Page 32 of Blood and Roses

This is what he told me:

I do not knowwhat the human year was when I crossed over from the Aos Si to this land. The fae follow the seasons, one year blending into the other. Only humans with their short lives follow such things.

I know it was before the Romans that my two brothers and I found a way to escape from the Seelie court, where we had been held hostage since we were children, and into this land. The Seelie have their mansions under the earth, and for the first few seasons, we were fearful of the brightness of the Sun and the land around us. We found humans confusing, but over the seasons, we found that, with a few adjustments to our appearance, we could move through their settlements, unnoticed. We needed blood to keep ourselves strong, but they were more susceptible to mind control than any of the fae. It was a time of exploration for us.

When the Romans came, my brothers and I went our separate ways. We had centuries of being together, and theywished to explore the lands beyond. I hear rumors of them occasionally, but there has been no desire to join with them. We have been building our own families, an ability we learned early on.

Our blood is not like that of humans. It has the abilities to heal and create. It was when my younger brother accidentally killed a friend in a fight that we learned the secret of transformation. He tried to feed him his blood, but when life was restored, he now had the need to drink the blood of others to survive. He did not have all of our abilities; rather he was a copy, a bastardization in many ways. He was strong and fast, long-lived and had the ability to sway human's minds.

Our experiments went further. We found that our progeny could turn others to this life, but they were different again. They could not stand the sunlight, and they could not eat normal food. These were creatures of the night, wild children that needed to be governed to ensure that they did not expose their existence to humans. We named them the Gwaed Gam, the Blood Deformed.

Over time, our kind in all their forms has spread over the world. We do our best to govern them. Many do not know our true origins, so other myths arise. We have become cautious about revealing who we are. We have never returned to the fae lands. We rule as unseen kings here.

The Seelie delight in making war on us. They see us as abominations, and I cannot deny it. My brothers and I spent our early years as hostages in the Seelie courts, and we have not forgotten the cruelty we suffered at their hands. One of the Seelie princes, Ryn, hates us above all. He sends his raiding parties through the crossings and into the human world to harass us, killing many before they disappear once more. The Autumn Queen wants her pets to return home to her. It isonly our brute strength and the Seelies' intolerance to iron that evens out the battlefield.

Rosa toreher eyes from the page, her mind trying to rapidly process all that she was reading. She ran up the stairs and picked up the fairy tale she had borrowed from the library. "Holy hell, Eli is Bleddyn.The Bleddyn. Eli is a faerie," she said aloud and tried not to laugh.This place is crazy. Rosa shut the book and went back downstairs.

Rosa flicked through the Vane book, the pages and writing changing with each account. She read of how Eli's queen, Deryn, had been murdered by Ryn in a horrific battle with the Seelie, but there was no account of how he met her or the life they had. During the blank stretch of time, Eli had acquired the first of the Wylts, but that story had not been recounted.

After Deryn's death, there was a long stretch of time before he wrote about finding Lily during the Crusades and bringing her back to England, a frightened and damaged creature. He had worried about turning her because of the psychological scars that she carried with her. In the end, changing her had calmed her but didn't heal all the hurts in her mind.

Rosa put the book down when the script changed again, and Eli began to write of finding Balthasar. She didn't want to find out from a book. She realized with some surprise that she wanted him to tell her the rest of the story. In the back few pages, she found a note about when the three exiled brothers met up again centuries later.

1749

We finally decided to meet once more. It has been five hundred years, and the time has moved swiftly. We have all taken new names again. I have selected Eli, and the other two are now calling themselves Zalan and Vincenzo. We talked much of our families. Vincenzo seems very pleased with the fact I claimed Cosimo Medici's bastard and has left him an open invitation to return to Florence when he chooses.

Zalan has been spending many years alone in the wilds of Russia, and his tumultuous nature seems to have finally settled. Zalan worries about the Seelie returning in numbers. He has sensed them growing inpatient again. Last time he foretold them, I lost Deryn, so I have sent orders through Albion to keep watch over the stone rings.

I made my suggestion to them once again about trying to broker peace with the Autumn Queen, and they laughed long at me. They aren't interested in peace with those that tormented them for so long. I will not give up. How many centuries must this go on? Balthasar is willing to help keep everyone calm. He has a cunning mind but a good heart. One day, if I, like Zalan, feel the need to retire from the world, I know that he would take care of Albion as I would. For many years, I thought Lily would be the one to succeed me, but she is still too haunted, too willing to trust those who would abuse her. I love her, but her heart is too gentle. She will advise Balthasar, and together, I know they would do the job admirably.

Rosa slept until midday.She had stumbled upstairs in the early morning hours, collapsing into bed, exhausted. Her dreams had been strange and wild, filled with fae, blood, magic, wolves, andBalthasar. She had not been able to fall into a proper sleep until the sun had risen.

Downstairs, Cecily had left a fresh loaf of bread and eggs, so for the first time in days, she made herself a proper breakfast. She washed her clothes and hung them on a clothes rack near the still warm fireplace to dry.

It was a clear afternoon, and she had an urge to see the lake. She had to get out of the cottage and away from the stories that were now twisting about inside of her. The lake had been her favorite place to go as a child, and she wondered how much it had changed.

Taking her coat in case the weather changed, she walked down to the stables to see Roger. He was with the farrier who was busy re-shoeing Caesar.

"I was starting to worry about you, lass," he said with a smile as she walked in.

"I thought it was time to get some fresh air," Rosa said with a shy smile. "Would you mind if I took Dunstan out?"

"Not at all. He could use the exercise, and I'm held up here today," Roger said brightly. "I will get him saddled for you. He's lazy and won't give you any problems. You will be okay on him?"

"I'm sure it'll come back to me," Rosa said with only a flicker of uncertainty. Harold had taken her riding nearly every day before he died, but it had been three years since she had been anywhere near a horse.

Dunstan's russet fur gleamed in the sunlight as Rosa walked him steadily out of the yard. Roger stood watching her do a few laps of the stable yards before he was satisfied she wasn't going to fall off and break her neck.

"Do you remember the way down?" he asked.

"I remember the pathway, and I've seen Mr. Vane heading through that way enough. I'm sure I will find it again."

"Mr. Vane, huh? I can see you're still pissed off with the lad. Does he deserve it?"

"Yes," she replied confidently, though inside she squirmed.

"Well, then that's fair enough. Try not to get lost."

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