Chapter 22: Interpretive Extremes

“Are you a talking snake?” I say, the words forming the most ridiculous sentence I’ve ever uttered in my entire life.

“I am Ser Gelsper’s familiar spirit, but if you wish to boil me down to a talking snake, that is your prerogative,” the talking snake says.

I try and fail to say anything in response. There’s a snake and it’s talking to me. I think I’m owed some leeway to be in shock right now, don’t you? “Why…but…I…and…you…Laetitia…”

I swear to gods, the snake fucking sighs at me. “I could not say anything when you entered, for we are bound by the Pact to hide amongst your kind and never to reveal our true identity. However, you seem to have…stumbled…across a record of our existence. And thus, the Pact no longer applies to you. In fact, you are now charged with maintaining it, as well.”

I can barely stand. The world is still spinning. Pact? Familiar spirits? This is all too much. It’s too much. But then…

I think back to everything that’s happened since I got here. The differences between the two sides of town. Why everyone I spoke to was so dodgy about telling me anything. All of the warnings about making promises. Laetitia claiming me by the rules of some ancient law. Addison warning me about how dangerous she is.

They’re fucking fae.

My mind reels. It’s almost impossible to believe. But there’s a talking snake that claims it’s a familiar spirit not ten feet away from me, so I better start believing, and soon. “So…nobody was able to tell me the truth because of this pact, but now that I’ve seen this, it’s like, whatever, fuck it?”

Ceres just stares at me. “Yes, if you wish to put it plainly. It is called a loophole,” it says. She says? Ceres is a girl’s name, right? What pronouns does a familiar spirit use? I’ll ask later, I have bigger fish to fry.

“A loophole? What, like, when you’re on a diet but now it’s September and Starbucks just dropped the pumpkin spice latte a week or two earlier than you expected and obviously you have to celebrate, right? That kind of a loophole?”

“Your metaphor is moronic, but apt,” Ceres says. “The Courts of the Etherweald navigate an extremely obtuse and draconian set of laws that even I struggle sometimes to follow. But pushing those laws to their interpretive extremes is…somewhat of a pastime of theirs, you could say.”

“This is insane,” I say out loud, more to myself than to Ceres. “This is absolutely insane.”

“No, what is insane is that you are not hiding or fleeing,” the snake replies. “You do know this room is off-limits to guests, right?”

“What?” I suddenly hear the footsteps just outside the room. Oh shit. I stuff the tome back onto its place on the shelf and duck behind the nearby reading sofa just as the door opens. Peeking out from behind it, I can just barely make out the form of Josef, the Gelsper family’s valet, as he enters and peeks around.

“Ceres, did I hear you speaking to somebody?” he says.

“Do you see anybody for me to speak with?” the snake replies enigmatically.

Josef looks about and frowns. I poke my head back behind the sofa. Sofa? Knowing the Gelspers, they probably call it something like a Davenport. Divan. Chesterfield. Whatever, fuck them, it’s a sofa. “Need I remind you that there are other humans about town these days?”

“I am well aware and shall not reveal myself to any who are not in the know,” Ceres replies.

“That means no talking to yourself,” Josef says. “What if the cleaners had been here today?”

“Are the cleaners here today? I was under the impression that today was Saturday.”

Josef groans and leaves as quickly as he entered. The doors shut behind him with a loud thunk, and footsteps start down the hall, fading into the distance.

After a moment, Ceres calls out nonchalantly. “You can come out now, human.”

I crawl out on all fours and rise to my feet. “Okay, that’s enough crawling. I gotta get the hell outta here.”

“Yes, I suggest you do that,” the snake says. “Be a dear, would you, and tell Miss Gelsper I’m hungry.”

I shake my head. I’m definitely not heading back up to Laetitia’s room while Rey is waiting for me. Not with what happened last time I was in there. As fun as that might be. My libido weeping, I make for the door to the library. “Sorry, Ceres. No time to spare.”

“It was good to finally meet you, Mx. Everness,” Ceres says.

Wait. I hadn’t—“How do you know my name?”

“You’re the first new human to stay in Robin’s Brook for an extended period in over a decade, my dear.” Ceres leans in against the glass, glossy round pupils locked with mine. “Everyone knows who you are.”

Well, that’s the worst. I linger for just one moment as I ponder that, and then I’m gone. I slip out of the library and creep over to the glass sliding door leading out onto the back porch where I came from. It only takes a moment of fumbling to unlock it. By the time Josef walks this way again, I’ll be long gone.

I retrace my steps, first through the backyard, then around the side of the building and all the way to the sidewalk. Normally “all the way to the sidewalk” wouldn’t be much of a walk, but this is the Gelsper’s lawn we’re talking about, so by the time I make it to the sidewalk, I’m barely visible to anyone in the house. I whip out my phone and message Rey to let her know that she can swing by and pick me up.

Rey: k be there soon!

I start walking down the block, but it doesn’t take long before I see Rey’s car heading down the suburban street towards me. She stops the car and I hop in the passenger seat.

“So…?” If the way she’s looking at me is any indication, I’m probably pale as a ghost.

“I found it,” I say quietly. “I know.”

She throws her arms around me and pulls me into a tight hug, her cheek pressed against mine. Oh, that’s so nice. Laetitia touching me was nice too, don’t get me wrong, but that was all need and hunger, and this is… a person who cares about me as more than just a body.

I don’t get either of those things all too often enough, for the record. 

“I’m so, so sorry, Lum,” she says, holding me tight. “I would have told you, I swear, but I couldn’t.”

“You could have. I would have believed you,” I whisper.

