“Well, Silva is my best friend. Question answered. What. Do. You. Want?”
Kieran watched her for a moment, his head cocked to the side. “You believe that.” He sighed. “She’s a tyrant.”
That was nothing like the Silva she knew. Sure, Silva had moments where Kalinda could see the regal part of her that demanded things, but it was usually to lower-ranking wolves where they all were treated as such, and it wasn’t malicious. Most of the time, Silva was too busy enjoying posting embarrassing pictures of Encantado life on LeafBook to be worried about being cruel to anyone.
“That’s not her.”
“That’s because you know a shadow of her. So can you truly call her your best friend?”
“I’m sure you’re going to enlighten me otherwise.”
Kieran chuckled. “I can see why she likes you. And maybe, if this were another time and place, I’d be softer with my methods, but I can’t afford to. Niamh Danaan was exiled out of Seraph because her people couldn’t stomach her.”
“You’re lying.”
“Did you even wonder how a Fae Queen ended up with her power bound and living as a human? Come now, you can’t be that naïve.”
Kalinda had wondered, and there always seemed to be enough time to talk about it, but they never had. And the sadness on Silva’s face when she recalled some of her memories made Kalinda hesitant to bring that sort of pain on her friend.
“Whoever she was then, she no longer is.”
“Would you say that to a reformed murderer?”
No … she didn’t think she could. Would anyone?
Maybe.
She caught a flash of reddish-black fur and her heart soared in her chest. A wolf was here, and not one of Kieran’s—they were all accounted for at his side. But she didn’t know the wolf. There was scarring along its muzzle and down under its chest, and it didn’t seem to be particularly interested in her. Mostly, it seemed to be investigating all of them.
The wolf ducked back out of sight before Kalinda could try to get word to it. But Kieran was right in front of her now. The wolves he’d brought in sniffed the air in the direction the wolf had disappeared and rose to their feet. The largest wolf stepped forward out of the group, studying the forest with his muzzle in the air.
After a moment, he stepped back in line.
So a wolf they don’t know either. If Kalinda saw it again, she’d have to try to see if it was friendly to the Moretti or Lombardi. If it wasn’t but knew the Moonstone pack, she could at least reach out to Jeremiah. He was the liaison between the wolves and Mage Council, and she’d gotten to know him well since taking over. The Moonstone Pack may not fight outright but would in defense of Encantado.
For now, she had Kieran to face. “We’re going around in circles. The Silva I know is my partner. That simple. So what do you want from her?”
“I want my life back. I want my history changed so I don’t have to watch my friends die in the fucking gutter while that bitch queen sat on her throne and did nothing!”
The sky darkened, lightning streaking from cloud to cloud when Kieran yelled. Kalinda’s eyes widened, but she couldn’t move away in the magic bubble. She was stuck, trapped with no way to protect herself when he could control the very elements around them.
But … he’d said Silva had done nothing. “I don’t understand.”
He looked at her, anger leeching out of him until all that remained was anger and loss. “In my world, there are those who are hated simply for being who they are. If you live in the country of your birth, it isn’t so bad. But if you are unlucky enough to be born elsewhere, in places where your race has been nothing but captive all their lives, they hate you. The resent you for not being one of them. They are afraid of who you are. And yet … we’re the ones they force to do their work, to spew their hatred on, and use our bodies until we’re shriveled up. Until we’re too afraid to stand up.”
She understood. Who didn’t understand hatred between countries, races, or supernatural beings? The daywalkers hated the wolves. Humans hated mages. Wolves hated the feline shifters. There were those who didn’t care for divides between the paranorms, but every group had their own prejudices and history between them to excuse their actions.
Kalinda had been working hard in Encantado to ease the burn of lower levels being tossed out of human society just because they had traces of magic. She’d lived in a world where she had to be a bit smarter and work harder than anyone else. And without anyone wanting to admit the reason … she knew why.
So yes, she understood. Knew what that deep-seated pain felt like. Had tasted bitterness at times and joy at others, even with the gifted life she had when compared to others.
Torn between wanting to soothe the pain in his gaze and anger at his methods, she swallowed. “Why take me? This can’t make your purpose any better.”
“I took you because I’ve given up hope things will change. I tried to live a normal life, to leave it all behind, but it found me anyway. Silva showed up, her power reaching across all barriers, and it was enough to remind me you can’t run from your past.”
“But she won’t come alone.”
“It won’t matter in the end. You see, there is something she’s bound to. Something she won’t be able to say no to. And you’re the perfect leverage to ensure it.”
