He chuckles and pushes me away. “We have lots of work to do. We need to figure out a weakness with the Djinn, so we can use it against her to protect you. Fortunately, I think most fae don’t know enough to care about you.”
“Ouch.”
“I meant you being a true fae. The Great Fall resulted from Djinn and other dark fae who’d aligned with the Djinn, creating hunters from mundanes in exchange for a variety of things. Land, wealth, power. I don’t know if they ever got what they were promised or just killed after the Great Fall. If I had to guess, it would be the latter for most. There aren’t a lot of Djinns, and they’re spread far and wide and have lived in the shadows for a long time. It wasn’t until somewhat recently, I learned they were the ones behind the Great Fall. Something Samara shared as a way to punish and torment me more.”
“There aren’t a lot?”
“No, they are one of the few fae that can’t reproduce. They were created thousands of years ago, soon after the true fae. I imagine there are more in the world, but the true fae banished and bound them to everyday items and then buried them, sunk them, destroyed them. Every thousand years or so, mundanes unearth buried artifacts with a Djinn trapped inside. Fortunately, Djinn are a selfish creature who don’t play well with others, so while they live their lives, building their power, they also wage a war amongst themselves, seeking to destroy anyone who could impede their power.”
“So can we find another Djinn and use them to kill Samara?”
He laughs. “I don’t think that would work out the way you want it to. Djinn hate true fae more than other Djinn.”
“Maybe if I can show her I’m not like the true fae who bound them?”
“Doesn’t matter. You still have their blood line in you. Soon you will have their power and their memories. It just takes time.”
“Is there a way I can speed up my powers?”
“No.”
I growl out in frustration. “I feel so alone.”
“You aren’t alone. We’re here.”
“But why? Why are you here? What do you get out of it? Why help me? You don’t even know me?” I push away from him and stare at him. I’d been so blinded with lust that I never stopped to ask myself these questions before. Why did they want to help me? They have to be getting something out of it.
Callum’s eyes fall on my face and a frown crosses his lips.
“Are you using me? Getting me to trust you so you can trade me for your power back?”
“No. Goddess no!”
“Then why?”
He snaps like a twig breaking in the wind. “Aren’t these questions you should have asked before you came to our house? Before you slept with us?” His eyes harden. He’s mad. “I’m going to the library,” he huffs and storms out of the room.
Knox looks between Callum and me.
Well, now, I feel guilty. I just… I feel lost and alone. I don’t see a way out of this mess because I know so little about this world. Sure, I’ve lived in the fae world all of my life and knew they existed, but for the last several years… I’ve distanced myself. They all represented something I’d never be. Would never have. I stayed away and under the radar until I exposed myself in the most public way possible and now I’m scrambling to catch up. To learn about who I am, when others around me already know.
“I didn’t mean… I’m just… lost.”
Knox walks over and gives me a hug. “We all are. Callum more than others. He holds himself responsible for the Great Fall, for not protecting the true fae. He rescued Aleida on the night of the Great Fall, but she’d already been injured. She was the last of the true fae and, to help them live on, he had to get her to the Cliffs of Morgai.”
Flashes of my dream come back to me in pieces.
“I saw it. In my dream.”
“Your shared memories.”
“That was Callum? The dragon?”
“Yes. For the last several hundred years, he’s dealt with the guilt that he didn’t get Aleida buried in time, and then when you walked into the club, it was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.”
“But why?”
“I don’t know if I should be the one telling you all of this.”
