"I don't think so," Maggie said. "That's not what Emi told me."
"It doesn't matter why," Aunt Kay said. Everyone stopped talking to look at her.
"Whatever the reason, Tristan is helping her. And that means bad news for us." She rubbed her forehead, then dropped her hand. "Arabella, I know things have been bumpy between us. But you have to understand, I'd never do anything to hurt you. You won't get the same promise from Tristan, father or not."
My throat tightened. Growing up, I'd occasionally wondered about my birth parents, I'd wondered who they were, what they were like. I'd even had a few daydreams about meeting my father. Sometimes I screamed at him and told him off. Sometimes he came to me in tears, swearing he never knew about me and regretted losing me. Never once had I thought I'd find out my father was a Dark Fae, capable of hurting me, and working with someone who was trying to kill me.
I leaned over, resting my forehead on the cool table, and took a few deep breaths.
"You okay?" Joe set his hand on my back.
I sat up and looked at him. "At this point, that word has lost all meaning."
"What word?"
"Okay. I don't even know what okay means anymore. But I don't really have a choice, do I?" I looked around the table. Everyone I'd met seemed to want something from me lately. Brenon wanted me to help him defeat Terra. Terra wanted me to break Brenon's curse somehow.
I narrowed my eyes at my Aunt Kay. "What is it that you want from me? Be honest. No more games."
She pressed her lips together and glanced at Maggie and Adam, then looked back at me. "I already told you, we want to put an end to the Fae. And I think you're the key."
"Why does everything have to do with me? What makes me so special? Why not Adam? Why not Maggi, why not you, Aunt Kay?"
"Because we are what we are. The three of us, we're just Sayges. Humans who can channel the earth's magic. We belong here. We were charged with protecting this realm by the goddess herself. While our kind would sometimes travel to Faerie, we never belonged in that realm. We were only visitors. Faerie is the realm of the Fae and their kind." Her forehead creased. "Do you understand?"
"Understand what?" I said. "You're not explaining anything."
"You're not like us, Ara," Maggie said. "You're only half Sayge. Only part of you belongs in this realm."
My heart pounded. I hadn't thought too much yet about what being half-Fae meant. From what she was saying, it sounded like I might as well have come from another planet.
"You're a child of two worlds, dear," Aunt Maggie said. "That's why everyone thinks you can help them. You're the only one we know of who belongs half on earth and half in Faerie. You could be the key to opening the gates, or closing them forever."
I leaned back in my chair. It felt like I'd had the air knocked from my lungs. Aunt Kay reached her hand out, touching her fingers to mine. "But you must never, ever do that."
I narrowed my eyes. "Do what? Open the gates?"
She nodded. "There are things worse than Terra that were left behind there. If those gates ever open without something to keep them in check, it could mean the end of the human race."
Knock, knock, knock.
My heart pounded, mind immediately imagining Terra standing outside the door. "Expecting someone?"
Aunt Kay jumped, then rose from her chair. "We sent a message last night."
Without any other explanation, Aunt Kay, Maggie, and Adam walked toward the front door. I stood, taking a few cautious steps to the rear of the kitchen to peek out into the living room. Joe was standing right behind me.
The sound of cheerful greetings calmed my nerves. Whoever was at the door was a welcome visitor. After the stress of the last few days, I had let my imagination run wild.
Aunt Kay stepped back from the door to allow a group of four people to enter her home. They walked into the living room, chatting in low voices. Feeling both curious and left out, I shrugged at Joe, then made my way to the living room to find out what was going on.
All four of the newcomers squeezed across the overstuffed paisley couch. Two women, both with dark hair, grayed around their temples, and dark brown eyes, looked up at me. They could be twins. One of them smiled and nodded, the other narrowed her eyes as if studying me. A flicker of recognition stirred in my memory. She looked familiar somehow, but I couldn't place it. "Have we met?"
"That's unlikely, child," one of the twins said.
"I don't think so," the other said as she settled on the couch.
I turned away from them, feeling like maybe I was losing my mind. Why had they looked so familiar?
The two men sat on the couch next to the twins. They were younger, maybe late thirties. One had a full red beard, and long red hair pulled into a ponytail at the base of his head. The other had close-cropped dark hair, reminding me of a soldier in the military. Neither was looking at me as they were too engaged in conversation with Adam to notice.
"Everyone," Aunt Kay stood in the middle of the room, "I'd like you to meet, Arabella. With her magic, we can end the Fae war, once and for all."
"Wait, what?" I stared at my aunt, then looked around the room. "I only just found out about all of this."
Aunt Kay set her hand on my elbow and led me to the love seat at the back of the room. "I know, sweetheart, but we have to move fast. We can't afford to wait anymore."
I sat down, and Joe sat next to me. He leaned over, so his mouth was next to my ear. "Are they talking about putting you in the middle of all this?"
"I have no idea." I turned away from Joe and looked at my aunt, who had settled herself into one of the matching chairs. "Look, Aunt Kay, and everyone. I'm not even sure what's going on here yet. Right now, I want to learn how to defend myself and get away from all of this. I just want to live a normal life."
"You realize there is no more normal," one of the twins said. "Terra knows who you are, what you can do. That's the only reason she didn't kill you when you were with her. And it's likely the Circus knows, too. And we can't have either side opening those gates. It's time to seal them once and for all."
My stomach tightened. Lock the gates to Faerie? I knew the members of the Circus were not planning on breaking the curse and going back, but they sure wouldn't like the idea of being locked out of their home forever. "I don't think I could do that. It's not fair. Not all of the Fae and creatures that are here can be bad, right? Isn't there a way to eliminate Terra and let the good guys go back?"