Page 73 of Marked By the Dark Lord
“What? No way! That guy is so old. He’s practically ancient, like you!”
I rubbed my temples to try to dispel the oncoming headache. “God, I wish Korr’ok was here.”
In a flash, Touk was next to my face, placing his tiny hands on my mouth. “Shhhhh!” he hissed, looking around wildly.
I casually reached up and pinched his waist, pulling him away. “What are you doing?”
“You can’t say their names around here!” he said. “It’s forbidden by the Dark Lady.”
“Whatis forbidden?”
“Saying the names of House Duloke,” the sprite said, then clapped his hands over his mouth. “You bitch, look what you made me say!”
“And why can’t we say that, Touk?”
“Because you’re on House Mirgave lands,” the tiny man said, putting his hands on his hips. “They’re archrivals to Du … to that other place! They hate one another. The Dark Lady of Mirgave has banned all mention of them. How can you be one of them and not know this? Were you dropped on your head as a baby? Can you even remember that long ago?”
“I’ve lived my entire life on Earth, Touk,” I told him. “As a human.”
“Well, you aren’t,” he said matter-of-factly. “Do you remember your Fae parents?”
“No. I was raised by humans.”
‘Raised’ being a generous term, but I wasn’t about to try to explainthatto the childlike sprite.
“Ew, that sounds terrible. Why?”
“I … don’t know,” I said. “That’s why I wish Korr … why I wishhewere here. I need to find him.”
The sprite stared at me as if I’d announced I wanted to throw myself into a meat grinder. “Why?” he gasped.
“Because I know him? He could help me explain this.”
“Or he couldkillyou,” Touk pointed out. “Which is what the Dark Lady or her agents will do if you mention his name again. Try, for once in your ancient life, not to be stupid like that, okay?”
“Why is this such a big deal?”
“Because you woke up here after you died,” Touk said. “That means you’re a Mirgave. You belong to their House. You’re a part of them and must obey the Dark Lady. Boy, you really are no better than a child.”
Part of the Mirgave? At war with Duloke? That made no sense. Icouldn’tbe part Fae. Could I? Who were my parents then? They hadn’t been Fae … had they? It was confusing. Why would they have hated me so much if that were the case?
“Touk, I can’t stay here,” I said. “I have to get out of here. Will you help me?”
“You want my help?”
“You’re Touk! Greatest of the sprites. Who else would an idiot like me turn to when they needed help?”
Touk tapped tiny fingers against his tiny chin while glowing with praise. “Good point. Well, if you want to die, that’s your choice. Come on, this way, dumb-dumb. Hurry before the soldiers get here.”
“Soldiers?”
“Yes. The Dark Lady will have sensed your arrival and want to know more about how someone so stupid and old got here. Come, we must go!”
And off he went in a ball of light. I stumbled after him, still trying to puzzle things out. Maybe Iwasdumb as Touk had said because, to me, none of it made any sense.
Yet.
Chapter Thirty-Four
