Page 18 of Ruthless Fae
“Sorry,” I said, joining them as I rose. “I was thinking about something.”
“I can tell.” He smiled as if he knew I’d not been paying attention. Then, he led the way out of the room and waited for me in the hallway. As the rest of the group filtered out, he stood by patiently before getting my attention again. “Do you have a few minutes? There’s something I want to discuss with you.”
“Of course.” My wings stirred, an indication of my curiosity and hopes for good news. There was far too much bad news floating around nowadays. Too many people I cared about in jeopardy.
He started walking down the hall, and I followed. I’d only been on the ship for a few days, so the layout remained unfamiliar, especially since all the hallways seemed the same, but I soon recognized the way to the mess hall.
We ate our meals there: a small, low-ceilinged room with no windows that smelled like burnt oil and sharp spices. Though small, it was also the largest area in the ship, a place where people tended to gather during free moments. I was curious why Vaughn would take me there. We’d had breakfast, and lunch was hours away. Also, I’d thought that maybe he wanted to be alone again. But nothing like that could happen in such a public setting.
Vaughn stopped outside the mess hall’s double doors and turned to me, a smile creeping up on his face.
“What is it?” I asked.
His smile grew even bigger. “You’ll see.”
Then, he pushed the doors open and stepped through.
I blinked rapidly, trying to take in what I was seeing.
The mess hall had been transformed into my home.
Where a boring cafeteria once was, a magical faerie land now presided. Tall trees lined the walls, and their branches made up the ceiling. Faerie lights danced in the bows and dripped from the leaves. On the ground, moss, and lichen, along with smooth pebbles, ran in decorative swirls and patterns just as they had near the Home Tree back in Faerie.
At the back, so quiet I barely noticed them, stood my friends. Charlie, Rowan, Disha, Bridget, Ronnie, Becca, Antonio, and Regina watched me, waiting for my reaction.
But Bridget couldn’t be quiet any longer. “Surprise,” she yelled, jumping out from the crowd. “Happy birthday, Tally!”
“Happy birthday, Tally,” the rest of them echoed.
“Birthday?” I turned to Vaughn.
He gazed down on me with that same warm expression. “So, I’ve heard that on Faerie you don’t celebrate the day of your birth like we do here, but that doesn’t mean we should miss important occasions. I didn’t know when your birthday was, but I asked the dean and she did some digging. They think you were born in September which was like, three weeks ago.”
Charlie stepped forward, her hands clasped behind her back. “So we’re a bit late. Sorry.”
“We’ll make up for it,” said Disha, excitedly clapping her hands.
Then the three witches began to cast.
Spells swirled around, shooting colored lights in the air. Music began to play, a jaunty faerie tune we’d used for celebrations back home. At a table along one wall, faerie food appeared: globe grapes dipping in honey, meaty cakes cooked to perfection, a roasted goose that smelled amazing, and sugary treats on sticks like they’d served at court.
Bridget’s spells centered around decorations. Balloons appeared and more faerie lights. The trees swayed and the pebbled path rearranged itself into complex patterns. Soon, she conjured what looked like live animals, until Disha put her hand on Bridget’s shoulder and told her to, “knock it off.”
It was truly magical. To think they’d done all this for me.
“Do you like it?” Vaughn leaned close, speaking in my ear so I could hear over the music and clamor.
“Like it? It’s… I…” Blinking, I stared up into his entrancing green eyes. “Did you do all this for me?”
“We all did it together,” he said, taking my hand. “I wanted to give you something special after all you did for me.”
I let my fingers twine with his, my pale skin against his bronze hues. “You savedmylife. What did I do for you?”
“Tally, I have to confess something. I was ready to give up from the poison coursing through my system, but then I heard your voice...” He dropped his eyes to our joined hands. “Your words pulled me through. I came back because of you. You gave me the strength I needed.”
My heart swelled. “Vaughn.”
He pulled me into an embrace, and it felt so right being there in his arms, as much like coming home as the decorations around me.
