I wake up choking on air, sprawled in the woods.
My chest was heaving as if I'd been baptized by fire. Something ancient stirs inside me, but I can't fully grasp what...
Sunlight streaks through the clouds, and as I crawl onto my feet, a gust of wind thwacks me on my ass, as if I'd wasted its time in my surroundings...
Where the hell am I? Is this part of the ascension?
I survey my surroundings, with misguided ease, as if I could detect echolocation signals in the butt-crack of the woods. Part of me still expected some sort of primordial beast to jump out of the bushes and rip me limb from limb.
But instead, I'd landed in a misty forest... stranded and alone. I look up at the sun like she called me by my first name—like her light could somehow reveal a hidden passageway. Bright as fuck for no reason... Where the hell was I? I felt something poke against my thigh and pulled out a piece of paper from my back pocket.
Scribbled in bold letters, I read the words aloud, wondering if this was the way back—and as I mouthed the words a second time... I'm swallowed and sealed into a swirling vortex, like a frantic sock caught in a dryer of chaos. A scream rips from my throat, grasping onto sanity as if it had ever rescued me from disarray.
Nearly pissing myself, I'm launched into a kaleidoscopic whirlwind of light and color. With a less-than-graceful thud, I land on my rear—as if my tits hadn't already fucked up my posture. I look around, blinking in disbelief, and discover I'm right back where I started: The middle of the courtyard, just outside the auditorium. From the looks of it, I'm not the only fae that just got hoodwinked and thrown out by a portal.
The fall had offered some much-needed clarity, but now my ass was filing complaints. Miss Basie's voice restores a sliver of my sanity, summoning all mentors to locate their mentees with a rallying cry. It seems the fates were never in my favor.
And apparently, I could summon cockroaches... Lucien appears.
Like a middle school ex sliding into your dm's after seeing your thirst trap—as if he's trying to reboot a dating show no one asked for. He walks, stalking towards me with the seduction of a demon on your first baptism.
They don't sell this kind of arrogance for free... no, his shit was manufactured in a high-rise penthouse and harvested with trust funds. Gods, does this demon ever quit? I would use my gay privileges—natural male repellent—except when faced with a man who weaponizes beauty like a Cintergram filter on steroids... making me question if I'm here for a date or a runway show.
But I suppose if my cheekbones were that high, I'd probably never shut up either.
"Glad to see you back in one piece, babe."
Lucien smiles—smooth, practiced, annoyingly sexy—but in the way that makes me feel like a patient in a nursing home... 3 seconds away from a heart attack or rebuking him in tongues.
"Don't call me that." I bark back.
And this man has the nerve to look surprised, as if I'd just told him his couture shirt could be bought at a thrift store.
"Calm down, babe..."
His famous last words... force me to reflect on the fact that my father was an angel... And guns are illegal in our realm for some reason.
"I don't know what you thought this was—But I'm not interested."
His brow arches.
"Don't flatter yourself, ma belle." His French accent slips out like an anal bead 3 diameters away from touching fecal matter—as if I couldn't smell bullshit from a mile away.
"I'm just giving you a chance to explore something deeper and meaningful. Most girls would die to be in your shoes." I scoff.
"Most girls? Are these women desperate or drunk?"
He chuckles—that rich, deep, old-money laugh that sounds like it's been sprinkled with years of unchecked nepotism and comes from a bank vault.
"Excuse you? I always ask for consent." He scoffs.
"But if you're curious... I can make some arrangements..."
I shove him back with disgust.
"I'd much rather sleep in a decomposing cum sock!"
I soldier my way over to Miss Basie with the speed of a soccer mom in a grocery store searching for gluten-free snacks. The last thing I needed was a man who lacked the contingency to anticipate his mediocrity.
In what realm would I ever say yes to a man who looks like his bed was infested with more STDs than a midnight rave porta-potty?
"Hi, dear, everything alright—
"What happens when you can't... uhm... when you don't have a..."
