"Do you want me to go too?" Broch asked and I shook my head. "Do you want a cup of tea?" I nodded, not trusting my voice, and heard him head into the kitchen.

I slumped back down onto the sofa. He just left. As angry as I had been with him, I didn't think Kalen would just leave me when I needed him as much as I did right now. I kept hanging onto the fact that he was supposed to be my best friend. But, he left. The tears started to build in my eyes again as I replayed the argument we'd just had. Screw him.

Grabbing the remote, I turned the TV back on. The Hobbit was still paused on my Netflix account, so I played it from the point I'd watched up to earlier and aggressively wiped the tears from my checks. I'd cried more in the last 24 hours than I had in the last few years!

Broch came back through with the tea and surprised me by keeping Jenna's pink doughnut mug and handing me a Lord of the Rings mug. As he sat down on the other end of the sofa, I raised an eyebrow at his choice.

"I thought that one was yours," he explained.

"It is," I replied, blowing on the hot tea. I paused, considering whether it was worth getting a scalded tongue from trying to drink it too fast. Broch took one look at me and then lifted the mug from my hands, placing it on the table before I'd had a drink.

"It's too hot."

I stared at him incredulously. "If I can manage three Unseelie in one day, I can manage a cup of tea!"

"Were you about to drink it?"

"Yes!"

"Then you would have been burnt," he said, amused and a little smug, "It doesn't hurt to take your time."

"Give me my damn tea," I demanded indignantly. He handed it back and I blew on it, not taking a sip for another couple of minutes because I could see him watching out of the corner of my eye. And, I didn't want him to give him the satisfaction of being right.

Broch had apparently never seen The Hobbit before, so I restarted the film. He was surprisingly good company; asking important, relevant questions about the film and only snorting a few times when the elves and dwarves came on the screen.

"What? Are they not accurate?" I asked, grinning at him.

"Elves only appear in the Seelie or Unseelie realms because, in reality, they aren't any higher than my knee," he said with a small smile.

The information piqued my interest. "So, are there many types of Fae that only appear in the Seelie or Unseelie realms?"

He nodded, "Yes, most Fae aren't capable of maintaining a strong enough glamour to appear in the human realm. Even those who are able to, sometimes find it difficult."

"How come?"

"Humans are peculiar," he said with a shrug, "It's difficult for Fae to copy, let alone converse, with them." His brain caught up to his words and he looked at me sheepishly.

"What is glamour?" I wondered aloud, diverting the conversation.

"It's a type of Fae magic. It's like camouflage really, it changes our appearance so we can fit into the human realm," he explained.

"So, are you using it now?"

"Yes."

"Does it take a lot of effort?"

"No. Well, not for me - I've been practising it for a few years at least. I'm not as good as Kalen though. His clan make their offspring start using glamour as soon as they are of age, and then they're put into the human realm to practise being around humans and blending in."

I tried to take in all the information Broch was giving me without relating it to myself, but it stung.

"So, they have to fit into the human realm? Make friends with humans their own age?"

Broch realised he'd moved into unsafe territory, "I believe it's recommended."

I faced the TV and began watching the film again. Making Broch feel awkward was the last thing I wanted to do, but everything about mine and Kalen's friendship had come unravelled within 24 hours. I was at the point where hearing Kalen breathe would probably have irritated me. So, I carried on watching Bilbo talking to Gandalf.

Eventually, I turned back to Broch, "If it takes effort to maintain glamour, why are you doing it now?"

He thought for a moment before replying, "It's safer. I never know when a human might see me. Also, when I'm glamoured, Unseelie who don't know me, will not be able to tell I'm Fae."

I nodded. "Do you prefer being glamoured or normal?"

"Normal." It felt like he was choosing his words carefully. "When I'm glamoured, I've always got a small part of my brain concentrating on it. When I'm not glamoured I am more... relaxed? More myself."

"Makes sense, I guess." I thought about our conversation. "I'm sorry; I've been grilling you about all things Fae."

Broch reached out to touch my hand, "It's okay Anastasia. I know things must be very confusing for you at the moment. I'm doing my best to clear up what I can."

