Chapter Two

Lisha POV

Growing up in the Unseelie Realm, I had no restrictions. I never had anything to fear and roamed our forest freely. Being one with nature is bliss. Our forests hold ancient magic in their trees, their roots entering deep into the ground allowing us access to their magic when we turn eighteen. I am fascinated with magic and want to learn everything I can about it. My mother and grandmother are my best friends. I never knew my father, and I don't ask my mother about him as she still loves and misses him daily. My mother practices elemental magic like most Light and Dark Fae, as it is born into us and comes effortlessly. My grandmother, however, has a different outlook on life. Allana practices our elemental, ancestral, and dark magic. 

My mother has a sweet nature, and I rarely see her angry. She has beautiful olive skin, black hair, large soft brown eyes, and is slim, not as tall as my grandmother Allana. Who prefers to be called Allana and not gran, ma, or anything remotely grandmotherly? It has never been a concern for me as I love spending time with Allana; she is always so lively and full of fun. I look like Allana; we both have black hair reflecting purple through the ends and olive skin; the most significant difference is our eyes. We both have purple eyes with black around the iris. Rising early one morning after doing my chores, I hear Allana whispering to my mother. I know I should not be listening, but I can't help it when I hear Allana mention my name.

“I am taking Lisha for a walk; I want to show her our ancestor's sacred grounds.”

My mother's tone is sharp as she says,

“No, Allana, it's too soon. She doesn't need to know yet,” 

I can hear the anger in Allana’s voice when she whispers furiously,

“Lisha has the potential to become one of the most powerful Fae we have seen in over a hundred years, Olivia, but she needs to start learning now.”

My mother hisses,

“No, Allana. I will fight you on this; she is my daughter, not yours.”

Allana has known my mother long enough to know when not to argue with her. She sighs in defeat,

“Fine, Olivia, be stubborn, but you will see you are wrong by keeping secrets from her.”  

Allana's eyes are still sparkling with anger when she sees me and says, 

“We will go and see the werewolves and see how the new humans settle in.”

My mother smiles in agreement. When we leave the cabin and start walking toward the werewolf settlement, Allana turns to me.

“What do you want for your birthday, Lisha?’

I smile.

“Allana, you know what I want.”

She chuckles,

“We will go after the visit with the wolves.”

Allana’s laughter always sounds like music; I will never get tired of hearing it. Walking into the village, Tyler, the Alpha's son, comes running over, grabbing my hand.

“Come on, Lisha, let's go for a swim while Allana visits with Zane and father.”

Zane is one of Allana’s oldest friends; he looks like most dark Fae, tall, muscular, dark-skinned, with dark eyes, and extremely handsome. The new humans that live with the wolves stop and stare; it doesn't bother me as I am used to it, but I can't help giggling as I say,

“They stare at me, Tyler; wait until they see a vampire in daylight.”

Tyler laughs as he takes my hand and whispers,

“They get better after they settle in and realize they are safe and won't be hurt.”

We spend the next couple of hours at the stream behind the village, enjoying our time together. I turn around when I hear Allana walking toward us. She smiles at Tyler as she says,

“Come on, Lisha, we best hurry, or your mother will know we are up to no good” 

It feels like I have been waiting a lifetime to hear what Allana has to tell me; I can't help the ripple of excitement that runs through me when she says.

“Your Fae magic will only grow from now until you turn eighteen. Then you will reach your full elemental power. Ancestral magic, you need to practice. This type of magic is most potent on your ancestor's lands. There are ways to carry ancestral magic with you, which is one of the things I intend to teach you. Dark magic is from your emotions. If you can not control it, it will overtake you."

We stop walking as Allana utters a few words I have never heard before and waves her hand. There is a boulder in front of an entry to a cave, and I watch, astonished, as it slides to one side. She ushers me inside, and I whisper,

“How did you do that, Allana?”

She smiles,

"It is not hard, Lisha. We can use the earth, air, fire, and water around us. All Fae have this ability; as I said, it only takes practice” 

Walking inside, I sense her presence everywhere; we stop at a cavern, and  I notice she has the cave set up so someone can live here for years without anyone finding them. There’s a  table, chairs, couch, bed, and kitchen. It's incredible, and I turn towards the back of the cavern. There is a pool where water runs from the cave wall. I move closer, cupping some water in my hand, tasting it, and sigh as the cool water runs down my throat, natural spring water for drinking cooled naturally by the stone.  The pool has steam rising from it, and I bend, laughing as I put my hand in the water to find it is warm and naturally heated by the earth's core. Raising my eyebrows at Allana, I incline my head toward the pond and ask.

