My mother glides over, wrapping me in a hug. The circles under her blue eyes suggest that she’s tired, so very tired dealing with her new responsibilities.
“Addie, you don’t know what you’ve done.”
My father glances behind me, athim. “Did you do that on purpose?”
What are they talking about?I look over my shoulder as the man, wizard, whatever, answers. “I didn’t know it would happen.”
My mother stiffens. “Where do we go from here?”
“We all say it was a mistake, the spell gets broken and we move on with our lives,” my aunt announces with a clap that’s so loud it’s thunderous.
Antique plates attached to the walls rattle. The exposed wooden beams above our heads quake, sending dust spilling to the floor.
My father scowls at Ovie. “Using magic doesn’t help the situation. That’s what got us here in the first place. Besides, it’s not that easy, Ovie.”
“It is to me, Phillip,” she says through clenched teeth.
“For now, there’s nothing we can do,” my mother adds, her voice tender but loaded with worry like a baked potato from Cracker Barrel.
I ease from her arms. “What’s going on?”
“The magic,” the wizard grinds out, “has been ignited. On accident,” he adds in a stony voice, while glaring at my family.
Perhaps everyone should settle down. There’s no need to be stressed. This can be solved. “Yes, I felt it. But what is it?”
A shadow falls over his jaw, and ever so slowly he drags his gaze from my family back to me. “It means we’re joined.”
The last word becomes a growl, a warning—to my family? And a shiver skips down my spine.
“Like at the hip?” I joke.
My father’s face drops with sadness. “More than that. Explain it to her,” he commands.
Arrogantlooks at me with such intention that the world shrinks, and it’s as if no one else exists. Which is very weird, considering he’s my least favorite person on the planet.
“It doesn’t always happen, and what I stated wasn’t a formal declaration.” His eyes darken as they rip from me and land on my family. “But it was enough.”
“Enough for what?”
His gaze shifts back. “Enough for us to be formally joined.”
“I heard you say that, but I don’t understand what that means.”
“Addie,” my mother says softly, “do you know who this is?”
I thumb toward him. “This guy? Well…” Though I’m tempted to make a joke about how he’s my new arch nemesis, the worried looks on their faces stop me. “No, I don’t.”
My father shuts his eyes tightly. “Maybe you should tell her.”
Now I’m curious. I tip my face toward the mystery wizard. “Whoareyou?”
He takes a deep breath, and it seems like his shoulders widen, like the room shrinks around him. “My name is Feylin and I’m a king.”
Every ounce of moisture in my mouth vanishes. “King?”
“Addie,” Mama whispers, “he’s the fae from the castle on the hill.”
Oh crap.
