“But you know I’m not crazy, don’t you, Rose? The sooner you come to terms with the fact that the supernatural world exists, the sooner you can come to terms with who you are.”
His matter-of-fact tone pissed her off. “That simple, huh?”
“I’m not here to baby you through this. I’m here to help you discover who you are and to control the incredible power that runs through your body.”
“Why?”
Fionn studied the carpet. His tone was almost melancholy when he replied, “You and I are the same. There’s so few of us left.” There was something fierce in those striking eyes that made her breath catch. “Less than a handful. It’s a miracle I found you.”
Hearing the sincerity in his words, and perhaps even a hint of longing, Rose whispered, “What am I?”
“You,” he said, leaning forward, “are one of the fae.”
Rose stared incredulously at him. “The what now?”
His expression darkened with obvious impatience. “This will go easier if you suspend your disbelief. Someone put a powerful spell on you to block your abilities. The vampire attack, knocking you to the ground, it broke the spell.”
The light that flew out of her body …
“But I think you’ve always been strong, Rose, haven’t you? Stronger than normal.”
Yeah, she had always been. Especially for her size. Friends had commented on it. Her coach had too. But it had just been something everyone accepted about Rose Kelly.
She was weirdly strong.
“Spell?” The words from the girl at the club … “You have a block on you. A spell. Someone has blocked your access to your powers.” The young woman and her brother hadn’t been messing with her. “That’s what the girl said last night.”
Fionn tensed, alert. “What girl?”
“I don’t know. She was around my age. She and her brother ambushed me at the club. She said someone had put a spell on me that blocked my powers.”
Even though his tone was bland, Rose felt waves of energy from him. He was agitated. “Did she say anything else?”
“Stuff that made little sense. Oh, and they were Irish. Her name was Niamh and his was Ronan …” Rose frowned trying to remember the full name the girl had given. “Uh …” Then it hit her. “Ronan Farren. Niamh and Ronan Farren.”
Fionn sat back in his chair. “Farren? Are you sure?”
“Do you know them?”
“What you are is a dangerous thing to be,” he said instead of answering. “Whoever put the spell on you did so to protect you. Of that I have no doubt. Could it be your parents? Do they have magic?”
Magic? Her parents.
Rose shook her head, her mind whirling. “My … I’m adopted. My adoptive mother is my aunt. Her sister was my mom.”
“Does your aunt have magic?”
“What?”
“Is your aunt a witch?”
Rose guffawed, standing to her feet. “A witch. They’re real too?”
Fionn sighed and steepled his hands together under his chin as he studied her thoughtfully. “Witches, warlocks, werewolves, and vampires are real. Our world is made up of energy. There are some who can wield it—witches and warlocks can tap into that energy and use it to do things humans consider magical. But the energy here has limitations for humans. Fae belong to a world that crackles with an abundance of energy that runs through not only the ground beneath their feet but is also inside them. They’re not just born to wield that energy … they are that energy.
“Centuries before I was born, a gate was opened between our two worlds, and the fae began to invade. They treated humans as amusements, causing torment and leaving havoc in their wake, stealing humans and bringing them back to Faerie. I was born human in what is now Ireland. The gate was near the coast, miles and miles from my homestead. I led my men against the fae”—his features hardened—“but we couldn’t win. Not even the druids could fight them. So I made a bargain with their leader … the Faerie Queen.”
Rose placed her fingers to her temples and stared at him in horror. He was insane. This was insane. “The Faerie Queene. As in the epic poem by Edmund Spenser?”
Fionn visibly tensed. “Do I detect mockery in your tone?”
Her blood chilled at the warning in his voice. “No. Just suspended belief.”
“Where do you think the legends and myths about faeries come from, Rose?” He curled his lip. “From truths that have been altered by rumor and by time. But the fae are quite real. They’re not mischievous tiny little flying people … they look as human as you or me. But they’re not. They have powers beyond human imagination. And Faerie is a world of creatures dark and light.”
Slumping back onto the couch, Rose decided to play along. “Okay, so you said they opened a gate between our worlds. Are we talking multiple dimensions here?”
“Yes.”
A bulb burst in the light shade next to her.
Rose let out a small cry and jumped in fright just as another burst on the sideboard near Fionn.
“Calm down, Rose.”
The remaining lights flickered frantically.
“Rose.” He held up an appeasing hand.
“What?” She stared at him in disbelief. “You think I’m doing this? No. No way. This is nuts.” Rose flew to her feet. “You’re just a psycho feeding me bullshit fairy tales. Let me leave.”
Just like that, he disappeared.
Poof.
Just gone.
A prickling sensation tickled down her spine.
“Calm down—”
She yelped, whirling around to find Fionn standing directly behind her. “How …” She stumbled away from him.
One minute he’d been there and then he was over there.
No.
“Holy fuck! I’m losing my mind, aren’t I?”
He threw her an impatient look. “You know you’re not.”
“What … what do you want with me?”
Fionn shrugged, looking weary. “There’s more to the story but for now, I’ll tell you that the gate closed over two thousand years ago, and the queen did it to protect the human world from a war with the fae we’d never survive. But there are beings out there who want to reopen the gate, and you’re the key. If they kill you on the exact spot the gate exists, it will reopen.
“I’m trying to protect you. I’m trying to show you who you are. Moreover, I have the means to find out who your mother and father were.”
“I already know who they were. They lived in Cork in Ireland. They died in a car crash when I was one.”
“But someone knew to put a spell on you to protect you, Rose.” He gestured to her head. “Someone in your family knows what you are and have lied about it. I can help you find answers.”
Rose blinked rapidly. The pull she felt toward him was muddling her because she wanted to believe his nonsense. Mostly, however, she just wanted to get the hell out of there. “If you are trying to help me, prove it. Let me walk out of here unharmed.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw seconds before he disappeared again and then reappeared by his jacket.
“Would you stop doing that?”
He shot her a dark look as he rifled through his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a card. Slowly, he crossed the room toward her. “I’m just trying to get you used to it.” He offered her the card. “I can teach you to move like me. I can teach you to control the power that’s been locked inside you. Take it.” He gestured with the business card. “Call me when you’re ready to believe.”
As the door closed behind Rose Kelly, Fionn fought the urge to chase after the girl. His patience strained. Before walking into the hotel room with the food she didn’t touch, Bran had called to say there was movement from the Blackwood Coven. Bran kept tabs on all the coven hunters, and two of their hunter warlocks had just appeared on the American Airlines database for flights to Zagreb.
They had time. But not a lot. If the burst of powerful magic from the spell breaking had alerted the
Blackwoods, other supernaturals would have felt it too.
Yet, Fionn knew if he wanted Rose to trust him, to follow him willingly to Ireland and to her death, she needed to believe that he meant no harm. It was a risk to let her go, but she was so freaked out, he was 99.9 percent certain he’d get a call within twenty-four hours.
Her power was in its infancy. She had no control.
She’d need him before the next sunrise.
6
It was still dark outside so Rose had the hotel call a cab for her. It wasn’t like her to waste money on frivolous things like taxis, but she was giving herself a pass since she’d just been attacked by a vampire.
That was the truth.
As much as what Fionn had told her was insane, the vampire attack was real.
And something was happening to her.