Page 126 of The Cursed Fae

“Find you where?” I asked.

He drew back to meet my gaze with a gleam in his eye. “You’re resourceful. I know you’ll figure it out.”

Chapter forty-two

Fool Me Twice

I woke in the attic bedroom with an audience. Nana, Mom, and Missy all kept vigil over my bed. My great-grandmother noticed I’d opened my eyes first. The collective relief in the room was palpable.

“How long have I been out?” I asked.

My muscles ached badly, and it hurt to move.

“Thirteen hours,” Mom answered, as though she’d been counting the minutes passing in her head.

“Laz?” I whispered.

“Alive,” Missy scoffed.

Nana pursed his lips. “He will pay for his actions, Melissa,” she promised.

I noticed it didn’t surprise my mother when Nana turned and spoke to a ghost. It also didn’t faze her when my gaze kept going to a certain spot by the window that would’ve appeared empty to her.

“Thank you, Missy,” I said, figuring Nana must’ve brought my mom up to speed on my spirit-talking abilities.

“I can’t take all the credit.” Missy wrinkled her nose.

“Tina Keene called me,” Nana spoke up. “Lazlo’s potent emotions pulled her into his head. She only caught glimpses, but enough to see you needed help.” My great-grandmother smiled fondly at my ghost sort-of-friend. “Melissa filled us in on the details. If not for her, we wouldn’t have known.”

“That boy nearly killed you.” Mom sniffled. “And I heard he’s been taking power from you all along. Sweetheart, how did you not realize?”

“Colleen,” Nana barked. “It’s hardly Winter’s fault he is a thief.”

“If you all hadn’t kept me in the dark about our world for so long, I might have been smarter,” I snapped.

“Now, Winter,” she started, much more softly. “Let us explain.”

Missy’s eyes had gone wide, and she looked like she wanted popcorn to watch the family drama unfold. If it wasn’t my own life about to unravel, I might’ve done the same.

“Every Sable grows up knowing our ancestry,” Mom said as she joined me on the bed. The mattress sank beneath her weight as she perched on the edge. “We all hear the legends, even the ones nobody wants to be true.” She met my gaze. “Like how an eternal would rise in our bloodline—the only female warrior, Nicasia.”

Tears filled my eyes, and I wasn’t sure why. A part of me had doubted any of the eternal stuff was real. Or, at least, that I was one of them.

“When I learned about my pregnancy, I was ecstatic.” My mother placed a hand on the bed but withdrew slowly when I didn’t reach to meet her halfway. “Your dad was, too.”

Nana snorted her dissatisfaction.

“Ignore Essie. She's never been his biggest fan, but she knows he loves you very much.” Mom shot her an annoyed glance before turning back to me. “We found out I was only carrying one child. That’s almost unheard of in our family. Your father, Essie, and I all agreed then that it would be best if I left Arcane Landing.”

Tears welled in her eyes.

“To protect you. Even if you weren’t eternal, people would’ve suspected.”

“But I am,” I retorted. “Eternal, right?”

They exchanged glances.

“We believe so, dear,” Essie finally replied.

---