See Me

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

WE PUSHED THROUGH THE thickened atmosphere between realms into the warmth of Chaun land. The light blue sky and sunshine seemed pale in comparison to Faerie’s atmosphere. The green plants appeared duller and the scents too faint. I experienced a fleeting moment of longing for the beauty we’d left behind. Next to me, McKale shook out his arms and cracked his neck. Khalistah moved through the tall grass toward the clearing and the Prince gave McKale and I small shoves from behind.

A heightened sense of anticipation rose up from the crowd as we approached. The musicians didn’t dare to stop playing, even as the dancers stilled, all heads pointed in our direction. Brogan and my parents stood beside the Fae King and his people. Cassidy jumped up from a nearby table and bypassed Khalistah to run toward me. I gave my head a frantic shake, but she didn’t notice. She flung her arms around me just as I heard the Fae Prince whisper behind us, “Glory be. Is this Cassidy Mason?”

Surprised, Cass pulled away from me and looked at him. I tried to catch her eye. I wanted her to run like hell, but she was riveted by this bronzed article of perfection who knew her name, giving her a stare worthy of a Princess.

I tilted my head away from him and hissed at her between my teeth, “Get out of here!”

She spared a short, confused glance at me before taking a step back. Her movement was stopped when she met the Prince’s golden eyes again. There was no passion in his glazed expression, only a robotic sort of fascination. He held out a beckoning hand to Cass.

I grasped her elbow.

“Pardon us a moment, er, Prince,” I said.

“Prince?” Cassidy murmured as I pulled her a few feet away.

“He’s been brainwashed by the FFG to take you back to Faerie!” I whispered.

I’d never been more relieved than I was in that moment when Cass’s curiosity turned to mortal fear. Her tanned face paled and her forehead gleaned with sweat as she stared at me in disbelief. I’d been hoping she would run somewhere and hide, but instead she spun away from us in her summer dress and sprinted to my parents.

I cleared my throat and whispered to the Prince, “She’s really high-maintenance for a human.” I left him standing there, dazed.

Khalistah and McKale were just making their way to the King’s presence where the Princess curtsied low and McKale gave a respectful bow of his head. I lifted the hem of my gown and rushed forward to be at McKale’s side.

Mom and Dad formed steely towers around a cowering Cass who’d linked her arm inside Dad’s. The three of them watched me for some sign that everything had gone as planned. I gave a small nod, and my parents’ faces smoothed as they shed their tension.

I was not relieved in the slightest. I clutched the chain around my neck and closed my eyes.

Please work.

“Father, King.” Khalistah’s musical voice rang out.

“I see you decided to join us after all,” he said. His fingers were linked in front of himself, at ease.

The FFG held her head high. “I have not come to join the festivities, Father. The Leprechaun are holding my pixie captive. I have come to retrieve Paulie from his iron prison.”

Nobody in the entire clearing breathed as we waited for the King’s response. He stared at her for a long while before tipping his head toward Brogan with a frown.

The leader of the Chaun bowed low, his beard sweeping the ground. “My apologies, King of the Summer. We intended to release him to ye this day. I assure ye no iron is touching the creature. His cage is lined with a pelt. ‘Twas the oddest thing, it was. Last evenin’ the pixie attacked our dear Robyn and we had to put a stop to it. We meant no harm to the Princess’s pet.”

In a slow movement the King nodded his head then chuckled. Khalistah’s eyes grew wide. Near the forest and all around the field, brown and gray bunnies came out of hiding and hopped around like a fairy tale.

“Ah, dearest daughter. That pixie of yours has ever been a pesky thing. I cannot condone the torture of a Fae creature; however, you must keep a better watch over your pet.”

Her tiny lips pursed. Brogan cleared his throat and waved a hand at Keefe.

“Release the pixie,” Brogan told him then addressed the King. “He has not been harmed or tortured, King of the Summer. I swear it.”

“Fine, fine.” The King waved off Brogan’s assurances as if bored. “I have wished to cage the scoundrel myself more than a few times.”

He chuckled again, and all the Fae except Khalistah joined his merriment. Colorful songbirds swooped through the sky overhead.

Seconds later Pauli flew in a slow, depressing buzz, landing on the FFG’s shoulder and nuzzling her neck. He lifted his face long enough to send me a vicious show of teeth.

