Fates Divided: Halven Rising

Elena held back a maniacal laugh. These people had lost their minds. “What do you mean you’re Fae? Like a fairy? Where are your wings? You’re not going to tell me vampires exist too, are you?” The last question was facetious, but she glanced around instinctively, searching for fanged creatures ready to pounce. It had been that kind of day.

Portia sighed and met Leo’s gaze. “Vampires are a part of human make-believe. Again, your intelligence concerns us.”

Maybe it wasn’t the best moment to allow the insult to bother her, but it did. She might not be a genius like Derek, but when she wasn’t boiling liquids with her hands, she was a damn good student.

Given the events of yesterday and today, Elena wasn’t in the mood for this—whatever this was. “What do you want from me?” she asked bitterly.

“Your assistance, of course,” Portia said. “To answer your earlier question about who we are, we must go back to an earlier time when angels still ventured into the human realm. There are those who refer to us as Nephilim, but Nephilim are a separate race. They were created by angels rejected from heaven who mated with humans. A mistake much like you, Elena, though you are at least descended from Fae, whose existence was ordained by God.” Her chin tilted up pompously. “God created us, and with our powers, we are the closest relation to angels.”

Elena glared at her. “So Fae and Nephilim are both the result of angels mating with humans.” Portia was attempting to draw a distinction, but Elena was pissed and confused, and she wasn’t above annoying them to get the answers she needed.

Portia’s eyes blazed and she leaned forward. Leo placed a hand on her arm, urging her to settle back in her seat. He studied Elena calmly. “Nephilim were created by disobedient angels mating with humans, while Fae were created by angels ordained by God to create a new race with powers and immortality. It is the difference between good and evil.”

His words were myth and legend, but a part of her couldn’t entirely discredit them. She’d witnessed things science couldn’t explain. And these people touched on something else she’d never understood—the puzzle of her mother.

No one knew why her mother had left on Elena’s first birthday. She’d been told her mother had simply disappeared—literally during the party. She was never heard from again.

Did Portia and Leo know what happened to her mother?

Portia grinned rigidly. “You are descended from the beloved Fae created by God. Is it any wonder you have come into your powers? On your eighteenth birthday, you reached your majority, a time when Halven present with abilities, if they possess them.”

She had turned eighteen yesterday. “If this is true, why am I only now learning of it? If I’m part Fae, I’m one of God’s beloved,” she said half-mockingly, because dammit, these people waited until unexplainable things occurred before telling her she wasn’t human?

Portia and Leo visibly stiffened, but Deirdre looked on with an expression of sadness. Something Elena had said apparently hit home.

“No.” Portia leveled her with a look of disdain. “Halven are far from beloved. I suppose Halven may be perceived as a bit of disobedience on the part of a few willful Fae. But Halven are an abomination, much like the Nephilim.”

Elena gritted her teeth. She was sick of the insults. “Then why am I standing here? I’ve got school and friends and better things to do than be kidnapped and verbally abused by you.”

“There is nothing more important than the battle Fae face,” Portia spat. “Abomination or not, you were sired from a powerful bloodline and possess an ability we need.” She looked away, as if exasperated.

Leo’s hand once again came down on Portia’s arm. She glanced at his expression and let out a sharp breath. Plastering on a tight smile, she turned to Elena. “Are you up to the challenge we have to present to you?”

The light tone of her voice after that anger could be nothing short of fake. Portia sucked at diplomacy. And a challenge? Hadn’t they dumped enough on her? “I doubt it,” Elena mumbled, her mind buzzing from the emotionally charged moment.

Portia’s eyes narrowed. “Your mother and the rest of the Fae are in grave danger, and you stand here—”

Elena’s head lifted. “My mother? Where is she?”

“For now, she is safe, but she will not be for long. Unless you help us.”

Elena stared in disbelief. “How do you expect me to help you?”

“You may be a half-blood, but you are still Fae. Have you not noticed additional strength, healing, or sensory input, along with your abilities?”

Elena swallowed. She had noticed some of those things.

“Fae have never been susceptible to disease in all the millennia of our existence. But someone managed to create a virus that kills our kind. It will kill your mother as well.”

“My mother left me,” Elena said, without thinking. Of course, she didn’t want people hurt, including her mother, but this was insane.

“Elena,” Portia said in a voice filled with warning. “Consider your options very carefully. We may be injured as a race, but we are not weak. If what we believe about your particular ability is true, it makes you valuable to us. We are asking for your help. We will not ask again.”

There was an eerie finality to her words. Elena looked to the others at the table. Leo’s expression was stoic, but Deirdre glanced away as though she was uncomfortable.

“What do you want from me?”

“We want you to build your powers and create a cure for the disease sweeping our land.”