Caledonia Fae 03 - Enemy of the Fae by India Drummond Page B

“brother.”
∞
    Rory did his best to follow Flùranach despite her head start and nimble feet. He knew where she usually hid when in trouble or upset, and she headed there now. His mind muddled with confusion. A couple of weeks ago, he would have sworn he thought of her like a little sister. Then everything changed. She even acted different. Whatever she saw in the time vortex transformed more than her appearance.
    He came to the little cave opposite a huge copse of pine and took the precarious climb down. Water flowed on nearby rocks, making them slippery and uninviting, but he had to find her. Her heart had broken, and it was his fault. Confusion plagued her. The once confident, delightful girl had become a frightened, yet powerful, young woman. The way everyone was looking to place the blame made him angry. Nobody tried to help her cope with the terrifying changes. His own adolescence hadn’t been the easiest, but at least he had the normal number of years to deal with it. Flùranach had skipped adolescence altogether.
    He heard her sobs echoing on the stone walls before he’d even entered the cave’s mouth. Glowing mushrooms and lichen lit his way into the rocky waterside cave. “Flùr?” he called. “It’s me.”
    “Go away!” she shouted, her high-pitched voice echoing around them. She sounded eight years old again. For a moment, he could almost pretend none of this had happened and he’d find her safe and restored to her former self.
    “Come on,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere. I gotta make sure my princess is all right.” He crept forward. He still trusted her, but she had grown impetuous and unpredictable. Ever since her change, she’d become as emotional as an angsty teenager.
    She stopped crying. “You’re going to drag me back to my grandfather,” she said. “You want them to make me little again.”
    “I’d get in trouble if they knew I’d followed you here,” Rory said, inching closer to the arch of stone, which led to the cubby-hole where she so often hid. “You heard what they said. They’re afraid of what might happen. But I’m not,” he added. “You’d never hurt any of us.”
    He stuck his head around and found her in a heap, her red hair wet and tangled around her face, her damp dress clinging to her body. She’d outgrown the tiny hiding place, a tight squeeze for the two of them even when she was small. “Not sure I’ll still fit in here.” He chuckled. “Life has changed a lot in a couple weeks, hasn’t it?”
    She nodded, wiping silvery tears from her cheeks. He couldn’t help but notice how lovely she was with her pale skin and red hair. He had red hair too, but his was more orange. At least his skin had changed since he’d come to the Otherworld, fading the freckles that had once covered his face. He’d always hated his ginger hair, but her flaming mass of long, soft locks made her more beautiful. Something in him feared touching her. This sudden desire filled him with guilt. Only two weeks ago, she’d been a little kid, and now fear and confusion tore her apart. What kind of pervert would think about being attracted to her?
    “Everyone hates me,” she said with a sniffle. “I didn’t mean to do this, but are the changes so bad? Am I really so awful?”
    Rory opened his arms and took her into an embrace as she wept again. “Nobody hates you, duckling. You’re not awful.”
    She tilted her head up. “Aren’t you mad at me? I got you in a lot of trouble.”
    “Nah,” he said. “Faeries don’t like surprises, and you gave them a wee shock is all. The problem is the time magic. The astral part is scary enough. You’re young,” he said, “but they’re really old. They liked things as they were. You saw how they treat Eilidh. The azuri fae love her, but some of the earth faeries hate the changes she’s brought.”
    “I hate her,” Flùranach said.
    “Shh,” Rory said, pulling her close. “I know. She’s not trying to be mean. She’s