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Slowly, I opened my eyes and glared up at him—at his stupid, beet-red face. “I’ll tell Mother.”
“Listen to me.” He shoved his finger into my face. “You have the power to save the people of Teine.”
“So do you.”
He shook his head. “I’ve been trapped behind Oberon’s barrier all my life. It’s dulled the magic in my veins, and I’ll never get it back. But you and Nellie…you’re young. You need a little push to bring it back to life. Being born behind the barrier has dulled what you can do, but…” His eyes sparked with glee. “It’s not too late. We will turn you into a force to be reckoned with.”
I did not want to be a force to be reckoned with. All I wanted was to play with the other village children. Splash in the river. Roll in the fields. Race through the woods with the dirt sticking to my bare feet. The fae who lived up the hill were scary, but they mostly left the children alone, especially the girls who would one day be presented in front of Oberon.
I might one day be the king’s bride.
But not if he caught me sneaking over the wall. He’d kill me and my father.
“Why can’t I just be normal?” I asked.
His anger vanished, replaced by something softer. It was the face he used in front of Mother. He liked to wear a mask so that she’d never suspect what he did out there in the mists. He knelt before me and took my hand in his. My fingers looked so small against his palm. “Because you have a power that can help this village, Tessa. Don’t you want to save us?”
I winced and glanced away. “No.”
His expression hardened.
“Fine. Just remember you made me do this.” Roughly, he hauled me from the chair and tossed me over his shoulder before kicking open the front door.
“Stop!” I screamed, flailing my legs at him. This time, I didn’t stay quiet, just like he always asked. I hoped someone heard me this time.
But he just held me tight, carrying me away from the village. I stared down at the ground beneath his feet with sobs choking my throat. I hated him for this. I hated him so much that I wanted to claw his skin and bite him so hard that he would bleed. Deep down, I knew this wasn’t a normal feeling. I had asked the other girls if they ever felt this way. They all looked at me like I was crazy. Even Nellie didn’t get this mad, and she’d been through the same thing.
My helpless anger only intensified as we approached the wall behind the village. I braced myself for what I knew would come next. He’d only done this to me a few times before, but already I’d memorized every step of this dance. I opened my mouth to beg him not to do it, but no words came out. He’d made up his mind. It was me or Nellie, and I’d never choose this awful thing for my little sister.
And so I clenched my teeth as tight as I could to brace myself.
“Good luck,” he said.
My father threw me over the wall.
For a brief moment in time, my body felt weightless. I soared through the air, from the humid heat and into a wall of cooling mist. My arms splayed out on either side of me. If only I had wings, I could fly away from here.
But instead, I slammed into the dirt. My head hit the ground and darkness filled my mind.
* * *
Iwoke to the sound of inhuman shrieking. Blearily, I cracked open my eyes and peered through the dense fog, but I couldn’t see anything. Everything was so dark, and the wet mist clogged my throat as I took in frantic gasps of air.
I pushed up onto my feet and whirled toward the wall. It towered over me. Too tall for me to climb without footholds. And through a small gap in the wood, my father watched.
“A shadowfiend is coming,” I pleaded with him. “Father, please. Let me come back in.”
With a voice devoid of any emotion, he answered, “You can come back at any time. All you have to do is spread your wings and fly.”
But I could not fly. I’dneverbeen able to fly any of the times he’d tossed me into the mists. Eventually, he’d grow bored and annoyed with me, and he’d throw me a rope to scrabble up.
“I can’t,” I whispered as tears spilled down my cheeks.
His eye narrowed in the gap. “The five winged gods could all fly. You have their power in your blood.Use it.”
My knees knocked together when another shriek sounded, this time closer. I wound my hands around my back to feel the tiny knobs—scars. A month ago, he’d tried to carve the wings out of me, but that hadn’t worked any better than this did. Even if he was right and we were decedents of some long-lost god, Icould not fly.
Thundering footsteps raced toward me, and yet I still could see nothing but the swirling mists. Clenching my hands into fists, I aimed my attention on my back, straining to shove the wings from my skin. I pushed and pushed and pushed. A little tickle was the only answer. Terror snaking through me, I sobbed.
