Page 32 of Beyond the Faerie Gate

Fae children use glamour to play dress up games. Rose should have no trouble at all… I hope.

Slowly but surely, the purple in her eyes muddies into a pale brown. She holds it for a few seconds before it disappears. Her mouth falls open into a soft ‘o’ of surprise, and I grin.

“See, no problem.”

“I just used magic,” she whispers, ignoring me. “I… Did I really just do that?”

Goddess, her giddy excitement is cute to watch. It’s definitely a welcome change from the fear of last night.

“Do it again and find out,” I challenge.

She leans into the mirror this time, and I watch as her eyes switch through brown to blue to hazel and back again. Her hair goes back to its original shade, then switches to a deep inky black that makes me frown, but I don’t say anything.

Rose deserves to have fun, and it’s been too long since I saw anyone use glamour for innocent amusement like this.

I don’t think she’s aware of it, but behind her, her wings are fluttering in excitement as she changes her hair to a deep ruby red.

Then she tries to make herself taller.

“This feels weird,” she mumbles, attempting to feel a face that isn’t really there. “I’m not actually taller, but my old glamour…”

“Your old glamour was a powerful gift from the Goddess, and it came with a time limit,” I explain. “That’s why you could never really feel your wings. Normally, changing your proportions with glamour is asking for trouble, because you can’t physically change the bounds of your body, only cover them with an illusion.”

Only Danu could make a glamour so powerful it felt real.

“That makes sense,” she murmurs, letting go of her height and returning to playing with her features, returning her eyes to the same brown they were when she was in the mortal realm.

“Do you think you can hold it?” I ask. “Once you get used to the feeling, it should be easier.”

By my age, it’s as natural as breathing. A feeling not unlike wearing clothes, present, but not something I need to focus on constantly. But as a boy, I struggled with using glamour for long periods of time.

Rose looks away from the mirror, and the colour instantly fades. She must read my expression because the corners of her mouth turn down in disappointment and she whirls back to the mirror.

The next time she turns around, the brown eyes remain in place, but there’s an adorable crinkle between her brows as she focuses that gives away exactly what she’s doing.

I smooth it away without thinking only for her to freeze beneath my fingertips.

Shit. Too much.

“Sorry, my lady.” I dip my head in apology.

“Don’t apologise,” she stammers, cheeks turning scarlet. “You’re teaching me.”

“Well, you’re holding it well,” I mutter. “Are you ready to go?”

She looks around the room, as if checking for possessions she doesn’t have, before she nods.

“Keep your cloak on,” I warn, unhooking it from the peg beside the door. “You might see something which shocks you into losing focus, and it will be a good backup.”

She does as I ask, but she keeps the hood further back than it was before, allowing her to see more of the world as I hurry her down the stairs and out of the inn.

Rose freezes in the doorway, just as I thought she would, and I’m forced to tug her along as she gapes at the trio of green-skinned goblins hustling past. I’ve never considered how odd the realm of Faerie must look to an outsider until now, but having spent twenty-five years in the human realm, I can see how Rose must be surprised.

I tug her hood down slightly more, though she hasn’t lost control of her glamour, and pull her into the market.

We might as well get this over with.

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