Page 38 of Whispers of the Water

My people.

Lifeless eyes bore into my back, and knowing that they were my people made the room seem to spin. Imaginary wails seemed to fill my mind like the dismembered heads were crying out to me for not being there. I’d failed them, letting this woman steal their lives in what I could only imagine was a myriad of gruesome ways. The worst part was she’d enjoyed it. She didn’t remember each face out of guilt or remorse. She wanted to remember them, because she reveled in the kill. It made me sick.

Forcing myself to focus on Myra’s question and not how much I abhorred her, I considered how to answer her. Why was I here? That was easy. I was here because of Rune. I was here for Rune. He needed me, so even though I’d initially agreed to come solely for the sake of our deal, it was now my choice to be here, because I loved Rune and refused to let him do this alone.

Rune had given me a chance to back out. He gave me the money I needed for Italy and told me I no longer had to come. But I couldn’t just quit, not when Myra was putting him between a rock and a hard place. While Rune didn’t want to settle down, refusing Myra of what she wanted would result in her hurting the twins to force Rune’s hand. He had to convince her that he was ready for marriage and kids, but it was to be with me, or at least, Myra had to believe that. The alternative was Rune being sacrificed to a life he loathed, and after seeing the type of Fae she expected him to be and create in offspring, my resolve to pull this charade off had only intensified. I refused to let his psycho mom force him into a marriage where he had to “breed” Water Fae killing machines.

“I’m here,” I started, my voice coming out surprisingly even, “because I love Rune and plan on spending my life with him.”

Myra flashed me a cynical grin. “And you believe that somehow makes you fit to be with him?”

My brow furrowed before I could stop myself. “He and I are happy together. Don’t you want him to be happy?”

Myra’s features smoothed out once more until she stared at me blankly. “Happy? Do you think Alvaro and I are together because we’re happy with one another or because we love each other? No. We’re together because we are strong, powerful Fae who stand to create offspring just as capable. We had one failure, sure, but Greshim is on his way to becoming a tenacious Fox as planned.”

My throat closed from the grip of rage, and suddenly, I was seeing red. Failure? She thought Newt was a failure? Greshim was a great kid, but Newt was just as wonderful. So he had a stutter, but what the hell did that matter? He was healthy, kind, warm, funny, and a good kid. The only failure was Myra for being a shitty and unworthy mother.

“So no,” Myra continued. “I don’t care about Rune’s happiness. What he feels means nothing. He’s a Fox Fae with a duty to his kind. He’s expected to create powerful Fox Fae to continue our path toward annihilating every Water Fae, and if he’s unable to do that, he is useless to me and our kind. How he feels is of little importance.”

Utterly baffled, I slowly said, “But … he’s your son.”

“You say that as if it’s supposed to mean something.”

I did, and I wasn’t exactly sure why. I should’ve known better, especially after seeing this horror show of a room. This woman didn’t feel anything for anyone. She was numb. Hollow. Bitter. And I couldn’t help but find that sad, even more so since I knew Rune hoped to restore her to the way she’d once been. Even that was hard to picture at this point. She was far too gone and unable to care about anything. What could make a person, a mother, end up this way?

“You are not the Fae for my son,” Myra continued after my silence. “For your own sake, I’d back away now and find yourself a different mate, one more fitting for your place in life.”

She stood, and I took that as my cue to follow suit. I got to my feet, and without another word, I made my way to the door, taking care not to look at the wall as I did. I had no idea if Myra thought I was actually giving up like she’d ordered, but I didn’t care at this point. I needed out of that suffocating room and away from that evil woman. I needed to get away from all of those unseeing eyes.

Chapter Fourteen

MY BLOOD BOILED as I hurried down the halls and stairs for my room.

I was angry at Myra for treating me like I wasn’t worthy of her son.

I was angry that Newt had to grow up in a home with a mother who hated him.

I was angry that the one parent Rune had left was one who’d never love him the way his dad had, despite his wishes and futile attempts to restore her.

Needing to find Rune quickly before I imploded, I barreled into my room. I expected to find Rune waiting for me, but the room was empty. Confused, I checked the bathroom and balcony, but he wasn’t there, either. That was when I noticed a note on his side of the bed, and my stomach sank.

I’m sorry for earlier. I was stupid and rushed things. I’ll sleep in another room. Sleep well and sweet dreams.

Rune

My heart clenched painfully, and the anger in my veins turned its energy from Myra to myself. One stupid secret had caused this. I had to clear up this mess, but I also knew snooping through the rooms in this house to find him wasn’t smart. Like Alvaro said earlier, I had a lot of enemies in this house, even more so now after Myra’s clear warning that I needed to leave.

While I hated to let this misunderstanding go on longer, I knew this sleeping arrangement worked in my favor for at least part of my plans tonight. I wouldn’t be able to talk to Rune until the morning, but I’d get to follow through with the outing I’d planned with Dallas earlier in the day.

Pulling my phone out, I called Dallas, who answered on the first ring. “Gummy worm?”

I rolled my eyes. “No. Everything’s fine. Well, mostly.”

Except for all the dead Water Fae hanging on Myra’s fucking wall.

“Just wanted to be sure. So, are you ready?”

That morning, I’d texted Dallas to see if she’d be open to training me after everyone was asleep. For me to be completely confident in my decision to come clean to Rune about who I was, I first needed to be confident in who that was. Right now, with my extreme lack of knowledge and skill, I didn’t feel that way. I hoped Dallas could help fix that.

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