Page 51 of Veiled

The silence was thick.

“Okay.” My voice was steady, and Kalen smiled. “So today, I started school, played Buffy the stuck-up kid slayer, drowned myself in magic, got attacked, and now I’m a fairy. Anyone else thinks this is all going just a little too fast? So, hey, before Tinkerbell comes and introduces herself, let's take this in parts. Part one, get to why we...” I pointed at the boys and Remi, “have matching tattoos. The murder shit can come after.”

Kalen growled, “This isn’t Disney.”

“Clearly,” Ryder scoffed. “There is no blood allowed in those movies,” he muttered. Kalen glared at him.

Kalen continued, “So you’re not Tinkerbell and not a fairy, even though Tinkerbell is fashioned after the Fae version of a pixie, but we can get into details later. I said you are Fae, and the correct term is Faerie. I have been training you and protecting you for years, it is my designated duty to make sure you know all there is about Fae, however the informational part was supposed to be when you turned 21 and had time to come into your powers, but your powers started to unravel at a quicker pace, shortly after you must have lost your virginity.”

“How…” I started but he waved me off.

“Your hair would only turn at the spilling of your virgin blood. It's part of Fae magic. For most children in our home, it happens at puberty, when powers begin to manifest.”

“Great, awesome. So, you’re an undercover Faerie. Two things. Where is your home and where the hell are your wings? Those fuckers back there had wings you never flew around for me, soooo…” I trailed off.

“I’ll get to that,” he sighed. “Now, I would say it was a coincidence that I chose today to come by, but…”

“You don’t believe in coincidences,” I finished for him with a small smile and he smiled with me.

“Okay, so whatever. I’m a Faerie. I’ll roll with that. Care to breach the other stuff?”

“One thing at a time,” snapped Zane. “What are these marks?”

Kalen chuckled. “Well, it would be Hudson to leave home and within days, find her fated Fae mates. Although, I admit, Remi was a shock, being as old as she is,” he continued even though I froze and Dean made a sound of protest. I had a feeling that the information drop was deliberate. “The marks indicate that you’re all connected on a level that goes way beyond marriage, beyond soulmates; it is a connection that is only broken by death. The more mates, the harder you are, as a whole, to kill.”

“Mates?” Zane whispered, his eyes on me, then turning to look at the other guys. Remi refused to look up.

“I’m sure you have noticed that you four have been drawn to her since you met her. Protective even. Every day that bond got stronger, and even when you left, you couldn’t stop thinking about her? The mates typically know, innately, who they will bond to. Hudson, being younger, didn’t feel the same until she was with you all at the same time, so just recently. Or when she was alone with Zane a couple of years ago, they wouldn’t have been able to stop the pull, with her being of age.” He sighed and rubbed his head. “Her meeting Remi completed your group, I can surmise, making Hudson’s connection to you all stronger, even if it wasn’t sealed at the time. Again, most Fae have one or two mates. Hudson having five is not only rare, it is unheard of. Typically, these bonds are sealed when the mates have sex for the first time and her virginity is gone. However, it seems you have all been intimate with Hudson.” It wasn’t a question and I blushed furiously and coughed. Grayson came over to sit next to me and put me on his lap. Kalen smiled approvingly. “No need to feel embarrassed, Hudson. It is a true honor to find your mate and you seem to not only have found them but to have built a relationship with each of them as well. Now usually, sex, virginity, and a bonding ceremony with a small transfer of power is all that’s needed to bond, however, the magic from today not only sealed the bond, but it also seems to have brought out Hudson’s full Fae side.”

“What? How?” I was startled but Kalen smirked and shook his head.

“Hudson, I have been training you for several years. Not only were you near the surface of your magic, but you also found your mates and wielded an amount of power that even a full-grown Fae would be unable to maintain. While having the men there helped you from losing control, that loss of control would have been more of a rampage. A magical tantrum, if you will. I don’t think it would have destroyed you.”

“Think?” I asked before the guys jumped in, and I glared at them.My time to ask shit, dammit.

