Chapter 1
Tying my hair at the base of my neck, I pull the tattered edges of my cloak over my head. I check my reflection in the windows of my classroom to make sure none of the silver strands are visible. Once I am satisfied I am completely covered, I push my way out of the classroom and through the main school doors. I am the last one to leave, just like every other day. It is safer for me inside the school than at the bus stop.
Taking a single step out of the building, I briefly take in my surroundings before I make my way to the bus stop. Luckily, none of my tormentors are waiting for me this evening, but I can’t be too careful. Tucking my hood under my chin, I keep my head down as I make my way to the bus stop.
The bus that runs between Base City and Caladh only comes twice a day. Missing the bus would mean having to find a place to hide out in Base City after the sun goes down, and that is a risk I am not willing to take. Not after last time. My breath hitches in my chest as I think about how they beat me. The memory of their hands on my body won’t fade. My grandmother tried to convince me to quit after that, but we need the money. I just have to be more careful.
A rickety old bus grinds to a halt at the bus stop. It had probably once been yellow, but now it is several different hues of orange because of the massive amount of rust that covers the outside. The bus driver, Indigo, pulls the lever, and the doors screech open. When I step onto the bus, he pretends like he doesn’t know me. It is safer for him that way.
Handing him my papers, he glances over them carelessly before nodding his chin towards the back of the bus. Stuffing the papers back into my bag, I sit in the first empty seat that I find. The window beside me is down, and I try to pull it back closed, but the track is rusted. As the bus jolts to a start again, the cold evening air blows through the window, causing a shiver to travel up my spine. Wrapping myself tighter in my cloak, I try to block the wind from touching my skin, but it is useless. Clutching my bag close to my chest for extra warmth, I try to remember what it was like before the Great Disintegration, but my eyes flutter shut from the exhaustion of the day.
The sudden jerk of the bus coming to a stop drags me from my thoughts. Looking out my window, it is getting dark outside, and we are nowhere close to Caladh. The heavy sound of boots draws my attention to the front as several armed men board. Sinking lower in my seat out of fear, I close my eyes and pray that they pass me by. The bus raids do not happen often, but when they do, one of my companions is often pulled off the bus and never seen again. One of the armed men stops in front of me and pulls the hood of my cloak off my head. I try not to shake in fear knowing that the color of my hair is a dead giveaway that I am fae.
“Name?” The man barks at me, making me jump in my seat.
“Relle,” I whisper. “Relle Rigan.”
He eyes me suspiciously before slinging his gun across his back. “Papers,” he demands.
Rifling through my bag, I hand him the identification papers that I am forced to carry with me when I am outside of Caladh. Shining his flashlight on the paper to look for the official watermark, he throws them back in my lap. “What are you doing outside of Caladh?”
Tears begin to sting the corners of my eyes, but I refuse to let them see me cry. “I teach at the school in Base City,” I say a little louder than I mean to.
Everyone on the bus turns in my direction, and I can feel all of their eyes on me. Shrinking down in my seat, I try to escape the lingering eyes of not only the passengers but the armed guards in the aisle of the bus.
“I need to search your bag,” the guard next to me says in a low, growling voice.
The tears that I have been trying to hold back drip down the sides of my cheeks. Handing my bag over to the guard, he dumps the contents onto the seat next to me and throws the empty bag in my direction. Without bothering to even look through the contents that he dumped on the seat next to me, he yells, “All clear,” and the guards exit the bus.
As I collect my things off the seat and the floor, the tears that I tried so hard to hold back fall freely from my eyes. Everyone on the bus is whispering loudly in my direction, and I know why. It is because I have chosen to teach the human children about us. Now they know that there is a traitor among them.
As the bus stops at our final destination, I keep my head down and allow all of the other passengers to get off the bus before me. Once I am sure that everyone has exited the bus, I leave my seat and head to the front, but Indigo is standing in my way. Raising my head, my eyes meet his dark blue eyes. His eyes are full of tears. Indigo was a friend of my father’s for many years before the realm disintegrated. Without the magic that coursed through the Mythical Realm, he has aged greatly. His once onyx black hair has turned white, and deep lines are now carved deeply on his face. The only indication that he is not human is his eye color. No human would have eyes this color of blue.
“You know that it is no longer safe for you in Caladh,” his gruff voice fills the silence on the bus.
His eyes flicker to the crowd that has gathered outside the bus, and I know that they are waiting for me. “If you would just tell them who you are…” his voice trails off as I shake my head violently from side to side.
“No one can know,” I whisper. “The people of Caladh would only be in danger if they knew the truth.”
“We protect our kind,” Indigo pleads with me.
“Maybe one day,” I murmur as I look at the crowd forming outside the bus.
Looking at the crowd, Indigo grabs my hand, “I will walk you to your home.”
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pull him in for a grateful hug. “This is not your fight.” I squeeze him a little tighter as I push him back and make my way off the bus alone.
Stones crunch under my feet as I step off the last step of the bus. The eyes of every creature at the bus stop are suddenly upon me. Keeping my eyes on the ground, I turn my body and ease my way through the crowd of creatures, trying to keep myself from bumping into them. Unsurprisingly, the crowd does not make it easy for me to leave the bus stop.
“Relle,” an old nymph by the name of Jasmine approaches me. Jasmine lives next door to my grandmother and me. I help her with her garden on my days off. She is determined to grow the same herbs that she grew in Mythical Realm. She grabs my hand gently and clutches it to her heart. “Tell them that they misunderstood you. That you are not teaching those wretched human children.”
Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, I do not answer her question. I just drop her hand and continue on my way. I refuse to lie to the creatures of Caladh. This place has been my home since my parents were taken. There were no questions when my grandmother and I sought refuge in Caladh. They welcomed us with open arms. When we came to live here, I was warned to keep my profession a secret because many mythical creatures did not think highly of humans. But human children are full of wonder and excitement, and I refuse to have them referred to as wretched. Magic lives within human children just as it does within mythical children. However, no one would believe me if I tried to tell them.
No longer trying to gently move past the crowd of creatures that are trying to talk to me, I begin pushing them out of my way with my elbows. As I move my way through the crowd, they begin shouting at me. They accuse me of being a traitor and siding with the humans. They scream that I am trying to help humans eradicate the rest of the mythical creatures by teaching them about our heritage.
Pushing through the crowd, someone grabs the back of my hood and yanks it backward. My silver hair sparkles brightly in the moonlight, causing a halo of colors to cascade around my head. Quickly, I pull my hood back over my hair and divert my eyes to the ground, but the damage has been done. Several members of the crowd step backward and gasp. The rest of the crowd just parts, leaving me to walk by with no more issues. Their murmurs and whispers follow me as I walk quickly to my house.
