Page 14

Chapter

Fourteen

This cabin is tiny, cramped, and offers me nothing to do but think about how my life has fallen apart completely. The only good thing is the dried meat and fruits. I devoured them the moment Harek fled and I realized just how famished I was. Now I’m full but miserable.

My mother is gone, and the one thing she left me is now back with Gunnar—the one person she must have been trying to keep it from. If she hadn’t been worried about him, she’d have told me about the sword and let me have it.

I hate Gunnar for everything he’s taken from me. He promised Mother he’d always care for me as his own daughter. Did she suspect he was lying? The sword makes me think so. She wanted me to have another option.

It took me less than twenty-four hours to ruin that.

I stare at my right palm and will it to glow, even faintly. It’s so dim in this cabin I should be able to see even the slightest bit of orange.

Nothing.

I throw my hands in the air and flop back on one of the two tiny beds, landing with a thud. The mattresses are stiff and have little give. I can’t imagine Harek’s family staying here often. It’s clearly for emergencies only.

Exhaustion presses on my bones, and I close my eyes. May as well try to get some sleep while waiting for Harek to return. He mentioned something about sleeping in shifts, and he’s bound to be wiped out when he gets back. I’ll rest now so he can sleep during the first shift.

My heavy eyelids close, and fatigue wraps around me like a heavy blanket. Just as I’m about to drift off, something lights up on the other side of my closed eyes.

I bolt upright and look around. Nothing is out of place. I listen for any sound.

Silence.

Must’ve been my imagination. I fluff the thin pillow, and that’s when I see it.

An orange glow. It’s coming from my palm.

My heart slams against my ribcage as I pull my hand up. The skin is glowing like before.

Impossible. My father’s sword must be back at the farm with Gunnar by now. Yet my palm is not only glowing, but it’s getting brighter by the moment.

Dizziness envelops me as I try to make sense of it. Just when I thought everything made sense, now it’s all flipped on its head again. Could Harek have found Gunnar, taken the sword, and returned already? That doesn’t seem possible, although a day ago I would’ve sworn that Harek being a werewolf or me being fae was also impossible. I can’t trust anything I know anymore.

I’m also too tired to figure out what this glow means or why I woke with a start. For all I know, this is all a bad dream. The cabin is protected from people seeing it, so I should rest while I’m safe. Harek is sure to need sleep when he comes back. I can only imagine what shifting puts his body through.

The thought sends a shiver through me. Going from human to wolf must be so painful. Yet he seemed to turn in the blink of an eye. I can ask him about that later.

A yawn escapes, and I roll over. Just as I’m about to close my eyes, my palm grows even brighter than a moment ago. I bring my hand back to the other side of the bed. The glow dims. Then I swing my arm back to the other side. It brightens.

My hand must be trying to tell me something, but what?

I inch it closer to the wall. The orange lights up more. It’s getting brighter the more I move it in this direction.

Something is going on, and I need to figure out what. I scoot as far as I can on the bed until I’m pressed against the wall.

My palm is even brighter now. Unless Harek found my father’s sword and is on the other side of the wall, I’ve misinterpreted everything about this. My palm’s activity doesn’t have anything to do with the sword—or at the very least, they aren’t as interrelated as I thought.

This is a good thing. Since I don’t have anyone to teach me what any of this means, at least I’m moving closer to understanding on my own. And Harek might know more than he’s let on. He’d already kept a massive secret. There’s no telling what else he’s been hiding from me.

Anger roils in my gut, and the orange glow brightens. Does that have to do with my emotions? I just got mad and it lit up more. Maybe I was dreaming about Harek, and that’s what caused it to light up in the first place.

This is all so confusing. If the glow and the sword have nothing to do with each other, and the orange light comes from my anger, this shouldn’t be new. I get furious with Gunnar on a daily basis. The way he treats me when Mother isn’t looking has been a thorn in my side for as long as I can remember, but the orange light is new. Fury can’t be causing this.

