Page 34 of Fae Farewells

This was why I was right.

This was why my path was laid out the way it was.

“I can’t imagine what they must have gone through,” Briggs gravely stated, moving his foot off some poor soul’s charred remains.

“I’m so mad she’s fucking dead. She deserved far worse than she got,” I growled. “If I could bring her back and kill her again, I would.”

“I think we all would, Kitten.”

“You know what I think?” I inquired, tilting my head to the right as lingering, putrefied fear burned my throat. “I just figured out how Anahein is going to spend eternity.”

And I hoped she fucking rotted with every life she lost. Because I was going to make her relive this memory from the dead’s perspective.

She decimated their village. Houses were torn to the ground, children’s toys seen through the rubble. Bones scattered the ashy remains, cushioned by debris and budding plantlife. The longer I stared, the more emotional I felt, and that wasn’t a good thing.

“Sweetheart?”

“I’m fine.”

York laced his fingers through mine. “You’re not.”

“I will be.” I shook my head. “I was just doubting myself, but I would never do this. It doesn't matter how bad I am or have been, I would never—”

“We know,” he assured me, pointing at the group.

I shook my head again. “This should have been repaired. Fuck. This should have been stopped. Prevented before it started.”

“Sloane,” Sarge barked. “You prevented it from happening again. This isn’t on you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I mumbled.

“It does matter,” Palmer told me. “But we can’t fix this today. And we can’t go back to make it right.”

I sighed. “I know we can’t go back. But this can be repaired, livable, if they want it.”

“I don’t know that they would. This is a lifetime of horrible memories for some fae,” Sarge said softly. “There are–were—other villages just like this one. Anahein wasn’t kind to them either. Not hundreds of years ago, and not during her more recent visits. She was a terror.”

“And because of that, they are scared of me, too.”

“You heard Valano?” Briggs asked, his brows furrowed as he watched Novak.

“No.” I gave him a sad smile. “I didn’t need to. I know what my reputation is among the supernatural creatures, especially the ones who’ve never dealt with me before. It would probably be best for me to stay behind the scenes. They don’t need to know that I’m here until they can learn to not fear me the way they fear the more powerful fae.”

Stone nodded. “But you think they’ll still fear you.”

“I know they will. Everyone fears what they don’t understand. And who do you know who understands completely what I am? Maybe my parents, grandparents, but I don’t even understand myself in a way that would make sense to outsiders. I don’t understand my limits, capabilities, none of it.”

“We understand—” my druid began before I cut him off.

“Not enough to make the general population understand.” I shrugged, begging my feet to take me away from this crude, untimely burial.

But at some point, I would come back and clean this up.

It didn’t matter if we ran the entire realm, a small portion of it, or nothing at all. I wouldn’t let this reminder stay. I would make it something beautiful, a grand memorial to all the people who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As the trek to the palace dragged on, I felt the dark presence return. I tried to keep my thoughts quiet, hoping it would recede.

No such luck was on my side.