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Car doors slam behind me,but my focus is on Rose’s figure, glowing green on her porch. Her face is worried as she glances between me and the wolves, and I give her a small wave.
“Can you see her?” I ask quietly, not bothering to turn around.
“Yes.”
“Yeah, it’s fucking creepy.” I frown at Seth, and he lifts his hands in a placating gesture. “Sorry man, I just mean this whole situation. There’s even a ward around this property. You didn’t tell us that.”
I stare at him, confused, and then look to Evander.
“You didn’t know?” Evander asks.
“No. What do you mean, a ward?”
“That’s what it feels like. Someone has put this property under a spell. We have one around the vineyard.”
“And what, you can sense it?”
Both brothers nod. “Our mom is a witch,” Seth adds with a shrug. “We’ve both learned a little more about magic in the last few years. Technically, Ellie is a witch too.”
“Ellie is fae,” Evander says, his brow creased as he stares at Rose. “I see what you mean about them both.”
“There’s almost a resemblance,” I nod, feeling validated. I wasn’t just seeing things; having just spent time with Ellie earlier, the similarities are uncanny. “It must be a fae thing.”
I walk across the front yard, stopping in front of the porch. “What is going on?” Rose asks, glancing behind me and back again. “Zak?”
“Hey, these guys are here to help. I met them at the wedding; we just came from there.”
“That was today?” She plays with the fabric of her skirt, the way she used to when I first started visiting. I hadn’t realised how much of a nervous habit that was for her. “I thought I must have skipped a night here again, since I couldn’t remember a time when you were not here.”
“Nah, I saw you just yesterday.” I climb the steps carefully, avoiding the busted ones. I’m sure my foot will go through the remaining wood one of these days, but it’s the least of myworries. “These guys are both wolves,” I say quietly, reaching out to her. When I brush my hands down her arms her form holds, and I can feel the texture of her blouse under my fingers. That’s a good sign. Her eyes are filled with worry as she cranes her neck to look up at me, her hands clutching at my suit jacket. “I told you I work with a werewolf, right? They’re like him. They’re brothers, and the older one is married to a woman who looks like you. We think you’re the same species, so they came to meet you.”
She peers around me at them, and I move a half step so I’m not completely blocking her view, though her hands still hold my jacket in a tight grip. “Rose, meet Evander and Seth. And this is Rose.”
“Hello,” she says softly. “I suppose I should invite you in.”
With introductionsand most of the explanations completed, we stand around in the main room while I confess to Rose that I’ve been keeping a secret for the past week.
“Antlers?” she asks, her hands automatically landing on her head. Her hair is still up in a bun like it always is at the start of every evening, making her look morehistoricthan she usually does. “I don’t have antlers!”
“You did, for a moment before you disappeared. It was when you made the mushrooms appear and glow.”
She shakes her head, her lips pursed. “I don’t remember any of that. I remember hearing the birds, and wanting to see the sunrise.”
“I know. You did so well to make it until then. You were working hard. You were usingmagic. I’ve seen Ellie use the same magic today; she —” I click my fingers, “snap, made antlers appear on her head. They’re branches of wood, actually, with little flowers on them.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Rose, baby, we’ve spent the last month thinking you’re dead and a ghost. Your house has stuff preserved from 1915. Nothing makes sense anymore. And your ears are the same. You’re not the only one who is like this; there are others out there. It means one of your ancestors was fae.”
“I know it’s a shock,” Evander interjects, his voice very much fitting the profile of a serious alpha. “My wife felt the same when her antlers first appeared. And I was just as confused and worried as you are, Rose. But I think this is potentially good news. I don’t know what happens to people when they die,” he says, his voice turning sombre, “but I don’t think a dead spirit could use magic that way. I could be wrong,” he shrugs.
“I don’t think you’re wrong,” Seth adds, hands in his pockets. He’s been pacing around the room for the past ten minutes, eyes examining every wall and item of furniture in the soft glow of the portable lamp. “She’s gotta be trapped in the First Realm, right? Mom always says we don’t know shit about what the fae are up to behind their borders.”
“If that’s the case, she hasn’t aged since 1915.”
“Yeah, well, she’s fae, right? Maybe Ellie will be the same, and outlive you by a hundred years.”
“Can we talk about next steps,” I interrupt, before Evander can speak. The deep frown he wears says enough. “Will you talk to your mum? Will she want to help?”