“There, there,” she said to it with no warmth in her voice.

With the pixie returned and the King seeming unfazed, Brogan motioned for his people to continue their dancing and get back to celebrating.

Khalistah stared at me so long it was beyond creepy. I could all but hear the crank in her mind deciding what to do next. Her attention finally turned to the Prince, who was pondering Cassidy from afar as if bewildered by his interest in such an ordinary creature. She clung to Dad’s arm, practically hiding behind him. I wanted to scream at her to run as fast and far as she could.

“See something you like, Prince?” Khalistah asked him.

His eyes slid from the Princess, back to Cassidy. The FFG’s lips turned up in a vile expression of happiness.

“I believe I do,” he answered. “The sister…”

The King and other Fae noted the Prince’s interest and I swallowed hard. McKale cleared his throat next to me as the Prince began to make his way slowly to Cassidy. She moved further behind Dad and his jaw set in a frown at the bronzed Fae. Khalistah gave a wickedly happy laugh.

Just as the Prince neared, causing Dad to walk backward, an angry voice hollered from a distance like a war cry. All heads turned toward the trees where the Clour showed themselves, looking fierce. Rock was sprinting toward us, iron dagger in hand, yelling, “Ye can’t have her!”

McKale and I met each other’s eyes with mutual shocked expressions.

Before Rock could make it the last ten feet to us his feet were suddenly halted and his upper body jolted forward. I watched in horror as grass shot up from the ground, long and wide, winding around his legs and up his torso. He struggled in anguish against it.

“No!” Cass yelled.

Dad held her back. Grass twined, squeezing his arms to his side, and then wound around his face to cover his mouth. His head thrashed, curls everywhere.

“Drop the weapon.” The cool voice came from the Summer King, causing an uproar of delighted bird chatter that contrasted the dismay of everyone in the field.

Rock’s eyes blazed at the Prince and he fought for short breaths through his nose. He had enough good sense to drop the dagger at his side. The other Clourichaun retreated a step back toward the tree line, as if frightened that their approach might make things worse for Rock. Their poor faces were filled with fear.

“The Clourichaun?” Summer King murmured. “How many of their kind remain?”

McKale cleared his throat and said, “Twelve, sir.”

“Only twelve…” He seemed to ponder this with something regret for what could have been, but it only lasted a moment before being replaced by disdain. “A pity.”

Martineth piped up next to him. “They deserve every moment of punishment they have received. Worthless pups. This one should die for coming near us with a weapon.”

The King lifted a hand toward Rock and the blade of grass peeled back from his mouth. “What is the meaning of this outburst, Clour boy?”

Rock attempted to suck air into his lungs, panting. “I meant no disrespect to ye, King o’ the Summer. But I cannot sit back an’ watch Cassidy Mason taken from her family.”

The King looked genuinely baffled. Khalistah glided to her father’s side with a sweet smile. “Do not listen to this fool, father. Unlike this Clourichaun, the Prince has been your good and loyal servant. If he seeks a simple gift I am certain you would agree that he has earned it.”

The King’s attention went to the Prince as it all came together. “Is it a human you fancy? I find that rather surprising, given your efforts the past few centuries for my daughter’s affections.”

Several of the Fae sniggered.

“I…” The Prince was still puzzled. His head swiveled toward Cassidy. “Such an urge is quite strange and unfamiliar to me, but I believe I would like to have this human.”

“Ne’er!” shouted Rock. “Take me instead! I will go!”

“Oh, my God.” Cassidy covered her mouth.

The Prince’s face contorted. “I do not want you!”

“Ye can’t take her! Ye—” The blade of grass slapped back over Rock’s mouth before he could finish and the King sighed at the trivial issue.

The FFG clapped her hands, elated. “What fun!”

“She is of magical blood,” the Summer King pointed out. “We do not have a wealth of magical humans to spare.”

“Oh, go on, Father. Do let the Prince have her!”

Martineth ran a slender finger up the King’s neck. “He has been such a good boy. And never asked for a thing.”

No! No, no, no, this could not be happening.

Rock thrashed against his bindings. I stepped closer to McKale until our arms were up against each other. I thought I might pass out from anxiety.

Brogan shifted uncomfortably and looked at the sky, which had darkened a bit as the sun dipped behind the trees.

“Er, Father,” McKale noticed it too. “Should we perhaps begin the pre-binding entertainment for our esteemed guests?”

