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Doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice, does it?
“Fine.”
“It’s just ahead. We’re nearly there already.” Saving us both the embarrassment of my rejection, he doesn’t reach for my hand again. We walk in silence until, just ahead, something shimmers beneath the bright, hot sun.
“What is that?”
“The tear,” he explains, tone strained. “It’s going to be rather unpleasant,” he warns me.
“Like having my tongue cut out?” I shoot back.
When he looks back at me, his eyes shimmer with tears. “Not like that, Ember.”
“Then I guess I’ll be fine, won’t I?”
Wally doesn’t answer, but he pauses in front of the shimmer and takes a deep breath before pushing through. Moments later, I’m alone. So, taking my own deep breath, I prepare for pain and press my hand to the barrier.
It bends beneath my touch, pliable, without completely giving. Until I press harder. Something grips my hand on the other side and rips me through.
Pain licks my flesh until I’m falling into Wally on the other side. He releases me, steadying me with hands on my arms.
Cool air relieves the heat, and a soft breeze carries the scents of pine. “Where are we?”
“The Veil,” he replies. “Come with me, and I’ll tell you everything.”
I follow Wally through the trees until we reach a mountainside. The rock climbs up past the tops of the trees, and we follow it, going who the hell knows where. A question that is answered when Wally dips into a cavern.
He sits down and leans back, taking deep breaths and giving me a chance to study his profile. When we first met, Wally was in his seventies. He was wrinkled, kind, and walked with a slight hunch.
The complete opposite of the young warrior in front of me. Appearance-wise, he looks to be not much older than I am, his once grey hair now nearly black.
“Who are you?” The question is out of my mouth before I can stop it, and Wally cracks open an eye to stare up at me.
“My name is Walter,” he explains.
“So, at least, that part wasn’t a lie.”
A soft smile passes over his lips. “No, that part was not. Nor was the part where I told you I cared for you.”
“Listen, I’m not intere—”
“Not in a romantic way,” he interrupts quickly.
I take a seat opposite him, leaning against the other side of the cavern. “Then explain to me why you’ve been watching me for the last couple of years. And don’t hand me that shit about being hired to kill my mom and sparing me, because I truly do not believe that. Not after everything I’ve seen your kind do.”
If I’ve learned one thing since being captured by Ailis, it’s that the ancients feelnothing.They care aboutnothing.So the idea that Wally—I mean, Walter—saw a baby he just couldn’t kill doesn’t fit.
“The ancients, as you have seen, are fairly resilient.”
“Understatement,” I retort.
He smiles. “Yes, I suppose it is quite an understatement.” Wally clears his throat. “Our kind can only be killed by one type of creature. A fire fae. Also known in your world as a Phoenix.”
“As in the mythological bird?”
“Not quite.” He narrows his eyes at me with a half-smile. “The true phoenix, the being legends are based on, is a woman. Scorned by those who saw to her execution, she rose from the ashes after being burned at the stake and took revenge on those who killed her. She was the first of a new species of fae, and her power alone could shift the course of any world she saw fit.”
“Interesting spin.”
