The plane ride was an astonishing thing for the raven mockers. Unlike my guard, these were fairies who had lived in the Human Realm. They knew all about the modes of transportation available to humans and had seen planes flying overhead many times. However, none of them had ever been in an airplane.
Once we were in the air, it became very difficult to keep the mockers in their seats, especially the children. They all wanted to be near the windows, watching the clouds go by and goggling at how high we were. I hadn't occurred to me that fairies who could fly might marvel at being in a plane but there were limits to their wings and we were exceeding them. We were taking them where they'd only dreamed of going.
Several adults cried tears of joy; a sight I was totally unprepared for. Mothers hugged their children, husbands kissed their wives, and children laughed in delight. I was overwhelmed by their happiness and so grateful that I was able to provide a moment of wonder for them during such a frightening time. I told the extinguishers who had accompanied us to stand down and let the mockers roam, let them enjoy their first flight above the clouds.
“I can touch the sun,” a little boy exclaimed to me.
“It feels like it, doesn't it?” I smiled at him.
“I wish I were out there,” he pointed out my window and suddenly, his wings appeared, spreading wide like they were carrying him instead of the plane.
“No you don't, Samuel,” Rayetayah came up behind the boy and tapped his wings down until Sam pouted and put them away. Then Raye turned him about and shooed him off down the aisle. “It's much too cold out there; even with our body heat, your wings would freeze. Now go find your mother.”
“I didn't expect so many children,” I stared after Samuel.
“We're a fruitful lot,” Rayetayah grinned at me. “Probably because we intermarry often with the humans.”
“Humans,” I frowned as something occurred to me. “Are some of them human?”
“Didn't you notice that some of my people had to be flown in by others?” He countered. “Couldn't you sense their humanity?”
“No,” I blinked. “I mean, I saw that some didn't have wings but I hadn't considered what that meant and I was too focused on getting everyone to the airport to sense whether they were fey or not.”
“Will it be a problem?” He took a seat across the aisle from me and Tiernan.
“I don't know,” I glanced at Tiernan and he shrugged. “No,” I said suddenly, with complete certainty. “As long as they know what they're getting into, I think my father will be fine with it. He loved a human woman after all.”
“That's very true,” Rayetayah smiled. “It's been a long time since I've seen your father. I almost wish I were accompanying my people.”
“You knew my father?” I lifted a brow.
“Yes, of course,” he smiled. “I am the first raven mocker. Your father was the one who welcomed me to Twilight when my mother brought me to court.”
“You know, I've never asked any of my fey how they felt when they had to leave their families for Twilight,” I mused. “Would you mind telling me what it was like? I just want to know what my people go through to join our court.”
“It wasn't a trauma,” he shook his head. “Back then, it was like winning the lottery. I was one of the blessed and I felt honored to become a part of the Twilight Court. Several mothers used to bring children to Twilight at a young age, thinking it best to have them raised by twilight fey, but my mother raised me among the Cherokee and then took me to Twilight when I was sixteen.”
“So it wasn't like you were leaving your family,” I mused.
“Not at all,” Rayetayah shrugged. “It was more like gaining family. Your father was kind to me and when I asked to return to the Human Realm, he agreed immediately.”
“King Keir would never hold anyone at court against their will,” Tiernan agreed.
“No,” Rayetayah smiled. “Besides, other mockers had been born by then and it was determined that we were a new breed of twilight fey. So King Keir thought it was a good decision for me to return to the Human Realm, where a lot of the raven mockers were being born.”
“Sweet Danu, I didn't think to ask,” I huffed, a little angry at myself. “Do you have a family? If you do, you don't have to stay with-”
“No, not as you mean,” he leaned forward and laid a hand on my arm. “I am unmarried. I have a human lover but she doesn't know about all of this yet. I've been waiting for the right time,” he sighed and sat back in his seat.
“What did you tell her about this situation?” Tiernan asked.
“I told her I had to take care of some tribal matters,” Rayetayah shrugged. “She's not Cherokee so it wasn't too hard to come up with a plausible explanation for my absence.”
“Good,” I nodded. “But I'm sorry you had to lie to her.”
“I've been lying to her for a very long time,” he shook his head ruefully. “Hopefully I'll be able to come clean soon but sometimes with humans, it's easier to just hide what you are and wait for time to take them.”
“Don't they get suspicious when you don't age?” I asked.
