Two years after the disappearance of Oberon and Tatiana, the first sign of corruption was noticed by a reclusive Fae tribe deep in the depths of the Endless Forest. They were a tribe of hunters, that worked with their animal companions to fight and hunt the dangerous beasts that call the Endless Forest their home.

Three Fae Hunters had been tracking a lesser brethren of the dragons, a wyvern without wings. The creature, called a Scaled Hunter, had been acting strange, attacking any creature that came near it.

It had been steadily getting closer and closer to a small village of flower Fae, peaceful creatures that rarely had to defend themselves thanks to the protection of the Fae tribe’s Hunters.

The three hunters created a trap that they were sure would kill the Scaled Hunter, but to their surprise, the Scaled Hunter shook off their trap like it was nothing.

The three Fae Hunters fought a fierce battle, suffering many injuries before they killed the Scaled Hunter.

After the battle, the injuries of the Fae began to fester, and they sensed a madness coming over them. Two of them resisted the Corruption, but the third fell. Powerful in his madness, the corrupted killed one of his companions, before the third killed him.

Knowing that this was a power that could not be ignored, the lone survivor hurried to tell the Greater Fae of the corruption’s spread.

It didn’t take long for the Storytellers to realize what was going wrong.

***

“Let me go!” The small Fairy said, pulling her strings back to her, and breaking the grip my threads had on her. Free of my power, she flew away from me. “That wasn’t very nice.” She finished. Using her power, she began a transformation that many of the stranger-looking fae know. Her body brightened, and her previously small form with wings transformed into something that looked human, with the exception of the pointed ears that are common to most Fae races.

“My name is Elira.” She said, her voice having changed slightly with the transformation. “And the person you claim to be, is long dead. Is this some kind of human trick? Because I won’t fall for it, no matter how much you look like the real Saron.”

I took a moment to examine her. She seemed familiar, but I couldn’t quite place where I’d seen her. Long orange hair flowed down her back, framing a young-looking face, her blue eyes looked directly into mine with suspicion as I studied her, and I found myself caught by those eyes.

They looked so… familiar.

Elira, where have I heard that name before? “Eliriana Dastra.” I said out loud as it came to me. I looked at her with some surprise as I realized how much she had grown. “You were a child hiding behind your mother the last time I saw you.”

She looked at me in surprise, some of her suspicion disappearing. “Are you actually him? But… everyone thinks your dead.”

“You’re the second person to tell me that since I woke up.” I said dryly.

“The Devil Fae?” Delon whispered under his breath behind me.

I looked back at him, but he had eyes only for the fairy. Was that fear? Just a hint of it, but it was there.

I turned to look back at the fairy who stood in front of us. “Is that what they call you now? The Devil Fae?”

Elira smiled at me, showing perfectly white teeth. “I have been called that recently, yes.”

“I’d love to hear more about you and about your mother…” Elira’s face dropped as I mentioned her mother. I pretended not to see it. “However, I have spent the last two hundred years in these caves. Don’t you think it is time for a little change in scenery?”

***

A few hours later, we exited the cave system into a small farming village. I’d convinced Elira to follow us out of the caves, and with a small amount of illusion magic, no one could tell that we three Fae were anything other than human.

The three humans left us as soon as they could, but not before Tio surprisingly tried to convince Leila to come with them.

I don’t think he really understood what it was like for her, and the Fae had not been so long in slavery that they’d forgotten what it was like to be free.

The village only had a small inn, and I was surprised to find out that the three humans weren’t staying there as well.

I caught glimpses of other Fae in the village, and I felt their presence. But I knew that I could not free them right away. I am a powerful creature, but I could not stand alone against the humans if they chose to fight me with their most powerful mages, which meant that I could not go around, freeing every single Fae I came across.

At least, not yet.

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I looked down with some relish as I was served a bowl of mystery soup, made specially by the innkeeper’s wife.

Even before my imprisonment in stone, I’d been traveling through enemy territory, living simply on rations and whatever meat we could hunt. The taste of simple food is always something to be relished.

Leila looked on quietly, as both Elira and I enjoyed the food that had been served to us. She was silent, but I could tell that she was nervous. She was obviously young, and likely born into slavery. I had no doubt that she was having some trouble coming to terms with the change in situation she found herself in.

Fae learned to live with change, it came with having such long lives. If you couldn’t change with the times, you were all too likely to find yourself dead, but that didn’t mean it was easy.

“You should eat your soup.” I said to Leila, “You never know when your next meal is going to be.”

Leila looked away from my gaze to begin eating her soup

“Who is she? she doesn’t look very familiar.” Elira asked me, referring to Leila.

“She is the one that freed me. I replied in kind when I saw her potential.” I said, taking another bite of my soup. A small smile spread across my face as I felt the warmth of the broth spread through my body.

