Page 25

Chapter

Twenty-Five

Light footsteps sound behind me. Vivvi stands in the doorway holding two steaming mugs and wearing much more casual clothes than before. She gives me a warm smile and holds out one of the drinks. “I thought you could use some calming tea.”

The thought of tea immediately brings me back to the farm with Mother and our many late-night chats when Gunnar was out late. “That sounds wonderful.”

She motions for me to sit on the couch, and I take the same spot I did with Harek. Once we’re both seated, she hands me one of the mugs. The liquid has a golden glow.

Before I can ask about it, Vivvi answers. “The leaves are from a rare plant grown in an arid climate. The soil has properties that gives the leaves a relaxing effect in fae.”

“It looks magical.” I bring it close and take a deep breath. The steam has a sweet but tangy aroma. My muscles relax slightly.

She nods and takes a sip. “It certainly feels that way.”

I move my mug around, making the tea swirl. It turns into rainbow colors for just a moment, so that I question whether I saw any change at all.

Vivvi raises one of her perfect eyebrows. “Did it do something unexpected?”

Our gazes meet, and I hesitate.

She leans forward, her expression full of curiosity. “What did it do?”

“It, um, turned rainbow colored. But only briefly.”

Her irises brighten, almost seeming to glow. “I knew it!”

“What?”

“Let me see your right palm.”

My stomach sinks. “Huh?”

“Trust me, dear. I’ll explain everything. This is unbelievable.”

“What is?” I feel sick in a way that has nothing to do with the weird foreign magic inside me.

She looks me over. “You are.”

I nearly drop the mug.

Vivvi reaches over and steadies my hand with ease. “Drink some.”

My heart races. Nothing feels right. “Why? What are you trying to get from me?”

“The tea not only relaxes, but it reveals.”

A cold realization sweeps through me. “You mean it could tell me what kind of fae I am? I mean, besides werewolf?”

She nods. “Precisely.”

“But you already suspect you know?”

“I think I do, but it should be impossible.”

“How?” I study her, my mind spinning. “Is my father from an extinct line or something?”

“No, but there’s never been a female version before.”

“That doesn’t make sense. How can there be a race of fae with no females?”

“Are you going to drink?” She glances at my tea. “It’s going to turn cold and lose all of its magic.”

What do I have to lose? I take a big sip, and the sweet, tangy tea seems to dance down my throat. Once it makes it to my stomach, my palm warms. It glows ever so faintly.

Vivvi’s face drains of color. “It’s true.”

“What is?”

She glances from my palm to my eyes. “You’re the next hunter.”

“Hunter?” That sounds vaguely familiar.

“Drink. I’ll tell you everything.”

I blink a few times, trying to remember what I’ve heard about the hunter. As I continue sipping the tea, it comes back to me.

Conversation in the city. Whispers of a hunter weakening.

Harek said it was just a legend.

I look directly into Vivvi’s eyes. “Tell me everything about the hunter.”

She sets her mug down on a little table. “We all rely on him to find and kill evil fae. He has the important job of keeping the balance—not letting the good be overpowered.”

“There’s just one?” I try not to think of the implications of that. But they’re staring me in the face.

If there’s only one hunter, then my father is dead. At least that means he didn’t abandon my mother and me. No, I killed him by existing.

I realize Vivvi’s talking, and I try to pull myself from my thoughts. The realization that I’m an orphan. “Wait, stop. Say that again.”

“It’s a lot to take in, especially if you’ve never heard any of this. Your mother did you a disservice by not explaining any of this.”

“Don’t badmouth her! She did the best she could. You don’t know what we had to live with.”

“I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

“Just tell me what you know about my father.”

“Finish your tea. It’ll help you relax.”

“Not that it matters.” But I sip the tea anyway. Whatever it’ll take to keep her talking so I can figure out what my next move is. With my father dead, she’s my only hope at finding out anything about my powers.

“There is usually only one hunter at a time. He?—”

“Usually? Do you mean there can be two?”

“While the son—or in this case, daughter—is growing and until coming into his or her powers.”

The earlier conversation runs through my mind. “That’s why people are talking about the hunter weakening. Are his powers coming into me?”

“I’m not sure if that’s exactly how it works, but when a hunter child grows up, the younger’s powers strengthen while the elder’s weaken.”

“That means my father is still alive. I could find him and get my answers.” Relief washes through me.

“You don’t want to do that, Eira.”

“And why not?”

“Because two mature hunters can’t exist at the same time.”

“Are you saying I’m killing him?”

“One of you must kill the other.”

This time I do drop the mug. It lands in my lap, and is luckily empty. “One of us has to kill the other one?”

She reaches over and pats my arm. “That’s the way it’s always been. I remember when your father killed his father.”

“He… he killed his own father?”

“It was a matter of survival. All the hunters have had to kill their father or son to survive.”

“But why can’t they live together? Work together?”

“The natural order of things. It’s why everyone is talking about your father weakening. He was going strong until recently. You must’ve just come into your strength?”

