Free Forever by Kamery Solomon Page A

with mine—a chill travelled up my spine and my breath caught in my
throat. But her smile revealed nothing and I exhaled in relief.
    As the next song began, a few couples
left the courtyard and entered into their homes through the doors in the brick
walls.
    “Where are they going?” Emilee asked.
    “To perform whatever rituals they
brought their mortals here for. In this case, it's
probably . . . uh . . . romantic encounters.” I
coughed out the last part, embarrassed.
    “But aren’t they under a spell? Wouldn’t
that be like forcing them to do it?” Horror was growing on her face as she
spoke.
    “No! I’m sorry I didn’t explain that
very well. They uh, they’re aware enough to consent to something like that. No
Fae would ever force themselves on someone in that manner.”
    “Oh.” It was all she said, a blush
creeping over both of our cheeks as we giggled nervously.
    “Raith,” a voice said into my mind,
causing me to jump. “Would you kindly bring your guest and come with me to my
home?” I looked around for the source of the voice and caught the Mother's
eyes. She nodded and rose from her chair, leaving the party.
    I started to swear and then thought
better of it.
    “What is it?” Emilee questioned.
    “Mother just asked us to come meet with
her.” Emilee's eyes widened in surprise, but she nodded her approval. Hardly
anyone noticed as we left the dance and walked up the steps to the Mother's
home. Either they weren’t paying attention, or they didn’t want to interrupt
their own all night dance party. Perhaps they knew, like I did, that we were in
some sort of trouble.
    “What do you think she wants?” Emilee
asked, as we traveled through the tall trees. I waved away some twinkling
lights before I answered.
    “I'm not sure. I'm a little nervous
though.” I wasn’t exactly lying. I could guess that the Mother had probably
noticed our interactions with each other. I couldn’t help adoring Emilee, and
no doubt everyone noticed, regardless of my intentions to hide it. I gave her a
quick smile and she held my hand tighter, trying to reassure me. My smile
became weak and I tightened my grasp also.
    When we reached the Mother's home, she
was standing in the doorway, caressing a twinkling orb. I bowed as we came to a
stop in front of her, Emilee following my lead and curtsying.
    “Mother,” I said in greeting.
    “What is your friend's name?” she asked,
ignoring my greeting.
    “Emilee,” I said shakily as my grip
tightened on my love's hand.
    “Emilee, my child,” Mother began,
turning her stare to my companion. “Would I be right in assuming that you are
under no type of influence tonight?”
    My heart felt as though it had stopped
beating as I rushed to answer.
    “I can ex-,” I tried to answer, only to
be interrupted by the Mother.
    “I'm sure she can speak for herself,
Raith.” She stared at Emilee evenly, finally releasing the light she had been
holding.
    “Y-yes,” Emilee stammered out, her hands
beginning to shake fearfully. I gripped her even tighter. This was not good, in
any way.
    “Now then,” Mother said, stepping out to
us, her hands behind her. “Would one of you kindly explain why that is?” She
looked at me, expressionless.
    “How did you know?” I asked quietly,
staring at the ground, avoiding her eyes.
    “Magic leaves a trace, Raith. I could
see it on every mortal but her tonight.” She placed a hand on her forehead,
frustration clouding her features. “You have put us all in danger with your
foolish actions, my son. This cannot go unpunished.”
    “No, it's not like that,” I interjected.
I began to panic. I was pretty sure that this punishment wouldn’t be anything
like my previous punishments. “She won't, I lo-”
    “I want to become Fae!” Emilee's
interruption stopped me dead in my tracks. My head snapped up and I looked at
her incredulously.
    “No, she doesn't,” I said after a moment.
“It was all me, I wan-”
    “Yes, I do.” Her