Not anymore,the stirring darkness within me spoke. A voice unfamiliar to my own.
“After graduation—” My words were serrated. “I’m moving to the Ferie Realm. I’m goinghome.”
Wiping my swollen face, I stood.
Then I walked out the door.
My wandering mindpulled back from the memory as Breena nodded thoughtfully.
“True. I can’t disagree with you on that. Ya need to come into your own. But—you do need to be careful with Lochlainn. He may be titledroyal nephewto the Lord of Luckland, but he’s Kingpin to everyone else. Keep ya wits about you. And preferably your panties too.”
She threw me a devious wink.
I couldn’t help but laugh, dragging a hand down my face
“For fuck’s sake. It wasonetime—one major lapse in judgment. Let’s just say hisluckycharms got to me and the free drinks.” I sighed. “And maybe I was lonely. But he’s a total womanizer. I have zero interest!” I confidently stated, more to myself than Breena.
“Fair enough!” Breena grinned. “I fully support ya finding someone warm and rugged to comfort you when loneliness strikes. But make sure to be back for coffee in the mornin’ so I know you’re alive, all right?”
I pulled out another pair of earrings and put them on as I nodded.
It was almost officially a full year since having moved to Luckland. From day one, Breena had been the most welcoming,bubbly, and overall sweetest companion. Her and Aine were my roommates, and more than that, my closest friends.
They were both fairies, specifically Aos Si fairies. Eess like geese/shee like banshee, I reminded myself. They didn’t seem to mind having me around. Other than the gold freckles and slightly elongated ears, they’d pass as gorgeous human-ish women.
We all teach at Luckland Institute together. Though technically, I was a part-time student taking classes to help me acclimate to the new realm, obviously having quite the catching up to do.
Breena currently teaches Horticulture which was a big passion of hers—as evident by our flourishing flower gardens out front and various oddball plants she tends to. Between that and her fairy-like Si abilities, she was always busy concocting medicinal potions and spells. I once accidentally poisoned myself with some wild-picked mushrooms—I’m an idiot, I know—but lucky for me, Breena has fancy potions for practically every ailment.
She originally taught the Human Studies course at the Institute but was ecstatic to pass it off to me when I arrived. Breena was the glass-is-half-full kind of person that everyone should have in their life. She never looked at me like I was a disease or something unnatural—only with genuine curiosity in my human upbringing.
Aine, on the other hand, was very standoffish when I first arrived. I thought she downright hated me. But as time went on, she warmed. I realized she was one of those women who hadresting bitch face. Underneath that serious exterior, was a loyal friend with the heart of a lion. We grew on each other like fungi. At the Institute, she teaches Creature Studies. Knowing the myths and mysteries of all clawed beasts in this realm was kind of her thing.
“So what do you have to do tonight? Ya getting paid for it?”Breena asked curiously.
“No idea—and no, not for money. This time, I want his connections.”
I balanced on one foot and pulled my boot on, then the other.
“While back when I was at the pub, I heard someone mention how he’s a collector of rare relics.Figured it may be worth a shot to see his collection—get access to some of the archives.”
Breena nodded thoughtfully.
“Hmm . . . ” She tapped a finger to her chin. “You said that ancient box—thing—had gold marks on it, right? Knowing Luckmen, his library is probably drowning in gilded items. So that’s actually not a bad idea!”
I nodded in agreement.
A pink egg-shaped stone and a pitch-black box with gold carvings—the two objects that had haunted my dreams since I was a kid. Deep in my gut, Iknewthey meant something. Maybe about my mother, or maybe about me. I really had no idea. But my soul seemed to stutter, to gasp, whenever I’d see the relics in my dreams. It felt as if an invisible thread bound me to them.Or maybe I was losing my goddamn mind.God knew I was too stubborn to give up, though.
In the Human Realm, I’d occasionally look through museum catalogs, hoping to find a promising lead, but it was always a dead end. Since arriving to Luckland, I’d picked up where I’d left off on my search, but so far, no luck.
The Ferie Realm had countless libraries and archives across its six lands, albeit many guarded with restricted access, so I’d be busy searching for the next decade or so. At least.Ugh.
I pulled on my forest-green coat, cinching it in at the waist with a tie.
“We’ll see how this goes tonight.” I took one last look in the dresser mirror. “Wish me luck!”
Breena toyed with a strand of her hair, wrapping it around a finger.
