I turned to see and let out a shriek as I glimpsed my ears. They were pointed. Just a little. Just enough, as though I were some sort of elf, some sort of…no I wouldn’t say it. I wouldn’t even think it.

  A sickening feeling started to build in my stomach. What if this was real? What if this whole crazy thing was actually real. I could feel myself shaking slightly.

  No, it couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be.

  Because if it was real then that meant I was really some Fae thing. And logically I knew that had to be nonsense.

  There was no such thing as Fae.

  Just like there was no such thing as magic.

  A knock at the door brought me back into the room and away from the spinning thoughts of my head.

  I turned as it creaked open and the guard stuck his head round. His gaze on Mira more than me, like he was afraid to look at me.

  “They’re ready.” He said.

  Mira smiled at him in response.

  And then slowly, reluctantly on my part, we walked out, down through the winding corridors. Mira chatted away, pointing things of note out and though none of it was really distracting me, I was grateful for it anyway.

  I needed to focus. I needed to remember the way because if the opportunity arose I needed to take it. I needed to escape.

  But my mind refused to pay attention. All it kept doing was going back to the image in the mirror and how I looked. Something had changed. Deep down I knew it and now I was dreading this meeting.

  Dreading whatever was coming next.

  We stopped in front of a carved oak door at the end of a long corridor with a guard either side. The guard to the left tapped lightly on the door before opening it and standing aside but as Mira went to walk in he blocked her way.

  “Not you. Just the Fae girl.” He said.

  “Oh.” Mira said embarrassed, hopping to one side as she flushed red.

  I gave her the most reassuring look I could before walking in. Here we go, I thought as the door shut behind me.

  The room felt half like a library, half like an grand office. Bookcases lined the curved walls and in the middle a great table was covered in what looked to be maps, and pages and pages of scrawled notes. A huge stone hearth was along the one straight wall and in front of it stood three men, all watching me like hawks.

  “Please sit.” Marke said politely motioning to a chair they’d clearly positioned especially for me.

  “I’d rather stand thanks all the same.” I replied folding my arms in front of me, determined not to make this easy for them.

  “As you wish.” He replied. “This is Jelric, the High King’s Chief Magi and you’ve met High Prince Fain already.”

  I kept my eyes firmly on Jelric who was unashamedly examining me from under his slightly wonky glasses. I was determined not to even glance in the prince’s direction, though I could feel his eyes boring into me, watching my every move like I was about to do something he’d need to react to. Need to stop.

  “You are welcome here Fae.” Jelric said with a tilt of his head. “You have had a long journey and one not without danger.”

  I gritted my teeth. Like they weren’t the ones to have put me in that danger in the first place. “What do you want from me?”

  “You belong to the High King.” Marke said.

  I rolled my eyes at the same old answer that gave me nothing.

  “And you are in danger.” Jelric said stepping nearer to me as he cut across Marke’s words.

  “How?” I asked.

  “Many people are aware of your presence here. And not everyone is a friend of the Fae.”

  “I’m not Fae.” I snapped.

  “What did I say.” The Prince said to Jelric who merely raised his hand in acknowledgement.

  “The Agnai would especially love to get hold of you.” Jelric continued.

  “Great thing you brought me all the way here then isn’t it?” I said. My voice so devastatingly cold. “When you could have just left me back at Hollingshurst where I was safe.”

  “What is ‘Hollingshurst’?” Jelric asked confused, stumbling upon the name.

  “It’s her world. Where Ghosh’s men found her.” Marke answered quietly.

  “Ah I see.” Jelric said.

  “If you’d left me there I would be safe. But no, you have to drag me half way across the country, tied up to a horse no less.” I continued, feeling the anger rising more. It felt like none of them were even properly listening. It felt like they had a script of how this meeting would go but I’d be damned if I was just going to play along.

  “I told you the girl would not listen.” Fain said to Jelric.

  “She doesn’t believe she is Fae.” Jelric murmured.

  “You need to make her believe. You have to reason with her.” Marke said wringing his hands as they all turned into each other, ignoring me completely.

  “What does it matter? We do not need this Fae girl.” Fain replied.

  “Yes we do.” Marke urged. “She could be the difference in this war. She could help…”

  “Help?” Fain scoffed. “Look at her.”

  “If we have her on our side...”

  “I have a name.” I yelled.

  They all turned to look at me.

  “I’m not just some Fae girl.” I glared at Fain, meeting his eyes for the first time.

  Adrenaline was pumping through me, my heart was racing. I closed my eyes trying to calm myself because the last thing I needed right now was a panic attack.

  When I opened them Jelric was looking at me as though he was only just seeing me properly. As if he was only just now realising I was a real person.

  “We have been so caught up in what we need we have not even considered yours.” He said simply, motioning for me to sit and this time I accepted before I realised what I was doing. “What is your name?”

  I hesitated for a moment. “It’s Alice.” It felt weird saying it out loud, like I was revealing some great secret. Giving into them somehow. Betraying myself almost.

  “Alliss.” Marke said quietly as though practising how to get his tongue around the syllables.

