Macy POV
I don't say a word to the Gray Creature until we land inside a grove of trees. The trunks are massive, and each one is hollowed out into a home. Lights shine brightly in the windows, and I can see people moving inside. "This is not what I expected."
The Gray Creature stares at me pointedly. "You expected us to be savages."
"Well," I twist my fingers together. "Yes."
"Everything is not always as it seems," he sighs. "Just because Selene transformed us into creatures of the night, it does not make us monsters."
My eyebrows furrow. I don't fully understand. Arabella was going to feed off my soul. She had pushed me to the ground, and she had injured me with the intent of killing me, I am sure of it. I touch the scar on my face that I refused to let Edward heal, the one that was supposed to be a reminder not to be so fucking impulsive. I groan inwardly at myself. I can't even follow my own rules.
"Arabella saw you with Destin," the Gray Creature says. "She still loved him but feared that he could not accept her for what she had become. She forced us to push ourselves away from the rest of the Fae. When she did, the rumors began."
My black and gray vision begins to flicker, and a sense of calmness washes over me. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, and when I reopen them—everything is as it should be. I press my hand to my chest and try to keep my heart calm. I don't want to turn into a Gray Creature again.
"You are pleased to be back to yourself," he cuts through the silence.
"Yes, well," I fumble over my words. "Selene warned me that I would turn into a terrible creature because of my thirst for revenge."
"Selene is a terrible liar. Come," the Gray Creature says, and he leads me into one of the tree houses.
The air is warm inside, and the smell of cinnamon fills the room. A Fae woman is standing in a makeshift kitchen cooking. There is a child playing on the ground at her feet. It is not quite Fae and not quite a Gray Creature. It lies somewhere in between.
The woman turns around and smiles warmly. "I see you found her."
The Gray Creature kisses her on the cheek and gathers the child into his arms. I realize I am staring, but I am unable to look away.
"It would appear you have stunned her, Gracus," she laughs. "Did you not warn her before bringing her home?"
"I did not," Gracus replies. "I did not think she would believe me."
The woman reaches her hand for me. "I am Artemus."
"You are Fae." The words fly from my mouth before I can stop them. Just as they always do.
Artemus laughs cheerfully. "Not all of us were frightened of what Selene created. Especially when he was my mate before he was changed. Please, have a seat."
I sit on the chair and rest my elbows on the table. Placing my head in my hands, I let out a frustrated groan. "I fear everything I have been told is a lie."
"Fae cannot lie," Artemus reminds me.
"And what of the Gray Creatures?" I ask.
"There is a little bit of a gray area," she laughs at her own joke.
I press my head against the cool wood of the table. "This is going to be another long story. Isn't it?"
"No," Gracus replies. "I think you already know the basics."
I look up at the child in his arms. "I did not expect there to be children among you."
"We have gone to great lengths to keep them hidden from Cassian and Roland," Gracus snarls. The lights in the tree flicker, and my breath catches in my throat. I have seen this magic before at my own hands.
"I will not tell them," I promise. "I don't approve of many of their policies."
The lights brighten again, and Gracus seems to ease, but it very hard to tell. "We were members of Roland's Royal Court. We were punished for his wrong doings, and in return he cast us out. He called us a blemish in his perfect realm."
I can feel his anger in the air. "No one wants to be tossed aside," I say gently. "Especially not by your friends."
Gracus snorts. "I would hardly call Roland a friend. He is a cruel and intolerable man."
"He is a sad old man now," I sigh. "He spends his time drinking and mourning Arabella."
"Good," he snarls. "He deserves to feel some guilt for what he has done."
A silence falls between us. I don't know what to say. I can't take away the actions of Roland. I wouldn't even know where to begin. Absentmindedly, my fingers trace over the stones of the diadem in my pocket. Carefully, I pull it out and lay it on the table. They do not flinch away from it the way Justine did. The child in Gracus's arms reaches for it and coos loudly.
"Why did you give this to me?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Gracus replies.
"No, it is not."
"You are our Queen," he shrugs.
"I was worried you would say that," I mutter.
I don't touch the diadem again. If I do then it will all become too real. Eventually, the silence in the room becomes too much.
"Surely there is someone else," I choke.
"No," Gracus replies curtly. "You are the one we have been waiting for."
"I was afraid you would say that, too," I groan.
"Your coming has been foretold," Artemus says. "Everyone has seen it. You must know that."
"That tends to be a common theme in my life," I whisper. "What do your prophecies say about me?"
"You will bring war," Gracus says.
"Yep. That sounds like me."
"But after that war, there will be peace," he continues. "The Gray Creatures will follow you into war, but we will not follow Cassian or Roland."
There is a crack of thunder outside, and it pauses our conversation. The child in Gracus's arms starts screaming, and Artemus looks uncomfortable.
"There are thunderstorms in the Immortal Realm," I say to calm myself.
"No, there are not." Gracus gives the child to Artemus and rushes out the door.
Placing the diadem back into my pocket, I race after him. A circular portal has opened in the trees. Lights go out in the trees and I can hear the locks on their door click. They are afraid. Gracus was right. Everything is not what it seems.
A man and woman stumble through and fall to the ground. The man lifts his face, and I swear I am hallucinating.
"Macy," he whimpers.
"Oliver?"