A thunderous pounding roused me from my bed. Whoever was at my door, better pray this was an emergency. What the hell time was it? I checked my glamor in the mirror just to be safe before I opened the door. If it were anyone other than a fellow supernatural, they’d be shocked by my lavender hued skin.
“What?” I flung open the door.
Milo and Xavier stood before me. Xavier had his arms folded over his chest, his face a picture of menace with his tight jaw and surly frown. His dark hair stood in untamed spikes around his head. Milo mirrored his posture. His dark, shaggy hair covered his amber eyes. He was laser focused on me, and I knew something was wrong.
Milo was the first to speak. “Your mother sent us to protect you. Seelie has been attacked.” Milo brushed his hair back from his eyes.
“What?” My mouth hung open in shock. It took me a moment to recover. “Why aren’t you protecting her? She’s the one in danger.” My heart raced. My mother was the strongest woman I knew. She’d been thwarting the king for years. Why now? What changed?
“On her orders, we’re here for you. Come with us, now.” Xavier took a step forward, dropping his arms, his body rigid. Someday, this man will learn some kind of politeness. I was set on it.
It was my turn to cross my arms. “Take me where, exactly?” There was no way I was going to just go with them. I knew they were my mother’s best men, but I wanted to know the plan. These two often had a, react now, figure it out as we go, attitude. I liked to plan things out. I wanted to know what I was getting into if we left. Besides, I’m not sure it would be the best plan to go running out in a cami and boy shorts in the middle of the night. It wasn’t exactly winter in Minnesota, but it was still chilly out.
“We’re to take you away to where we can protect you,” Xavier responded in his deep, commanding voice. I had to admit, him ordering me around made my heart do a somersault, and my core clench.
“Do you even have a plan as to where that safe place might be?” I wandered back into my Midway duplex. I rolled my eyes at the silence. Leave it to these two to jump first and ask questions later. "Wouldn’t it be better to stick around here and not let the king know I’m alive? Besides, where exactly would we go?” I glanced back at Milo. He was biting his lip, and I could almost see the wheels turning.
Xavier shrugged and stepped through the door. I lived in a small duplex near St. Thomas University, where I attended school. He took a seat in the red chair facing the door and rested his ankle on his knee. I guess he’d made his decision.
“You do make valid points.” Milo walked in and took a seat on the couch, angling his body toward the door. I shook my head. I would never understand these two. They had been my guardians for as long as I could remember. They trained with me when we were all children ourselves. My mother said it would make us stronger if we were bonded and learned each other's strengths and weaknesses at a young age. I hadn’t really minded. Now that I was an adult, trying to go to school on top of keeping up with whatever mayhem was going on in Fae, I was less inclined to have them around all the time. Well, maybe that wasn’t entirely true.
“So, if you’re here, who’s guarding my mother?” A shiver ran up my spine at the thought of her being in danger. I pushed away those thoughts. She was a strong woman who’d won against the king many times before. Yet a cold spike of dread attacked my heart. Something felt different. I couldn’t dwell on that. I pushed away my fear. The hollowness of disbelief had taken hold in my chest.
“The entire guard is with your mother in the kingdom,” Milo reassured me. “We’ve been your personal guardians since day one. Anytime anything happens there, your mother sends us here.” Milo’s gaze raked down my bare legs. It’s not like we hadn’t seen each other in less, but his eyes seemed to linger longer than usual. I walked around and sat on the couch next to him, my back to the door.
“What can we do?” I asked.
“Nothing. It is your responsibility to stay safe and away from the king.” Xavier’s gruff voice had me nibbling my lip.
“So, what you’re saying is we all get to stay here and enjoy each other’s marvelous personalities for the rest of the evening. Are you sure we shouldn’t be going to help my mother? We’ve all been trained for battle.” Xavier’s eyes flicked up to me in annoyance.
“You will not be going anywhere.” Xavier’s jaw set and he stared back at me with determination.
“Are you sure? A few minutes ago, you were telling me we needed to go to Seelie.” I blinked at him. I knew I was starting to annoy him. I couldn’t help it. Annoying Xavier was so easy.
“You are not going to Seelie.” His gaze was intent on me.
“Fine, do you at least want to watch some TV? It’s not like I’m going to be able to go back to sleep since you woke me at this ungodly hour.” I picked up the remote and hit the switch. I flipped through the guide and was annoyed with my options. Why was everything after midnight either talk shows, infomercials, or the same old reruns? Couldn’t they at least assume people watched television at night?
“I thought you had a paper to write this week?” Milo asked.
“I do. I just don’t know what the hell I’m writing it on.” I tucked my legs under me and changed over to Netflix.
“What are your options?” Milo asked. He was always willing to help. As a knight, he didn’t have the chance to attend school, but he loved talking to me about what I was studying. Xavier grunted from the chair.
“Oh stop, you know you have nothing better to do. Would you rather I start watching Riverdale or Vampire Diaries? I could show you all the ways you’re just like Damon.” I tapped my finger on my lips. “Or maybe more Klaus. You have the face of a bad boy with no mercy.”
