Arrowan

I woke up hotter than I remembered being before in my life. Still groggy, I tried to wriggle out from underneath the blankets, but they were too heavy. I tried harder and still I was trapped, though I did earn a grunt of protest from...

Luin.

My eyes snapped open and I saw him plastered to my chest. His hands gripped my arms, which explained why it had been so hard to extract myself, and his eyes were squeezed shut like he was awake but trying very hard not to be.

"Luin?"

"Go back to sleep," he grumbled.

"Luin, I'm a little trapped here."

He ignored me that time, and I couldn't help smiling. I knew was still awake. Even if I couldn't feel it through our bond, he wasn't exactly being subtle with the way his face was scrunched up and the way his fingers gripped me tighter than before.

"Luin?" I tried again.

One of his eyes opened and glared at me. "I'm sleeping," he said, and the eye shut again.

Well, this wasn't so bad, even if I could use a trip to the restroom. I wrapped my arms around Luin and settled back into the bed, shutting my eyes and relaxing into the moment. I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, but it was really nice to lie here and hold Luin for a while.

That is, until he shifted a bit and put weight on my already-aching bladder.

I craned my neck forward so I could press a kiss to his forehead. "I need to get up."

He grumbled a bit, so I sighed and slid him off of me. His hands still clung to my arms and we quickly became entangled, but Luin finally released me. I tucked the blankets around him and he burrowed in without any further complaint. I never thought someone not being a morning person could be such an adorable trait, but somehow, Luin turned it into one.

After a quick trip to the bathroom, I headed for the kitchen and stopped short when I saw Fen opening and shutting cabinets.

"Good morning," I said, and he jumped, turning to look at me with a guilty, startled expression.

"Sorry! I was just looking for something to eat."

Why was he apologizing? "That's why I'm here, too," I said, smiling reassuringly. Since I didn't feel like cooking today, I headed for the cereal pantry. I was still getting used to how sweet the quick breakfast options were on Earth, but I enjoyed them. Why couldn't I have grown up somewhere with socially-acceptable desserts in the morning?

Fen watched as I poured cereal into a bowl, then milk. "Want some?" I asked, holding up the box instead of putting it back in its cupboard.

"Sure." He mimicked my movements hesitantly, and I saw him checking the ratio of cereal to milk in my bowl before pouring his own, confirming my suspicions that he had never had cereal before.

I tried to casually eat my cereal without making it too obvious I was watching for his reaction, and I wasn't disappointed. Fen scooped up a bite and examined it closely before eating it. He frowned while he chewed, then his expression brightened and he grinned. "It's good!"

"Luin's got lots of different kinds of cereal. You should try out the others and see what you like best," I said, moving to the table.

Fen nodded eagerly after he took the seat across from mine.

Luin came in before I reached the end of my bowl, and he scowled at the cereal and milk that had been left out. I could see his mind working as he tried to decide how big of a deal he wanted to make out of this before he shrugged and got out his own bowl.

"Sleep well?" Luin asked as he settled in the seat next to mine.

I nodded since I was chewing and Luin cared about table manners. Luin's eyes flicked to Fen, who shrugged. "It was weird being away from home... mostly because there's no going back. This feels like one of my work trips and I have to keep reminding myself it isn't one."

I felt for Fen. All of us were displaced fae. Our struggles leading up to this point might have been different, but we had a lot in common. Luin fixed on a smile that somehow didn't look at all forced even though I knew he wasn't actually feeling happy right now. "You'll get used to it," he said. "And in the meantime, are you going to talk to your bond mate today?"

As far as topic changes go, it wasn't subtle. Fen didn't seem to notice or mind. "I don't know. Maybe it would be better if I just, you know, observed for a while."

"That's called stalking," I pointed out.

Luin kicked me under the table. "Don't listen to him."

Fen shrugged. "Well, he isn't wrong."

"What species is your bond mate, anyway? Human?" I asked. It was the likeliest option in this realm.

And that's when things got interesting. "I have no idea," Fen said, and he rubbed at his cheeks, looking frustrated. "I don't know how to tell."

