Page 48 of Falling in Love with A Tiny Bat

A fragile weight causes her voice to crack. “You’re too kind,Zahra. It’s nothing that extravagant, promise.”

Soft chiming bells trickle through the line, distant and low and oddly cadenced.

“Can you hear something right now?” she whispers, breathless.

My stomach twists, and my skin goes cold. The frantic, hushed panic in her voice…it’s entirely too familiar.

Can you hear that?

Can you hear that?

But no one ever could.

Just me.

“Yes,” I say. “I can hear bells.”

“Bells?” Dani exhales the word. “Just bells?”

My lips part as emotion threatens to overflow. I don’t know why, but when I open my mouth again, I feel compelled to say, “Human technology interferes strangely with fae glamour.”

Frail, Dani says, “…what?”

“Danielle! Who are you talking to?”

Urgency I know all too well overtakes the lilting, soft melody of my friend’s voice. “I…” Bells intercept. “N-no one, Mother. Just myself!” So quiet I can barely hear her, she says, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I have to go. Thank you.” The bellsrage. “Goodbye.”

The line cuts off, and I’m left staring ahead at the sun-soaked playground—heart thundering in my ears.

?

“Assuming your friend does have a faerie with her,” Kassandra begins, picking up a neglected notebook ring snake and crumpling it in her hand, “we’re not the only faeries or…faerie adjacents in the world.”

“I know. That’s my concern. What if she’s stuck with a bad one?”

“Here’s what we know…” Kassandra’s gaze meets mine when I look down from the hay loft. That exists in our main classroom.Which has lookedso boringbefore I could see all the cool stuff. “…your friend Dani sent you a picture, then called. Whatever faerie she’s with…she canseeandhearit.”

“Yeah.” I thread my fingers into the long half of my hair. There’s a straw in it. It would seem I have been goofing around in the loft more than grading my beans’ journals… Oops. “That doesn’t mean she knows any of the rules.”

“It means she’s powerful. Just like you.”

My brow furrows, and I rest my chin on the short loft railing. “McScuse me? Since when amIpowerful?”

“The asteriai are the strongest nymphs.”

I arch a brow. “Totally not true. I looked nymphs up when you told me what I was, and there are magic nymphs that have all sorts of fancy powers. In fact, I’m pretty sure the asteriai powers I found were—ready for this?—glows in the darkandsees in the dark. Aren’t I cool? I’m a glow stick.”

Kassandra does not appear amused. “Zahr. We’re talking about real life, not whatever cryptid website you found.”

I give her a look I hope translates intowhich one of us thought faeries were insanity less than a year ago? Mm, yeah.Contrary to popular belief, watching my tongue is not hard. I’m more than used to minding my silence. No one ever teaches you how to keep that silence from turning into resentment. And no one would ever dare suggest that, maybe, resentment is worse than a little honesty. “Mm. Mhm. Mhm. I hear you. I totally hear you. By the way, has CPS found your husband yet?”

Better out than in, Shrek always says.

Kassandra plants her hands on her hips, against a skirt overcrowded with brilliant embroidered and sewn-on crocheted flowers. “Am I coming off arrogant, because that’s not my intention.”

“You were, yeah.” I grin. “So kind of you to explain yourself. Here’s my point of view…” I reference the classroom, which is—you know—a barn. “You madethis. You’re so crazy powerful, Pollux was worried about telling Prince Cael what you were for fear of how he’d respond.Youcouldn’t hear or see the fae before you were claimed unless they dropped their glamours for you. I cannot be something cooler than you.” I sniff and drop my arms. “It’s just not possible.”

“Yes, and no.” Leaning back against one of the children’s desks, Kassandra smiles, and her gold-flecked brown eyes sparkle. “I’m powerful because I’m not dependent on anything. You’re powerful…because you’re a star. You have access to the abilities of anyone in your orbit. Once you’re fully fae, I can grant you access to my powers if I want. So can the rest of us. You get to be our sun.”

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