Page 6 of A Storm Rises

Mateo lowered his mug and nodded. “Of course. How are their coughs?” They needed those healing seeds. He had no choice but to risk it all to get them.

Camilla’s eyes watered. “The same. I have even gotten word from Gareth’s mother that little Poppy is coughing.”

His gut sank. “Now you see why I have to go?” His point had been proven. No further talk was necessary.

She wiped away a tear that had slid onto her face. “I do. But I still do not like it.”

He wrapped his arm around her. “I know.” He knew and accepted that his family would worry themselves, but Mateo could handle it. He would save his family and the Sublands. Or face his end trying.

After a quiet breakfast, Mateo’s family gathered together around the crackling fireplace in the sitting room. His travel bags rested by the door while Stormshroud sulked in the corner. They stared at the flames and avoided talking about the hunt while waiting for Lady Verona. The tension was concrete and solid. Like a fortress.

His father broke the deafening silence. “We will throw the biggest party when you get back, Mijo.” He smiled wide. “Everyone will be invited.” He scooted to the edge of his seat. “We’ll have food and drink and games!” Manny was more than a good father. He was a good man.

Taking his lead, Camilla piped in. “I will make those powdery cookies.” She put her hand on her father’s shoulder. “Those little ones you love from the human realm.”

Father smiled back. “Camilla’s delicious pan de polvo. It’s been a while.”

“I will color flowers for decorations and hang them on the walls.” Floriana covered her mouth while she coughed but kept a sparkle in her brown eyes. “I can also make a piñata from the human realm, like Father showed us.” His little sister was the reason he could never say he wouldn’t participate in the hunt. As long as she was in need, he could not and would not rest.

Talk of coming home to a celebration filled Mateo with hope. Knowing he had the full support of the ones he loved meant even more. “A party sounds great. And the cookies?—”

Stormshroud leaped to her feet, ears on alert. She howled at the door.

His father’s smile dropped as reality intruded. He glanced at Mateo before he closed his eyes and swallowed. “They are here.”

They rose, and his father started rattling off reminders. Mateo knew the exact words before they landed in his ears. “Stay true to who you are, Mijo.” Manny folded his hands under his chin, as if praying with each word. “Be as pleasant as possible to everyone you meet, but do not trust anybody.”

Mateo nodded. “I know, Father.” Manny always issued the same reminders in uncertain times. And there was no time more uncertain than this.

He interrupted Mateo and pursed his lips. “Fae are cunning, manipulative, and devious. They cannot lie, but they do not have to. ¿Entiendes?”

“Entiendo,” Mateo answered back in his father’s native language, one Mateo had come to love, honor, and respect.

He pulled Mateo closer. “There is great strength inside of you.” He moved his hand from Mateo’s forehead, down to his chest, and then across from shoulder to shoulder. The sign of the cross—a symbol of his human beliefs. “Have faith in our Heavenly Father above. All will be as He wills it. Remember that. And always, always remember who you are.”

Usually, Mateo scoffed at his father’s human views on faith and religion. Not today. He welcomed all assistance, from any deity, from any realm. He wrapped his arms around his father’s small and fragile frame. “I will remember who I am—the son of Manny Vela of the Sublands.”

He brought his sisters in to join them. Soft whimpering came from Camilla while louder cries came from little Floriana. “Shhh. It will be alright. I will be back so fast it will seem like I have only been camping in Spirit Butte.”

Mateo knelt in front of his faithful shadow, Stormshroud. “You be good, Stormy. Take care of Father and the girls. Don’t let me down.”

She nudged him with her snout and then licked Mateo from chin to forehead. He begged off with a smile. “Okay, okay. That’s enough.”

Ka-dunk! Ka-dunk! A hard knock banged at the deadwood door. Father wiped his glistening eyes. He nodded to his children, then opened it. Two guards clad in all black stepped inside and took positions beside the entry. His time at home had ended. He would face whatever lay beyond that door with the grace and strength he’d been taught inside this home.

Lady Verona walked in. She tipped her head. “Manny.”

“Lady Verona.” His father returned the gesture.

Her copper-colored pants and long-sleeved shirt matched the rock and stone of the Sublands. Her long and dark, shiny hair was pulled up in the front. The thick remainder hung loose and reached the small of her back. Her piercing, sapphire blue eyes fixed on Mateo. “I am proud and most pleased to escort our first Summit Range Hunter, Mateo Vela, to the Stromm Palace.”

Unsure how to respond, Mateo figured Lady Verona despised him. He, Lirien, and Gareth had appeared before her several times in their youth for pranks gone awry. Hardcore, she had never gone easy on them. “I am the one who is honored, Lady Verona. I am grateful for your escort.”

“Indeed.” Lady Verona spoke with her usual brusqueness. “Let us get on with it, then.” She commanded her guards with a wave to take Mateo’s things. “Daylight’s wasting.”

Stormshroud circled his legs, taking her place next to him. He patted her head. “Not this time, Stormy. I will see you again, but it will be in a few days, when I return to the Sublands.”

Floriana and his father lowered themselves to the ground and wrapped their arms around the neck of the wolf. “Go on. We got her,” his father said.

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