Page 16

Chapter

Sixteen

My breath hitches as I round the corner of the cabin, half-expecting to see the two dead fae resurrected and eager for revenge. That’s obviously impossible since they melted into the ground and their magic is making me sick. My stomach does seem to be settling somewhat. Hopefully all this unease will lift soon.

Crunch.

That was closer. I stop, listen.

Silence. The footsteps have stopped.

Whoever it is must be waiting for me.

I hesitate. Check my palm.

No glow. Does it need to recharge? I won’t be able to fight anyone off without my own orange mist.

A terrible thought strikes me—what if the black mist has canceled out my powers? Or overtaken them? Could I have just killed my own fae powers?

More footsteps. They’re heading my way.

Dread seizes me. Without my defenses, I’m helpless. Just another human, and now I don’t even have my sword, thanks to Gunnar.

I stare at my palm, willing it to glow, to mist. Anything.

It doesn’t comply.

Come on . Do something!

The footsteps are so close, I should be able to see their owner momentarily.

I dart behind a tree, hold my breath. The sloshing is settling. At least that much is on my side. I shake my palm. Mentally yell at it.

Clearly, it has a mind of its own and doesn’t care what I want. What a fabulously useless power I have.

More footsteps. Then silence.

“Hello?” says a deep male voice.

It takes me a moment to realize it’s Harek.

My knees turn to rubber. I close my eyes for a moment then pull myself together and step out from behind the tree.

Harek aims his bow at me, his eyes flashing silver. He lowers his weapon, and his expression softens. “What are you doing out of the cabin?”

“It’s a long story.”

His eyes widen. “What happened?”

“I’m more interested in what happened to you . Did you warn your parents in time?”

“We need to talk.”

I gasp. “Are they okay? If Gunnar hurt them?—”

“My parents are fine. Let’s go back to the cabin. It seems we both have a lot to catch up on.”

“That sounds—” The misty magic bounces inside, slamming against my ribcage. I grunt and grasp the spot.

Harek’s eyes widen. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s part of the long story.”

“Did someone hurt you?” His eyes flash silver again.

“Why have I never seen your eyes do that before today?”

He draws a deep breath. “I’m not trying to hide it around you anymore.”

“It’s good to know my best friend is finally being open with me.”

“You know it isn’t like that.”

I grunt as the foreign magic inside me slams into the other side of my ribcage.

“What the blazes is going on?” he demands.

“I’ll tell you inside the cabin.”

Harek nods, and we make our way over to the tiny building.

My insides feel a little better as I move around.

He holds the door open for me. Nice to know he can still be a gentleman, despite all his lies. Before I step in, he blocks my path and makes a big deal about sniffing around. “Did a fae die here?”

“Like I said, long story.”

Color drains from his face. “You killed a fae?”

“I am one, remember? Even if merely half.”

He breathes heavily. “Are you sure? You didn’t just injure it?”

“I’m not an idiot.”

Harek swears. “I never should have left you alone.”

“Clearly.”

“Where’d you put the body?” He looks around.

I sigh. “Nowhere.”

“But you’re sure you killed one?”

“Two.”

He chokes on air. “ Two ? Without a weapon?”

I shrug. “I’m not completely useless.”

“What happened?” he demands. “Tell me everything. This is important.”

I hold up my palm, which of course is doing nothing now that I have the other magic inside me.

“You killed them with your glow?” He scratches his chin. “How?”

“Can we go inside? I’d like to sit.”

“Where’d you put the bodies? I can’t deal with the stench.”

I sniff, not smelling anything. “They disintegrated.”

“Come again?”

“I’m going inside.” I shove my way past him and plop onto the nearest bed.

He follows me, sitting on the other mattress. “Tell me everything, and don’t leave out a single detail.”

My insides slosh around, making me nauseated again, so I pace, which is the only thing that seems to help. It takes forever to tell him the entire story because he interrupts every other sentence to ask questions. By the time I’ve explained everything in excruciating detail, my insides have calmed enough for me to sit. “Is any of this normal?”

“No.” He scratches his head, looking deep in thought.

“It isn’t?” Disappointment washes through me. “Are you sure? How much do you actually know about fae?”

He turns to me. “Not as much as you likely think. My parents basically raised me as a human until it came time for my first shift. They taught me enough to keep me safe while out in the woods hunting or shifting.”

Things start to come together. “That’s why you guys always get most of your food in one week’s time.”

