Into the Fog (Fisher's Bay 1) ✅

Shedding Some Light

Nadia stepped back and watched as Cian glided - really there was no other way to describe how the man, er, seelie, moved - into the living room, taking in everything from the decor to the furniture. Chloe, Tate, and finally Remy shuffled in after him, Tate making himself comfortable in a chair while Chloe went into the kitchen. Remy stood next to her, though not too close. Nadia couldn't ignore the fact that his eyes kept moving towards her and she could sense his every move even when she wasn't looking at him.

Holy shit, was this her life now? Not but 30 or so minutes ago, she had learned that shifters and mermaids - no, Havsfru - existed. And now there was some sort of seelie king standing in her living room. Was he really old? Wait, how old were Chloe, Tate, and Remy?

Finally, Cian stopped, turning to face her. The urge to fidget was strong, but Nadia forced herself to keep her back straight and not shy away from his stare. There was nothing antagonistic in it. Mostly curiosity as Cian tilted his head to the side, his eyes moving up and down her body slowly. Like he found her to be a puzzle that he was trying to figure out.

"What can you tell us?" Remy asked gruffly.

Nadia glanced nervously at him and then back at Cian, not sure what was going on (and also to try and ignore the tingles that spread through her body at the sound of his voice). Tell them what? Was there more? Nadia was still reeling from finding out that she wasn't human. Or completely human, anyway.

"Patience... She is most definitely an enigma. But nothing I can't decipher," Cian said softly.

He took a step towards her and Nadia found herself taking a step back. Before she could ask what he was doing, Cian reached forward and grabbed her wrist firmly, pulling her to him. Remy growled - holy shit, he was the one growling all this time - but Cian only smirked at him before returning to his careful study of Nadia.

Nadia's wrist began to warm and tingle, though in an entirely different way than when she was around Remy. It was odd, but not painful.

"Wh-what's going on?" Nadia finally asked, finding her voice though she couldn't look away from Cian's eyes. She almost swore they were swirling just as much as they were twinkling.

"Just assessing you, love. You see... you are most definitely a supernatural creature, but someone has tampered with you," Cian murmured. "As fae, I have an alarming array of gifts that can help me try to figure just what was done."

"Tampered with me? What does that mean?" Nadia murmured.

She couldn't blink and she felt like she was floating. It was a struggle to stay focused on the words filling the air between herself and Cian.

"Someone hid your essence. The thing that makes you, well, you. But only the supernatural part of you," Cian continued.

"Why would they do that?"

"That is something I cannot tell you. You'll have to ask the person who did this," Cian said.

"Do you know who that is?" Remy asked, his voice sounding as though it was coming from far away.

All of Nadia's stress and worry was gone. She was light as air. Happy. Euphoria filled her as she smiled and began to sway with music that she wasn't sure she was actually hearing.

But then Cian let go of her and she came crashing back down, stumbling slightly. Warm hands gripped her arms from behind, keeping her upright. More warmth filled her, and it felt like sparks were traveling through her skin. Nadia looked over her shoulder to find Remy staring at Cian, a stern look on his face. She looked back at the fae, who was chewing on his lower lip as he continued to stare at her.