Heart of Stone (Rock Star Fairy Tales #1)

Chapter 29

C h apte r 29

Bor der Guards

Evening, Friday, Febr uary 20 th in Margot’s Bus in North east Armav

“S o,” Margot said, watching Ash slide a clean shirt over his head. The cloth covered a chest that was still lined with red marks, though not open wounds. Margot still had a vivid red line across her hip and down her leg, but it didn’t hurt when she touched it. Washing her hair with one hand had been challenging , though.

Tobin seemed to have everything they needed in his backpack, retrieving new clothes for Ash, jeans and a green shirt that said “Village Idiot” on the front. There had been some back and forth about clean underwear, but Margot wasn’t sure of the outcome, more focused on studying the damage done to her bus and debating how and when she would get it fixed. The door still shut, mostly, if she yanked it hard enough. Hopefully, she could find a body shop between Akkoy and Sivas that could do something, or maybe on the longer stretch from Sivas down to Mineo since they had a few more days between shows. She didn’t want to think about explaining the damage to the border guards when they crossed, especially now that Tobin was with them. “Are we going to talk about what just happened?”

Tobin watched Ash step slowly over and into the passenger seat, chest still heaving slightly. “Definitely,” Tobin said, “but let’s talk and drive.” He glanced out the front window from the swivel seat, now raised to a normal seat height and locked in place. “We’ve already lingered too long.”

“Thanks,” Margot said again, settling into the driver’s seat and checking her mirrors.

“Stop thanking me,” Tobin insisted. “I said I was here for you and I meant it.”

Ash let out a snort, and Tobin glared at him. “No noise from you right now. Besides, you need all the air you can get.”

Margot turned on her headlights and started driving again, avoiding the mound that had been a creature as she headed down the mountain. She scanned the horizon, looking for dark shapes against the night sky as she picked up speed, the road clear beyond the stor m debris.

“What was that—faeng thing?” she asked. “Some kind of fae monster? With a mag ic cloak?”

“They used to be fae,” Ash explained, head leaning back on the seat as he too scanned the horizon for threats.

“What happened to them?” she prompted.

“Dark magic,” Tobin volunteered. “We don’t like to talk about it, but there are abilities that poison the soul. Fae who have such powers must control them, or the darkness contr ols them.”

Margot frowned. “That sounds awful. What kind of abilities could do that?”

“The ones that affect free will,” Ash offered.

“Like Claiming? Is that an ability?”

Ash shook his head slowly. “No, Claiming is a ceremony, a spell. Any fae can Claim another, so long as the Claimer is stronger. Faengs use othe r powers.”

“Like mind control stuff?” she prompted, slowing down to take yet another curve though it seemed like they were nearing the bottom of the mountain.

“Yes,” Tobin confirmed, “though the minor stuff usually takes a really long time to have an effect. You know—making someone look left instead of right so they don’t see a thing, or convincing someone they don’t recognize you. But the faeng are fae who forced others to do their will, completely violating another’s volition, often wiping their memories and replacing them with falsehoods. The more they use their power to upset the balance within others, the more the darkness they unleash builds in them, eventually resulting in what you saw. Just wraiths, really, burning with the need for a new fae to abuse, to fill their need for more darkness.”

“Why are they called faengs?” she asked, remembering that push of power she had felt urging her to surrender when the faeng first appeared before her door.

“Fae who have fangs,” Tobin offered. “As they continue to abuse their power, their fangs grow. It’s one of the earlier physical symptoms of corruption.” At his words, he smiled at her, displaying a wide row of perfectly ordinary whi te teeth.

Margot grinned back, unable to stop herself, then asked, “How did they find us? Was it really t he storm?”

“You certainly know how to make an entrance, Margot,” Tobin commented. “There weren’t many fae in northern Armav. Anyone who cares is south, closer to the conflict. These faeng were hiding here, so it was easy enough for them to feel your call. But others will come too, now that they know a powerful new Unclaimed fae is in the area.”

“I didn’t call anyone!” she insisted, taking a corner slightly too fast and slowing down, aware that her frustration was spilling into her driving. “I don’t even know how I did it.”

Tobin nodded. “No worries, darling. We’ll work on that as we work on everything else. It’s a matter of focusing your emotions, using them to change the world ar ound you.”

