“How am I going to hide these?” I asked them, worried. They looked at me and were somewhat sad.

“You're not,” Mom said.

“We promised your birth parents that when your wings grew, we would take you home to Fae,” Dad said.

“But why did my wings grow now? Why did they suddenly just rip out of my back?!”

“Your parents put a spell on you that prevented your wings from growing out until a certain age. We didn’t expect it to be so soon,” dad explained.

“We were hoping that they would grow in after you graduated high school,” mom expressed.

I got really worried. How will we explain this to my teachers? To Adair and Aidan? Something tells me that I shouldn't even bother to tell Hametsu. I hope Roxy has the same idea about not telling Hametsu.

“What do we tell everyone?” I asked.

“Nothing. The memories of you and Roxy will be erased from everyone.”

I got really sad. I have to leave Adair, Aidan, and Hametsu behind. Admittedly, I don't exactly like him because he’s pessimistic and kind of an asshole, but I don't want him to be lonely, even though he has his girlfriend and seems to hate everyone else. I can't help but feel bad for him. I put up with his crap because I think he can change his behavior towards people. But after seeing what he did to Alec... I’m not too sure. I need time to myself. I have to text my friends to calm down and gather my thoughts.

“Can I have some time alone? Just for right now,” I requested.

“Alright honey, just call us if you need us,” mom told me. She and dad hugged me before they exited my room.

I texted Roxy asking if she planned on telling Hametsu. She replied, “no and I don't think it's a good idea”. I agreed with her. We just met him literally two days ago. As I said before, I only put up with his assholery because I believe he can change. But considering his mental state and how often he makes fun of me, I’m not sure if that’s ever going to happen.

I decided to drop that subject and text Adair and Aidan.

I was stupid enough to take a selfie and send it to them.

Me: Hey guys. WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK IS THIS OH MY GOD HELP MEEE!!!

Aidan: Kal bro. Chill. Everything is gonna be okay. Don't worry.

Adair: Wow. That was earlier than we expected.

Aidan: Adair! Not on the group chat!

Me: Excuse me?

Adair: Well, uh. You see. Um.

Aidan: Dude. Let me handle this. Kal, your adopted parents told you things right? About Fae and your birth parents?

Me: Yeah. They did. Wait a minute, how do you know about this?

Adair: ...

Aidan: ...

They didn't respond. Twenty minutes later they were at my house.

“Kallan. Dude. Your wings are epic,” Aidan said. Adair rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“Aidan. Not now,” Adair said sternly. Adian gave the “dude wtf” look.

“What the hell is going on?!” I asked, getting frustrated.

I swear we all look like we could be brothers. We all have green eyes and brown hair. But Aidan’s is lighter than mine and a little closer to red and Adair’s is the color of oak tree bark. We all have green eyes of various shades. Adair’s are emerald green and Aidan’s are forest green.

They eyed that annoying stain. They grew worried. They began whispering to each other.

“Kallan how long has that stain been there?” Adair asked.

“Three and a half years. I can't get rid of it. I have tried,” I said.

Aidan sighed.

“We need to go back, Adair. The Death King’s influence has spread to the borders of Fae and the Human Realm,” Aidan said urgently. “Hey Kal, did you get a small package with a necklace in it? It has a dragonfly charm.”

I dug around my drawer and searched for the necklace. I eventually found it underneath all my food.

“This thing?” I asked, holding it up.

“Yes. That's it,” Adair said. “It's the Black Death.”

I dropped it in fear of getting sick. The last thing I need is to have the bubonic plague.

“It's not a virus. It's a curse. The humans mistook it for a virus and tried to find a cure for it,” Aidan said. “The former Death King, Romeo, unleashed it to the Human Realm as a way to try and conquer it. The good king Oberon defeated him and took the charm away from him. We’ve been guarding it ever since.”

“The current Death King has tried to take it from us numerous times. But he has failed every single time,” Adair explained.

“What does that have to do with the stain in my bedroom?” I asked.

