Fae by Jennifer Bene

in front of him. He walked back up the stairs, clearly not ready to join the party quite yet, and she spun on them. Lena’s eyes were furious when she stormed over to the group. All of the girls had collapsed around Irena, talking to her quietly as they tried to soothe her, but she was still crying. Sobeska was trying to salvage her make-up by brushing her thumbs underneath Irena’s eyes to sweep away the tears and the melting eye liner.
    “What is wrong with you girls? All of you!” Lena was hissing her words at them, trying not to disturb Nikola. “You never argue with our Master.”
    “Shut up, Lena.” Fae moved her aside with a glare, her bands still brightly lit. With Nikola’s command they probably wouldn’t fade all evening as they enforced his command, and she felt sure that’s what he wanted. Reaching Irena, Fae leaned down a little to meet the pixie’s eyes. “Listen to me. Juliet is going to be fine, she’s strong. Butler gave her the Oblivion, I saw it myself, and she’ll be fine.” Irena started to nod along with Fae’s words. “But you have to pull it together,” Fae looked around at the group of faces, “we all do, or this night is going to be much worse.” A few of the girls straightened up, and Lena glared bitterly at her. Ebere and Mei-Li had stayed calm and simply nodded. Irena finished wiping her face, and Sobeska moved in front of Fae to evaluate Irena’s make-up again.
    “I need to touch up her eyes.” Sobeska sounded just like Zofie, but tended to be more outspoken, otherwise they were identical. Lena just threw up her hands and nodded, and they ran back towards the stairs.
    By the time the first guest arrived everyone had their friendly masks on, all big smiles and flirty winks and perfect make-up. Fae and Sobeska were welcoming everyone that came in and alternating between hanging their coats in the closet under the stairs. The guests were milling around the huge tiled foyer talking to the girls and each other while the chandelier above sent sparkling light down. The wine and liquor were already flowing and the guests were mainly talking about their jobs in industry, and government, and their side businesses. Some of the girls were good at making the guests feel welcome; Annika with her blonde hair and long legs was sultry even when she wasn’t trying. When she tried? The men melted around her. Others, like Caridee, were smiling and laughing but carefully avoided their touches however she could.
    Once all of the guests had arrived, Sobeska and Fae were just standing near the entrance smiling at the guests. Fae’s bands were still lit up and one of the guests was staring at her, focused intently on the circles of light.
    He finally got the courage to approach her. “What are those?” He asked, pointing at her wrists.
    Fae contemplated being sarcastic, but the bands buzzed against her skin in warning. She made her voice polite instead. “They are the mark of a curse, sir.”
    “A curse, like, a real curse?” His eyes went wide with interest. “So you’re one of Nikola’s special ones?”
    “I believe I am, sir.” Fae gave him a smile, hoping he would move on, but he was too intrigued.
    “So what are you?” He motioned his hand toward Irena. “It’s clear she’s some kind of fairy –” Pixie . “– but you look human.”
    “That’s because I was human once, and now I’m Faeoihn.” She tried her best to respond in a submissive tone as she explained herself. He mouthed the word to himself and took a drink.
    “And that means?” He asked, eyes drifting down the length of her body.
    “That I’m immortal.” That grabbed his attention and his eyes snapped back to her face.
    “So you can’t die?”
    “Not easily, sir.” She responded with a small smile just as Butler clapped his hands together near the entrance to the dining room, and gradually the conversations stopped.
    “If you’ll come to the dining room, Nikola will be joining you in a moment. But