  “It’s really not that weird a name.” I said to him.

  “Maybe not for you.” He replied before blushing bright red and despite the situation I found myself smirking.

  And then I looked back at Jelric who was still analysing me like I was some weird mystery he needed to figure out. “Look, I know you all think I’m some magical creature, but I’m not. It’s all a big misunderstanding. I’m just a girl. I’m powerless. It’s like Fain said…”

  Marke took a sharp intake of breath.

  “What?” I asked.

  “It’s Prince Fain.” He replied quickly glancing at the High Prince who hadn’t reacted. Who clearly wasn’t as offended as the Magi seemed to be.

  “Fine, Prince Fain.” I replied holding my hands up in surrender. From the corner of my eye I could see the Prince was now smirking slightly, like I’d made a joke and he was trying not to respond. I gritted my teeth again.

  “What if I show you?” Jelric asked.

  “Show me what?” I snapped.

  “Show you your powers?”

  That made me pause. Made me freeze. From the look on his face it was clear he believed whatever he had planned would work in his favour.

  “I don’t know.” I said. “I just…”

  “Trust me.” Jelric said moving to stand right in front of me now.

  “How can I trust you?” I replied. “I don’t even know you.”

  “All you have to do is give me your hands.” He said.

  I let out a low breath, shutting my eyes for a moment to try and think.

  “If it is as you say then you have nothing to be afraid of.” He added.

  “Fine.” I said. Because it wasn’t really like I had a choice and at least this way I might be able to actually go home and forget about all this. “But if I’m right I get to go home.” I added.

  “Agreed.” Fain said as Jelric held out his hands.

  I lifted my own, placing them flat above his and, as our skin got close to touching, a bright flash of purple burst out making me cry out in shock.

  I stepped back, half fell into the chair behind me. Whatever just happened my heart was now beating faster than ever.

  “What trick was that?” I gasped but even as I spoke I could feel it. My whole body was tingling like someone had electrified me but in a good way.

  My hands were trembling in front of me. I held them out seeing the flashes of colour, as if a rainbow was pulsating within my veins.

  “Can you see that?” I murmured looking at Jelric who was smiling.

  “Yes. Marke and I can both see it. That’s your magic.”

  “But I…?” I gulped staring at my hands as they still flashed multicoloured and my words failed me.

  “Now do you believe?” Jelric asked.

  All I could do was nod.

  It was madness, all of it, but it was also true. Horribly true. I was exactly what they’d been saying. I was magic. I was Fae.

  “How did that happen? I mean what caused that to happen?” I asked trying to get her head around it.

  Magic doesn’t exist. Fae don’t exist. Those words kept echoing in my head.

  “A Magi wields magic, so when they come into contact with the Fae whose very essence is magic it causes a reaction. It’s like a testament of wills, and whoever’s magic is greater usually wins.”

  “Right.” I replied still not fully understanding. Not truly comprehending this. Marke shifted bringing my attention momentarily to him. “So you could have done that back on day one and I wouldn’t have had to endure any of this.”

  “No.” Marke said. “I mean, yes I could have, but my magic is not as great as Jelric’s and if I were to have performed that test most likely your Magic would have killed me.”

  “Oh.” I said slumping more for some reason at that. Half of me wanted to bury my head in my hands and just forget any of them were there for a few minutes but I could feel them all staring at me. I felt exhausted.

  “So I am Fae.” I said quietly, almost as a whisper, as if confirming it to myself.

  If I was Fae, if it was real, then it meant everything was real, the Agnai wanting to kill me, even the world I was in, it was all real.

  “Yes. And you belong to the High King.” Marke said.

  I shook my head, annoyed at that same stupid comment. “What does that actually mean? I mean why am I even here? What do you actually want from me?” I asked.

  It felt like I had a hundred questions running around in my head now, though I doubt these arseholes were going to answer them in any meaningful way.

  “It means that you are magic and we need your help. We are at war.” Jelric answered.

  “What war?” I asked.

  Jelric looked across at the Prince nodding as if to give him some sort of permission. The Prince bristled at the gesture.

  “It’s complicated.” Fain said. “We’ve been fighting for nearly five years now and we still don’t know who the enemy is.”

  “I don’t understand. How can you not know who your enemy is? How do you fight them then?” I replied.

  “We fight the spectral attacks as they come and the Magars when we find them but we don’t know who is behind it.” He stated.

  Like that was an answer.

  “Spectrals?”

  “It’s dark magic. Very dark.” Marke said. “They’re in spirit form, they attack and suck the life out of their victims. Eviscerating them from the inside out.”

  “Right.” I breathed. “And Magars?” This was getting absurd now.

  “Don’t underestimate them. They use their magic for evil. They’ve destroyed whole cities, slaughtering women and children.” Marke said.

  “So, what’s the difference between a Magi and a Magar then?”

  Marke hissed at that but Jelric brushed off his response by waving his hand dismissively. “Magars and Magi are intrinsically the same.” Jelric said.

  “We are not.” Marke snapped then looked around in horror that he’d contradicted Jelric. He put his head in his hands to hide his face.

