Elsewhere by Eleanor Wred

Author:Eleanor Wred [Wred, Eleanor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-16T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

I had kind of come to associate normal human Iris life with the daytime, and fairies with nighttime. Like dreams, you know? Aeric had stopped me just that once on the way home from school. Other than that, night—or rather, early in the morning—was when I was pulled out of my bed and out of my normal life, and into the fairy tale. During the day, sitting in history and listening to the teacher drone, it was almost possible to forget that this wasn’t the extent of my life.

So I’m surprised when someone grabs my hand on my way home from school, and the world around me slows down. I’m even more surprised when I turn and realize that it’s not Aeric that’s stopped me the way I expect.

“Hello again, Iris,” Mira says, smiling at my shocked expression. I instinctively smile back, then wonder if I shouldn’t.

“What do you want?” I ask, trying to make my tone as hard and lofty as Aeric’s is when he sees her. It’s remarkably pitiful. And then I feel really bad. “Hi,” I add sheepishly.

Mira laughs. “I wanted to talk to you about something. Something that I think is important.” Okay. She waits for me to respond, but I don’t have anything to say just yet. “You’ve been working on strengthening your imagination, right?”

Yes, but again, I don’t know what I’m supposed to tell her. Maybe it’s “classified information” or something. She sighs at my silence. “I’m not against you, Iris. I’m against the Fae you’re associating with, but I’m not against you. Not at all.”

Maybe it’s stupid, but I believe her. “Okay . . . what do you want?”

“Honestly? I’m worried about you.” What? “If you’re really going to be a part of this fight, you’re going to need to know what you’re doing. Really, really know. And I’m not sure that you’re getting all the help you need.”

“Aeric is a perfectly good teacher,” I contradict, even though I completely agree with her. Some feeling of loyalty requires that I defend him. But I do need all the help I can get.

“I’m sure he is,” she replies, and I know that she’s patronizing me. She doesn’t bother to hide the sarcasm in her tone. “But he doesn’t have much experience with imagination. I do. I can help.”

What do I do? Would working with her make me as much of a traitor as Alixandar? It sure feels like it. At the same time, I need all the help I can get. And she’s offering.

“How are you going to help, exactly?”

“The same way Aeric has been. Just practicing. Dissolving things, strengthening things.” I’m still hesitant, and Mira can see that. “I’m just trying to help, Iris.”

“I believe you. But . . . ” What to do, what to do. Aeric will be mad.

So why tell him?

I’m surprised by the thought, but there’s no reason he needs to know, I guess. Right? I need more help. Mira is offering it.

“Okay?” It comes out as a question, but the answer is there.

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