I smiled at him and turned back to watch the film; ignoring the overly excited tingles that vibrated through my chest when he didn't move his hand away. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed his hair was lighter that it had been a few moments before.

"Are there any reasons why a Fae's glamour might stop working?" I asked him, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

"Emotions can effect glamour. Like I said, a small part of the brain is always focussed on the glamour, so when strong emotions or even a deep sense of relaxation occurs, the glamour might slip," he replied and went back to watching the film.

I thought I'd been subtle, but a few moments later he picked up his mug with the hand that had been on mine and his hair returned to its normal sandy blonde.

"Can I ask just one more question?"

"Shoot."

I considered how to word my question, but in the end went for a direct approach, "What are changelings?"

"They're fae. But, they're a part of fae history that's particularly, well, disturbing."

"I still want to know."

"Okay, well, changelings aren't born, they're created. When a particularly jealous or malicious fae coveted a human baby, they would steal the child. However, in their place, they would place another less-powerful fae that had been glamoured to look like the stolen baby."

I felt the shock spread over my face while Broch continued, "This glamoured fae was called a changeling and would torment the human parents until one day, the glamour spell would wear off so the fae could return home, leaving the humans without a child at all."

"That's horrific!"

"Yes it is. Both the Seelie and Unseelie thought the same way as you, so creating a changeling was banned decades ago. There are extremely strict punishments if a changeling is made now."

I regretted asking. However, after I had gotten over the shock, I noticed how uncomfortable Broch seemed. "Thanks for telling me. Can't have been easy to be honest with me about that."

A smile, that did not meet Broch's eyes, lifted the edge of his lips. "No, but I guess you have a right to know."

"Why?"

"Because we kind of threw you into this world. I don't think it would be fair to only tell you the good bits," Broch said reasonably and then became distracted by another incorrect elf reference in the film.

When The Hobbit had ended, I pulled out a Chinese takeaway menu from the drawer under the coffee table. After ordering some food, we turned on the second Hobbit film. Thirty minutes later, I went through to the kitchen to hunt for the cash Jenna had said she'd left on the side. I bent down on the floor to look around and I realised I was not being cut by shards of window glass.

"Broch, did someone clear up in here?" I called through.

He appeared in the doorway and leaned on the doorjamb next to me, "Kalen was keeping an eye on you when you passed out so I figured I could clean up while I waited."

"Broch, are you a brownie?" I asked seriously, testing out some of the internet knowledge I'd accumulated the previous evening.

For the first time ever, I was able to see Broch lose his composure; a loud, carefree laugh erupted from the depths of his muscled chest. The ends of his hair slowly paled and I could see the tips of pointed ears poking through the fluffy whiteness. He stopped briefly to look at me, but I think my bewildered expression set him off on another bout of laughter.

I stepped forward to lightly smack him on the shoulder but his hand blurred up and grabbed mine before I got anywhere near his skin. Breath caught in my throat at the suddenness of his movement. My eyes darted to his face and that beautiful, pale green tone was back in his skin. I looked at his features slowly, taking in the way the light hit his high cheekbones and how his perfect jaw clenched when he felt me looking at him. His eyes met mine. They were a gleaming, emerald green and I felt myself getting lost in his gaze. The longer we stared at each other, the less control Broch seemed to have over his glamour, until I started to see the faint iridescent outline of his wings at the edge of my vision.

I moved closer to him. Slowly, as if asking permission, I slid my hand out of his and traced up the pale jade skin of his arms with trembling fingers. When I reached the edge of his t-shirt sleeve, I reached up to his hair again, fascinated by the slender points that emerged from it. Lightly, I touched the end of Broch's ears and his eyes closed, making me feel less vulnerable - bolder. I ran my fingers down the edges of his ears and suddenly I could see the glimmer in his skin and felt the lightest pulse throbbing through my fingertips. Broch opened his eyes again and gazed into my now feral ones. I leaned in closer to him and his arm snaked around my back, pulling my body flush with his. My mouth was inches from his silken lips when the doorbell rang.