“Fabulous idea, son!” He looked at the Summer King. “Aye, King o’ the Summer, we have prepared a video for ye to view using a sort of ‘human magic.’ Completely harmless, of course.”

“Entertainment!” said the King. “How lovely. It will give me time to think.”

Khalistah did not look pleased, but she didn’t complain. She shot me a glare that told me it wasn’t over, though.

Brogan beamed. “‘Twill only take a few minutes to prepare. Excuse us, please.” He motioned to his people. “Music!”

Brogan backed away from the group as a new round of music rose up. Cassidy never let go of Dad’s arm, and Mom took her other hand, sending a hostile glance at the Prince. He was too busy staring at Cass to notice. My parents came up behind McKale and me. Mom’s hands were cold and shaking when she removed my necklace. Dad unhooked McKale’s wires and pulled them from the backside of his shirt. The Fae, clueless about the nature of our doings, continued their conversations and watching the festivities. Rock remained in his confined place nearby while the other Clour kept to the trees, their demeanors void of any playfulness.

McKale and I turned our heads toward the technology table, watching Dad connect wires with Mom and Cass at his side. A maelstrom of emotion swirled inside me. I reached for McKale’s hand and we both held tight.

This was it.

Blue light suddenly flickered to life on the giant screen. Leprechauns gasped and clapped at the sight. Fae conversation halted as they turned toward the screen. The music stopped and the clearing was momentarily silent. My stomach tightened into a ball, pinging around inside me like an arcade game.

Please let this work!

“What a grand contraption,” the King murmured. “Quite peculiar.”

Brogan addressed the King. “We’ve recently found ourselves in a fearful bind. Please accept my apologies ahead of time for any offense occurred from this show, King of Summer. That is not our intention. Ye have ever been gracious to our kind, and I can only hope ye’ll understand when ye see it fer yerself.”

Once again, the King looked utterly confused. Brogan turned abruptly and strode away.

I held on to McKale’s hand for dear life. His eyes found mine and we shared a mingling of hope and love that clashed with fear and worry.

A loud, muffled sound burst from the speakers and everyone in the clearing jumped then laughed at themselves. Dad adjusted the volume as darkened images appeared on the screen—the back of the bronzed Prince as we followed him down the dim tunnel.

Yes!

I let go of McKale’s hand to hug his arm. His video and audio worked! He grinned at the screen. All around us Fae and Leprechaun speculated over what they were seeing.

“…appears to be the Prince,” a Fae girl said.

“Why, it’s Faerie!” another exclaimed. “However is this possible?”

“What is this?” asked the FFG, her voice thick with suspicion.

The King raised a hand to shush his entourage, his rapt attention on the screen.

Dad gave me a discreet thumbs-up and I beamed at him. But it wasn’t over yet. Not by far. We’d made our way over a giant hurdle, but more were in our path. Our fate rested on the King and his daughter’s reactions to the video.

The Leprechaun were silent as images of human pets filled the screen. The Fae were fascinated; all except the FFG, who wore a mask of dread as realization began to dawn. If we’d somehow captured all of this, then that meant we’d captured the events to come as well. Her head swiveled to McKale and me, eyes flashing an arctic white. The patch of grass beneath her feet shriveled in a miniature version of the effect her Father had. I clutched McKale’s arm harder.

When it got to the part where we followed Khalistah away from her court, she cried out.

“Make them stop this nonsense at once, Father! This is unseemly. They wish to make a fool of me!”

He gave her a withered expression as if she were a child interrupting his nightly program.

“They have managed to capture things exactly how they are, dearest Princess. Do you find the truth so unseemly?”

“I question their intentions, Father. Make it stop!” she demanded. She moved to stand in front of him with her hands on her hips.

The King sat up straighter and the sun was covered over by a momentary storm cloud. “I will not. Stand down and mind yourself.”

The Princess appeared taken aback, as if not used to being scolded. But the King’s word was final and she shot me one last hate-filled glance.

“It is not utterly—” Khalistah mumbled, but her words, her attempted lies, died on her lips. “They have somehow—”

Her father ignored her.