The words dance on the tip of my tongue, but I know the moment I explain I don't have magic; she'll look at me with the same entitlement and judgment only reserved for fae who've never faced discrimination from something they've never lacked. Miss Baise trails, her eyes widening with a new revelation.
"Well, this is different."
With an unwavering but pitiful smile, she clears her throat as if she's trying to signal another faculty member to deal with my mess.
"Well... I suppose since you've never had magic... You could just choose which House you'd like to stay in."
I notice Lucien in my peripheral vision, eyeing me like a military recruiter who just spotted an undecided freshman. I rolled my eyes to the heavens. Then... holding my breath, trying to decide which house I would suffer the least in—a memory resurfaces from the orientation performances, all of which were beautiful, but... Terra Haven seemed like the perfect fit.
Each house represented fae from various regions and races, and I grew up around woodland fae... and Terra Haven looked like the closest thing to home... I was half fairy... I mean, it made more sense than anything, and at least I didn't have to deal with an asshole who treated freshmen like lottery tickets.
"I-is Terra Haven ok?"
My voice comes out softer than intended.
I'd much rather avoid men who made me feel like I could be bought off a shelf. I didn't have a price range, and he'd much sooner understand I didn't like lustful demons either. Miss Baise smiles with understanding.
"Great choice! I'm sure Aurora would love to have you!"
She clasps her hands together, and I hear a chorus of whispers, uttering my name amongst the crowd I hadn't realized had formed around me.
"She probably cheated her way in..."
Which is complete bullshit considering I didn't have any fucking magic... but they didn't need to know that...
"It's a shame you chose Terra Haven..."
My pointed ears twitch at the rasp of Lucien's voice, and I turn around so fast—I nearly give myself whiplash.
"I was hoping to spend more time with you..."
He frowns as if he hadn't made several unwanted passes at me since we met.
"I can find you later for a rendezvous if you want—"
"Get behind me, Satan."
I cut him off before my fist does, and the look of astonishment on his face is priceless. I hardly give him a moment to catch up as I walk away, snickering to myself as he yells.
"That's very offensive, you know!"
Ignoring him, I fish out my phone, thinking of a certain purple-haired menace that I promised to hang out with, still laughing at the way Lucien gawked at me as if I'd just thrown his Armani suit into a Slime swamp. I should've doused him with holy water... It only takes a couple of seconds before I receive a notification while I'm hauling out my luggage from the dome, fishing my bags out like I'm on a mission for buried treasure.
Lyra: FINALLY! I've been looking all over for you!
Lyra: Is typing...
Lyra: What house did you get into?
I respond quickly, unable to stop the goofy-ass smile spreading on my face—Scarlett... relax, you just met.
Me: Terra Haven...
Lyra: Is typing...
Lyra: That's sick! I got into House of Embers!
My stomach coils in disgust... I really hope she didn't have to deal with Lucien... the man was a walking parasite.
Lyra: How was the Ascension? Apparently, it's completely normal to combust into flames when you get accepted into the House of Embers!
Me: WHAT!?
Lyra: It's ok; I'm used to it!
Her words nearly have me tripping over nothing, and I have to make sure I didn't read that wrong.
How the hell do you accidentally combust into flames!?
Was that a Chupa thing??
How did she even survive!?
I didn't even wanna ask. But at least one of us was happy.
Terra Haven was nearly a 20-minute walk from the main auditorium. I had music playing in my headphones to distract me from the way the trees swayed like they were inspecting me, bushes rustling as if they could sense my impotence. They might've been like the tree wards and elder trees we had back in Asali... they had the same judgmental leer.
I know I'm close when I hear a chorus of laughter and voices, freshmen and upperclassmen gathering around their dorms, discussing their summer plans, upcoming parties, and class schedules. I pass through a picturesque garden with an array of magical flowers and shimmering fountains. Statues adorned with gemstones and fairy lights curled around Featherfloss trees, with Peachcotton dangling off branches. A few pixie hollow-dorms are burrowed in small tree caverns, and I pause mid-step, my ears flinching at the suspicious sounds coming from inside one of the dorms.
A choir of whispery moans that sound like multiple pixies taking advantage of the lack of parental guidance...
