Page 16 of Until the Stars Fall

This was new. Different. Puzzling.

These fae—a family, most likely—were not scattered about the ground as if they had been struck down while fighting off their attackers. They were lined up; their bodies lay prone, side by side, with their arms touching. Their eyes didn’t look to the sky but remained closed as if they were merely sleeping in the middle of the road.

While this wasn’t the gruesome sight I had anticipated, it left me with an uneasy feeling all the same.

Leaning back, I peered around the carriage and beckoned Matthias to dismount and come over. He stopped short next to me, and his head tilted as soon as he saw them.

“The messenger said it was different,” he said, “but this isn’t—”

“Agreed. Notice anything?”

“You mean other than the fact that they’ve been arranged so neatly?”

I nodded and watched as he examined them again. His eyes narrowed, and he clicked his tongue slowly like he always did when he was concentrating. Then his forehead twitched, and he snapped his head around to look at me.

“No blood.”

“Exactly.” I shook my head. “We haven’t seen a human among the dead in, what, years? But even then we always found traces of their blood, a sign they were injured, that they had to fight to escape. Here? Nothing.”

Matthias glanced back at the dead fae and asked, “What if the humans aren’t to blame for this one? There’s no trace of their scent.”

“Their scent hasn’t lingered around any of the attacks for the last several months. They must be masking it somehow. We only knew it was them because of their spilled blood at the scenes.”

“What if the night stalkers—”

I shook my head and gestured to the dead with my hand. “There are no marks on the bodies to indicate that. Plus, they’ve isolated themselves on Dolobare since before the war. Why would they return now?”

“Could it be fae?” Matthias offered.

“It’s possible, but I don’t think so. The humans have been doing this for years. It has to be them.”

“But how?” Matthias walked away, circling the bodies. His hands fell open in front of him. “How would a human do this? Against fae? Without losing any blood?”

“And without leaving any noticeable wounds on them,” I added.

Matthias frowned. “So not ash or rowan wood—”

“All destroyed anyway,” I said. “And not likely lyrite.”

“Agreed. The last fragment of that went missing how many years ago?”

I didn’t bother to answer his question but continued to stare at the dead. “Whatever it is, it’s new. We’ll need to get feelers out to see if we can find out anything about what they’re using now. And send some of the guard to bring this family to our healers. Maybe they can determine what new weapon is being used against us.”

Matthias offered a sharp nod as he passed me and remounted his mare.

I afforded the fallen fae one last look over my shoulder, hoping I’d be able to make this right, to find the rebels and put an end to their violence.

All while babysitting Brennan.

CHAPTER 10

Lieke

Mother had arranged for her cousins to take me in whenever needed. With fae-human relations being what they were after the war, they had gone into hiding in the northern forests when I was still young. Thankfully, my mother had included instructions in her letter explaining how to contact them.

This was all a bit too much to take in.

I’d never even known she had living relatives remaining in Emeryn, and now I was to go live with them? One stupid mistake and I found myself banished from my home and forced to live with strangers. Mrs. Bishop had reassured me she would keep my mother’s belongings safe for me while I was away and instructed me to pack as little as possible. So with a small bag of clothes, a book, and my mother’s necklace around my neck, I stepped out of the palace and walked toward the waiting carriage.

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