It didn’t take long until we came to the part of the video where Khalistah lost her temper, revealing her ultimate plan and then altering the Prince’s memory. She lifted her head and squared her petite shoulders, even as those around her sucked in breaths of admonishment and a few Fae laughed at her desire to have McKale. But their reactions did not matter. It was the King I watched. His face had gone hard and his back was rigid. By the end of the video the entire field of grass crackled dry beneath us. The tall grasses of the field tipped back, lying dead as if blown by a lethal wind.

Dad turned off the video and every eye settled on the Summer King.

“Father,” the FFG began. “It is not…” Again her tongue seemed to swell at the attempted lie and she brought a creamy hand to her throat.

The King stood with grace and his light blue robes swirled around him as if tiny tornadoes flanked his body.

He looked directly at McKale and I. “Have you somehow altered reality and replicated Faerie and its occupants?”

“Nay, King o’ the Summer.” McKale stepped forward. “The human device records things exactly as they happen. What ye saw was real and true. I swear it.”

His head slowly swiveled to his daughter in disbelief. She shrank back.

“There is more, Father. This—” she waved her hand at the screen, “—contraption, does not reveal all. What I did was necessary. I can explain.”

“You are born of me, Princess Khalistah, however you are as bound to my laws as all others.”

“But of course, King Father.”

“You would interfere with my plans to continue my race of cobblers?”

“I had a plan which would ensure—”

“Silence!” The ground and trees shuddered at the King’s booming voice.

The FFG pressed her lips together.

“You would use forbidden magic against a brother Fae?”

We all looked at the Prince for the first time and found his disdainful stare pointed at the Princess.

“I admit it was wrong,” Khalistah said to her father. “I was overcome by a rare fit of temper when I discovered the two humans were attempting to trick me and harm my reputation. We had an agreement.”

“An agreement that you would take a human consort?” her father bellowed.

A Fae girl made a gagging sound and the FFG’s cheekbones filled with a rosy blush.

“He has ever wanted to please me,” Khalistah explained. “He would be my pet, just as other Fae have.”

“That is not how it appears. This is a disgraceful moment, daughter of mine.”

She stepped toward him, pleading with her eyes and words. “Please, Father. Erase the memories of these witnesses so they will not know my shame. I had a weakness for the boy. Even you cannot help but feel affection toward the wee folk!”

The Prince let a sound of disgust escape and the Fae took steps back. Their faces were filled with fear at the prospect of having their memories taken, and aversion to the idea of affection toward humans.

“I am displeased, Daughter. You have left me no choice but to do that which I abhor.”

Khalistah shook her head and held out her palms. “Not me, King Father!”

“You, especially.” His voice sent a heated gust through the clearing and we all covered our eyes against it.

Martineth looked rattled for the first time all night. “My love. Do as you must to them. But not I.”

Just as she reached out for him, the King lifted his arms, encompassing each of the Fae before him. They all stiffened as if locked in place. The Summer King’s eyes flipped through colors, and sparks of static light flashed from his outstretched fingertips like a summer storm. Warm winds whipped around us. McKale and I stepped away, terrified. The Fae beseeched their King with their eyes, but their mouths could not move.

The King roared, “Ar oscailt intinn!” and sudden silence fell.

The wind settled and we watched as the Summer King wove his magic over the Fae, carefully saying the exact words to erase the video from their minds. He then paid special attention to Khalistah.

“You will forget you ever longed for the Leprechaun son of Brogan. Instead, you will now find yourself feeling affections for the Prince.”

I wanted to fall to the ground and weep.

The King’s attention shifted toward Rock. He turned his hands and the grasses unwound, retreated back into the earth. He beckoned Rock, who came forward with stiff movements.

I saw Cassidy try to rush to him, but Mom and Dad both grabbed her.

“Do you fancy yourself in love with the young Mason girl?”

Rock turned his head to her, and watching her face with a pained, heartbroken expression, he nodded.

The Summer King clenched his jaw. We were all so still. The relief I felt moments before had slipped away as tension filled my body again.

“I cannot have your kind interfering with those who would actually work. You will forget you ever loved her. You will forget any time you had with her. Your kind are not welcome at this ceremony.”

Rock’s eyes went blank and his body slackened. Mom pulled Cassidy’s face to her chest and she let out a horrible, muffled screech. I felt like I might be sick.