“Can you do it?” she asked, glancing over at him. “Mak e storms?”

“I can do many things,” Tobin said mysteriously, and Ash scoffed again. “At least I’m willing to teach her,” Tobin snapped. “I won’t leave her def enseless.”

“You know I already said I would help her,” Ash defended. “I’m sorry if my years of never seeing anyone escape Claiming has poisoned my optimism.”

“But fae Lords are Unclaimed,” Margot reminded him. “Why not be one of them?”

“She says it as if it is a simple thing.” Ash laughed. “Margot, there is so much you don’t know.” He glanced at Tobin, head bouncing as the bus went over a bump in the road. “You think Tobin would have let himself be Claimed if there was a choice?”

“But you have a choice,” Margot reminded him. “Your father can’t be the only one who did this. I mean, oaths are common enough amon g humans—”

“Go!” Ash snapped, and Margot shut her mouth, wondering what she had said. Ash’s face said she had betrayed a secret, and she recalled that he hadn’t been able to tell her about the oath’s power without the magic wine to loosen his tongue. She bit her lip, not sure wha t to say.

Tobin nodded, lips pursed. “Interesting,” he said finally, cool eyes assessing his half-brother. “So many secrets coming t o light.”

There was silence as Margot finished driving down the mountain, silently kicking herself for her stupidity. It was Tobin, she decided, his familiarity and comforting presence that made it easy to say things in front of him, to tell him things. She knew, somehow, that he un derstood.

Though she had been welcomed by her aunt and cousin, taken in as part of the gang with Ash and Timothy, even made stage manager on the tour, Margot never forgot her isolation, her loneliness. Something deep within her responded to Tobin, recognizing something in him that echoed her o wn needs.

She glanced at him, a niggling question surfacing. “Why did they want me … and not Ash? I mean, he’s Uncla imed too.”

“In hiding,” Tobin explained. “If he doesn’t use his powers, they can’t sense his presence. You’re the beacon, darling.”

“Great,” Margot said, and they drove in silence for a time with only the music on the radio. Ash’s fire and heat magic must not be enough magic for anyone to notice, she thought, mind whirling as the road spooled out b efore her.

When they passed a sign for the border ahead, Margot turned to Tobin again. “Do you have ID?” she asked suddenly. “I am not hiding you in my bathroom.”

“Of course I have ID,” Tobin said, offended.

“Are you allowed into Genc?” sh e pushed.

“I’m not a criminal,” Tobin defended. “No matter what Ash mig ht think.”

“You just work for one,” Ash c ommented.

“As you said, I didn’t have much choice in the matter. And I know you don’t believe it, but Lord Rebinus is actually not a terri ble Lord.”

“See?” Ash asked Margot. “That’s the magic talking. He can’t help himself.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tobin said. “You aren’t Claimed. You just don’t und erstand.”

“It can’t be that wonderful if you’re so determined that Margot not be Claimed,” Ash observed.

“I want Margot to make her own choices,” Tobin said fiercely. “Someone should get to do what they want around here.” He paused, slipping in, “Or does that only appl y to you?”

“I don’t do what I want,” Ash grumbled, but he looked out the passenger window, not catching Margot’ s glance.

“Please,” Tobin drawled. “You mean to say that you dislike your rock star lifestyle? The poor lonely misunderstood musician?” He snorted. “As if you won’t go right back to your parties and your companions tomorrow night, leaving Margot alone and un defended.”

“I’m not alone,” Margot argued. “And I think I’m learning to defen d myself—”

“Of course!” Tobin interrupted. “He can’t even be bothered to risk his cozy disguise to save your life—or his own.” He leaned over to Margot. “For future reference, fire is the way to kill faengs. They flee from it at the very least, and their cloaks are quite f lammable.”

“But you didn’t use fire,” she commented, voice quiet. “You just … shook it to death.” At this, Ash’s head whirled around to face his brother. Margot had forgotten that he hadn’t seen how Tobin killed the creatures—he had been bleeding and near unconscious on th e ground.

“Humph,” Ash grunted. “Looks like I’m not the only one with secr ets here.”

“So I’m stronger now,” Tobin said. “My Lord grants me certain gifts.” He reached out to smack Ash’s leg. “Besides, the last time we actually sparred, I was a child. No doubt you’ve grown in strength as well.”

“No doubt,” Ash repeated.