might have something encouraging to say.
“How did your mother explain your hair and eyes to you? You had to know you weren’t like the other people around.”
“She must have done something to alter my perception. We all looked just like everyone else, peach skin and blue eyes. I saw my true skin for the first time after she died. When I saw my eyes a few weeks later in a gas station bathroom, I cried.” I blurted a laugh to cover the hurt. “She must have been so ashamed, homeschooling me so nobody would find out what a freak her daughter was.”
“She was trying to protect you, I’m sure—”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
After a long silence, he said, “Do you know who your father is?”
“I asked my mother once when I was eight. The instant the words left my mouth, I wished I could take them back. I’d swear her eyes changed color, almost to black, and her skin went to ash. She opened her mouth a few times, but I stopped her. I would have done anything to take that agony from her eyes. I never asked again.”
11
“Where are we going?” I couldn’t stand the silence in the car any more.
“Seven Gates,” Liam said.
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles whitened. “It’s the gateway to Dun Bray, the city of the Seelie Sidhe and their Court.”
I leaned forward as if that could help me make more sense out of what I’d heard. “English, Liam. I don’t understand what you just said.”
“I know you’ve been wondering what we are.” He fidgeted in his seat. “We’re fae—Sidhe as we’re originally known.”
“What? Fae, as in faerie? You have to be joking.” I laughed, but it faltered. “I’ve read every fairytale and legend from old Celtic, to Greek, to Norse to see if anything fit what Parthalan is, but nothing ever did. And the fae are supposed to be small and winged. You’re not small and winged.”
“Legends rarely get anything right. Your mother was the queen of the Seelie Court, and now that everyone in the royal family is dead … but you …” He sighed. “You’re the queen of the Seelie Sidhe.”
I ignored the sickness in my stomach. “Are you telling me you’re not human?”
“I’m telling you we’re not human. You and me, and all of the men you met in the last two days. We’re fae.”
“I don’t understand what that means!” The words flew out in a shrieking panic. My mind ached under the weight of the truth. “Are you saying I’m like Parthalan?”
“You will never be like him. He’s the most sadistic—God, you know what he’s like. He’s the King of the Unseelie Court. Before the humans started destroying the planet, we were one people. We serve the spirit of the earth, the Goddess. It’s her heartbeat that filled you before you healed me.
“We were the guardians of her creatures, but we disagreed on what to do about the humans. We split centuries ago after our civil war. Half of our people believed that no life should be destroyed. The other half wanted to wipe out the human race. Your mother led half to Dun Bray, a hidden city created for her by the ancestors after the fae war. The queen of the Unseelie led the rest and took the Black City. Parthalan killed her six months ago.”
We both tensed when headlights came over the hill in front of us and huffed out breaths when they passed us by. In the light, fresh tears glistened on Liam’s cheeks.
“The queen,” I said, “was she your wife?”
He laughed, but it held barely contained sorrow. “My mother.”
“Shit.” I didn’t want to feel sorry for him. I wanted to hate him, to humiliate and hurt him, but the knot in my stomach wouldn’t listen to reason.
I chewed on my finger while I thought. “But your eyes are more like mine, and the rest of those men—fae, whatever—have eyes similar to Parthalan. If your mother was the queen of the Unseelie, then …”
“After the war, my
“How did your mother explain your hair and eyes to you? You had to know you weren’t like the other people around.”
“She must have done something to alter my perception. We all looked just like everyone else, peach skin and blue eyes. I saw my true skin for the first time after she died. When I saw my eyes a few weeks later in a gas station bathroom, I cried.” I blurted a laugh to cover the hurt. “She must have been so ashamed, homeschooling me so nobody would find out what a freak her daughter was.”
“She was trying to protect you, I’m sure—”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
After a long silence, he said, “Do you know who your father is?”
“I asked my mother once when I was eight. The instant the words left my mouth, I wished I could take them back. I’d swear her eyes changed color, almost to black, and her skin went to ash. She opened her mouth a few times, but I stopped her. I would have done anything to take that agony from her eyes. I never asked again.”
11
“Where are we going?” I couldn’t stand the silence in the car any more.
“Seven Gates,” Liam said.
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles whitened. “It’s the gateway to Dun Bray, the city of the Seelie Sidhe and their Court.”
I leaned forward as if that could help me make more sense out of what I’d heard. “English, Liam. I don’t understand what you just said.”
“I know you’ve been wondering what we are.” He fidgeted in his seat. “We’re fae—Sidhe as we’re originally known.”
“What? Fae, as in faerie? You have to be joking.” I laughed, but it faltered. “I’ve read every fairytale and legend from old Celtic, to Greek, to Norse to see if anything fit what Parthalan is, but nothing ever did. And the fae are supposed to be small and winged. You’re not small and winged.”
“Legends rarely get anything right. Your mother was the queen of the Seelie Court, and now that everyone in the royal family is dead … but you …” He sighed. “You’re the queen of the Seelie Sidhe.”
I ignored the sickness in my stomach. “Are you telling me you’re not human?”
“I’m telling you we’re not human. You and me, and all of the men you met in the last two days. We’re fae.”
“I don’t understand what that means!” The words flew out in a shrieking panic. My mind ached under the weight of the truth. “Are you saying I’m like Parthalan?”
“You will never be like him. He’s the most sadistic—God, you know what he’s like. He’s the King of the Unseelie Court. Before the humans started destroying the planet, we were one people. We serve the spirit of the earth, the Goddess. It’s her heartbeat that filled you before you healed me.
“We were the guardians of her creatures, but we disagreed on what to do about the humans. We split centuries ago after our civil war. Half of our people believed that no life should be destroyed. The other half wanted to wipe out the human race. Your mother led half to Dun Bray, a hidden city created for her by the ancestors after the fae war. The queen of the Unseelie led the rest and took the Black City. Parthalan killed her six months ago.”
We both tensed when headlights came over the hill in front of us and huffed out breaths when they passed us by. In the light, fresh tears glistened on Liam’s cheeks.
“The queen,” I said, “was she your wife?”
He laughed, but it held barely contained sorrow. “My mother.”
“Shit.” I didn’t want to feel sorry for him. I wanted to hate him, to humiliate and hurt him, but the knot in my stomach wouldn’t listen to reason.
I chewed on my finger while I thought. “But your eyes are more like mine, and the rest of those men—fae, whatever—have eyes similar to Parthalan. If your mother was the queen of the Unseelie, then …”
“After the war, my
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