“Why would they do that?” she wheezed.
“Probably because they hoped you’d be mistaken as an elf,” she trailed her fingers over the point of her ears. “Our races have the same ears, after all. Of course, they left you with a fae family instead of entrusting you with me.”
Layla narrowed her eyes at the queen. The more she spent time with the monarch, the more she questioned the queen’s true motives.
“Yeah, well, this isn’t how I envisioned discovering my wings,” she replied. She would sort through her feelings regarding the queen later. For now, she just wanted to rest. “You could have warned me you were going to do that,” she said.
“Yes, I could have,” Janae said, “But that would’ve taken the fun out of seeing you flail about before finally gaining them.
Layla rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
She sat up, her muscles quivering. The wings were much heavier than she had been expecting. She would have to start building muscle in her back and shoulders if she was going to be able to use the wings properly. She stretched her back, feeling her shoulders pull and then relax with the motion. She yawned, her head aching.
“I really would like to get some rest,” she said.
“I understand,” Janae said. “Breaking a spell like the one your parents put on you is an incredibly difficult feat. I am so proud of you for doing it.” She smiled down at Layla.
Layla fought the urge to roll her eyes again. She didn’t care what the monarch said right now. She just wanted to be alone, to think through everything she’d learned. It had been a long day, made even longer by the queen’s insistence of pushing her to her breaking point.
“Will you take me to my sleeping quarters?” she asked wearily.
“I already did,” Janae replied, pointing up.
Layla groaned, her eyes following the direction the queen pointed.
“You can’t actually expect me to sleep up there,” she said. “After all this.”
“The more you face your fears, the better off you’ll be,” was all Janae said.
Layla huffed. She didn’t even know if she could climb the stairs. Her back and shoulders ached so much. Still, there was obviously no reason to even attempt convincing Janae of this. She would just tell her that pushing herself would make her stronger or some other such nonsense.
“Fine,” she hissed. Her stomach roiled as she forced herself to stand. Her dress hung in tatters and her jacket was bunched up just above where her wings were attached to her body. She doubled-over, heaving as she fought against the pain coursing through her entire body. Wearily, she took a step forward. She wobbled and nearly toppled over.
“You can dismiss your wings, you know,” Janae said. Her voice carried a laugh with it that made Layla’s hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
“How?” she asked. She didn’t want the queen’s help, but if it made it possible for her to walk without feeling like she was carrying a ton of bricks on her back, she’d accept it.
“I’ve been told all you have to do is envision them disappearing and they will.”
“Okay,” Layla said. She thought about it, but then second-guessed herself. “How do I bring them back?”
“Haven’t you ever seen fae dismiss and bring their wings back before?”
“No.”
Janae sighed, clearly irritated. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t have. Your adoptive parents, the Diones, were very puritan, weren’t they?”
“What do you mean?” Layla didn’t like that her parents had kept this secret from her or that they had treated her poorly for a decision they willingly made. But, they had raised her and taken care of her. She wasn’t about to let anyone bad mouth them in front of her.
“I just mean that they believed in the traditions of old. Although the fae have known how to dismiss their wings for over a century, I’m betting they did everything according to the old way. Wore their wings with pride.”
Layla thought back to all the times they’d told her about the old traditions and wanted her to partake. They had been heartbroken when her wings didn’t come in like the rest of the fae her age.
“I can see from your face that I’m correct,” Janae said, “Well, its unsurprising. They sacrificed their only child to save the royal heir. Of course, they would want to maintain the old ways.”
Layla didn’t know how to respond to that so she simply asked, “are you going to help me dismiss them or not?”
“All you need to do is imagine your wings disappearing and they will.”
She did as she was told. Closing her eyes, she envisioned her back the way it had been. The tattoo stretched across her back in pristine condition. Her wings completely gone. A sensation like ice dripping down her back passed over her and she shivered. The tension in her muscles eased and the weight disappeared. When she opened her eyes, her wings were gone.
A jumbled mess of emotions bore into her. She couldn’t tell if she was pleased she’d been able to dismiss her wings or not. Part of her just wanted them to stay. Forever. It was one more connection to her parents. Both sets of them.
“Now, was that so difficult?” Janae asked.
Layla sighed. She didn’t know why the elvish queen was determined to be such a pain in her arse, but she was over it.
“Look, I’m tired. It’s been a rough few days and I don’t like the fact that you’re trying to turn everything into some sort of royal training. So, just leave me alone.”
She didn’t wait for the queen to respond as she stormed up the steps. She didn’t even look down to see how high she climbed. If she fell now, she knew she could save herself, just like she always had.
She shoved the door to the tree house open. She didn’t bother turning on any lights. Stumbling to the other side of the room, she found the bed and collapsed onto it. She pulled the covers over her and let her body succumb to its exhaustion. As her eyes closed, her thoughts were drawn to most important event: she was the lost princess.
Chapter Sixteen
Layla’s eyes fluttered open. For a moment, she was back in her apartment in the city. But then, birds chirped from the tree limb braced against her window. She sat up, the memories flooding back into her. Her shoulders were still sore from the wings she’d summoned the night before, but she forced herself to get up anyway. With light filtering through the wide, open windows, she discovered that the tree house actually had three rooms to it. A small kitchen to the side of a large open space with a couch, loveseat, and chair; the bedroom at the back; and a bathroom adjacent to the bedroom. There were no doors, only archways to separate the spaces.
A new set of clothes was on a chest at the foot of the bed. She quickly changed into them. She sighed as she examined the state of the clothes Bear had given her. Although the dress was undeniably ruined with two gaping holes in the back and a shredded skirt, she hoped the jacket would be salvageable. The back of the jacket was only attached by the neck seam.
A loud knock on the door drew her attention. She smiled when she saw that Max was waiting for her at the door.
“Are you feeling better?” she asked as she flung the door open and ushered him in. His eye socket was still a dark shade of purple, but most of the cuts and bruises on the rest of his exposed body appeared to have healed.