Born Of Nothing

17

His brow creased, and head tilted to the side. “What do you mean, is it charged?” My palm flew to my forehead with realization. “Becca must not have explained that part. There are so many things we take for granted, it’s hard to remember how much you don’t know.” I looked at him apologetically, worried he might be offended, but he simply gave a nod. I stood and looked around the room. “Did Becca bring a cord with it? Like a thin little rope?” “I believe so.” He opened a drawer and pulled out the charger. “Perfect!” I said as I plugged in the charger. “The phone has to have energy to work. Our power sources are wired into the walls of our buildings. Connect the device to the power source, and let it absorb power until it’s fully charged. Once you use up all the power, you’ll have to charge it again.” “Not unlike magic, then.” He looked thoughtfully at the phone and then toward the window. “Every time I explore the town, the people I see all carry this device. They either talk into it or stare at it endlessly as if bewitched by it.” “Phones can be pretty addictive,” I agreed as I sat back down in my chair. “I watched a man walk into a tree as he stared into the device and a woman transfixed while ignoring the cries of her young child. I understand the need to communicate with others, but I am not interested in losing sight of the world around me.” He sat down, this time in the other dining chair, and scowled at the phone warily. “You don’t have to be like those other people, in fact, I doubt you could be if you tried. How about we let it charge for a bit, and I remind you just the basics on how to text, which is sending messages back and forth to someone. You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to, but I think it’s important for you to know how to use it just in case of an emergency.” His eyes narrowed at me with playful scrutiny. “You are more persistent than I would have thought. I suppose I could agree to a secondary lesson.” I dropped my eyes to the orange as I finally separated the fleshy sections of fruit. “Growing up, it was just my mom and me, and she is super overprotective. If I wanted to do anything, I always had to argue and push.” “And your father?” I bit into a section of orange, closing my eyes as I savored the delicious flavor. “Oh my God, this orange is amazing. You have to taste it.” I walked to where he stood and offered an orange wedge in my outstretched hand. He stared blankly at the offering for a moment. “It smells bitter.” “That’s just the peel. The fruit inside is delicious, and this one is particularly sweet—try it.” I held my hand even closer to him until he relented and picked up the fruit. He lifted it to his nose and sniffed, his eyes narrowing at me in suspicion. “Go on, it’s not some kind of trick. I promise.” Fen bit into the fleshy fruit, and my heart did a little dance in my chest as he licked the errant juice from his lips. He popped the remainder into his mouth, indicating that he had liked the orange, but he chose not to vocalize the sentiment as I returned to my chair. “You didn’t answer my question.” “About my father? He didn’t live with us—I never even knew who he was. It was always just Mom and me. I always considered us alone in the world, but my alone was nothing like yours. I can’t image surviving what you went through.” As I finished, my eyes lifted back to his. Beneath his prominent brow, his dark eyes swirled with what I could only guess were memories of the had life he’d led. “There is much in life we cannot control. We simply do our best to adapt, but for some it is harder than others.” My eyes danced between Fen and my hands as I debated asking the burning question in my mind. “What is it you want to know?” he drolled. My hands stilled, and I smiled over at him. “Was I that transparent?” I teased before sobering. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I was wondering why you were exiled.” “I don’t mind. You must remember, Cat, that it has been a very long time,” he replied in a tone laden with a lifetime of struggle. “I was exiled because I took a human wife.” “What?” I gasped, sitting tall in my chair. “The one caveat given when the Fae were allowed to roam Earth was that there were to be no human-Fae relationships.” “So, having a human wife was, what? … illegal?” I asked with incredulity. “Yes, the queen was adamant that there would be no intermingling of the races aside from feedings.” “So, s*x was allowed, but no meaningful relationships? It’s not like the two races could bear children, so there would be no reason for such a law. That’s just the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard,” I scoffed indignantly. I fumed silently for a moment before hesitantly returning my eyes to his. “And now—is that still the law?” His eyes met mine briefly in a glance that made my belly flutter with uncertainty. “The Fae are no longer allowed here, so the point is rather moot; however, I suppose the edict still stands. I cannot imagine the queen’s staunch desire to protect the purity of our culture would have waned.” “I thought she called the Fae back to Faery because of the crusades and other human campaigns to conquer.” “That was the primary reason—no one wanted war with all of mankind, and that likely would have happened had there been a widespread discovery of our existence. She also observed that humans grew more advanced each year at a frightening rate, and she feared the eventual mingling of our races. If the two peoples lived one among the other, eventually their differences would blur and melt together. I believe she sees the Fae race as superior—to her it was vital that the Fae retain their own identity.” My next words were barely above a whisper. “What happened to your wife?” His gaze stayed locked on the floor near the bed as he spoke in a monotone voice. “She was killed as part of my punishment. Our relationship was banned, but her spirit possessed me so completely that I set aside the risk of consequences. Of course, I also believed no one would ever know. One chance encounter with a man loyal to the queen, and our fates were sealed. Her human lifespan would have been much shorter than mine, but I never expected our time together would be so brief.” It was no wonder Rebecca had wanted to help this man. His life had been destroyed because of his undying love for a woman—I could not think of anything more unjust. I imagined Fen carted off into exile after the love of his life had been murdered. My heart cracked wide open for him.