Page 14 of Fae Devoted
“Shit, I didn’t mean to—”
“You were kidnapped?” Johnnie’s heart shot to her throat. No wonder Sarah was worried about her safety. “You weren’t staying with your brother?”
Conlan was said to have taken Abby somewhere private to recuperate after the ordeal, while Penny chose to stay in Memphis with her family. She returned several weeks later with Alpha Walker’s final Mating Mark on her skin and hair bleached the shade of fresh-fallen snow. Abby never mentioned why Conlan didn’t return to the island with her or why she hadn’t stepped foot off the Fae Touched property since.
“None of this is your fault, Penny.” Abby’s palms pressed on her stomach before she dropped them to her sides and walked to the refrigerator. She retrieved a bottle of wine from the bottom shelf, set it on the counter, and rummaged in the drawer for what Johnnie assumed was a corkscrew. “Anyone want a drink?”
“White or red?” Johnnie asked, sounding close to normal. Normal was good because her friend looked like she was about to lose it.
Abby flipped the bottle around until the label faced up. “A Riesling. Is that okay? I think Samuel has a cabernet somewhere.”
“White’s fine, honey.” Penny’s fair skin was downright pasty, her usual exuberance subdued.
Abby handed the half-full goblets to Johnnie and Penny then sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of them.
Samuel’s truemate had a kind and gentle soul. She was polite to a fault and feminine to the core. The whole pack loved her and were thrilled their Alpha found a worthy Ca’anam to lift the heavy burdens inherent with leadership. When Samuel chose to share that happiness with his clanmates, the pack bond vibrated with his joy and contentment.
Abby was Clan now, and Johnnie would die to protect her. Ferwyn females may not sense their primal natures as keenly as the males of their race, but millennia of animal instincts remained intact. If she were capable of converting into full wolf form, she’d be prowling the room in agitation.
“I want to apologize.” Abby’s gaze met Johnnie’s, then swung to Penny’s. “I…lied.”
“You didn’t have a choice. I’ve been lying my skinny ass off too. The island’s high and mighty made us swear not to say anything until they caught the bastard who took you and discovered who hired him. After you came home, I can understand why you didn’t want to relive what those bitch cowards put you through.” Although rage made her speech colorful, Penny was gentle as she tucked a strand of stark white hair behind Abby’s ear. “But I’m here if you ever change your mind and want to talk about it.”
“My name isn’t Abigail Barnes. It’s MacCarthy,” she blurted, wringing her hands in her lap. “Abigail MacCarthy, and…I’m not an Untouched. I’m a Na’fhuil.”
What the hell was a Na’fhuil?
Johnnie filled her lungs, trying to detect any difference in Abby’s scent. She smelled of jasmine perfume, pack, and Samuel—the same as always.
Penny barked a laugh, which she silenced when Abby winced. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“I’m afraid so. I’m not human.”
“You’re Fae Touched.” Penny collapsed into the soft seating. “Wow, that’s so…wow.”
“Yeah, go me.” Abby’s smile was small and sad.
“What’s a Na’fhuil, and why haven’t I heard of one before now?” Johnnie asked, her relationship worries eclipsed by Abby’s startling confession. Perhaps the puzzle would be solved as to how a fragile human played an integral role in saving Lady Rose’s life last May. Well, it might be if Johnnie knew what a Na’fhuil’s magic could do. “How does an entire race of Fae Touched exist without my knowledge? It seems my college education wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be, and my parents should ask for a refund.” A thought slammed into her consciousness, and she blurted the question before thinking it through, “Did they hurt you?”
Abby paled, her hands clenching into fists.
“Wait, don’t answer that, because…yeah.” Johnnie felt sick. No wonder the Alpha’s emotions were all over the place during Abby’s absence; he would have felt his mate’s pain as though it were his own. “I’m calling my brothers. Albert and Oscar are great ass-kickers. Point them in the right direction, and asseswillget kicked. And by the way, what happened to your hair? Not that it isn’t beautiful without the honey-gold you were previously rocking, but what the hell?”
Johnnie tended to babble when nervous or upset. Well, that wasn’t the whole truth—she veered toward chatterbox status on a routine basis but admitted stress ramped it up to another level. And discovering your friend was kidnapped and possibly tortured qualified as stressful in her book.
Abby blinked when Johnnie paused for a breath, then launched across the small distance to hug her neck. “I love you.” She turned to her human friend. “I love you too.”
“Right back at ya,” Penny said, pointy chin lifting into a mulish tilt. “Now spill.”
Abby closed her eyes, inhaled through her nose, then exhaled through her mouth. “When the Sídhe resided in our realm, they took human lovers. Although rare, a few of those unions produced children. My race is often referred to as halfbloods because we’re the descendants of their Fae-human offspring. But only those born with magic can be classified as true Na’fhuil.”
“And you’re the magic-wielding kind?” Penny asked.
“Yes, and although ninety-nine percent of halfbloods are born without the mutated Fae gene, both my parents were carriers. But unlike the vast majority of Na’fhuil who are Jumpers,” she paused and swallowed. “I’m what’s known as a Rip Walker, and I may be the last one on Earth.”
“That sonofabitch took you from the restaurant and knocked me out because of your magic?” Penny’s face flushed almost as red as her hair.
“I couldn’t tell you or anyone else the truth as my kind are still hunted for our unique…talents. We’ve been hiding a long time, which is why most humans haven’t heard of my race. The magical community thinks the Na’fhuil went extinct a century ago,” eyes open and on Johnnie, “if they remember us at all.”