Luin sat up straighter as his whole demeanor brightened. "I know people who can help with that! Why don't we start with figuring out his species. I bet it will help you come up with a plan." At my questioning look, Luin said, "Glenna and Safiya –" he turned to Fen now – "They're witches. They'll be able to cast a spell or make some kind of potion to identify him."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Fen asked. "What if they get caught?"

"They won't," Luin said. As far as assurances went, it wasn't substantial. He sounded confident enough that Fen relaxed anyway.

"Okay," he said, nodding. "And... do you mind if I try more of this stuff?" he added, sheepishly holding up an empty bowl.

Once we were all fed and dressed, Luin had the three of us gather in the living room so he could teleport us directly to Glenna and Safiya's. Fen didn't know the way and Luin and I were still avoiding being in unwarded places, so this was our best solution. Luin had explained that their wards shut down all magic except teleportation unless they specifically keyed you in as an exception, like they had with Luin and myself. And guests couldn't teleport with living things other than themselves. It was annoying not to be able to just walk across the street to see them, but an attack would be even more annoying, and I was grateful we had at least one place outside of this house where we didn't need to worry about Unseelie attacks.

When we landed, I heard Safiya's voice coming from the next room. I wandered over and found her at her sales counter, talking with a harpy who was shedding feathers on the ground. The harpy was making strange, raspy, choking noises and Safiya was trying to calm her down but kept shooting pleading looks to Glenna, who was aiming her wand at a steaming cauldron as a stream of purple vapor flowed between them. Glenna looked worried, but she shrugged helplessly.

"I'm molting!" the harpy cried, cutting off Safiya. "I'm not supposed to molt for another two months! The holidays are coming up and I'm going to be bald because my new feathers won't be ready yet."

The harpy looked like she was on the verge of a total meltdown. I hesitantly took a step back, wanting to be far away when that happened. Even distressed and sad, harpies were vicious creatures. I took another step back, then cursed myself as a coward. I couldn't leave Safiya to handle this alone.

When I reached the counter, they both looked to me and the harpy leaped back, then tried to cover her balding patches. "Never mind! I'll come back later, when you're not busy."

I held up my hands in placation. "May I try to help?"

The harpy, who had been about two seconds from leaving, leaned forward a little. "You? Help?"

I reached a hand slowly in her direction. "Take my hand," I offered. She hesitated, glancing at Safiya, who looked just as surprised that I'd stepped in. "I have some healing magic," I said. "If the cause is nonmagical, there's a chance I can fix it."

"What's your price?" the harpy asked even as her talons twitched toward me. She badly wanted to accept, but I knew how we were viewed on Earth. The first rule taught to anyone about dealing with the fae was that they were tricky with favors and would come out ahead on any deal.

"No price," I assured her. "I just want to help."

The harpy shook her head vehemently and stepped back, wrapping her wings around herself protectively. "No. I know your kind. Nothing is ever free, especially not with you lot."

Well, that was rude, not to mention racist. I rolled my eyes, which only seemed to offend her more, and said, "Why don't you pay Safiya whatever you were going to pay for her help. What I need is a favor from her."

The harpy's eyes darted to Safiya, who lifted a brow at me but nodded her agreement. The harpy squawked in excitement. "The deal is struck. I'll owe you nothing," she said, glaring at me. She tossed a brown pouch onto the counter in front of Safiya, who was barely able to keep it from sliding off the other side.

"Agreed," Safiya said, after checking the contents of the pouch.

"Agreed," I echoed. "Now, will you take my hand?"

She did as I asked, and the points of her talons rested gently on my skin. I knew they were sharp enough to slice through my hand with very little effort on her part, so I shut my eyes for focus and sent a wave of healing magic into the harpy. Thankfully, the problem was easy enough to identify and I was able to clear it up easily. Once I was done, I opened my eyes and smiled at her. "You had an infection from a cut on your thigh, but it's all cleared up now. I can't bring back the feathers you lost, but the molting should stop now."

The harpy yanked her talon away from me, drawing a few drops of blood in her haste to get away. "You're sure?"

