Wren takes a few steps and waves. “Hi, I’m Wren, the banished Fae. What would you like me to say? Honestly, I haven’t tried lying in the human world, so what you say could be true. But since I’ve never tried, I don’t know. And I’ve only been here about a month, but I’ve been walking between the veils for years.”
“You’rethe Fae that walks between the worlds?”
“Yes, I’m the fae that walks between worlds.” Wren tips his head from side to side. “Well, I did until I was banished, and His Majesty took my ability, snatched it right out of my hand.” He lifts his palm and rubs his thumb over it.
Mother’s mouth drops open. “I didn’t know the Winter King had the ability to take away that kind of power.”
“I assure you, he does.” Wren’s grin is manic. “I haven’t been able to jump between the veils since my banishment. Do you know what it’s like to have something you’ve fought for, taken away from you? I do, and I’m not a fan. It’s like I can’t hear anything because my magic’s stifled.”
Mother’s hand goes to her mouth. “I can’t imagine.”
“It would probably be like if our griffins stopped talking to us,” I say.
My sister shakes as if that’s happened to her. “That’s horrifying.”
“Exactly,” I say. “Wren’s not the problem. The problem is the toxic Fae courts you still prop up.”
“They pay well,” my sister says.
“And what do you get out of the arrangement? You’re required to be by your assigned Fae’s side at all times. You rarely get time for yourself. And worse of all, you get put into breeding matches instead of being allowed to fall in love.” My face flames and I’m happy to have a beard because, hopefully, no one can see the extent of the blush that burns across my face.
“It’s what we were born for.” Mother says the same line she’s said my entire life. Griffins are born to guard. Well, not this griffin.
“We’re not born to just do whatever the Fae says. We’re born to have passion and be ourselves and find what makes us tick.”
“You have too much of my mother in you,” my mother says with a chuckle.
“Maybe she had it right. She knew what to prioritize instead of working all the time. She found herself, she took care of her family, and I wish that’s howourfamily was. Is it so bad to have my grandmother’s compassion in me?”
Mother’s lips twitch, and she doesn’t look at me.
“I left the Fae lands to get away from the toxic Fae courts and everyone in them. Not for you to come and harass me every couple of months.” My heart pounds as I try to stand up for myself.
“You’ve always been soft for griffin.”
Wren shakes beside me. “What do you mean, he’s soft for a griffin? He is such a strong person. He gets up every day and?—”
I grab his hand and squeeze. “Wren don’t. They don’t care. They just want to rub their noses in how much they get paid to protect some Fae that doesn’t give a fuck about them.”
Wren laughs. “It’s pretty ridiculous. Like, why did Lord Beason have to have a griffin after the last solar festival? Because he was an asshole to the wrong person.”
My mother and sister gasped. “You can’t say stuff like that.”
“I just did,” Wren says. “I say stuff like thatall the time, and I always have. No one wants to hear the truth. I’mgladI’m banished. I don’t have to deal with any of the stuffy politics anymore. And my life ismuchbetter here in Hex. Maybe you should try it sometime.”
I snort at the face my mother and sister make. They’re totally scandalized. If it wasn’t rude or disrespectful, I’d laugh in their faces. But I’m still a griffin, and while I’ll take a stance, I also have great respect for my family and all the other griffins. But without them, things would be so different. If no one propped up the shitty systems anymore, things would be different and hopefully better.
I’m still so sad for Wren, because he can’t teleport anymore. I understand where he feels like that was his identity, but I hope somehow I can help him find himself underneath everything.
My mother and sister fume while Wren looks smug. He crosses his arms and pops out a hip. “So, what do you do in your free time if you’re so adamant that your life is so much better? Because running around after Fae can’t actually be fulfilling. Because I know as a courtesan, my life was hell.”
“You can’t say that,” my mother says again. As if Wren didn’t already say it.
“I think you need to learn the rules in Hex if you’re gonna tell me what to do. Newsflash, you can’t tell me what to do. No one can.Iam the person to choose my life. No king, no griffin, not anyone but me. And even if I flounder, I will figure it out. I always do. I’m quite intelligent, despite everyone thinking I’m a brainless Fae courtesan.”
“I never said that,” I say.
Wren gives me a smile. “I know, but youdidthink all I did as a courtesan was sleep around. Which, if anyone is curious. This wasn’t even my choice.”
