Hidden Wings

Chapter 5: Welcome to Ivearona

When the darkness finally receded, I wasn't on the office couch anymore. I woke with a sharp gasp, my fingers clawing at silk sheets that felt too smooth, too luxurious, too wrong.

I pushed myself upright, but a heavy, unfamiliar warmth tugged at my back, completely throwing off my balance. I stumbled, catching myself on the edge of the oversized mattress. Confused, I twisted to look behind me—and froze.

Wings.

They shimmered like liquid starlight, translucent yet solid, each structure glowing faintly with shifting hues of green and purple. They moved when I moved, reacting to my breath, my fear, my disbelief. A tremor ran through them, sending a ripple of iridescent light across the stone walls of the massive, unfamiliar chamber.

“No,” I whispered, stumbling toward a tall mirror across the room. “No, no, no—”

The girl staring back at me was both me and not me. My skin glowed faintly, as if lit from beneath. My eyes—once a simple brown—now shifted with an unnatural luminescence, swirling like molten gold caught in motion.

"What am I?” I breathed, barely recognizing my own voice.

The heavy door to the chamber swung open.

I spun around, my new wings flaring instinctively. A man stepped inside, and for a moment, my breath caught. His presence filled the room effortlessly—tall, composed, with an otherworldly grace that made the air feel heavier.

I knew that face. I knew that posture. But the plain clothes from Earth were gone, replaced by formal attire that carried a heavy, royal weight.

“You’re not just Isaac,” I whispered, the human name sounding absurd in a place like this. “What is this? What am I?”

A faint, serious smile touched his lips. “Isaac was a mask for the mortal realm, sister.” His voice was deeper, richer, carrying a resonance that vibrated through the floorboards. “My true name is Elaris.”

Sister. The word felt heavier than the wings on my back.

“You passed out from a massive magical burnout back in the office,” Elaris continued, stepping closer. “Your core couldn't handle the sudden release after seventeen years of suppression. While you were unconscious, we had no choice but to bring you through the veil. There is no going back to Earth, Ivey. You are in Ivearona. The Fae realm. Your true home.”

I stared at him, my mind spinning. The reality of the potion, the lies, and this glittering, dangerous new world crashed over me. But before I could vent the fury still simmering in my chest, a cold spike of panic hit me.

“Ashton.” My voice cracked. “He was with me. He fought those monsters for me. Where is he? Is he okay?”

Elaris’s expression hardened instantly. The warmth in his eyes vanished like a candle snuffed out. “Your companion has been detained, Ivey.”

“Detained?” I repeated, disbelief slicing through me. “Why? He saved my life!”

“He followed us across the veil under highly suspicious circumstances,” Elaris said, his tone dropping to a stern, cold whisper.

“He carries the mark of the Winter Vanguard, Ivey. He is an Unseelie spy sent by a rival court to claim you before we could. We cannot risk a traitor walking free.”

“He wouldn’t,” I protested, but the words felt fragile even to my own ears.

A cold dread began to settle in my stomach as I thought back to the past few weeks. The way Ashton had pursued me at school—intensely, relentlessly. His perfect timing. His declarations that always came exactly when I was most vulnerable. Had it all been real? Or had I just been a target?

“Where is he?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“The subterranean cells beneath the eastern tower,” Elaris said without a hint of sympathy. “He will remain imprisoned and interrogated under the unsealed decree. For now, you need to rest and let your body adjust to the magic you’ve been forcing down your entire life.”

He stepped closer, placing a hand on my shoulder. His touch was warm, grounding, but it didn’t calm the storm inside me.

“Everything is changing, Ivey,” he said softly. “And you need to be ready.”

I sank onto the edge of the mattress, my legs trembling. My wings folded behind me, heavy and unfamiliar. I stared at my hands as the residual sparks of golden magic danced across my knuckles. I didn't know this world. I didn't know my own brother's real name. And the boy who swore he cared about me was locked in chains beneath my feet.

A sudden, sharp tremor ran through the floor. The lanterns along the stone walls flickered, their flames bending toward the door as if pulled by an unseen force. Elaris’s gaze snapped toward the hallway, his posture turning rigid.

“They’re coming,” he murmured.

“Who?”

“The High Council.” His expression darkened completely. “They felt your awakening from across the realm. They will want proof that you are the true lineage. And they will want to know why an Unseelie weapon risked everything to follow you.”

Footsteps echoed down the corridor—measured, powerful, approaching. A cold pulse rippled through my wings, instinctive and ancient. I wasn’t ready. But the world I’d been hidden from my entire life was already closing in.