Page 64 of Lessons with the Mothman

I glanced at my phone screen, and my scowl deepened asUnknown Callerflickered into an unfamiliar name, thenWade County Library, then a series of indecipherable symbols.

I considered refusing the call, knowing not exactly but roughly where it was coming from. But it had been over a decade since I'd heard from the other side of the fae veil.

"Elias Goldwing speaking."

A soft melody crackled over the long-distance—across realms of reality—phone call.

"We expected you back for your mating."

I frowned, taking a long stretch of time to rifle through my memories of the fae realm, searching for the masculine voice.

"Alexi Oaksworn? Goodness, I haven't heard from you since the start of the industrial revolution. They have you on population?" I asked, trying to keep my voice easy and light.

There was a stiff pause, where only the sound of distant revelry echoed down the line.

"It's a promotion," Alexi said.

"So they say," I answered, staring at the ardent, tormented expressions now fixed on the lovers' faces on my television screen.

Alexi cleared his throat and I smiled as the flavor of his irritation reached me, bitter herbs and honey. "We requested your return for your mating season. We had several women of distinguished moth fae lineage waiting to meet you."

I swiped my tongue over my sharp teeth, recalling the ornately scripted "invitation" I'd received shortly before my mating season had started, the night I'd asked Victoria to spend it with me.

"I had no way of sending you my refusal, of course," I said. Not without coming in person, where I would be all but held captive until the breeding was complete.

"I see," Alexi answered, and the music was interrupted by the sound of leaves rustling in an oncoming storm.

"Am I the only male moth fae remaining?" I asked, slightly nervous to hear the answer. Would it make a difference in my decision? Probably not. But it might make the fae court desperate enough to be more aggressive in their demands.

There was a pause and then a slow, "No. You are not. There were two successful births in recent years."

Recent years could've been anywhere from the past three to the past hundred.

"Wonderful news!" I said, a little too cheerful.

"You are the last of your line," Alexi said, stern and just a hint hopeful.

I hummed, and my gaze trailed out the window. "I don't mind that. I've no…sentimentality in that regard."

Alexi sighed. "You've spent too long in the fast world, Elias. Why should sentiment be a factor?"

"What else should be?" I asked.

"Nobility, legacy, community, history—" Alexi listed off.

"I'm sorry, Alexi. I am unmoved," I said, cutting him off. I wasn't. Notentirely. But I didn't want to go back to the fae realm, where no one told a lie but no one told a truth either. Where progress moved at a glacial pace under the watchful eye of an ancient committee.

"You are so strange, Elias Goldwing."

Where I wasso strangeto those who were meant to understand me.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Good day, Alexi."

The call ended without another word. I returned to my research, my hand clenched tight the remote as I hitplay.

CHAPTER 22

Victoria

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