“We might have gotten off on the wrong foot.”
“When? The moment you waltzed into my office uninvited, made yourself at home, and set your friend up to ambush me? Or thousands of years ago when your ancestors—”
“First of all,” he drawled, leaning forward so that his face was hovering over my desk, just inches from my own, “my friend was not set up for an ambush. I simply thought that having two Fae males standing around your office when you entered might scare you off. It seemed less… intrusive for it to be only me. Second, I’m not here to hash out literal ancient history. What I have to offer you is far more current.”
I leaned away from him, eyeing him skeptically. Fae were notoriously tricky and this man looked like the swindler to swindle all swindlers. I frowned, tapping my finger against the desk as I examined them both. Their clothes were finely made. All of deepest black with little intricate designs embroidered in thread at the sleeves, the hems, the collars. They looked young but that could be deceiving. No one knew that better than me. All in all, there was little to go off of from their physical appearance. They were presenting themselves well. They possessed the immortal beauty known to inhabit all Fae. But that glow… it wasn’t from their flawless skin.
Fae were supremely powerful beings, vessels for the most potent magic. It was why they were the self-appointed guardians of the Immortal Realm. Because they were the only beings powerful enough to keep all the others in check. Most of the time, when they traveled to the mortal plane, their powers dimmed significantly. Someone like me could hardly detect it. But this man before me, he was glowing with it. It was flowing from him in gently pulsing waves, like a caress against the air. His companion’s aura was not so strong but it was still there, more so than most others. Which only meant one thing. These men were not your average Fae.
“What offer?” I finally asked, unable to stop myself.
He bared his teeth at me in a glittering grin.
“My name is Canis but my friends call me Lark. And you are Seren Belling.”
I tensed. He noticed but he made no mention of it, simply raising a brow as he continued, leaning back in his chair.
“You see, Seren—”
“Ren.”
His eyes flicked to mine.
“Ren,” he corrected slowly, letting his tongue roll over the word as if savoring the syllables. I took a breath. “I’m looking for a way back into the Immortal Plane and I’m told you’re the one to talk to.”
“Back in?” I asked, blinking as I tried to catch up. “What do you mean you’re looking for a way back in? Are you… stuck here?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
He waved his hand in the air as if the matter wasn’t of any importance. But his companion snorted, and Lark’s gaze snapped to him. The man cleared his throat and fell silent at that penetrating glare. Even I shifted uncomfortably in my seat at that hint of simmering, silent rage.
“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “I’ve been… banished here. For a little over half a century.”
“Banished?” I balked. “Half a century?”
“A little over.”
My nails were digging into my palms now. Only the sting of them alerted me that I was clenching my fists as hard as I was. I had paled. I knew it from the way they were looking at me, watching me. They didn’t speak, didn’t move, as if afraid I would scurry away if they did. Maybe I would. What did a Fae have to do to be banished from their plane for half a century? And how much more was a little?
“You’ve been here the whole time?” I asked, stunned.
“Well, not here,” he gestured around at my office, at the university itself, “but yes. My father and I had a… disagreement. It got heated and he’s a powerful man so here I am. But a man can only be content to live on the wrong side of The Divide for so long.”
“You want to go back,” I repeated, still disbelieving. “And you think I can help you?”
“I hope you can. I heard about you from another professor. One in Oregon. A fine woman. I’m sure you’re familiar with who I speak of.”
I was. I had been emailing her on my way into this conversation. We had spoken of astral planes, long ago, all in theoretical terms. At least, I had pretended it was a hypothetical, asking her if she believed, as one of the best astrophysicists of our time, that other planes existed and, if so, if she thought we could travel to them. She said we would be fools to think we knew of everything our universe had to offer.
“She informed me you had become aware of a door of sorts,” he spoke of these matters as if they were casual though we both knew they were anything but.
My heart raced and I fought to maintain my outward composure as I considered how best to answer. I hadn’t thought about the door in years, hadn’t let myself. I had allowed myself to get too close, to look too hard, and I had vowed never to do so again.
“Perhaps I have,” I answered slowly, narrowing my eyes in a new examination. I would have to tread even more lightly here. “And what do I get?”
His gaze turned feral as his eyes dipped from my face, downward. He raised a brow as his attention snapped back to my face. More specifically, my lips.
“What do you want?” he queried, his voice thick, husky.
