Page 86 of The Secret Keeper's Daughter

“It’ll all work out,” he assures me.

“Easy for you to say.”

“It isn’t. Do you think I like watching my favorite person going through so much? So much should have been different, but here we are. I’m just glad I can be here for you. We’ll get through it together.”

I throw my arms around him, too overcome by emotions to voice any of them. He returns the squeeze, then we make our way down the staircase.

The library is so fascinating, it manages to somewhat distract me from everything else, including the bright colors, interesting smells, and truly unique fae in every direction. One is even hovering over the ground reading a book that’s also hovering.

Everyone acts as if all of this is completely normal—boring, even. To them, it must be, yet I can’t imagine any of it ever being anything other than mind blowing. How can I actually be part of this world? Why did my mother think hiding among humans was the best idea?

Maybe because my father is going to want me dead. She may not have even ever told him that she was pregnant. I always assumed he abandoned us, but the truth could be much darker. And probably is, considering the hunter legacy. Father and child fighting to the death? I can hardly fathom it.

Knowing how protective my mother was of me and my siblings, that actually makes the most sense.

When Harek and I reach the main level, we zig and zag our way around busy fae rushing to and fro. He holds open the door, then I step outside. The sun is just starting to go down. It’s still light out but won’t be for long, as evidenced by the colorful edges of the skyline.

Suddenly I realize I can’t remember how to get back to Vivvi’s. “Do you remember how to get back?”

“Through the park, remember? You wanted to listen to every conversation.”

That sounds familiar. “Right.”

“Are you okay?”

“Just tired and hungry.”

He gives my arm a gentle squeeze. “We’ll figure all of this out. Don’t worry.”

“I only have to kill my father.” I sigh deeply.

“Try not to think about that. We still have a lot to do before that’s even a concern.”

“Like what?”

“Get your sword back, get those souls out of you, and see if we can find more books about the hunter line. I’d feel better about all of this myself if we had more than one book as our source.”

“It seems pretty legit with the way it was glowing and the fact that I could read it.”

“I would still like to find at least one more book, and we will.”

My head throbs at the thought of another day of this.

“Come on. A good meal will do both of us a lot of good.”

I can’t deny that, even though everything is so overwhelming. Going back to Skoro will be another week’s trek, and even when we come back here, I can’t expect Vivvi will let us live off her forever. We’re going to have to get jobs or something. Would we be able to sell meat at the market, like Harek’s family has done all these years? Or did they go to Skoro because that kind of lifestyle wasn’t available here?

It takes me a moment to realize Harek has begun walking.

I quickly catch up to him. “What do you know about our pack?” The words feel foreign on my tongue. Our pack—how weird of a thought. I don’t want to think about shifting, but now that’s inevitable since nobody told me anything about my truenature. When I get back to Skoro, I need to tell my siblings. My sisters, at the very least. They’ll listen to me. I can’t say they’ll believe me, but they’ll at least hear me out and then can decide for themselves what to do. I feel bad for Runa, because she’s too young to take care of herself. The others are at least old enough to fend for themselves. “Harek?”

He draws a long breath. “We’re better off without them.”

“How? I thought packs took care of each other.”

“Ours isn’t typical—as evidenced by our ability to choose when we shift.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

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