“If it was going to happen, it would have happened quickly.” He waved his hand, dismissing the idea. “Regardless, you’ll all have to navigate the bond and the connections it will start to unravel between you all. It will come with a fierce overprotective feeling, the ability to feel each other’s emotions and to always be able to track each other, just to name a few.”

“Overprotection? They’ve been like that since forever. And I’m sure they are the reason I have never had a date. No one would come near me… fuckers,” I muttered. The boys laughed.

“Guilty, we threatened everyone before we left. You were always ours, even if we didn’t really know it at the time,” Grayson whispered.

“Guilty also, you’re the daughter of my heart. I loved you way too much to let any little punk mess with you,” chuckled Kalen.

“Oh, you guys suck!” I said, frustrated. I smirked at the boys though. “Could be worse, though. At least I lost my virginity to the right person,” I said softly, and Zane looked at me with adoration, making me blush.

I cleared my throat. “Okay, so that is all quite a bit to digest and I still have a shit ton of questions. So, we’re mated. We haven’t had a chance to look at the marks in full, so if we have more questions, I guess we can ask after a decent shower.”

“Now the murder part, why were those things trying to kill me and why are they called Dark Fae? What is the difference between them, and I guess you or me?”

“Hudson,” Kalen, sighed. “In short, we have two factions, if you will, of the Fae. The Dark Fae who we call the Unseelie and the Light Fae who are called the Seelie. You’re of the light variety. Within the Fae, there are many, many, variations of our people. For those fascinated by Disney,” he rolled his eyes and Ryder chuckled, “think of goblins, dwarves, and pixies but there are thousands more. Marks are not understood by anyone outside of Fae, however, and there are those out there who have suspicions of our people. Over time, we have been pushing into society that Faerie’s are myths and tales and what not.” He waved his hands in the air. “Hudson, you are extremely important to our people, to our home, even if it was brought about in a less than desired way. To make it short you, Hudson, are the embodiment of a myth, in more ways than one, because you are a result of a prophecy. Myths protect, they obscure truths in order to ensure the survival of our home, our people, and our secrets. That is now your role. Who you are may have been hidden, but it was to bring about good and positive things. Within our home, which is protected, and beyond, there are enemies of Fae. So, from the outside, in short, we have been protected by myths and as such your very existence has been concealed by those same myths. It is what has ensured your survival, but we are always at war.” He leaned back and took a long breath.

“Am I going to hear this Prophecy or am supposed to take it at face value?”

“It’s long and we will get to it. The short version is, there is a balance, light and dark. It is a tenuous balance, but one that has been held by eons; nature balances all. We are the natural creatures, from Gaia herself, and therefore, we are pure magic because we came from the source of all life. Over time, magic has been diluted due to mating with humans, but our race has remained pure because despite those dalliances, we always come back home. The Dark Fae have perverted our lands, destroying the balance by taking a throne that was not theirs, and while you are technically the queen of the Seelie, you have been prophesied to help bring the balance back to all. We have been preparing for years and have amassed a small army for you. We will stop the killing of Seelie’s and help those who need our assistance.”

“Right… awesome cliff notes prophecy. So, I’m using my people to fight my people so I can win my people. Well, that makes perfect sense. Guess it’s time for bed then.” I rolled my eyes, putting my head in my hands rubbing my temples.

“I know it's a lot, there is no way to explain it all at once, but we will discuss everything in more detail, over the next few days. As it is, I’m thinking I’ll need to stay and try to educate you as much as possible and have the grounds warded properly to avoid further issues.” He leaned forward on his knees, looking pensive. “Eventually, I’m going to have to leave and touch base with our camp, but until then, we might as well learn as much as we can. Get you guys up to speed.” He got up and stretched. Why don’t you guys go freshen up and I’ll get some coffee started? I think with all the questions you have it will be a long night, and to be honest, I want to go on a perimeter search. Xena, you’ll come with me,” he finished, nodding to Xena and she stood up with her chest puffed out. I chuckled and nodded. Yeah, it was going to be a long night.

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