I nod, unable to find my voice.

“You’re pretty old for just coming into your powers. How is that possible?”

“I thought I was human. It wasn’t until I found out about being a halfling that my palm started glowing.”

Vivvi’s brows draw together. “No, that isn’t possible.”

“What do you mean?”

“Knowledge isn’t what activates magic for any fae.”

“It did in my case.”

She shakes her head. “That had to have been a coincidence. Have you only been around humans since becoming an adult?”

“Yeah! That must be it.”

“It makes sense because?—”

“Wait, no,” I interrupt. “I’ve been around Harek and his family my entire life. Plus my siblings are all halflings. My mom was a full werewolf.”

“None of them are evil?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

She takes my hand. “A hunter’s palm only glows to alert him to evil fae. Those are the ones he’s to kill. It’s his job to keep all of fae kind safe.”

My mind spins. “So the only reason my powers activated was because I was around bad fae?”

“Correct.”

I think back to when it first lit up at Harek’s house. That was when I found him and his father talking to that one fae. It explains why he looked terrified of me. Once he fled, my hand returned to normal.

That means Vivvi’s right. Me finding out about being fae had nothing to do with it. It just so happened that I learned about my true nature and then came near my first evil fae right afterward.

It was coming near the dangerous creature that activated my magic. That was why my father started weakening. If Mother hadn’t died, I’d still be working on the farm never to come near a bad fae.

“But wait.” The words fly out of my mouth before I can think them through.

“Yes, darling?”

“But if I’m a hunter, then why didn’t anyone within the walls react fearfully when they saw me? You didn’t. Shouldn’t you be afraid of me? Shouldn’t all fae?”

“Just the evil ones. There’s no reason for an average fae to react to you. Neither of us pose a threat to the other.”

“So only good fae live here in the city?”

Vivvi sips her tea. “I wouldn’t go that far, but there’s definitely a continuum. Some are better than others, but the evil ones do tend to stay away from here.”

“What makes it so that a fae can tell who I am? Just my glow?”

“I would imagine. I’m hardly a hunter expert.”

“You know a lot more than I do.”

“I’ve grown up around all of this and studied a lot. There was a time I was fascinated by the concept of the hunter. That was when your grandfather was in his prime. He was handsome beyond measure, and I was hardly the only fae who took an interest in him. But he had no desire to mate and risk having offspring.”

“Then how did my father come about?”

“All the hunters eventually fall in love, my dear. It’s the nature of the beast.”

The magic inside my stomach starts to swirl back and forth, making me slightly nauseated. “Do you know anything about hunters absorbing magic?”

She gives me a double take but takes another sip before answering. “Absorbing magic?”

“Yeah. What do you know about that?”

Vivvi scoots away from me, almost unnoticeably. “Are you absorbing other fae’s magic?”

“It’s happened, and I don’t like it.”

She tilts her head. “How so?”

“It makes me feel sick.”

“That’s fascinating.”

“Not really. I’d really like to get it out of me.”

“You can feel it right now?”

I press my palm on my stomach. “Right.”

“How did you come to absorb it?”

My breath catches in my throat. If I explain that, I’ll have to tell her that I killed some fae. She isn’t going to want a killer under her roof. Or am I thinking in human terms? Even though I’ve apparently never been human.

Vivvi scoots closer again. “You can trust me.”

My mouth dries. “Can I have more tea first? I’m feeling a little… off.”

“Because of the magic that doesn’t belong to you?”

I nod, my heart pounding faster now. Killing might be more acceptable among fae, but I still don’t know how she would feel about it.

“Certainly, darling.” She gives me a kind smile before leaving the room with my mug.

My muscles relax, but my stomach doesn’t feel any better. Does she know Harek has killed? He’s a werewolf, so she must know. Maybe telling her wouldn’t be so bad after all. It isn’t like my palm has glowed around her.

Or maybe it would be the worst decision I could make. I have to keep it a secret just in case. If she presses for details, I’ll tell the stories without mentioning the magic came to me after the fae died. If I end up fully trusting her down the road, I can give more details then. For now, Harek and I don’t know why she brought us in. Was it to help some lost fae, or does she have other motives?

Not knowing is what concerns me, as much as I love everything she’s gifted to us. I never imagined I’d be in a private library after just having the best meal of my life, a hot bath, and magical tea. If only my stomach would calm down, then everything would be perfect.

Vivvi returns, handing me a new mug. “Chamomile and peppermint. It should help your stomach.”

I’m a little disappointed that it’s just a normal drink, but I thank her and sip. It seems to have a little something extra added, giving it a surprisingly sweet taste.

“Does that help?” She sits next to me, tucking her legs underneath her.

“Actually, it does.”

“Good, good. Now tell me more about your ability to absorb the magic of others.”

I jolt. If she notices, she doesn’t indicate it. I take another sip. “I don’t understand it. It comes from the fae like a mist and enters me.”

Her eyes widen with what appears to be delight. “How does it come from them? And how does it enter you?”

This is going to be a long night.