“Potential?” Elira asked, playing with the wooden spoon in her hand.

I took another bite of the food, delaying my answer. “I suspect that she has a Greater Fae as an ancestor, or maybe even a member of the Royal Fae.”

“I see.” Elira looked down at the spoon she was playing with, rolling it between her fingers.

“I know it troubles you,” I started, bringing her attention back to me. “But your mother meant a lot to me, I would like to know what happened to her.”

Elira’s gaze dipped back down to the spoon as she gathered her thoughts. I waited patiently, knowing that she would answer me.

She didn’t look up at me as she spoke, “After you… died, the war didn’t go well. The corruption began to spread across the land, affecting the free Fae heavily. Our human allies tried to help, but there was only so much they could do.

“The war continued for another twenty years, and everyone knew that it needed to stop. Mother volunteered to negotiate a peace. She was killed by a human mage a week after she negotiated a peace treaty for the free Fae.”

“I’m sorry. She was an amazing woman.” I said, feeling my expression darken.

I had lost too many friends during the war, and it weighed heavily to know that I was responsible for their deaths.

“It isn’t your fault.” Elira said to me.

I looked into her eyes, which stared back at me with intensity.

“It isn’t your fault.” Elira repeated. “She believed in your cause. Everyone did. If it weren’t for you, there would be no free Fae left. If it weren’t for your sacrifice, the last of the dragons would have died. They all loved you. Even as a child, I understood that.”

“Thank you for saying that.” I said, raising a hand to my head as an old exhaustion came over me. “I wish that I could say that I was blameless. But if I hadn’t stood up for the freedom of our people, many people who are dead now, would still be alive. Even if I was right, I must accept that I am responsible for their deaths.”

Elira slammed her spoon into the table, her eyes beginning to brighten underneath the illusion I’d placed on us.“They chose Saron. Yes, you started the fight. But they are the ones who chose to fight with you. The responsibility of their deaths belongs to themselves, and no one else.”

We held eye contact for a moment longer before I turned my attention back to the soup. I felt the gaze of the curious innkeeper’s wife. She was too far away to hear what was being said, but she could’ve still seen Elira’s outburst. Leila had stopped eating and was staring at the both of us with curiosity.

“What happened to her?” I asked, taking another bite of the soup. “The last dragon, what happened to her?”

Elira sat back, folding her arms. “I never saw her, but from what I heard, she was devastated by your death. She blamed herself. When the war ended, she left for The Spire Mountains, I don’t know what happened to her after that.”

“She shouldn’t blame herself.” I said to myself.

“Why? Because it was your choice to get yourself killed?” Elira said heatedly.

I felt my control loosen as I stared at Elira, my inner predator coming out to bare its teeth.

Elira fell back into her chair, a small expression of fear coming on to her face.

I closed my eyes, getting control of myself with a deep breath.

I smirked as I reopened my eyes. “I guess you showed me. Maybe you’re right about responsibility, but saying that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

Both Elira and Leila let out a breath of relief as I spoke.

“I’m sorry about that. It was very immature of me to let my predator out like that.” I said, pushing my bowl to the side.

To my surprise, Leila spoke, “It must be strange for you, waking up to a world so different from what you remember.”

“It is.” I said decisively. “But I am adjusting to it.”

We ate in silence for the rest of the meal.

When we were finished, the Innkeeper’s wife came over to pick up our dishes. Elira gave her a tip with a bronze coin that I didn’t recognize.

I didn’t exactly wake up with a horde of coins, and Leila was a slave, so Elira had been nice enough to pay for our inn room and meals.

We made our way up to the room we were staying in, and Elira promptly transformed back into a fairy while I released the illusion I’d been holding around us.

There were only two beds in the room, and Leila stared wearily at both of them.

“Don’t worry.” I said quietly from right next to Leila, “You’ll be sleeping with Elira tonight in that bed.” I pointed to the bed on the right.

There was no telling what Leila had been ordered to do while a slave, and I don’t like imagining what it must be like for most Fae, who are considered very beautiful by most human standards.

Leila smiled at me gratefully, before walking over to the bed and sitting down on it with a sigh.

“So... “ I started, looking at Elira who was sitting down on one of the pillows with her small fairy body. “The Devil Fae. That’s quite a name you have for yourself.”

“I wasn’t the one who chose it.” Elira said, stretching her wings out. “It hasn’t been easy living as a free Fae in this kingdom.”

“I don’t imagine it was. But that doesn’t explain the name.” I said, taking off the black shirt that I’d been wearing for the last two centuries.

Leila blushed and looked away as I changed.

Huh, she must be younger than I thought.

“It’s also a long story.” Elira said, obviously reluctant to explain.

“One of the benefits of a long life, is that I have nothing but time.” I said, collapsing into my bed. “So tell me, what did you do to earn the name ‘The Devil Fae’?”

“Well…” Elira started