Page 1 of Whispers of the Water

Chapter One

“I THINK I’M gonna puke.”

I cradled my head in my hands and worked to take deep breaths. The jet jostled as we hit some turbulence, and the queasiness in my stomach clenched tightly. While the rough plane ride didn’t help with my nausea, it wasn’t anxiety from the flight that had me wanting to throw up my breakfast. I wished that were the worst of my worries—vomiting in front of everyone.

Strong fingers gripped my hand and pulled it away from my face. Amber eyes met mine. My heart instantly warmed, and I was reminded of how much I’d come to love this man whose brow creased with worry.

Rune squeezed my hand and rubbed soothing circles into my skin. “You’re going to do great. Don’t stress. You’ve studied almost two months for this. We’re ready.”

He was right. I’d worked hard in preparation for this trip to his hometown as his pretend girlfriend. For nearly two months, I’d worked endlessly to learn about Rune, his past, and his world.

The world of Fae.

When I’d agreed to be his fake girlfriend, it was solely with the intent of getting one step closer to my dream of studying abroad and becoming a professional painter. I’d never anticipated that he wasn’t human. Because this was the real world where things of myths and fairytales didn’t exist. At least, so I’d thought. He and his friends were Land Fae, magical creatures who took on the forms of different animals. If that wasn’t weird enough, they each had special abilities to go with the shapeshifting, and while it was hard to fathom at first, there was no denying who they were.

Or who I was.

“You’re right,” I said, taking another deep breath. “I just don’t want to screw this up for all of our sakes.”

“You won’t screw anything up, Bria-chan,” Akira chimed in. His bright smile set against his soft complexion and dark eyes always calmed me to my core. Hearing the Japanese nickname he’d given me helped settle my nerves slightly, too. It was familiar and inspired good memories, which I needed right now.

Akira sat across from Rune and me, and the table separating us was a stark reminder that this private jet was no joke. It housed tables with seating, a lounger, and a bar in the back. That was harder to process than all the Fae stuff at this point. Money truly was no object for my rich “boyfriend.”

Avana smiled brightly from where she sat next to Akira, sipping her cup of hot tea. She flipped a stray black and gold braid behind her bare brown shoulder as she met my eyes. “He’s right. Things are going to go splendidly. Between my Fox Fae illusion that you’ll be wearing and all the work you’ve put into learning about everything, no one should figure out you’re human.”

Right.

Human.

I swallowed hard and fought the panic rising up my throat yet again. I had believed I was human my whole life because what else could I be? I was as unexciting as a slice of bread. Long blonde hair. Blue eyes. Thick thighs and pudgy middle. Introvert. Unremarkable really.

Until that night I dared to fight Jonah, the Bat Fae who’d been trying to kill me. Something had awoken within me when he’d tried to drown me during our match, and that’s when I learned what I really was. Water Fae. And not just any Water Fae. I was the Water Fae Princess.

The enemy of everyone on this plane and those whom I was about to meet.

“You know,” Bassel started. His large, tan frame was pressed back against the lounger across the aisle from our table. He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “It’s weird. Ever since the other night, the magical aura surrounding you has gotten stronger.”

“I noticed that, too,” Marlow added from where he sat next to Bassel, tugging on one of his red curls.

Rune shrugged, and his honey gaze drank me in. “Maybe it’s from all the stress. Maybe it amplified what little magical essence she has.”

It’s not so little, but you don’t know that.

From the get-go, they’d all believed I had a Fae somewhere in my distant ancestry, which gave me a faint magical aura. In actuality, my aura had been faint because I hadn’t awakened as who I truly was yet. Despite knowing this now, I was going to let Rune and the others believe I had diluted Fae in me. That was better than them knowing the truth. It, however, was not good for my stomach currently.

Smirking, I said, “Or maybe it’s from hanging out with all of you day in and day out. Your freakiness must be rubbing off on me.”

Bassel laughed and pointed a large finger at me. “Hey now. Don’t be hatin’. You know you love our freakiness. Isn’t that right, Rune?”

Rune glared at his friend, and my cheeks heated. It was no secret to the others what Rune and I were slowly becoming. I’d gone from wanting to strangle him every time I saw him to craving his time, his touch, his everything. It took time to peel back his layers and see him for who he really was, but that time was worth it. Underneath the hard exterior, he was thoughtful, supportive, and caring. He had quickly become one of my best friends, and I hoped we could be even more now that we had both opened up about our feelings for the other.

My chest tightened, because while the idea of becoming a real couple was something I longed for now, it also felt harder than ever before. How could we start a relationship when he didn’t realize the truth about me?

Turning back to me, Rune’s scowl softened. “Want to grab some water?”

Smiling, I nodded. “That sounds great.”

He stood, and I followed him into the aisle. There was a hallway in the back of the jet, which housed a small bar with drinks and snacks. We stood in the alcove, our bodies inches from pressing together.

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