"Yes." And she took my word for it, which I knew she would. The other thing everyone on Earth said about fae was that we couldn't lie. While that wasn't strictly true, I was happy for the rumor now if it meant ending this interaction sooner.

A gale came out of nowhere, winding around the harpy and encasing her like a tornado. When it died down, she was gone and Safiya was tugging at her tangled hair, looking distraught. "Those dang harpies never give me warning in time to save my hair," she complained. "Thanks for your help with that. I know nothing about bird medicine."

"No problem."

"Is Luin here, too? Or did you need something?" she asked while rustling through a drawer in the counter. She pulled out a little mirror, then drew her wand out of its holster. A few flicks later, her hair was back in its braids. Luin kept grumbling about getting Glenna or Safiya to help him with his hair. I began to understand why.

I turned and looked toward the doorway, where Luin and Fen were watching us. Safiya looked, too, and grinned. "You brought company!"

They came over to the counter, Luin leading while Fen dragged behind, his eyes round with wonder as he looked all around the sisters' magic shop. "This is my friend, Fen. We grew up together. Fen, this is Safiya and over there is her sister, Glenna."

"So, you're witches?" Fen asked.

Safiya grinned. "And proud of it."

"If you grew up together, how...?" Glenna's voice trailed off and she blushed. "Sorry, I'm sure that's personal."

"How is he here, when I was banished and alone?" Luin filled in wryly. "Don't worry, Glenna. I don't mind you asking. Fen just came to Earth recently. We were actually hoping you wouldn't mind doing us a favor."

"You know you only have to ask," Glenna said.

"Yeah, especially after your soul mate over there got rid of my harpy problem," Safiya chimed in, shooting an irritated look toward where the harpy had disappeared.

"Thanks. We need to figure out what species someone is."

"Ooh, who?" Safiya asked, leaning forward and looking like a teenager hungry for gossip.

"My bond mate," Fen answered.

Safiya gasped dramatically. "You mean he isn't fae? I didn't know that could happen!"

She was too excited about this, but then, according to Luin, Safiya had a slight obsession with all things bond-related. All species had soul mates, but not many were able to identify theirs, and as a witch, Safiya couldn't. While she looked for a magical way to change that, she lived vicariously by obsessing over the bonded relationships of the people around her. It couldn't be healthy and I wondered why Luin had encouraged it for so long.

"It's not something they talk about back home," Fen said, "but there are those of us who can do bond magic. Those who use their magic to screen for Unseelie mates are our seers, and when I went to a seer on my name day, she told me my bond mate was an Earth native. I saw him last night, but I have no idea how to tell what species he is."

Glenna looked confused, and no wonder – she probably wouldn't have heard about fae things like seers and name days before. Safiya, on the other hand, looked just as eager as ever and glossed over all the details. "We can definitely help! If you'd like, I can go with you to see him. It's pretty easy to tell someone's species," she said, waggling her wand in the air.

Fen looked hesitant, probably thinking this was too big a favor to ask. Luin seemed to have drawn the same conclusion as I had and jumped in. "Thanks, Safiya. Would you be able to go now?"

Safiya looked pleadingly at her sister, who rolled her eyes and nodded. "Go on. Just try not to stay out too long."

"Luin and I can stay here with you," I offered. Most customers didn't pose the sisters a threat, but I didn't like the idea of one of them running the shop alone. There had been some close calls in the past. During our time together, Luin had told me stories of potion displays toppling and almost creating catastrophic combinations or of overzealous customers getting into things they shouldn't, or worst of all, stories about times nasty magical creatures turned aggressive.

Safiya grinned and held her hand out to Fen. "Let's go!"

Fen, wide-eyed, took her hand and they disappeared. I sagged against the counter, somewhat to be dramatic and somewhat because Safiya truly was tiring. "I don't know how you aren't exhausted all the time," I said to Glenna. "She's... energetic."

Glenna smiled sweetly, not looking the least bit offended. "You should have seen what she was like when we were younger. She's calmed down a lot."

And wasn't that a disturbing thought?