Unless my mother’s death somehow triggered all of this. Grief causing my hand to light up? That doesn’t make sense. How would that be useful? No, it has to be something else. Maybe her death cut, or loosened, my ties with humanity.

This is so confusing. If only she’d told me more. She must’ve thought she had more time. I wish she did, even if she never told me anything about my father.

Tears well, blurring my vision. Sobs make their way to my throat, choking me. Now more than ever, I need her and her advice. Who am I supposed to turn to in her absence?

My father—assuming he’s still alive. He can help me. Whatever my half-powers are, he has them fully and has certainly spent his entire life learning about them. Even if he wants nothing to do with me, he can at least spare a little time to help me. I’ll demand it. He probably sent my mother away, not wanting anything to do with a halfling. That’s the only explanation for her fleeing to the nearest human establishment and marrying Gunnar. At least he treated her well, even if he hated me.

I pull the blankets toward my face to give into my cries when my glowing palm fades. It’s enough to make me want to break something. In fact, I think I will. Harek will have to understand, given he kept such a huge secret from me all of our lives. Best friends, indeed.

Maybe it’s a good thing he revealed his true nature to me the way he did. Now I know I can only truly trust myself. In fact, it might be a good idea to leave and take this trek on my own. I’ll find my father, learn as much as I can about whatever we are, and then figure out what to do from there.

All I have to do is make it to the nearest fae metropolis. Shouldn’t be too hard. I know what direction we were going, and Harek was sure that was the right direction. I can do this, even without the sword. My glowing palm has managed to scare away enough fae to give me confidence in intimidating any others I come across.

It’s the humans I have to worry about. My powers have no effect on them.

I should see if there are any weapons around here I can take with me. My father’s sword is probably ideal since my mother went to such great lengths to hide it from Gunnar—and me—but anything will do. It isn’t too likely I’ll run into other humans this far out in the forest, but clearly the possibility isn’t zero.

Thunk!

I freeze in place. Someone or something is outside. Shaking, I scoot toward the wall and press my ear against it.

My palm lights up to a nearly blinding orange. A mist seems to come from my skin.

What the…?

Thud!

I leap away from the wall. Whatever’s outside is close. Near enough to punch through the wood and grab me.

Now would be a great time to find a weapon. If something was here, wouldn’t Harek have told me? Not necessarily. He clearly has no problem keeping things from me.

While cupping my ear, I lift the blankets and check under the first bed, then the other. Next I look under the mattresses. Nothing. I press on each mattress—lumpy but weapon-free.

Thunk, thunk!

I jolt at the noise. That was even louder than before. There has to be something I can use to protect myself.

This little cabin is bare, hardly more than a rest stop. Did I pack anything useful?

Thwack!

Whatever that was, it was against the wall. Barely inches away, just on the other side of the wall. The wood may be magically protected, but it’s thin enough someone could throw themselves against it and crash through.

There’s only one tiny window, and it’s on the other side of the cabin. I leap across in one stride, push aside the curtain aside, then peek out.

Nothing.

I let the fabric fall before beginning to pace, all the while listening.

Heavy footsteps sound outside, nearing the door.

My palm is now warming in addition to the strange mist. I try making a fist, but can’t. It’s too uncomfortable.

If nothing else, I can hold up my hand and scare some fae. Though I’m not convinced every fae will be scared like the ones I saw last night.

Harek is fae, and my orange glow didn’t concern him. Probably because he knew about my true identity all along and never told me.

Jerk. I’m definitely looking for a new best friend in the fae city. Someone who won’t hide the truth from me.

Thud! Crack.

A line snakes down the wall next to the bed I was in.

I cover my mouth just before crying out. Can’t let anyone know I’m in here. I run over to the wall next to the door and press my back against it.

Thud!

It’s getting closer. They’re getting closer. I’m either going to have to hide or face them.

I hold up my palm. The mist has practically formed a ball.

Maybe I should see what it can do.