“For bathing?”  

Allana chuckles as she answers,

“I always like to be prepared, Lisha. One of us may need to seek sanctuary here one day.”

Allana’s voice becomes softer as she whispers more words and flicks her wrist; an opening appears in the cavern wall; my heart beats faster when I see another room hidden by magic. It's much smaller than the first cave. On a table in the middle of the room are books. I step inside, sighing, when I realize that I will not be able to read any of them in the short time we will be here today. Allana’s voice 

“These journals contain secrets of our family's magic. Our family's grimoire is hidden at all times. Once you turn eighteen, I intend to pass it all to you.”

Hearing the urgency in Allana's voice, I wrap my arms around her and ask,

“Why are you showing me this?

“I have to go away for a while, and I am not sure how long I will be, so on the way home, I will teach you both spells to open and close the entry to these rooms.”

“Where are you going, Allana?”

“To the Vampire realm,” 

I know I am being selfish as I ask.

“When are you leaving?”

Allana embraces me as she says,

“Don't worry, Lisha, there is no way I will miss your birthday. I won't leave until after the celebrations are over. Come now, we best hurry home, or your mother will come looking for us, and I don't want that to happen”.

Allana is lost in thought as we walk back home. If something was bothering her, I am sure she would tell me. It doesn't take long to reach our home. Allana and I were lucky as my mother was about to come looking for us. I immediately start helping my mother prepare our dinner. When we were finished, Allana smiled at me as she said.

“Did Olivia tell you we had company tonight, Lisha?” 

I shake my head.

“No, who else is coming?”

There’s a knock on the door; when I see Tyler, my heart flutters, and I can't help thinking about how attractive he has become. Tyler is six years older than me and has short black hair and dark brown eyes. His skin has turned a deep bronze from being outside all the time. Lowering my gaze, I noticed he already had a muscular body. Tyler chuckles; I know my face has turned red; I laugh with him, trying to hide my embarrassment because he caught me checking him out.  After our meal, we all sit in the living room laughing and talking until Tyler and his father, Mathew, leave.

The following morning I wake up to the smell of my mother cooking, then jump out of bed when I remember it's my fourteenth birthday. Getting dressed quickly, I ran downstairs into my mother's open arms.

“Happy birthday Lisha,” 

She says, kissing my forehead.

Allana comes up behind us, embracing my mother and me while saying, 

“Happy birthday, my favorite grandchild,”

I laugh, looking at her,

“I am your only grandchild.”

My mother and Allana laugh, sharing an odd look between them. Then my mother asks,

“Who is ready to eat?” 

I smile, sitting at the table with Allana. My mother loves cooking, and the kitchen is her pride and joy. We know better than to touch anything until she says so. After breakfast, we pack a picnic and walk to the river along the edge of our Unseelie lands. Laying on the grass, I listen to mother and Allana talking as I drift off to sleep. My mother gently shakes me awake,

“Come on, Lisha, you are missing all the fun.”

I get up when I see Tyler approaching. My heart starts beating faster; Tyler is not wearing a shirt, and his muscular chest glistens with sweat in the sunlight. Suddenly he lifts me over his shoulder and runs to the water's edge, throwing me in. I rise to the surface, choking on water and stammering.

“What the hell, Tyler?”.

He jumps in beside me; I swallow another mouthful of water. Tyler bursts out laughing as he says,

“You looked like you needed to cool off.”

I laugh with him, not fully understanding what he means. Tyler's father and Zane soon arrive, and we get out of the water to have lunch. Leaving the adults talking, we go for a walk, whispering to each other.

“I heard Zane and my father talking earlier, and they said Allana was going away for a while,”

“Yes, she is leaving this afternoon.”

“Did she say where she was going?”

“No, but you know Allana, she never stays in the same place too long.''

I don't know how much Allana has shared with Zane and Mathew; if she wanted them to know where she was going, she would have told them. The afternoon flies by, and I hear my mother calling us, saying it is time to go home. I can't help kissing Tyler goodbye before I leave; excitement flares through me as he deepens our kiss, moving my body closer to his; tiny sparks of electricity run through me where our bodies touch. Tyler moves his hands to my shoulders, stepping back slowly, shaking his head as if to clear it. His voice is husky when he whispers,

“Come on, Lisha, we better go back.”

When we arrive home, Allana pulls me to one side,

“Don't forget everything I showed you today, Lisha.”

I hug her and watch as she leaves, whispering more to myself than her.

“I will miss you, Allana.”

As always, the house is too quiet when Allana isn't here. Exhausted, I kiss my mother goodnight, telling her I love her before I go to bed.