heritage made her an outcast, deemed a lunatic.
She still hadn’t forgiven her mother for that.
And what about Alona? She grew up thinking she was one of the unfortunate fae born without powers, someone destined to join the serving class.
It wasn’t fair to either of them.
“I know what you need, dear.” Fiona led her up the back staircase. “I found a book I think you will enjoy greatly. It is meant for children, but…” She ran a finger over the spines until she came to a book of stories called Humantales. Just like the humans called them fairytales.
A smile spread Brea’s lips as she flipped open the cover and thumbed through pages about princesses and kings that were obviously influenced by real human history.
Fiona put a hand on her shoulder. “Only a few fae clans have ever had the ability to open portals into the human realm, but over the centuries, many stories have filtered out and spawned fables of a world without magic.”
“Why would anyone want stories about a world that didn’t have magic?” She stopped on a page depicting Henry VIII as a benevolent king. It was a love story. She snorted. What would these people say if they knew the real history?
Fiona smiled softly. “We always want to imagine a world different than our own. Magic is not the great force some claim. It destroys just as much as it saves. Sometimes, I wonder if our world wouldn’t be so broken without it.”
“The human realm is broken too, Fiona. You don’t need magic for that.”
Fiona sighed. “The human world has wars and strife, yes, but magic has erased entire kingdoms from the fae world.”
“What?” She snapped the book shut. “There was a fourth kingdom?”
“It serves only as a prison now.” Sadness tinged her eyes. “Magic can sometimes be like dropping a nuclear bomb into a situation that calls for the delicate carving of a knife.”
“Wait… how do you know about nukes?” Brea wracked her brain for anything that made sense. As far as she knew, the fae didn’t have that technology. They didn’t need it with their magic.
Fiona tapped her nose. “Follow me.”
They walked down the stairs and crossed the store to the front counter. Fiona rounded it and reached into a compartment below, pulling free a book. She set it on the counter, and Brea’s eyes widened.
“Where on earth did you get a US history book?” She ran a hand over the cover that showed a map of the country she’d called home most of her life.
“The palace library.”
“You took one of Lochlan’s books?” A smile slid across her face.
Fiona flipped through the pages. “He lets me borrow them as long as the queen doesn’t find out. She only allows him to bring them back from the human realm if he agrees to keep them close. She does not want human books leaving her walls.”
Brea understood immediately. If the people of Eldur read human books, they might make the connection to her. No one could know Lochlan travelled to the human realm.
“Fiona?”
“Yes?” She glanced up, her glasses perched on the end of her nose.
“You said only some families can create portals. How many are there now?”
“Well, that we know of in the last few decades… two. The Rifkin Clan is the nearest to the prison realm, though, so if travelers wish to pay them for passage, they must traverse those haunted lands. The Eldur courts do not recognize their noble status.”
“And the other?” She already knew the answer.
“The O’Sheas.” She smiled. “There was a time when they ruled Iskalt that the queen and king were great friends of ours. Eldur and Iskalt had an unbreakable bond.”
She swallowed, barely able to breathe. “What happened to them?” She knew Griffin and Loch’s parents died when they were boys. How old had Griff said he was? Two?
Fiona put the book away, a sad set to her shoulders. “They came to visit Queen Faolan. It was a grand visit with balls and banquets. When they left, the future looked so bright. I remember it as if it were yesterday. The rumor was they had a mission for Queen Faolan, but the queen and king of Iskalt never made it home.”
“They died?” she whispered.
Fiona nodded. “Their bodies were found near the border of Fargelsi. Within months, the king’s brother took the throne and sent Lochlan and Griff to be raised in foreign courts. Most people think it was a show of good faith to keep Eldur from attacking to reclaim the throne