Through the Fire (Daughter of Fire, #1)(40)
The night after the ceremony, Aiden took me to attend a fae feast. It was during this first feast that I was introduced to Fiona, his aunt. As soon as she entered the room, she commanded respect. Her beauty seemed to radiate from deep within her opaque skin and her blonde hair curled tightly near her face, like perfect honey-gold springs. Her wings, stretching out almost a foot wider than her shoulders, were the deepest shade of purple I’d ever seen and yet still seemed to be almost translucent. As she glided through the room, everyone rushed to greet her. Somehow, she managed to make her way over to me rather quickly, despite the throng of her many adorers.
“I had heard we had been graced with a new guest,” she said, enclosing my hands with hers. “I do apologize that I have been unable to introduce myself earlier. I trust that my nephew has been looking after you well enough?” She indicated Aiden who was standing at my side.
After looking at him briefly, I smiled in response. “He has. He’s a very gracious host.”
“I’m very glad to hear that. Please stay as long as you like, this will be your home for as long as you desire it to be. We’ve had a few non-fae guests before, but never one quite as unique as you.” The twinkle of mischief in her eye told me she was aware exactly what I was, but that she’d also been aware of Aiden’s guessing game. “What guesses have you had so far?”
My mind offered up all of his guesses to this point, a new one almost every morning since arriving, and I ticked them off on my fingers as I repeated each one. “Banshee, gorgon, selkie, rusalka, nymph, witch, mermaid, melusinae, valkyrie, harpy, and dragon.”
“Aiden!” Fiona admonished. “I thought you had studied your species better than that, she’s clearly nothing from the water. Although, at least your most recent guess is a little closer to the mark.” She placed her hand gently on my arm as someone called her away. “Enjoy your stay,” she said with a smile.
I grinned. “Thank you.”
After Fiona had moved on from us, I asked Aiden a question that Fiona’s statement had brought to my mind, something I’d wondered over the years. “Are all mythological creatures real?”
“All? Definitely not. Some are merely the product of overactive human imaginations, like angels—that’s actually just us, fae. Others are the result of deliberate misinformation fed to humans; like vampires—there are creatures similar to what humans believe vampires to be certainly, but no species is truly immortal. Some used to exist but are now extinct, like phoenixes—besides the occasional rumor, we haven’t seen signs of one of those for at least a thousand years.”
I stifled a giggle a fraction too late.
“You have got to be kidding me?” Aiden’s mouth split into an amazed grin as his eyes widened to saucers. “Really? Of course, but it’s so incredibly obvious now that I know. It’s no surprise that Fiona could see it! I just never in my wildest dreams expected . . . No wonder they were so keen on me finding you after our scouts saw your arrival in New York.”
“I’ve been meaning to say thank you for that. I know I wasn’t exactly friendly when you first met me, but you pushed through that and, well, I’m glad that you persisted. Who knows where I’d be now if you hadn’t?” It had been hard to open up to trusting someone after suffering two rejections so soon after one another, but Aiden had opened his house and his life to me without question.
He waved me off. “Don’t worry, Lynnie, you are most definitely worth every effort.”
I watched the merriment of the weekly feast from the sidelines. Aiden danced with a number of the young fairy maidens, including Willow, the healer who I’d met in the healing wing, but after each dance, he came back to ensure that I was having a good time. Without fail, I was, because the feast was nothing more or less than a celebration of being alive. I’d never experienced anything like it before, but it filled me with a sense of joy that was a bit overwhelming. By the time it had wound down, I was practically giddy. Aiden walked me back to my room, and I couldn’t stop grinning. It was a more natural high than the one I’d had with the alcohol months earlier. It was better because of that.
He walked alongside me, linking his arm with mine as his body thrummed with the same excitement that seemed to course through me.
“It’s still utterly mindboggling that we have got a phoenix in our humble court,” he said with a sudden burst of excitement. “Why on earth didn’t you tell me?”
I shrugged. “It didn’t seem that important. Regardless of what I am, I’m still just me.”
Despite Aiden’s enthusiasm about discovering my secret, I didn’t think that it was something to be celebrated. After all, that secret had cost me so much: Dad’s death, Clay leaving, Brian’s rejection. It was all evidence that my real self was not cause for celebration. Who could know what life I might have had if I’d been just a regular human girl?
“Are you all right, Lynnie?” Aiden asked.
I focused my attention back on him. “Uh, yeah.”
“It felt like I lost you for a moment there.”
“Sorry, I just . . . I come with a past that isn’t altogether pleasant.”
He shrugged. “Then forget it.”
“I don’t want to forget it,” I said, somewhat resentful that he could even suggest such a thing. “There are things that happened to me, people I cared about, who I don’t want to forget.”