Page 98 of The Girl in the Forest

“Why me?”

“You are faille.”

So was Brin, but she hadn’t been included in what the sires wanted. Nerves pricked my skin.

“Vampires are afraid of fire,” I said, rubbing my thumb against my clenched forefinger.

The vampire’s smile flicked. “We have spent centuries protecting ourselves. The one who burned was stupid. He deserved his fate, but there are others who thirst for revenge. And they will all kill what they can’t control.”

Beside me, Brin had gone tense and quiet.

“Believe nothing they say,” the vampire murmured as she smoothed the front of her robe. “Only some of what you see.”

“Trouble filters everywhere,” I said cautiously. “What should I believe?”

She glanced at the ruined black rune on my wrist. “Your history goes back to the ancient, vengeful queens—and you have already faced creatures like those of old. Killed them.”

I opened my mouth to ask what else she knew, but the warning that flashed in her eyes kept me from speaking. Her lowered gaze swept toward the acolyte beside her, then to the stone corridor before she pulled the cowl over her head, concealing her face.

“You have powerful enemies,” she whispered as she turned away. “And a dimmed light is often overlooked. Trust no one.”

As I thought about the interaction, I realized how much information she gave. It was harder to accept than I thought. This wasn’t an isolated case of a few vampires hunting failles or wanting hybrids. If powerful factions were involved, willing to kill what they couldn’t control, more was at stake than anyone imagined.

I didn’t know how long we sat there without speaking. I longed for the Green Man’s puppy magic because it always understood what I wanted before I wanted it. Then I remembered something from months ago. I’d argued with Grayson about never making a bargain with the Green Man.

He’d growled at me, and said, “Perhaps it’s an expectation for something in the future.”

Laura was bending over Levi. I held out my hand to her. Surged energy through my fingers into hers, watching as she worked slowly over his battered body. Healing what she could. The bruises, the wounds from the bolts. I could see where the skin had drawn together, still red, but no sign of infection.

But the rawness I felt didn’t come from him, or his wounds. It came from me. I ached for Levi. For Laura, having to save her brother again, and again. For Brin, who suffered for my impulsiveness.

I ached for Sutter. For Burn, who lost his home. For Jodan, who lost his life. For all the others, attacked by creatures. For the forests. For the peace in sunlit meadows, the quiet of a stream. The nights flooded with stars and moonlight. Breezes fragrant with flower scents. Birds rustling in the trees. I closed my eyes and tried to remember the Night of the Beacons, the glimmering fires on hilltops and distant mountains. How one fire triggered the next, then the next, all the fires, lighting like a string of precious gems, and it hit me, how events could be strung together until they formed a pattern.

I couldn’t pretend it hadn’t already crossed my mind to wonder. Why were vampires so interested in failles? And just what the hell did they know about an ancient, vengeful queen who had lived for so long?

Now, I thought… they knew quite a lot.

That night, while everyone was sleeping, I played. I drew energy from the stones, then swirled it, thinned it. Wrapped it around the sludge bucket like a shroud. I could see it, faintly glowing, shimmering. A mirage. I’d gotten the idea after thinking about the witch cave, and how the illusion wrapped around everything like spun glass. Now, I tested my creation. Tossed bits of straw toward the bucket. Studied the way they bounced back, singed.

I continued to toss the straw. Holding my concentration. I was aware of Brin’s interest. Her expression revealed little, but her attention never wavered. It wouldn’t hurt for her to know some of what I could do. I had to trust at some point.

“That won’t be enough,” she said.

“Baby steps,” I told her. “We all start somewhere.”

“What about your man coming? The vampire said trouble was spreading.”

I spun the energy upward toward the ceiling and thought of a tornado. The chaos.

“He’s a dread lord, isn’t he?” Brin asked. “You talk in your sleep. You said he’d burn down the world for you.”

“He may be doing that right now,” I said, snapping my fingers as the energy dissolved and drifted harmlessly away.

“You talk a lot when you sleep. Sometimes, I hear it in my head.”

Alarm bells jangled. Was she fishing for information about the faille bond?

You have powerful enemies. Trust no one.

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