The Summer King ignored all this, done with the drama. He flicked his wrists and the spell ended with a zap. The Fae rocked back on their heels, stunned. Rock turned and ambled back toward the trees, glancing back once to stare at the scene with puzzled wonder. And then he was gone, along with the other Clour. Cass buried her face into the crook of Mom’s neck. It took all of my will-power not to run to her and embrace her.

The King painted a smile across his face for his people. “Ah, well, it seems as though the so-called human magic has failed. Our only entertainment shall be this merry dancing and the binding itself.”

The Fae shared disappointed nods, all seeming as if they’d missed something but were too afraid to ask. Khalistah gazed around at the decorations with bemused interest. For one fearsome moment her eyes landed on McKale and I, but slid past without remark. I exhaled and felt McKale relax next to me.

Brogan bustled forward.

“Would our honored guests care to dance, then?” he asked.

“Go on,” the King said, waving a finger at his people. “Enjoy the hospitality.”

The Prince stepped forward and extended a hand to Khalistah. She curtsied and took his hand. Martineth still stood there, seeming stunned and distrustful, until the King reached for her hand and kissed it, causing her to relax.

“Will you not dance, my love?” he asked. “You know how much I enjoy watching.”

She gave him a seductive smile, and without a word turned to the dance circle.

As the Fae filtered out to dance among the Leprechaun, the King gave his attention to McKale and me. His frown and shifting eyes caused my heart to falter in its rhythm. I felt the warmth of my family as they joined behind us. I reached back and found Cassidy’s hand, pulling her close behind me. I felt her face lean against the back of my shoulder. There was nothing I could do to help or comfort her. Rock’s memories of her love might be gone, but the fact that her memories of him would remain was heartbreaking.

The King eyed our group and I focused on him now. Would he punish us?

His voice was pinched and frightening. “You have brought shame to my daughter and forced my hand.”

“King of Summer,” McKale began. His head was bowed. “We ne’er wished to bring shame to the Princess or yer people. We were powerless against her demands and didn’t know what else to do.”

The King pondered this. “Khalistah is quite keen on getting what she wants. How unfortunate that her desires led her astray. I would not have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes. But know this…” His eyes flipped through a rainbow of colors. “I allow you to keep memory of this day only because you were wronged. Let us hope you will never find yourselves in a position where you feel you must fool our kind again.”

McKale dipped his head. “Thank you, King. I am so very sorry fer all that’s happened. Truly.”

“Humans are often careless of their affections,” the King responded. “Such is the nature of beings whose lifespan are so short… and speaking of that, I have another matter with which to discuss.” We stood still and quiet, waiting for him to continue. “While you were in Faerie my consort and I discussed a proper gift for your binding, considering how fond you seem to be of one another. I understand that you will live considerably longer than your binding partner—am I correct?”

“Er… yes, King, sir.” McKale scratched his cheek.

McKale would live approximately seven hundred years longer than me.

“Instead of a gift, I have an offer.” The Summer King surveyed Brogan, McKale, and all of us Masons. “If you and your people can assure me that you will keep this indiscretion between us from now until forever, I will increase the magical ability of the Masons, thereby allowing them to live as long as the Leprechauns. I do not make this offer lightly. If I find you have spread word of Princess Khalistah’s shame outside of these clan lines the price you pay will be more than lost memories. Do you understand?”

We all nodded. Incurring his wrath was not something we wanted. I was certain the only reason we still had our memory was because his daughter had offended him more than we had.

“And does this offer appeal to you?” he asked.

I looked at my family. Dad and Mom shared grateful glances. Cassidy, still sad, gave me a single nod. I looked at McKale, whose eyes shone with hope.

“Definitely,” I said.

“We would be honored to serve you all of our years,” Dad told the Summer King. “Thank you for showing mercy. Today’s events will never leave our lips. You have our word.”

McKale and Brogan stepped away. The King lifted his arms as he’d done to his Fae minutes before. A moment of fear shot through me as I wondered if this was a trick—if he’d decided to erase our memories after all. But the words never came to open our minds. Instead he sang a stream of magical words that enveloped us. I felt power constricting every cell of my body, blooming from my core outward, strengthening every fiber of my existence. Next to me Cassidy made a sound of surprised bliss.

As the spell ended with another zap, I inhaled, revived.

“There,” the King of Summer said. “Let us be finished with unpleasantries this day. I came to see a binding. Shall we have one?”

McKale came forward and took both my hands in his.

“Aye,” he said. “We shall.”