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“Even so, I won’t let you be without protection.”
She looked at him curiously, but with no less ire. “Do you know where the fairies are?”
That hadn’t occurred to me, but his resigned expression told me he did. She took his silence as confirmation.
“Of course, you do.” The words came out in a single, bitter breath. She gestured down the path. “Then, by all means. Lead the way.”
27
Lina
Uncle took a step forward, his arms crossed, his face stony.
“It isn’t safe—” he started, but I cut him off, my anger rising again.
“I know the forest isn’t safe,” I snapped, and my wings twitched in response. “But we’ve survived for this long, and I’m not going back to the farm.”
It felt like the most natural thing in the world for the feather-light additions to be reflective of my emotions in the same way my skin was, though a quick backward glance told me only their position changed, not their color. They looked like they were made of starlight, bright and ethereal, and the hue didn’t flare or fade with the intensity of my emotions.
Stranger still, they didn’t feel obtrusive or foreign, more like I had been given back an essential part of me—something I didn’t even realize I was missing.
But Uncle… he had known I was missing it, and now he had the nerve to try to take yet another decision from me. I fumed, turning my attention back to him.
“You knew about them…you knew about me!About wherever I came from, and you kept it from me for all of these years! Did Mama know, too? Did everyone know?”
“No, child.Ellariaisn’t safe for you,” he finished.
Ellaria.
“What is Ellaria?” I asked.
Uncle stared at me unblinkingly before nodding to himself.
“Ellaria is one of the seven fairy kingdoms. It’s where you’re from.”
Maggie nestled in next to me, and I took her comfort this time as I tried to find the lie in Uncle’s words. Taking a deep breath, I tried to focus on one thing at a time.
“What do you mean it isn’t safe? Why isn’t it safe?” It was Edrich who voiced the question, his face twisting into concern.
But Uncle’s eyes refused to leave mine as he shook his head. Then, another question bubbled from my lips.
“Didsheknow?” I didn’t need to clarify who I was talking about.
“No, Lina. Your mother didn’t know. I imagine she would’ve told you long ago if she had.”
A small part of me felt relief.Of course, she would have.I should’ve known better than to doubt her.
“Well, at least there was one relationship that wasn’t a lie.” I squared my shoulders and ignored the flash of hurt in his eyes.
“Come on, Maggie,” I said, moving forward. “It looks like we really are going to Ellaria alone, after all.”
Both Edrich and Uncle were silent as we took a few steps forward until a green hand reached out for mine. Before I could pull away, images came flooding into my vision.
No.Not images. Memories…but they aren’t mine.
I was transported to an elaborate room, covered in vines and flowers. There was a fairy woman with teal hair and eyes and wings made of pure starlight—wings like mine—holding a baby. And wearing a crown on her head. She was crying and kissing the child over and over. Finally, she handed me the tiny girl with rosy skin and blue-green eyes. No—Not me, I realized, looking down at the scaly green arms that reached out for the child.
I was in Uncle’s head. This was his memory, and I could hear his thoughts as well as my own. He had hardly ever held a baby, let alone been entrusted to protect one.
