Page 118 of A Fate of Blood and Magic
He nodded, lips pulled down in a deep scowl as he considered my words.
With Silas and Evander on either side of them and two lirio behind, they ushered in the several humans who’d tried to escape. When a female stumbled, Evander moved to help her, but she scooted away from his outstretched hand.
“It isn’t I you should fear,” Evander said.
I snarled to emphasize his words. The remainder of the prisoners huddled together on the other side of the large room. When I stepped back outside, the others followed.
“He said a fae is betraying you,” Evander said, licking his lips as if he could still taste the magic that had emanated from the flames.
I nodded.
“What if the one responsible for this fire magic is a fae from your kingdom?” Evander asked.
Uncomfortable with that question, I put my hands on my waist to keep myself from balking. But that traitor could also be one of his people. “The truth-tellers would’ve found them when they interrogated everyone.”
“That’s not exactly true,”Kieren said, a hand rubbing the back of his neck.“There are ways to hide lies and ways to hide the truth. It’s a matter of controlling your emotions. Our magic allows us to calm our heart rate and breathing, even if we’re lying. We can do the opposite and purposely heighten our emotions while telling the truth.”
“He’s right,”Silas said.“We have a game where he tries to figure out what I’m lying about while I keep myself calm. Kieren only knows my lies because he knows me so well.”
Shaking my head, I stammered out a breath. “Why would any of my fae align themselves with humans to kill our own?”
“To make us hate and distrust all humans more,”Evander answered. “Think about it. You moved humans into Niev without speaking to them about it. Many have lost loved ones because of humans, while many abducted fae remain missing. I’d wager there are plenty among your people who . . . distrust the humans.”
Silence stretched between us, and even George seemed to take that suggestion seriously. It wasn’t a possibility we could ignore simply because we didn’t like it.
If we had a traitor among the fae in our realm, we had to find them before they caused any more harm or deaths. They’d know our realm better than any human or shifter fae. They’d know our weaknesses, our way of life, and our thinking.
Chapter
Twenty-Five
TEDDY
Donnie’s lipsand fingernails held a bluish tint to them. Worse, though, was the way his skin stretched at the base of his neck with every forced breath he took.
To think this was an improvement from the past four days. I didn’t have any magic to help him this time, and Leah was at a clinic in Somnio aiding others. Even if she were here, her magic was exhausted and sputtered in and out of existence, making her healing unreliable. Alastor had tried to help, but his healing magic wasn’t strong enough, and it would only ease his lungs for a short period before Donnie worsened again. Besides, his headache hadn’t improved much and only worsened with each effort.
As much as I wanted Donnie to be able to breathe, I didn’t want Alastor making himself any sicker.
So I did the only thing I could do and held his cold, clammy hand while we waited for Leah to arrive. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take much longer since both Ryenne and Nate had left a long time ago with a fae who could bend space.
His grip tightened when he wheezed through his nextbreath. I pushed his hair away from where it clung to his sweaty forehead as I watched the ragged way his chest heaved up and down.
What was in the air and smoke that had affected him so poorly? It was breaking my heart to see him like this. So. ..weak. SonotDonnie.
From Leah’s accounts, others were in similar or worse condition. Elias believed the fires and smoke were controlled by magic. I hated that he not only suspected the shifters but his own people.
For the time being, though, my attention was on Elias, our kids, and Donnie. It was all I could manage.
I turned to the bedroom door when it swung open. The female shifter, Cierra, barreled through with a tote bag in her hand. She rushed to Donnie’s other side, where she pulled out a mask and what I swore was a nebulizer.
When she handed me the mask still housed in a plastic wrap, I tore through it and placed the liquid medicine she unscrewed into the small plastic cup.
“My brother and I found all this at an abandoned pharmacy not too far from where you used to live,” she said. “I thought this might help since your healer’s magic hasn’t been responding correctly.”
I wasn’t sure who she spoke to, but I nodded in appreciation while my stomach dropped at the mention of the magic that had started to dwindle and flicker throughout all of Niev. Elias believed it was because of overuse and would return when things had settled.
Once I finished assembling the mask, I handed it to Cierra, who hooked the tubing to the bottom of the cup.
