Page 94 of A Fate so Cruel

“I haven’t seen any signs of wolves.”

“Or Dark Fae,” Selina added with a hint of sarcasm.

“You don’t believe?”

She shrugged. “No one has seen them in years.”

“Those who venture to the mountains claim differently.”

She scoffed. “Convenient that their stories always happen after sundown.”

“What about the bodies?”

“Predators, obviously.”

“The Fairy Folk are real.”

“And mysterious little things. That doesn’t mean big bad monsters are lurking in the shadows waiting to snatch us up. Those are just children’s stories told to keep us all in line.”

“My mother talked about the harpies a lot. And the sirens.”

She stopped rummaging through her pack and seemed to dive into her own memories before saying, “Mine, too. She claimed she’d seen one once.”

“A harpy?”

Selina nodded. “She said it looked like a half-naked woman with winged arms and feathers that ran down her torso.She also said she was one of the most beautiful creatures she’d ever seen. Until she showed her pointed teeth.”

“What else did she say about them?”

Selina continued digging until she found the jerky. “Nothing. She ran.”

“Probably smart. Was she lying?”

“No, but my mother was . . . eccentric. She said a lot of things that we . . . well, she thought they were true enough. She was never . . . right, after my father’s passing.”

Rion took the offered food. “I’m sorry to hear it.”

They ate in silence for a time. The sun set behind the treetops. The shadows lengthened and a small fire crackled at their feet.

“I know it’s a tender subject for you but,” she glanced at him. “Do you think you’ll ever find her? The High Lady?”

He stopped chewing. Stared at the flames. His stomach became a pit and soured out.

His mother. It had already been eleven years and they hadn’t found a single trace of her. “Saoirse still looks. I go with her when I can. I don’t think she’ll ever stop.”

“And your brother?”

“He sends out units every month. Alec is . . . cold, at least toward me, but I remember him with our mother. I don’t think he’s properly laughed since then.” No need to mention the grief they’d all suffered at their father’s loss.

Selina rubbed her hands on her legs, then repacked their bags. “I’m going to attempt to get some sleep. Wake me if anything happens.”

***

Rion let her sleep through the night. He watched the shadows, listened to the movements in the trees. He stared atthe moon and questioned the gods’ plans as memories of his mother resurfaced.

She’d done so much for Brónach, and now she was gone. Forgotten in some small recess of the world.

There was always the possibility of a fade. There’d be no trace, according to the ancient texts and scholars. But his mother wasn’t old enough for that. Nor would she have willingly left her mate or her children.

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