fanged elves, in your tongue. As you probably know, this is our land. Palisor. It is a place that retains enough magic for our kind. For al kinds of creatures your world would consider mythical.”
“Not all kinds,” Aunt Sophie added.
“Not the dark ones, true.” The fanged elf nodded.
“But others. So many others. And you have a special place here, Briony.”
“Yes,” Aunt Sophie said, squeezing her tighter.
“Welcome to Palisor, Princess Briony.”
Briony could hardly think of what to say. It was true, what Archer had said?
“Of course it is,” Aunt Sophie replied, apparently stil picking up her thoughts.
“But wouldn’t I be… way down the royal pecking order?” Briony asked. “I mean, if you’re my aunt, then what about my mother? What about Jake? What about you?”
Aunt Sophie shrugged. “Hugtandalfer stay looking young and handsome for long enough that their family trees can get a little complex, once humans are involved. My father is not your great grandfather, because he was not a father to my half-sister, your grandmother.”
“But then where do I get my Hug… fanged elf blood from?” Briony asked.
“I may have told your mother a few too many stories about our kind,” Aunt Sophie said. “And of course, with the gate so close by, she had to go and investigate.”
“So my father is…”
The fanged elf man supplied it. “My brother. The king.”
Briony tried to fit it al together. It wasn’t easy. Her mind kept coming back to the thought of everything her mother had kept from her. To the fact that the man she had thought of as her father was not.
“Try not to judge her too harshly,” Aunt Sophie said.
“Your mother didn’t plan for any of it, and your hugtandalfer father didn’t know. The gate closed, and cut them off. Your mother did her best for you, and married a good man...your human father.”
“So Jake…”
“Is his,” Aunt Sophie said. “He’s stil your half-brother, and nothing wil change that.”
Briony moved a little away from her great aunt. “I can’t believe al this. Suddenly, I’m this… elf. I mean, I look just like other people.”
“Prettier, perhaps.” Aunt Sophie moved around so that she was back in Briony’s eye-line. “Even those elves who aren’t ful -blooded inherit a lot of that ethereal quality they have. And your blood is different. Look closely, and you’l find that there’s a silver tinge to it.”
Briony put her hand to her stomach where Pietre had sliced it, coming away with a few dried flecks. At first glance, they seemed normal, but in the light, they gleamed ever so slightly.
“Then there are your fangs,” Aunt Sophie’s father said. “Have yours shown up yet, Princess?”
Briony could only nod.
“At first, they only appear when we are excited,” Aunt Sophie said. “Eventual y, they are present more often. And I know of course that you have started to feel an inexplicable attraction to a certain vampire.”
“Fal on.”
“Though I suppose inexplicable is a little harsh in that boy’s case.” Aunt Sophie smiled grimly. “He’s certainly an improvement on Pietre, and I married him. ”
Wel , it certainly explained a lot. Right then though, Briony suspected that they had bigger concerns.
“Aunt Sophie? What happened to the gate? We need to get back. When I left, Kevin and Jake were in trouble, and I couldn’t even see Fal on. I only came here to fetch you.”
Aunt Sophie looked suddenly uncomfortable. “Ah.”
“Ah?” Briony knew she wasn’t going to like the sound of this.
“What my daughter means,” Aunt Sophie’s father said, “is that it might not be as simple as that. From this side, the gate is… unpredictable. It opens and closes on its own schedule. Hence my being unable to get back to Sophie’s mother.”
“I can’t go back?” Briony looked around the three others. Her eyes settled on Archer. “You brought me here when I can’t go back?”
“I thought you would be happy.” Archer looked genuinely puzzled as to why she might be upset. “It’s your true world, after al .”
“And you have a kingdom waiting for you,” Aunt Sophie’s father said. “My brother wil be delighted to learn of you, Princess.”
“But I have to go back!” Briony insisted. “I never thought I’d say this about Wicked, but I have a life there now. They need me there…”
Archer touched her arm and looked earnestly at her.
“Briony, there is a reason why I came after you in Wicked. It is your time to be here. Your people need you, too. You are the Princess we have been waiting for…our champion.”
Archer looked serious now. “It is