One of them cries out, and it sounds a lot like a bunch of mosquitos having an all-inclusive festival...
Heat rushes to my face as I scurry along, dragging my suitcases like a nun witnessing a consummation.
A couple of girls are gathered by the treehouse cabins as I roll in; their heads swivel in my direction, mid-convo, some scowling and some giving me a once-over as if I'd intruded on their secret hideout. I recognize two from the Ascension; one of them was a bleach-blonde Naga, and the other an Elf.
The Naga had hissed at me when Lucien held my hand.
Eyes burning into my soul as if I'd kissed her boyfriend.
Now, her long tail rattles with spite, Guess Lucien did have community dick...
I sucked in a deep breath, diverting my gaze as I looked for my cabin. My feet barely moved 2 centimeters before a fae with bouncy, luscious curls, as golden as the sunlight reflected on her deep-melanin skin, approached me. She wore the sun on her skin as if it was made in her likeness—this gorgeous, confident spectacle of a woman who— I realized too soon, had shown the entire faculty her crowned jewels. I don't recognize her at first until her smile broadens, like a scythe.
Her hips sway like she was balancing diamond plaques—as if her body wasn't always a masterpiece. She walked towards me with a purposeful stride, smashing rocks beneath her feet as if they were skulls. Her nepotism was a different breed from Lucien's... his was a polished falsehood of grace, orchestrating as malice— and hers... was mystified.
The kind of greed only manufactured behind castle walls, harvested like a rare jewel, carefully carved into perfection, and born to rule with reverence and an iron fist.
"You must be Scarlett Thorne!"
Her glossy lips shimmer beneath the sunlight, violet eyes glowing like Spectres.
"I'm Aurora, your Terra Haven captain. I'm so excited you chose us!"
Her voice dripped with honey...drenched with a kind of false sweetness that turned sour fast when she inspected me like I was an anomaly.
"Uhm. Y-yea... thanks for inviting me?"
My hands fumbled with my luggage—I hadn't expected a welcoming committee... and part of me couldn't erase the image of her naked on stage...
"Of course, it's my pleasure. Your cabins are down that way. If you need anything, let me know!" She points in the opposite direction.
"Y-yea, thankyou—" The words die on my lips when she leans in and pulls me in for a hug—I choke—not from suffocation... though I might die happy like a fucking idiot.
I wasn't a touchy person, and yet a part of me wanted to bury my face in her chest.
I recoiled as soon as her scent began to curl around my throat.
Too sweet, too kind—suspiciously so...
I walk away, cursing my brain for not saying more... The cabin was smaller than the others... but it didn't bother me as much, I was just happy to have my own space. I took the key dangling off the side of the cabin door, and the second I unlocked it... my eyes grew wide.
The faint scent of oakwood and jasmine lingered in the air like a summoning spell spoken through pursed lips... gentle in a way that made me feel like I wasn't miles away from home. I hadn't expected the room to look like this... decorated so elegantly it almost seemed like they'd painted it in my likeness.
The way the walls were washed with hues of red and smoky purples, each stripe of color and pattern, an identity I hadn't recognized in myself. The bed sat in the middle of the room against the wall, draped with silk sheets and cotton blankets that might've been too whimsical for my liking. But I loved them regardless. Pillows fluffed in the shape of clouds, lantern lights shining above like they'd been scraped from a dragon's hearth.
A rug splayed beneath it, white and lavender.
A small bookshelf, empty yet undeniably inviting...
I just knew I'd have to make peace with it.
And then there was the bathroom, I had never seen one so big. The tiles were nearly porcelain, as if they'd been polished with pearls and gemstones.
The walls, similarly, were pale in complexion with light streaks of crimson paint spiraling across them. In the middle of the room was a magical bath, glazed in peachy tones and shaped like a cradle... nothing else mattered in that moment except the sound of running water in my head as I imagined sinking into it. Maybe my parents hadn't been so wrong sending me here... maybe... this was my chance to discover the parts of myself I'd kept hidden finally...
Or...at least until someone else figured it out.