“First and foremost,” Angela said, standing maybe three feet from me. “You’re going to learn to string this bow. Notice how the arms are curved, you see?”

I nodded. For the first time I was really getting a look at my bow. It was made from a sleep black wood, very simple, but also a bit heavier than I’d expected. I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of contempt looking at it, as Meredith had forced me to run the obstacle course over and over again while holding it. Still, it was something Angela wanted me to have, and that was enough to make me love it.

“So what you’re going to do is take the string and nock it, here at this end. Then I want you to put the arm against the flood and press down on it with your foot. Don’t worry, you’re not going to break it. Once it beds, you can string the other end. Very easy, try it.”

I took the bow from her hands and pressed it against the floor like she showed me, but my first attempt resulted in the blow recoiling and literally smacking me in the face. I expected her and Meredith to laugh, but neither of them made a sound other than to give me tips for doing it better. With their help, I eventually managed to get the bow strung, and once done, it was much more recognizable as a weapon. I couldn’t help staring at it, there was something so…majestic about it, really.

“Stop eye fucking it and come over here,” Angela put an arm around me and guided me over to what could only be described as a makeshift archery range. Meredith had explained to me that she had several of these bunkers, all underground, and each one serving a different purpose. This one, I guess, was an archery range. According to Angela she had one in Alabama dedicated to her DVD collection. “Here, take the bow, use your left hand to hold the grip and lift it up, like this, put that at your eye level.”

She manipulated my arms, lecturing me that my draw hand needed to be higher than my aiming arm. Rather than firing an arrow, she made me stop, release, and reassume the position until she was certain I’d gotten it right.

“You have to bring it up faster than that,” Meredith said from the sidelines. “You can’t fumble around with it. It needs to be up, have an arrow in it, and be aimed within two seconds.”

“Two seconds?” My jaw dropped. “That’s not even possible!”

“Not possible for a mortal,” Angela confirmed. “But you ran her obstacle course for a week and didn’t get tired. We’re stronger, we’re faster, we’re more skilled. However…so are our enemies.”

“You know what I want to know?” I said, thinking out loud. “If Fae are supposed to be some kind of guardians, what the fuck kind of natural order dictated that they should have enemies that are stronger than them?”

“Fae weren’t always the guardians, it’s passed many times over the millennia,” Meredith explained to me. “There was a time when we were the vanguard of the Greek Pantheon. When they died out, people turned to us. There are many out there who truly think the time of the Fae should come to an end. They think they can do better.”

“What do you think?” I regarded her curiously. I didn’t want to be argumentative, I really wanted to know.

“I think I’m tired,” Meredith replied. “Notch an arrow, get it aimed, now.”

I grabbed an arrow from the quiver in Angela’s hand and notched it onto the string, but the moment I tried to bring the bow up, I slipped and watched the arrow clatter against the concrete floor.

“Another,” Angela held the quiver out toward me. I tried again, this time at least managing to keep the arrow on the string and resting on my hand. “Pull back, don’t let it go, just hold it.”

I did my best to keep my fingers wrapped around the end of the arrow but it wasn’t long before they began to shake.

“You’re a Fae, Jasmine,” Angela lectured me as I stood there, my arm beginning to quiver, a bead of sweat rolling from my hairline. “Your body doesn’t give out that easily. Stop thinking you’re a mortal human.”

I tried, I really tried, but it was hard, it was like my body wanted me to stop even though my mind knew I was tougher than that.

“Hey,” Meredith interrupted us. “There’s someone at the door, at the house.”

“How do you know that?” I asked, turning my head to look at her. As I did, my finger slipped, loosing the arrow and sending it barreling down the range. It missed the wooden target setup completely and smashed against the brick wall. Both Meredith and Angela glanced downrange momentarily, and then continued as if nothing had happened.

“Let’s get back,” Angela said. “I think our little girl here has had enough for the day.”

“You mean little princess,” Meredith corrected. “That’s what she acts like.”

Angela took my hand and guided me to the mirror as if she just didn’t trust me to walk on my own. I’d noticed that…a lot. They were always guiding me or walking with me; I’d barely had any time alone, and honestly, we didn’t sleep much, so there was no good reason to sequester myself in a bedroom. Come to think of it, I didn’t even have a bedroom. Holding my hand, Angela pressed it to the mirror, and like magic, as always, the bunker faded away, replaced by the white walls of Angela’s two story home.

“Alright, let’s see whose at the door,” Angela said in a kind of sing-songy voice as she made her way from the living room toward the foyer.

“How did you guys know anyone was at the door?” I repeated.

“It’s our house, Jasmine,” Meredith told me. She didn’t bother to explain any further.

I stood behind them as Meredith threw the door open, and the moment I saw who was standing there on our porch I almost collapsed.

“Annabelle!” Meredith said. “Welcome! What brings you to our home?”

“Grave news I’m afraid,” Annabelle said, stepping past Meredith and standing before us. I stepped backward a bit, pressing myself against Angela’s back. “But before we get to that…Jasmine, step out here please.”

I didn’t want to. I think I would crawled up Angela’s butt at that point if she hadn’t stepped out of the way and pushed me forward to the center of the foyer. I instinctively dropped do my knees and downcast my eyes. I hadn’t been ordered to, and after Meredith’s relentless sessions, I wasn’t even sure that an order would work on me, at least not like that.

“Jasmine, darling, do you know what the Contract of Eaves was for? It was conceived in the city of Eaves, you probably haven’t heard of it, it’s a massive city, south of the Antarctic barrier. It was designed to prevent human slaves from being snatched away by rival companies or organizations. Fae laws are…convoluted. You see dear, while the contract protects you, Fae law allows that slaves may be punished by any free person, so no matter what the contract says, I can slap you, or kick you, or do, well, anything as long as I don’t kill you or permanently disable you. Now you understand, that doesn’t go for just me, that goes for any free that comes into contact with you. It’s a nasty side effect but it keeps you here, with your mother, and Meredith in the long term. As for why I hit you? Broderick is old school, he would expect it. If I hadn’t struck you, he would have, and he wouldn’t have held back the way I did. So please, for the love of the gods, stand up.”

Was I really hearing that right? I slowly lifted my head, meeting her gaze, she was staring at me expectantly.

“Jasmine, I appreciate the respect you’re showing me, I really do, but I need you to get up now. We don’t have time for this.”

Angela’s hand appeared next to me. I took it and allowed her to pull me to my feet. I still instinctively kept my eyes pointed toward the floor.

“Ladies, we are facing a problem,” Annabelle told us. “And the Seelie court adjunct, would like for us to take care of it.”

“Us specifically?” Meredith raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“Well it would seem,” She said. “That Eustace has gone missing, and we have very few leads to go on. Shall we get started?”