Page 86 of Samhain

Mine to raise.

Mine to love.

Because I’d brought her here, to this land of strangers, and I owed it to her.

After Lex and Ivy returned from the shower, I took one myself while they attempted to get Miri clean with a washcloth. Then I woke Poppy and took her to the bathroom, sitting her down on the toilet while I filled the tiny tub with warm water. Ivy came with me, just in case Poppy didn’t feel comfortable being alone with me.

“How you feeling?” I kneeled in front of her and Ivy sat on the edge of the tub, her hand playing in the water while it filled.

Poppy curled in on herself, her arms between her knees and a vacant look in her eyes. The thousand-yard stare, like she’d lived a million lives in the span of one night. She looked at me, but she didn’t really see me.

“Ashley told me your name is Poppy,” I said. “Do you like to be called that?”

She gave me the smallest nod before glancing down at her lap. Tears streamed over her cheeks, and she wiped them away, sniffling and wincing.

“My name’s Carter,” I said. “This is my friend, Ivy.”

“I can’t go home anymore,” Poppy whispered. “Can I?” It was so soft I almost didn’t understand her.

“No,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

Poppy nodded, understanding far too much for her young age.

“How old are you?” Ivy asked.

“Ten,” she said. “I think.”

Ten? She looked like she couldn’t have been more than five.

Barely ten. And she’d lived through the death of her mother and banishment from her home. Now she was in a different realm with people she had no reason to trust, truly alone for the first time in her young life.

“Thank you for saving me,” she said.

I couldn’t resist anymore. I pulled her into my arms and hugged her. She wrapped her tiny arms around my neck and hugged me back while sobs racked her body. My heart broke for her.

Maybe Lex had been right. Maybe it would have been better to leave her in her own world with her own people.

No. She was a child, a human child. She needed a human adult to care for her. That person was me, at least for right now. I agreed with Lex that she couldn’t come back to the States with us. I didn’t know where we’d hide her; I just knew we had to keep her safe.

“Let’s get you clean, huh?” Ivy said. “Hold your arms up.” Poppy did, and Ivy lifted the soiled white garment over her head, handing it to me afterward. I tossed it in the garbage. No way the dirt stains would come out, and even if they did, ten-year-olds didn’t wander around in shifts these days. Ivy helped her into the tub, and she sat, allowing my wife to run a washcloth over her muddy shoulders and tear-streaked cheeks.

“Where’s your father, Poppy?” I leaned against the sink, facing them, crossing my arms as I considered our options.

She shrugged. “Don’t have one, I guess.”

I nodded. “The queen never spoke about him? Or none of the other fairies?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Do you think he hurt them? My lady? Ashley and the others?”

Ivy bit her bottom lip and looked up at me, maybe seeking guidance about what to say.

“I don’t know.” It was the truth; I didn’t see any reason to lie.

“It’s because of me,” she muttered.

“What?” Ivy balked. “No, it’s not.”

“Yeah, it is.” Poppy’s eyes filled with tears again, sliding down her cheeks in terrible, tiny blobs. “It’s because of what I am. What I can do.”

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