Page 59 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

12

Changing Course

Fel’s journey home felt empty and lonely. He wanted to deny it, but the truth was that he couldn’t stop thinking about Leah. Leah, who’d made it very clear he wasn’t good enough for her.

And then there was Naia and her father. The worst part had been packing their things, while his already beaten-down heart was strained wondering what was happening to them, wondering if perhaps his father would want to hurt River, would bring his sister back by force. Would he do it? Fel liked to think that he knew his father well, but the truth was that he had no idea how he’d react in such a situation. And perhaps River or some other Fae could hurt or even kill his father.

He touched his end of the communication mirror still in his pocket. It would be impossible to make it work in a carriage, as he needed a stable surface for it. More time wondering about Naia and his father. So much wondering and anxiety and pain.

When he got near his house, he ran inside—and found his father sitting at the kitchen table, a goblet in his hand.

“Where’s Naia?” Fel asked.

“Naia?” His father frowned, as if thinking. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“My sister. Did you find her?”

“Sister, sister. Yes, she’s somewhere, not sure where, by a house.”

“Is she well? What happened?”

“Of course she’s not well. She’s been taken by a fae.”

“What did you do to her?”

“I?” He laughed. “You mistake me. I did nothing. Coward, you may say, but hey, she’s not even my daughter. What do I care?”

“She’s my sister.”

“And yet you let her go.”

“I didn’t let her go. She’s not mine to tell her what to do.”

He shrugged. “Well, she’s not mine either.”

Fel noticed that his father was drinking spirits, which was odd, since alcohol had always been forbidden in their house. “You’re drinking?”

He lifted his cup. “Celebrating. I stopped drinking when I brought you two home, did you know that? So now I’m reverse-celebrating and drinking a little, now that I lost a daughter.”

“How’s that going to help?”

“Drinking doesn’t change the facts, but it changes the eyes that look at the facts, and then when they’re not double, they’re blurry, less sharp, so the truth won’t cut you.”

Fel shook his head, and again pressed his point. “So she’s fine?”

“No. And so what, right? She said I never listened to her. Is it fair?”

“Perhaps she was upset, depending on what you told her.”

“Well, I was upset because of what she’s done. Not that it matters.” He raised his glass and stared at it, as if examining the liquid.

“Right.” Of course Fel understood that his father was angry. Still... “But she’ll always be my sister. If she ever wants to come back home and you forbid her to return, you’ll have to kick both of us out.”

His father snorted. “Your thankfulness is touching, you know? You know what the Ironholds would have done to you? You know what they told me?”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“Oh, but you do. They said they were going to end your suffering. They were going to kill you, Isofel. Isn’t that horrible?”

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