Page 137 of The Bond That Burns

“Yes, I seem to recall you looking far longer than you should have,” she said, eyes narrowing. “But then I forgot, you aren’t exactly a gentleman.”

I snorted. “A gentleman? Were there a lot of those in your world?”

“I wasn’t there long enough to really find out.” She glanced at me as if trying to decide what to say next. “You really believe me? I know it must sound mad.”

“I believe you,” I assured her. “It does sound mad. But when you first got here, you were so shocked. Everything seemed new to you.” I studied her curiously. “There were really no dragons where you came from? No vampires?”

She shook her head. “Nothing like that. Only fae.”

“Fae?”

“People like me.” She lifted her hair to expose her pointed ears. “The things you see as marking me as a rider? Those are just normal fae traits in my world.”

“Does everyone have red hair there, too?” I asked.

She laughed. “No! Of course not. And not everyone is fae either. There are mortals. You call them blightborn.”

“And do the fae rule over the mortals?”

“No! Well, in some places. But there are mortal kingdoms, too.” She sighed. “There are places where people dislike the fae and places where fae look down on mortals. But there are also places where everyone gets along. Well, tries to.”

“It didn’t look exactly peaceful when I was there in your memory,” I recalled.

“What did you see exactly?” she asked curiously.

I described the scene. The tension and fear had been palpable.

“Oh. I know what you saw.” She was quiet for a second. “That was when I died.”

I choked. “You...died?”

She nodded. “Now you really will think I’m mad.”

“I don’t think you’re mad,” I said quickly. “You’re different. But I already knew that.” I grinned down at her. “I like it.”

She quirked her lips. “If you say so.”

“Tell me about how you died,” I said. “How is that even possible?”

She shrugged. “Magic, I guess. You have things here in your world that don’t make sense either. I thought I’d died. I woke up here instead. Believe me, I was confused by it, too.”

“You must have been homesick.” I tried to imagine what it had been like. “You were ripped away from your family.”

She stopped walking. “Yes.”

“And all of your friends.” I thought of something. I tried to keep my voice casual as I asked, “Did you leave anyone special behind?”

She gave me a sardonic look. “You mean besides my aunt and uncle and everyone I’d ever known?” She shook her head. “No.No one special. There wasn’t anyone like that. Not yet. And I was too young to wed.”

“Your aunt and uncle looked like warriors,” I said softly. “They seemed to be trying to protect you. They must miss you very much.”

She nodded stiffly. “I think about them all the time. They have no idea I’m still alive. If only there was some way to tell them.”

We walked in silence for a few minutes.

“So,” she said suddenly. “First kiss. His name was William. He kissed me at a fair. Then ran off like his feet were on fire.”

I laughed, imagining it. “He was probably half in love with you.”

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