Page 23 of The Cursed Fae

It was just a guess. Until I saw Laz's reaction. His gray eyes registered surprise at the mention of Missy, like he'd just remembered; her death wasn't the reason he was in such a pissy mood.

“Yeah. Our families have been tight for years. She's been Tina's best friend since forever.”

Given what I knew about Missy's family, this was confusing. Mrs. Derringer was fae, but not Gemini. Mr. Derringer was a caster. How had the family even ended up in Arcane Landing?

“Did you know that other guy, too? Raymond?” I asked, ignoring the voice in my head telling me to mind my own business.

Laz came to sit beside me on the pillows. “I was actually there when he died.”

Oh. Shit.

“Wow. That must've been awful.” Instinct made me reach for his hand. When I realized what I was doing, I tried to snatch it back.

Laz caught my palm between his hands and squeezed. “It's okay. I appreciate it. There aren't many people I can talk to about this, you know?”

I did. I knew all about incidents you couldn't talk about—that covered most of my life.

“Most people didn't understand why I was friends with him.” Laz gave me a sad smile. “Because he wasn't fae. Why does that even matter? Casters do almost the same magic as us, it just comes from a different source.”

“And yet, you don't like Ewan because he's a shifter,” I pointed out.

“That's different,” Laz protested. “Shifters can't use magic.”

“How the hell do they become wolves without it?”

“Fae created shifters, so they kind of leached off of us. They can't use magic though, it's more like a genetic thing,” Laz said, clearly sharing Fern's bias. He shook his head. “That's really got nothing to do with my thing with Ewan. I have shifter friends, more than I do casters. I don't like Ewan because he's a dick. He's smug and superior and a pain in the ass.”

“What about the vampire rumors?” I asked.

Laz laughed. “I doubt they're true. Ewan isn't interesting enough to be mixed up with vamps. My buddy Justin rooms with him, and he can't stand Ewan either.” His shoulders deflated. “To be fair, I guess, Justin was Ray's roommate.” His voice caught, the range of emotions swirling around him dizzying. “I doubt he would've liked anybody who moved in after the drowning. Justin and Ray were close.”

I squeezed his hand again. “I'm really sorry about your friend.”

Laz shrugged, his shoulders drooping. “I've made my peace. It was just seeing his mom yesterday during the assembly. Everything came flooding back, and not just the shit that happened with Ray. That was awful, don't get me wrong. But he isn't actually the first person I've seen die from depletion.”

For someone who wished people would share more fae secrets, I was oddly hesitant to hear whatever Laz was about to say.

“I'm talking about my half-brother, in case you're wondering—same father, different mother. Ty died of depletion when Tina and I were in high school.”

“Oh, my Gaia. I'm so sorry. That's awful. I didn't know,” I rambled.

“How could you? Most people here think he died in a car crash,” Laz replied softly.

Just like my newfound Aunt Carol. Was “car crash” the catchall cause of death in Arcane Landing?

“That's what my dad wants everyone to think,” Laz continued, seemingly oblivious to the connection in our families' lies. “He would hate if anyone found out one of his kids suffered from the illness.”

“Why tell me then?” I asked, tilting my head to one side to get a better look at his face.

“I think you know why.”

“I honestly don't,” I replied.

“The disease runs in your family, too.” Laz frowned. “Or didn't you know that?”

“Of course I knew.” I didn't mention that I'd only found out the previous day. Minor details. “How did you know about my family, though? Nana and Mom have always made it sound like the topic was hush, hush.” All two times they spoke about it with me, I added silently.

He smiled, but the expression didn't reach his eyes. “It is 'hush, hush' in general. Between the families that have lost someone to depletion, it's more like an open secret. Your family is renowned for their long line of powerful fae, most of whom had siblings that died young. Mine has slightly less powerful fae, but also fewer kids dying.”

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