“No, you don’t understand. I physically couldn’t. The Pact prevents it.”

Right. This “Pact.” That I am now also subject to, according to Ceres.

I hug her back for a moment and then pull back, noting that Rey doesn’t feel especially hot or cold to the touch, never has. “Rey, are you…”

She shakes her head, reading my mind. “No, I’m norm—I’m human. Like you.” She clears her throat and sits back at the wheel, taking off toward the east side of town. “My mom came here with me when I was a kid. Met a guy, got remarried. He was Fae.”

“That’s…wow. So you’ve known about all this for a while, huh?”

“About a decade, yeah.” 

Oh, wow. “And your sister…?”

“Heather’s known everything since birth. Her dad’s Summer Court, after all.”

“So she’s, what, half-Fae?” I say, feeling nosy. 

She nods. “There’s a couple around town, but not many. There aren’t a lot of humans who live here, and fewer that know the truth. Anyone who’s just passing by doesn’t figure out squat.” She sneaks a peak at me while she joins Main street. “I wanted you to know. But I had no way of telling you. That’s…actually why I wanted you to come to this bonfire later tonight. It’s sort of a Summer Court tradition. I thought, maybe you’d discover something on your own there.”

“I think I’ve proven quite well by now that I’m pretty dense, thank you,” I reply, thinking back to all the times I should have picked up on something strange. All the times Addison acted cagey or weird. Every secret she kept from me. Wait…did she not want me to know?

“Please don’t tell Addison or anyone else about this,” I plead. “I don’t want her to know.”

“What?” The car lurches as she brakes at a red light a lot faster than expected. “Why? Don’t you want her to know that you know the truth? Then you two can finally be able to talk and—” she blushes. “I don’t know, be normal around one another?”

“I don’t know, I just…I think she was trying to keep this from me for a good reason, and not just because of some dumb Pact. She doesn’t seem like the kind of person to want to stick to the rules, y’know?”

“She’s very protective of you,” Rey says, pushing up her glasses. “More than I’ve ever seen her with anyone else. You’re special.” 

Blood flushes my cheeks. “I’m nobody.”

“Now you listen here, Lum Whateveryourmiddlenameis Everness—,” Rey begins.

“—it’s Luna—”

“—you are smart and witty and clever and sweet and beautiful and absolutely worthy of being called special,” she declares, “and oooh, pretty name, nice choice,” she adds in with a grin.

“Thanks—wait, you think I’m beautiful?” I blurt out. I probably shouldn’t have homed in on that exact compliment, but hey, that’s the one that made my heart do a thing, so.

“Y–yes?” she replies.

There’s a strange silence that settles over the car after that. Finally, she clears her throat again, an adorable little “hem-hem” that makes me want to break out in a giggle. “Anyway…I won’t tell Addy if you don’t want me to. All I’m saying is, I don’t think she’ll be upset that you know.”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” I say as her car pulls up to the Rat & Raven. “Either way…well, I’ll see you tonight. Thank you so much for all your help.”

She smiles. “My pleasure.”

Gods, her smile is cute. And she’s maybe the only person who lives in this damn town who understands what I’m going through. And she thinks I’m beautiful.

And I think she’s beautiful, too. Oh. Ohh, this is…

Our eyes linger on one another for a while. I don’t pull away. “About what you said…”

“I take nothing back,” she says. “You’re pretty amazing.”

I lean in for another hug. I want to stay like this, with her in my arms, but I know Addy is waiting for me inside. Gods, what have I gotten myself into? Hannah and I were hypothetically poly (not that I ever got the chance to date anyone else while I was with her), so I’m no stranger to liking more than one person at the same time. Hell, half of my friendships began as crushes, and so far the same pattern is repeating here. But this is different.

Rey is sweet and easy to talk to. She’s got so much in common with me, and we’re almost always on the same page. She’s helped me more than anybody to feel welcomed and at home in Robin’s Brook. I’d kiss her right here if I thought it was a good idea.

But I just learned a whole lot of world-shaking information, and I need time to process before I leap into something like this. Besides, there’s also Addy, with whom my relationship is becoming increasingly complicated, and Laetitia, who…well, let’s just say that relationship is absolutely dangerous with want.

What kind of situation have I gotten myself into?

I lean my chin on her shoulder and just listen to Rey’s breath. I can tell by the way her heart is thumping that she feels something. Hell, maybe Addy called it on day one. Is Rey really into me?

I pull away before I lose all impulse control and do something stupid like kiss her. “See you tonight,” I say instead, words tinged with awkwardness.

She nods, her cheeks flushed red. I get the sense she was dreaming about a kiss, too. “Seeya then.”

I hop out of the car and she drives off. To my right, I can see Windy parked outside of the repair shop, still waiting for a new tire. I hustle into the Rat & Raven, the bell jingling as I enter. The smell of coffee and autumn spices embraces me, the warmest welcome I could possibly ask for.

That is, until Addy runs to the door from behind the counter and wraps me in a tight hug. Man, I could get used to being hugged so often. I almost never got hugs at home, let alone from beautiful women. Is this real life?

“I’m so sorry about before. I’ve thought a lot about it, and—” Addy starts.

“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her. “I know you have my best interests at heart.” And for once, I know for a fact that this is true. She may be some kind of Fae or whatever, but she cares for me, and I care for her.

That’s all I can ask for right now. I settle into her arms, finally understanding. Why she is so protective of her friends, why she kept everything from me for so long, why her skin is so hot to the touch, why she doesn’t trust Laetitia. I get it now.

After all, Addison Grey is of the Summer Court.

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