“This room is the border between Fae and the Human Realm. That stain is the Death King’s power leaking through.”

I was skeptical. I went over to the stain and touched it.

It completely disappeared. Not only that but my entire carpet was cleaned of stains. I was shocked and amazed. I could just imagine the pocket money I would’ve made by doing carpet cleaning with that ability. I would've gotten rich quick, and also be taken in for questioning by the FBI or some other government agency for these weird powers and my wings. Staying here is totally out of the question.

“So uh… when do we leave?” I asked.

“Right now,” Aidan said. He was about to do some sort of ritual but was interrupted by that familiar squeaky voice.

“Don't leave without me!!” We all looked over and saw a swallowtail butterfly come flying in through my window. I held out my finger and he landed on it.

“Excalibur? Where were you?” I asked.

“I turned into a butterfly!”

“We can see that Excalibur. But how? I just saw you a few hours ago as a caterpillar.”

“I found Adair and he turned me into a butterfly. Then I got lost on the way back. But I saw a death fairy do something cruel to a butterfly!”

Before I could protest, he used some sort of spell that allowed me to see what he saw.

Excalibur was resting on a nearby tree close to where a fairy with black and red wings was. He seemed lost in thought, most likely taking a break. A monarch butterfly flew up to him and landed on his knee. The fairy was watching it the whole time. This cruel smile crept upon his face. He let the butterfly crawl on his hand. Then he took it by the wings.

“Oh, poor thing. You look tired.” His smile widened and grew even crueler. “I know you want to continue flying. But let me put you out of your misery!”

I watched in absolute horror as he began to slowly rip the butterfly's wings off. Then he ripped its legs off. All the while he was smiling and laughing. When he finished, he dropped the near-dead butterfly next to him and walked away laughing very cruelly. “Glory to the Death King!” he said with a cold laugh. He sounded almost… mocking. I saw him teleport away

Excalibur flew to the butterfly and used a spell to transport it somewhere.

I was absolutely horrified. That was most likely a death fairy. How are they so cruel? But why did he sound so condescending when he said “glory to the Death King?” Guess this Death King isn’t popular with some people.

“Where did you send the butterfly?” I asked Excalibur.

“To Adair. He knows a lot of healing magic,” the butterfly sword said. I was rather surprised. A million questions formed in my head but I couldn’t voice any of them. Are they fairies too? Why are they hiding things from me? Is Adair good at healing? I was utterly lost. My face probably said everything.

Aidan gave the look that says everything will be explained later. I nodded.

“Did you save her?” Excalibur asked him. I assume it’s about the butterfly again.

“Yes. The butterfly has a new pair of wings and a new set of legs,” Adair said. “I fed it milkweed nectar and sent it to Fae so it can live in the secret meadow safely.”

Relief flooded me as soon as I heard that. But what the heck is the secret meadow?

“Thank goodness it's alright,” I replied, relieved. “And what’s the secret meadow?” I asked.

Adair shrugged.

“It’s basically a really really big butterfly garden filled with all sorts of flowers and trees. No fairy has ever set foot there. Butterflies seem to know the way, however. We don’t follow them because we don’t want to disturb them.”

“Oh,” I said. I began thinking about all of this. This meadow sounds beautiful, but I don’t want to disturb the place where butterflies live. The place is probably very sacred anyway. I wouldn’t be able to enter even if I did find it.

Adair brought me back to earth.

“Shouldn't we be going?” he said.

“Going where?” I asked.

“Fae. Home,” Aidan said.

“But shouldn’t we wait for Roxy?” I asked.

“She left before we did. She’s already there,” Aidan informed. I nodded. Why didn't she tell me? Probably her parents whisked her away before she could.

“Enough talking, let's go!” Adair said, growing frustrated.

“Geez Fine! No need to get so worked up,” Aidan annoyed.

“The more time we waste the less time we have to defeat the Death King,”

The two performed some sort of ritual that involved reciting a special incantation in another language. I watched in amazement as my room glowed gold. Eventually, the brightness subsided and I opened my eyes.