Rogue Fae, A Starseed Universe Novella

The Plantation

Augusta most certainly did not see things Gwenn's way. Luckily for Gwenn, the high priestess was unable to come up with a plan that didn't incriminate her coven members, so she resigned to Gwenn's plan for the time being.

"After all their grandparents went through, dealing with the fae I can't believe Daniel and Robert would do such a thing," Augusta muttered under her breath for the fourth time.

"Really? A little extra money and some lovin' on the side is pretty enticing. You think a man would turn that down? It's clear Daniel didn't love Violet. He was using her. I'll bet he planned to break up with her as soon as he had enough rich and beautiful women fawning over him. Never would have dreamed she'd retaliate or get angry. Daniel didn't see Violet as a threat. Men that disrespect women rarely do." Emily said, in a heated tone.

Augusta raised her eyebrows. "I suppose you have a point there. And Daniel couldn't have carried on as he did if we'd have known about his relationship. I'd have noticed the change in Daniel and suspected something if I knew he was dating a fae." Augusta's words hinted at her own prejudices.

"Once we put the pieces together, I wondered if Daniel felt different to anyone," Gwenn asked, thinking about when Robert touched her arm. "I recognized something was different about Robert when I was standing super close to him, pretending to be a girl interested in him. His magic should have felt stronger the closer I was. Instead, it was stunted as if hidden behind a wall. I'm convinced Robert has a ward of some type up. It would be a smart precaution. He wouldn't want any other witches and wizards discovering what he hid inside him."

"Before Daniel died, he attended fewer coven gatherings. The only person he made a point of seeing was Robert. Now, I understand why," Augusta said the words as if they were the last thing she wanted to admit. She turned to Gwenn. "No one in the Nashville coven is as powerful as the McKays, but I believe someone would have realized something was up. And had we known Daniel was fraternizing with a fae we'd have dealt with it."

"You looked into my family?" Gwenn's tone was incredulous.

"You've got to be joking right? Three unknown witches show up at my coven's house three days after a member was murdered? Lynaya wasn't the only one skeptical though I didn't want to inflame that belief among the rest of the coven members. It's not like we had other options anyhow. I personally checked into each of your backgrounds as soon as you went to scope the alley with Robert. Once I learned more about your family I was pleased to be able to say a McKay was staying with us. There are many powerful witches and wizards in your line." Augusta looked at Rena and Emily and nodded as if to say they were powerful by association.

"Now that we know we checked out fine the most important question is where is Robert? He has to know we're looking for him and why. I'm convinced he saw us find Violet at Fae Bar and by now Violet's probably cracked and told him what we know. She's not in a strong mental place right now." Rena leaned her elbows on her knees as she redirected the conversation back where it belonged.

"Well, I have no idea what Robert is plannin' on doing with this fae girl, but I agree with you. He's no killer, so whatever it is must be temporary. He doesn't have any close friends besides Daniel and his family moved from the area years ago. But they did leave one place behind that he may take her to. It's secluded and Daniel's always had a fondness for the place . . . "

* * *

They stood in awe before the dilapidated, old plantation style home. Vines crawled up the side of its filthy white walls and full grown trees grew so close to the building Gwenn imagined the foundation riddled with roots and holes.