Page 30 of Fire of the Fox

Rune closed his eyes and let out a frustrated groan. Bassel stood up to stand near Rune and Akira. Marlow followed suit. They all moved away from me across the room and hovered together as Marlow leaned in and whispered, “How is she human? There’s clearly an aura around her. I can practically feel the magic radiating from her.”

“I thought she was a Salamander Fae like Marlow or something,” Bassel said while holding Rune’s attention. “I mean, didn’t you say she has a thing for water?”

Akira shook his head. “I thought she was Fox Fae like Rune. She and the fox did connect.”

“I wondered if maybe she was Water Fae,” Marlow offered. “Since she likes the creek so much.”

“No way,” Bassel argued. “She’d never save a Fox Fae or willingly hang with us if she were Water Fae.”

Bewildered and tired, my mind had had enough. I had no idea what was going on, but I did know that I couldn’t be here anymore. Something was definitely weird about these guys, and even though they had seemed friendly before, they were freaking me out now. I decided it was best to get out of there as quickly as possible and back to the real world where things made sense.

I jumped to my feet and ran for the front door. I was only a few feet away when a ring of fire erupted all around me. Panic swelled in my chest as I became blocked in by the fiery cage, and my mind raced to piece together what was going on. The orange flames licked at my skin, and a scream lodged in my throat as I prepared for the inevitable burn. But that searing never came. The flames weren’t hot, which only spurred more of a panic within me.

What the hell was happening?

The fire suddenly went out, and when it was gone, Rune stood in front of me. He was leaning against the front door with a snarled lip and narrowed eyes. That look of contempt wasn’t what had me quaking, though. The flames had moved from around me to dance above his upturned hand.

He held the fire, and he was not happy.

Chapter Fourteen

INSTINCTIVELY, I LEAPT away from Rune, but I collided with something cold and wet. Whipping around, I came face-to-face with something that looked like Marlow, only now his face was painted gold and brown. His eyes were large and glassy, and his skin had a wet layer to it. He looked like a man that was turning into some sort of animal.

Screaming, I darted to the side of the living room, away from him and Rune. The high-backed chair put enough space between us for me to run for one of the bedrooms. My plan was to lock myself in and hopefully get out of a window, but when I reached the entrance to the hall, I crashed right into what looked like Bassel.

Except now he had yellow-striped ears on top of his head and sharp teeth peeking out from his mouth. His hands and the edges of his face were furry and striped like his ears.

My stomach lurched into my throat, and I wheeled around to race back into the living room. Akira came out of nowhere. He caught me with a frown and hugged me close to him. He still looked like himself, but I no longer trusted him, either.

Tugging and shoving at him to get loose did nothing. His alarmingly strong grip held me firmly in place. Bassel, Marlow, and Rune approached us. Bassel and Marlow still looked like half-human, half-animal creatures. My heart thumped against my chest, and I was sure I was five seconds from hyperventilating.

“Bria,” Akira said, his voice calm and gentle.

Daring to look at him, I found him frowning.

“Please calm down. Look, we obviously have some explaining to do. Granted, those two morons,” he said, glaring at Bassel and Marlow, “should have waited to transform until after you’d heard our explanation.”

Bassel shrugged. “I was following Marlow’s lead.”

Marlow mirrored Bassel’s nonchalance. “Rune did his fire thing, so I thought that was code for we could change.”

Akira rolled his eyes and muttered, “Baka.”

There was a slight tremor running through my body, despite my attempts at keeping my fear at bay. “What’s going on?”

Akira sighed and stepped away to give me space. He gestured to Bassel and Marlow before starting, “As you can see, we aren’t exactly human. In fact, we aren’t human at all. We’re something known as Land Fae.”

The four of them were now congregated in front of me, so I took a nervous step back. “What’s Land Fae?”

“We’re basically magical beings with special abilities. We can take on human form, Fae form, or animal form. Bassel and Marlow,” Akira explained, gesturing to the two of them, “are currently in Fae form. They look human with a few traits of their individual animals.”

Bassel stepped forward and flashed his now deadly sharp teeth in a smile. I swallowed hard as he said, “I’m a Liger Fae, originally from Egypt. Don’t ask me to speak Arabic, though. I haven’t lived in Egypt in centuries, so I lost touch with my native tongue.”

Had he just said centuries?

Marlow stared at the floor and hugged himself. He refused to meet my eyes or speak, so Bassel nudged him in the side with his elbow. Marlow’s skin shimmered as he glared at Bassel. He mumbled, “She’s human.”

Bassel rolled his eyes. “Marlow is a Salamander Fae. His—”

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