’re not embracing yourself. Or your mate. I’d let you figure it out yourself, if it wasn’t about to get you killed.”
Smug bastard. “You don’t know that.”
Fin Varra laughed pleasantly, his eyes flashing silver. “Of course. How could I possibly have any clue about the future? Enjoy your trip, child.”
Gwen reeled all day, not quite capable of pinpointing why until much later that night.
Fin Varra wasn’t supposed to know she was going anywhere at all.