Page 64 of Shadow of Spring (Wild Haven 2)

“Not much.” Octavia smirks, taking that as a compliment and not a statement about her nosiness.

“Do you know what happened here about twenty-five, twenty-six years ago, with our parents?” Lena waves her hand back and forth between us. We decided to see if Octavia knew anything about the Axis, before we jumped into the whole, is Scott Marsten a murderer question.

“You mean, when your parents were messing with all that Fae magic, they weren’t powerful enough to manage?”

The smile falls off my face and I gape at Octavia, dumbfounded. I know we came here hoping she might know something, but to hear her speak about it so casually is damn surprising.

“Don’t look so shocked, Archer. I probably know more than the two of you and your little group of friends have cobbled together over the years. What is it that you want to know about all that nastiness?”

Nastiness. Huh. Well, I can’t say I’m surprised by that label. I can’t imagine anything to do with our parents being particularly pleasant.

“Do you know what an Axis is?” Lena’s hands are clasped together, her fingers white from how tightly she’s holding them.

Octavia raises a dark brow. “Do you?”

I hate that Lena’s sitting in a chair instead of next to me. The need to touch her, comfort her, is nearly overwhelming. Not that this is a threatening situation, but her uneasiness is palpable. I’m not unaffected either, but I wrote my parents off a long time ago. Somewhere in the recesses of Lena’s heart, I think she’d been holding out hope that her mom was out there somewhere. That she’d left her and Rhys behind because it was impossible to take them with her.

“We do,” I answer, while Lena shifts in her chair, unable to get comfortable.

“My parents always said we were descended from the sentinels.” Octavia gives us a sly smile. “I know you both know the stories that are bandied about on the island.”

Island lore claims that once upon a time, the veil between our world and Fairy thinned. The story tossed around Wild Haven is that the four Courts of Fairy were fighting. In the course of their war, they brought the walls between our two worlds down, conveniently converging here on our little island. The two realms were spilling into one another and causing damage to both worlds. In order to make sure both realms were protected, the queen sent sentinels to earth. In order to close the tear in the veil, magic was needed on both sides. The sentinels sent here did just that and were then stuck on our side of the veil. Many of the old island families, Octavia’s included, it seems, like to claim that their family tree shares a branch with one of the Fae sentinels.

“My mom used to be able to light candles with the touch of her finger.” There’s a smile gracing her lips that holds fondness and good memories. “I was never as talented. The most I can do is withstand the cold. It makes those winter dips in the ocean a joy.”

Davis is the same way. He can swim in the middle of winter without freezing his nuts off. He claims it’s because he has a high pain threshold, but he’s totally full of shit.

“Your mom’s family has always been obsessed with the old island legends.” Octavia’s gaze shifts to me, and she gives me a sad smile. “They used to collect supposed Fae objects.” Her eyes roll as if that’s preposterous, but who the hell knows?

“The Fae didn’t bring over the holy grail. Dumbasses. The Coakley’s were always uppity and thought they were superior to just about everyone else on this island. Lord knows why. I grew up with your granddad and he used to eat paste. Nothing special about him at all.”

The Coakley’s are my mother’s family. I huff out a laugh, but Octavia’s face falls, growing more serious by the second.

“The most information I could find about the Axis is that it is a group of eight individuals who will be brought together to settle the imbalance between our worlds. Their job is to close the veil back up. That was the original Axis, though.” Octavia shakes her head. “At least, that’s the story. Once the sentinels gathered up all the Fae that snuck over when the veil was down, they formed the Axis, shoved the Fae back through the rift and then sealed it up. I know your parents tried to form an Axis when you all were just babies, and it didn’t work. I don’t know why, though.”

The lines around Octavia’s eyes appear more pronounced as she frowns into her coffee cup, taking another long sip. “I can guess why they failed, but it’s just that. I don’t know for sure.”

“What do you think?” Lena asks, still looking tense and brittle in her chair, like she might break into a thousand pieces with one sudden move.

“They weren’t meant to form it. They didn’t have the power or the connection between them. Most of that group of kids were rotten from childhood. The Radford boy,” It takes me a second to realize she’s actually talking about Davis’s dad and not Davis. “He was born off kilter. Liked to push boundaries. He always wanted to be the most powerful person in the room. And the poor Wilds girl got herself messed up with the creep Anthony. She escaped, but the damage had already been done.”

“Were they all… did they change after they tried to form the Axis?” Lena’s so still in her seat. She looks afraid to move, like it might keep Octavia from speaking. The kindness pouring out of our friend's eyes as she shifts to look at Lena is telling.

“Their personalities didn’t change all that much, dear. I didn’t know the ins and outs of your parents’ relationship. I might enjoy my gossip, but that wasn’t public knowledge. I could see the signs of abuse, though. My first husband liked to hit.” A ghost from the past flits over Octavia’s eyes, showing how some wounds never fully heal, even after decades. “I recognized the look in her eyes.” Octavia pauses to take a sip of her coffee, and to give herself a moment, I suspect.

“When your mom left town, I always suspected…” Octavia’s words trail off. She shakes her head as if to dislodge the thought, but it’s hanging in the air now, demanding she finish. Lena leans forward, her forehead creased with confusion.

“What did you suspect?”

“I’m sorry, dear. I shouldn’t have even made that comment. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain, and I don’t stop long enough to filter my own thoughts.”

“No. Tell me. Whatever it is, I doubt it’s worse than I’ve thought over the years. And… I have my own suspicions.”

Octavia’s lips part and then close as if she’s having a hard time speaking. Her eyes are contrite when she finally gets the words out. “I always wondered if your dad did something to her.”

Lena picks up her coffee and drains the cup in one long drink. “Yeah, me too.”

Octavia reaches across the low table and pats Lena’s knee.

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