Page 29 of A Wolf in the Garden

“No wings. That would be sprite, or a pixie.”

“Okaaay. Next question: why are they the reason the Unravelling happened?”

I take a moment to think about the simplest way to explain this. “The fae have been using their magic to antagonise the old houses and clans that currently hold all the power in the First Realm. That’s been going on for centuries, but it’s ramped up in the last few years. Every house and clan is led by members of the magic class — witches, wizards, et cetera — because magic rules the world in the First Realm, even more so than wealth does. It’s the collective magic ofall membersof the magic class — regardless of house or clan or species — that kept the universal glamour in place here in this realm. It was a collective spell, first created over a millennia ago, that powered the glamour.”

“That’s what always surprises me,” she says, touching her ear almost shyly. “How this glamour was able to make everyone look human without any mistakes.”

I nod, reaching out to push her damp hair back, tucking it behind her ear. “They suit you, you know,” I tell her.

“What, the ears?”

“Yes. You arestunning, Ellie, and I hope you know that.”

She shakes her head, deflecting the compliment, and nudges my leg with her foot. “You were telling me about what the fae did to make the Unravelling happen.”

“I’m not the best source of information, but from what my mother has told me, it was decided that protecting everyone from the fae was more important than keeping us all hidden any longer. Choices had to be made, in terms of how much energy was expended upholding the glamour versus protecting the two realms.”

I can see the gears turning in Ellie’s mind, her big brown eyes searching my face. “Is it political, then? As in, a power struggle?”

“It seems that way.”

“So the fae are the bad guys?” She frowns when I struggle to answer. “Are they evil? Is that what came after me today? Was that deer…?” She’s jumping ahead now, her theories on the right track, and I wish I had kinder answers for her.

“If you were to research fae right now, you would find that many legends say they take the form of a deer. And that’s because they often do. Their magic often has a green cast or glow to it, or at least, the Unseelie fae have that green magic, and they are the ones that I think came after you today.”

She leans her head against her hand, her food forgotten. “Theyarethe bad guys, aren’t they? And I’m one of them. And they’re after me.”

“We need more answers, but it seems like that’s the case. Not all fae are… sinister. But some are. Others seem really benign.”

She shakes her head slowly. “And appearance-wise? The ears are like mine?”

“The point on the ear is more pronounced — their ears are much longer. But that makes sense, given that you are not anywhere near full-blooded fae.”

Her lips purse in thought. “Do they use mushrooms?”

“Mushrooms?”

“Mushrooms. Big white ones that glow green.” She makes a circle with her fingers, using both hands. “About this size?”

There’s only one reason why she’d ask such a specific question. “When did you see this mushroom? Today?”

She hesitates, shifting in her seat. “No...”

“Ellie.” It’s an effort to keep the growl out of my voice.

“It was in my garden, on the day you visited for the festival.”

“Ellie.Fuck! Before or after I was there?”

“Before.”

There’s an iciness in my veins again, that horror, that dread, that something could have happened to her without me even knowing what was going on.

“Don’t tell me I should have told you; you had just appeared in my life again out of nowhere and —”

“I’m not doing that. I’m not doing ‘I-told-you-so’s, okay?” My jaw is clenched, muscles so tense I have to actively focus on relaxing them. “I smelled fae in your garden that day.”

“That’s what had you freaked out? I figured that maybe you smelled the mushroom. I didn’t know what it was, so I panicked and threw it and even my trowel away, and then tried to forget about it.”

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