Page 94 of Heir of Ashes

“That one of my kind took me in after my father was punished for refusing to fulfill his end of the bargain.”

She paused with a cube of sugar mid-air, her dark eyes showing traces of alarm before she resumed the motion, dropping one cube, then another, into a cup.

I focused on the plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies—my favorite.

“Who? Who told you that?” she asked, casually stirring the sugar, though tension began to build in the room. She passed me one of the cups on a saucer, and I thanked her. I missed coffee. I took a sip. It was sweet and tasted like—well, herbs.

“Who is this woman? What else did she tell you?”

I took another sip and studied her over the rim of the cup. “About what happened to my father. How he died.” I gave her a meaningful look. “The whole truth—about the broken bargain, the council, the Sidhe royalty, and the punishment.”

She was silent for a long time. When she finally spoke, her voice was defensive. “You could hardly have expected me to tell you the truth under the circumstances. Besides, telling a child her father died protecting her might have had a negative effect on her psyche. You were better off knowing the story the general public knew.” She frowned at me. “But very few know the truth. Who is this woman?”

“Her name is Leon Ora Maiche.” Her only reaction was the jerk of her hand—which she tried to cover by pulling the spoon from her cup and placing it neatly on the saucer. Then her hand curled into a tight fist, and her eyes narrowed in recognition.

“You made a bargain with a high Sidhe in exchange for information about your father? You foolish child. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

Her reprimanding words had my hackles rising. Who did she think she was, scolding me as if I were a naughty child? Resentment and guilt for dealing with the same kind who had killed my father roiled inside me. If Elizabeth had taught me, I wouldn’t have needed to bargain with a Sidhe in the first place. My anger, born from guilt and fueled by her words, spiked a notch.

“I wouldn’t know,” I snapped. “All people tell me are useless lies. My entire life has been built on deceit. At least Lee didn’t pretend or lie or try to evade me. She was blunt and honest.” I felt a flicker of satisfaction at her guilty expression. “But why assume that I bargained for the information? Maybe she offered it to me freely.”

She scoffed. “None of the Sidhe offer information freely. They hoard knowledge as much as life, riches, or even their pure-blooded offspring. The only way to get them talking is by bargaining, by offering them something in return. To them, information and knowledge are both power and weapon.”

I nodded. I had figured as much. “I didn’t bargain with her for knowledge.” There was no need to tell her that my bargain was for her assistance in helping me leave the Low Lands.

Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed, searching my face for any trace of a lie. “You expect me to believe the Sidhe lady offered to fulfill your curiosity for free? No strings attached?” Her voice dripped with skepticism.

I scowled.

“No, she granted me a boon—a single truth about anything. I asked about my father.” Unable to resist any longer, I picked up a cookie and took a bite. It tasted exactly as I remembered—like innocence and childhood. I had never tasted chocolate chip cookies as good as these. Maybe if I asked, she’d give me the recipe. Now that I had a home, I could start cooking my own meals and baking my own treats.

“Where did you meet her?” she pressed, still suspicious.

I savored the cookie, prolonging the suspense. “In the Low Lands.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “That’s where you picked up the shadow,” she concluded, as if it explained everything.

I supposed it did. I looked around me. I couldn’t see Frizz. “How come everyone can see Frizz except me?”

“Frizz? You named a shadow?” she asked, incredulous.

“What’s wrong with that?”

After a pause, she replied dubiously, “I guess nothing. Why the boon?”

“I accidentally solved a problem for her.”

She raised her perfectly arched eyebrows and waited. I could still see the skepticism lurking in her expression.

I shrugged and picked another cookie. God, it tasted even better than the first one. I managed to keep my eyes from crossing—barely. “I took care of someone without realizing he had broken a rule and was earmarked for punishment. She granted me one question to be answered truthfully.”

She grunted, satisfied with my answer. “She wouldn’t have liked being in anyone’s debt. How did you get the shadow?”

I stopped chewing, then locked eyes with her. “I fed him that someone.”

That caught her attention. “Who?”

I eyed her for any sign of disgust or revulsion. I found none. She looked genuinely curious.

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