Page 46 of Broken Lands

I tried to pull myself together, trailing my fingers through Annie’s soft mane to keep myself from falling apart. This man was a stranger, and I was falling apart in front of him.Come on, Riley.

“I’m sorry. It’s just—” I sniffled and wiped away a wayward tear making its way down my cheek. “No one I’ve spoken to has known James. Gods, I miss him. How did you know him? Were you friends?”

“Yes. We were friends.” His eyes were sad as he gathered Annie’s lead rope again and began moving toward the training yard. “Come on. Let’s walk and talk.”

Annie nudged my hand as she followed Garner, and I nodded. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to talk to someone who knew James. Who’d seen him and known him more recently than I had. He’d never told me much about what he did here, or what the Fae were like and how they treated him. His letters had always asked about me, about the orphanage and the other kids we’d grown up with. The focus had never been on him.

It had never struck me as strange before. Until now, it had seemed like such a big brother thing to do. I don’t know where he worked, or where he’d lived, or even who his friends were.

Fuck. I should have asked more questions, pressed him harder for information. At the time, I’d just been so happy to hear from him. If I’d known and taken more interest in the details… Maybe then I’d have some clue as to where to start looking for him.

I couldn’t even be sure Garner was telling the truth. Maybe they weren’t friends. I had no way to verify the information. I trusted the Fae more now than I did when I first came here. I still believed they could do more to help the struggling humans and the dying lands, but I was starting to see clearer what they were up against.

Even so, I couldn’t just blindly trust everyone I met.

I fell into step beside Garner as we passed through the gate and began to walk, following the fence that circled the large yard.

“How did you and James meet?” I asked, genuinely curious. Had they worked together? Met at a bar?

“We worked together. He helped here part time, and part time at a café down in the city center. The horses liked him, trusted him. So, I did too. We hit it off quickly.” His brows furrowed as he continued. “He spent a lot of time championing for change, for more help for your human communities.”

That sounded like James. He’s always been passionate about the way the Fae had treated us and left us to our own devices. He was very vocal about wanting them to do more, to care more. It’s where I’d gotten it from.

“He never wanted you to come here, Riley.” Garner lowered his voice, almost whispering. Like he didn’t want anyone to overhear us, despite the fact that there was no one else in earshot.

“He shouldn’t have disappeared then. I wouldn’t have had to come looking for him.” The words came out sharper than I intended, the pain in them clear, even to my own ears. It was true, though. I would have stayed in Sommers, would never have applied to ascend if he hadn’t disappeared. I’d been happy at the orphanage, tending to the gardens and the crops. I think I’d have been content to stay there if I’d known James was safe and well.

“He was always looking over his shoulder, worried about things he wouldn’t voice to me. He seemed worried you’d be in danger here.”

“Why would I be in danger here? Aside from the obvious magic making humans sick or crazy?” Not to mention the resistance, the void creatures, or the group of Fae the Dean seemed to think didn’t want me here. James was spot-on actually; I wasn’t safe at all.

He snorted. “You’ve got us pretty worked out, don’t you?”

“The opposite, actually. I thought I had a clear picture of your kind—our kind—but you are nothing like I expected."

“What did you expect?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

“Honestly? I’m not sure. I’m having trouble reconciling the anger I feel at the lack of help given to Sommers with the kindness and acceptance I’ve experienced here.” I halt and Garner does too, Annie coming to a stop beside us. We’d almost made a full lap around the ring. “Life in Sommers is hard. It’s fucking hard. We work our asses off and often don’t have enough food. The air is stale, the scenery gray and dull and the crops struggle to grow.Westruggle to grow.” I blew out a breath, frustration building as I struggled to explain myself. “Everything is so goddamn nice here. It is literally like walking into another world. I used to be so angry that it was kept from us. So angry that nothing was being done to help us while the Fae lived it up. I understand better now that some of the help I wanted would have been detrimental to us, but I still feel like there’s more that could be done to help.”

He studied me for a moment, considering my words. “You might not belong to the human community anymore, but maybe you can be their advocate. If you’re the new girl I’ve been hearing about, your power is incredible. You’ll be able to use that to your advantage. I don’t know what James was worried about, or why he wanted to keep you away. Maybe he knew something about your heritage. Whatever it was, I think it caught up to him. Maybe chasing him down will only lead you to get caught up in it too.”

“I can’t give up on him. I won’t. I will find out what happened and where he is. I need to discover who I am and where I came from and whether James even is my brother. If you know anything, Garner, please help me.”

“Alright,” he said after a minute. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his tablet. “Put your details in. I’ll message you his address. I miss James too, and I’ve been worried about what happened to him. His disappearance was written off as just another rebel joining the resistance, but that doesn’t sit right with me.”

I took the tablet and put my details in before handing it back to him.

“I think you’re wanted,” he said, nodding his head toward the gate where Stefan stood leaning against the rail. How did he find me? “Look after yourself, Riley.”

“I will.” I said, rubbing my hand along Annie’s neck in goodbye. “And thank you, I haven’t met anyone who knew James. It was nice to talk about him, no matter how briefly.”

I turned and walked toward Stefan. I felt a little lighter, glad that someone else knew James well enough to know he wouldn’t join the resistance. Garner had made a good point about advocating for the human communities. Maybe that was something I could do. I could push a little more, dig a little deeper into the whys and why nots.

I smiled to myself at the thought. I might not know where I came from. I might not totally belong here, but I could make a difference.

Chapter twenty-four

Stefan

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