He narrowed his eyes. He hated the shows I watched. Too bad he had no say in the matter. Although, I think he secretly didn’t mind Vampire Diaries. He seemed to at least pay attention when I watched that. It probably had nothing to do with the show and everything to do with the super sexy actresses in the show. I had a sneaking suspicion Xavier was the type who’d like to save the damsel in distress or at least rip out the heart of the man who dared hurt her.
“Okay, focus Lyla. What topics do you have to write about?” Milo asked, drawing my attention back to him. I took in his sweet smile. His wavy black hair was falling wildly around his head. It looked like they had left in a hurry. Milo had always reminded me of a teddy bear. His face was round and his expressions were always genuine. When he smiled widely, you knew he felt that to his very soul. Right now, his striking amber eyes were laser focused on me.
I huffed out a breath. “I have to choose something relating to current issues in microbiology.” The spark of an idea hit me. I laughed inwardly. “Do you think they’d accept a paper on the fae microbiology? I bet no one has ever chosen that topic.”
Xavier rolled his eyes. “When are you going to stop trying to rebel against what you are? Who you are?”
“When can I live freely among the mundane without them having an issue with the fact that my skin is more purple than theirs?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You can’t blame me for wanting something better. I hate having to use my magic to look like them.”
“Lyla,” Milo’s voice was soft, but the hint of sympathy boiled my blood. “You know you are not of this world. Your mother hid you here to protect you. At some point, you will have to take your place on the throne. You know what the prophecy said.” His eyes were kind as they gazed back at me.
“Yeah, yeah, I will be the heir who will unite Seelie and Unseelie kingdoms, blah, blah, blah.” I blew out a frustrated breath. “I know all of this. You have been drilling it into my head since I was little.” I leaned back on the couch and stretched my legs to rest on the coffee table.
The sound of glass breaking outside had both men rushing to the window. They both peered out from either side of the curtains. The duplex I lived in was older, with ridiculously tall windows. It was a pain in the ass to find curtains that actually worked. I ended up using a make-shift flat sheet cut in half to cover the windows that led out to the street. I didn’t need anyone in St. Paul peeking through my windows at all hours. Although I was fae and could probably roast anyone who came through my door, I was still a lady.
I hadn’t moved from my spot. “It was probably just some idiot kids out playing around after dark. Not every crashing sound is dangerous.” I rolled my eyes. It was such a pain in the ass to be the heir of Seelie. I returned to the biggest problem at hand. I knew Milo asking about my paper had nothing to do with wanting to help and everything to do with wanting me to forget my mother was under attack. Being raised, knowing that every day could be her last, versus her actually being under attack, were two very different things.
She had always told me I needed to be prepared for her loss. She’d been prepping me for it since birth. There was something fundamentally wrong about that. “How are you getting updates about my mother?” I asked. Both men turned to look at me, then at each other. “Are you even in contact with anyone in fae?” Again, silence. I leapt off the couch. “What the hell? How will we know if she’s okay? No one else knows where I am, let alone that I even exist. How will we know what’s going on?” I paced back and forth in front of the couch. After hitting the coffee table for the second time, I walked into my kitchen. Milo followed me and grabbed down a glass to fill with water.
“Here, drink this.” He handed me the glass.
I took several swallows before I focused back on him. “What are you guys doing? You can’t tell me you left without any kind of plan.”
Milo’s shoulders slumped with his heavy sigh. “Your mother enacted the order.” He paused, looking me straight in the eyes. “We are to cut all contact with the fae realm until the all clear has been given.”
“What?” I blinked. “What does that even mean?” I knew what it meant. My mother was protecting me at all costs. She wouldn’t enact the order if she didn’t think she was in a dire situation. That meant she actually thought she was going to die this time. My knees felt weak, and I fumbled to set the glass on the counter. I couldn’t lose her. I know she always said I had to be prepared, but saying that, and actually being prepared, are two totally different things.
Milo steadied me. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“No.” I clenched my hands into fists. “We need to go there. We have to protect her. My magic is stronger than hers. I can help.” My words ran together as the realization hit. We’d done this hundreds of times before, but this was the first time she’d ordered no contact. Usually, these two could portal back to Faerie whenever they felt like it. I began to feel like the air was being sucked from my lungs. My mother could be dead.
Milo led me back to the couch, taking my hands in his. “You know you can’t go there. You have to stay hidden. If the king finds out you're alive, he’ll hunt you to the ends of the Earth. We need to keep you safe.” I glanced up at the brooding man who’d taken a stance by the window. His eyes met mine momentarily before he focused again outside. I could see the cold resignation in his stare. It didn’t matter what I said. These two men, my oldest friends, were not going to let me leave this place tonight. I could use my magic and portal myself. But having to fight the two men who’d trained by my side didn’t seem like the best idea. I had to trust that for now, my mother knew what she was doing.