  “We are.” Jelric stated calmly. “We both can wield magic. The only difference is Magars use different receptacles to do it. The type of magic you can perform depends upon the receptacle you have. If you want to perform dark magic you need to have something cursed, something evil.”

  “But Marke said that a receptacle is like a part of a Magi’s soul.” I said not really sure where exactly I was going with that thought.

  “Exactly.” Jelric replied. “So to use such a receptacle, the Magar’s soul becomes tainted and evil.”

  “Right.” I sighed. “So what on earth am I meant to do?”

  “You’re Fae. Your magic is greater than even Jelric’s.” Marke stated.

  “What so you want me to somehow magic you victory? I don’t even know how to use magic. And you said yourself that you don’t even know who your enemy is.” I said turning to look at Fain.

  “That’s not what we want.” The Prince replied.

  “Then what do you want?” I retorted.

  I could feel it, the resentment over his treatment of me growing again. They supposedly needed my help, but instead of asking, instead of doing it the right way, they’ve treated me like a slave.

  “You can help us. Help us to fight the spectrals and fight the Magars and when we find out who our enemy is you can help us destroy them.” Marke said after Fain didn’t reply.

  I looked at Fain. “That’s what you want?”

  “That’s what the High King would want. What the Magi want.” He stated flatly.

  “And you?” I don’t even know why I asked it but something in me wanted to hear his reply. I guess some small part wanted to hear him say that he needed my help too.

  “I think you should be kept as far away from all of this as possible.” He replied as Jelric and Marke both hissed. “You’re a liability. You said yourself you can’t do magic, and who’s to say whose side you’re on.”

  “She can be taught to use her magic, Prince Fain, as well you know.” Jelric said.

  “Perhaps. But no one as yet has confirmed where her loyalties lie.” Fain replied.

  “My loyalties? You drag me half way to god knows where and now you want to question my loyalty?” I snapped.

  “I didn’t choose to bring you here.” He said facing me down. “If I had my way I would have dumped you back at the forest they found you in and left you there.”

  “Well you’re not the only one who wishes you had.”

  “Prince Fain, perhaps you need to put your personal feelings aside.” Jelric said quietly to him but I heard it nonetheless and frowned what the hell that meant.

  Fain shot him a cold stare but said nothing.

  “So what now?” I asked sitting back in my seat and avoiding looking at Fain entirely. The prick couldn’t even admit that he needed me even when everyone else was clearly stating as much.

  “For the moment you will remain here.” Jelric said. “I will help you to control your magic.”

  “Am I still a prisoner?” I asked.

  “No. But you are also not free to leave the city or go anywhere unattended.”

  “So I am a prisoner then.” I retorted.

  “It’s for your own safety. Too many people know you are here already. You’ve already been attacked by the Agnai, you don’t want to risk another.”

  “Maybe you should teach me how to defend myself with magic then.”

  Jelric’s lips curled at that. “Perhaps. For the moment you are under High Prince Fain’s command.”

  My jaw dropped. No way. “But I thought you said you’d be teaching me.”

  “I will. But the High King has ordered it until he returns.”

  “And where is he, this High King of yours?” I asked hearing how insolent I sounded and not really caring anymore. What else could they do that wasn’t worse than how they’d treated me so far?

  “Away.” Prince Fain said and we glared at each other again.

  I gritted my teeth and bit back the retort. As much as it killed me, I needed to be smarter. Much smarter.

  “I will have more guards assigned to you.” Fain said.

  “You’re most kind.” I replied sarcastically.

  I expected to see a reaction in his face. I expected to see a flash of anger, or irritation of something but instead he gave me nothing. No emotion.

  “Marke, please see her back to her room.” He said after a moment.

  Marke jumped to follow his instructions.

  “It’s fine.” I said my eyes flickering to the Magi then back to the Prince. “Mira is outside. I can make my own way back.” I got up, and walked out before they could say anymore.

  Before I could dig myself into more trouble too.

  I watched her go.

  Watched her walk out as if she was still trying to have some semblance of control on the situation.

  I guess a small part of me admired her for that. That she still had to gall to believe it. That she was defiant enough that she didn’t just roll over. And yet, that defiance, that attitude; it was the same as all of them, all the ones before.

  That defiance made her a risk. Made her a threat to every single person in this castle, in this citadel too.

  She looked better now that she was clean. But then the Fae always looked good. That was the thing about them. You had to keep your wits, keep your head, because they led you astray, teased you with their beauty and all the while sinking those invisible tendrils into your mind.

  “She didn’t even bow.” Marke muttered as the door shut behind her.

  “What was that?” Jelric asked.

  “She didn’t even bow. To Prince Fain, she didn’t bow.” Marke said in horror.

  I raised an eyebrow. That’s really all he had to say?

  “They probably don’t do that where she comes from.” Jelric replied.

  I shook my head and went to pour myself a drink. No woman spoke to me like that, had ever spoken to me like that. Not even Elynn would have used such a tone when we were arguing.

  I smirked just a little, knowing neither Magi could see me. They were both so concerned with her magical ability they didn’t seem to see the furious creature underneath it all.