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“I found her messages to and from a woman named Sarah and arranged to meet her in Fairhaven, which is when I met you.”
“But no Sarah,” I said.
“Apparently not. I only wanted to see my mother smile again,” Sian admitted. “Father’s death was difficult for both of us. We should have leaned on each other, but my mother only turned inward.”
“What happened to the other child?” I asked. “The human your mother took in exchange?”
He shook his head. “The records do not say.”
“Sacrificed, most likely,” Gran said without a trace of empathy.
Sage gasped. “Gran!”
“What? It’s true. One of the old customs that our family rejected.” She gave Sian a pointed look.
“Sian has no control over the behavior of his parents any more than I have control over you,” Sage said.
I looked at Sian. “You mentioned you’re a member of the Seelie court. Would a fairy from the Seelie court sacrifice a human child? Sounds more like the actions of the Unseelie.”
“You know more than you let on,” Sian said, almost admiringly.
Always.
“Why are you here?” Sage asked. “To reclaim your sister without any information about the human child she replaced?”
Gran snorted. “Sounds about right. An arrogant race, we are.”
“I don’t know what became of the human child,” Sian said. “As I said, I found no information on any child except my sister.”
“Why not ask your mother for the details?” I asked.
Sian set his empty teacup on the tray now balanced on the side table. “Because she might tell me to abandon my quest, but I know that finding her lost child will vastly improve her spirits. The way she cries at night…” He gazed absently at the wall. “I do not wish such feelings on my worst enemy.”
Sage pinned me with a curious look. “Didn’t you track heirs for a living in London?”
I knew where this was headed. “And?”
“And never mind us. You’re the perfect person to help Sian track down the changeling. Why ask another fairy when he’s got someone with real experience finding lost relatives?”
Sian fidgeted with excitement. “I did not realize you had such expertise. Surely the Fates intended that you assist me with my quest.”
Surely the Fates hate me.
Sian’s eagerness was so pure, it distracted me from inventing an excuse to prevent my involvement.
“I did assist you. I brought you here, to the home of other fae.”
“Lorelei, you’re perfect for this,” Sage insisted. “It’ll take you far less time than it would take me.”
“From your lips to the gods’ ears.” I leaned forward and knocked on the wooden coffee table.
“Do you know where the phrase ‘knocking on wood’ came from?” Sage asked. “It stems from the ancient belief that every tree is inhabited by a spirit.”
“Like a dryad,” I said.
“Or a hamadryad,” Sian added.
“In ancient times, people would knock on a tree trunk to summon a spirit to come to their aid,” Sage continued. “Sometimes to ward off evil and other times to request a wish be granted.”