“Yes, we get the most when we shift for those three days around the full moon.”

It surprises me that nobody ever picked up on that, but I don’t say anything. There’s far more to take in and try to make sense of other than hunting food to sell at the market. “You haven’t seen anyone else’s hands glow like mine?”

“My experience with other fae is limited to those in the woods. The ones in the cities are entirely different—they’re civilized and have more complicated magic systems.”

“Is it true vampires and werewolves live out here, away from the cities?”

“Mostly. Some are civilized enough to handle city life. Obviously, my parents and I have made it work without raising any eyebrows. We aren’t the only ones.”

“Why live with humans and not fae?”

“It’s what my parents preferred. Human life is a lot less complicated, and they like that.”

I rub my temples. “When were you planning on telling me?”

“Eventually. Things are far more complicated than you realize. Especially now that you have these powers.”

“What are my powers?”

“You’re asking the wrong person.”

“My mother never told you or your parents about my father?”

He shakes his head. “I’ve been watching you like a hawk, trying to figure out what magic you have.”

“Do your parents know?”

“No, they’d have told me.”

I grab a pillow and hit it. “Why didn’t my mother tell anyone?”

“Everything she did was to protect you.”

“It’d have been more helpful to know. I wish she’d have said something sooner.”

Harek sits next to me and puts an arm around me. “She must’ve thought she had more time.”

I should shove him away, but his touch is comforting. “Or she feared Gunnar overhearing. Once she got sick, he made sure I was never alone with her.” My voice cracks. “The only time I got with her was right before she died.”

He turns and pulls me into a full embrace. “I’m so sorry, Eira.”

I give into sobs and let him rub circles on my back. Even though I’m mad at him for keeping so much from me, I need my best friend now more than ever. I can yell at him later.

After I’ve had a good cry, I feel refreshed. Even the sloshing magic has eased up.

“Are you hungry?” Harek asks. “I grabbed some food from home.”

I nod, not trusting my voice.

He pulls some dried meat from his bag, and we eat in silence.

Once we finish, I turn to him. “What happened when you got to Skoro? Are your parents leaving?”

“They’re staying.” He wipes his mouth and wraps the remainder of the food.

“What about Gunnar? He knows your secret.”

“And he’s going to keep it.”

“Really? What’s in it for him?”

Harek looks away.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“He still has your sword.”

I try to connect the dots, but can’t. “What does that have to do with your parents?”

“Gunnar thinks it’s collateral, that he’ll be able to use it in the future.”

“For what?”

“I’m not sure, but by the time I reached the farm he’d already hidden it. I chewed him out for everything and told him to hand it over, but he obviously didn’t. We came to an agreement—he’s going to stay silent about your true nature and my family’s. In return, he holds onto your sword.”

“My favorite part of the story is how I had any say in this.”

He gives me an exasperated look. “He isn’t going after you or my parents, and he isn’t going to try to marry you off to another Vog. We can get you a new sword in the fae city, or if you really want your father’s, I can return and get it. It won’t be easy, but it won’t be impossible either.”

“That sword is tied to my powers. It glows around me only.”

“We can forge a sword with your magic.” He says it like that’s the most obvious thing ever spoken in the history of the world.

“It won’t be my father’s.”

“We’ll figure it out later. One thing is sure—we can’t return. Not now, anyway.”

I cross my arms. “What’s one more loss?”

He frowns. “I tried, Eira. He could’ve hidden it anywhere. It might not even be on the farm. He could’ve stashed it somewhere else altogether.”

All I can do is nod. I can’t believe my stepfather managed to steal one more thing from me after I’d already run away. I’m just glad Vog is dead, and Gunnar won’t receive any money for me. Unless he sells the sword.

I’m definitely coming back to Skoro one day and making him pay for everything. That’ll wait until I’ve learned everything I can about my powers and can use them against him. He’ll regret ever having treated me poorly, kept me from my mother during most of her illness, trying to marry me off to the most disgusting man in our settlement, and for stealing my sword.

Harek puts his bag in a tiny closet. “We should get some sleep.”

“In shifts.”

“Of course. I’ll take the first one.”

I shake my head. “I’m too wired right now. You get some rest, and hopefully after pacing for a few hours I can get some sleep.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I got a nap earlier. You’ve been going nonstop since we woke up.”

“Okay. After we both get enough sleep, we’ll head out for the fae city.”

My stomach tightens at the thought. What will we find there?