Page 75 of Wake the Dream

Kieran

It wasn’t often Kieranfound himself at a loss for words. In fact, if push came to shove, he actually considered himself a fairly outgoing guy with a knack for conversation. It helped him during interrogations, and although he usually wasn’t invited to social mixers, the few he’d gone to had been decent in terms of his approach.

So he told himself.

But when the Fae woman stepped out in front of him like she’d appeared out of nowhere, the tone of her voice causing his bones to splinter, he swallowed his tongue. This was no ordinary fairy. No, this was a different creature entirely. One wholly not of this world—to the point where he felt his entire viewpoint skew and shift.

A cold flash of fear took him at Illaria’s greeting.

“Mom?”

Was this...? Oh boy.

His gaze held on Illaria when she moved around him, trembling. He found it hard not to watch her on a good day—to watch the way she moved, the way she carried herself, the way her face lit up when she smiled and laughed. But today...today he was riveted.

She was clearly not happy to see her mother. Not in the least. In fact, if he had to describe the emotion, he’d put her solidly infrightened.

The realization caused a further disconnect within him. Illaria didn’t get frightened. No, she got things done.

It pained him to say that his initial sense of the situation had been right on the money. Somethingwasn’tright, and this proved his hunch.

He reached out with his Sight to get a read on the woman, but came up against a wall. Not the same kind of blank spot he recognized with Illaria. This was a purposeful emptiness constructed to look natural.

“How are you here, Oona? Why?” Illaria asked the questions with a kind of calm that made Kieran wonder whether he should start running.

He stared at them with his lips zipped together, though he saw little resemblance between the two women. The mother stood a good head taller than her oldest daughter, with hair the color of ebony streaming down her shoulders and past her rear in long waving curls. She more resembled her missing child, dark beauty and olive skin where Illaria had been steeped in silvery moonlight.

Cold to some, he knew, especially those who preferred the warmth of exotic and rich tones. In this case, the opposite couldn’t be truer.

“My darling.” Oona held out her arms, lips trembling. “It’s been so long. Come here to me. Let me hug you.”

Before Illaria could move, Kieran stepped in front of her to block her path. Though he said nothing, he used his body as a shield, the sickly warm feeling of wrongness permeating every cell of his body.

“I don’t think so,” he murmured.

“Kieran, what are you doing? It’s my mother.”

At least Illaria didn’t seem to be jumping headfirst into trouble as he’d seen her do in the past. The longer she allowed him to hold her back, the more time he had to properly assess the situation, using whatever senses he could.

Because something was seriously off. And he needed to figure it out. Quickly.

Why had Caryss’s crystals sent them here when the fairy in front of them was not Yelena? Had it mistaken their identities because of their bloodline?

Oona’s face darkened like a cloud passing over the sun, then the emotion dissipated. Kieran wasn’t sure which scared him more: the thunderous rage or the blank apathy. His arms tensed, held out in front of Illaria to keep her at bay.

“You have nothing to say to your mother?” Oona urged. The light shifted and bent around her until shadows obscured half of her face. “Illaria, come here. It’s been ages since we’ve seen each other. You expect me to believe this mortal has some kind of hold on you?” She clucked her tongue. “For shame.”

“I have plenty to say to you,” Illaria replied easily, “but I notice you aren’t answering any of my goddamn questions.”

Oona took a step forward, gossamer threads from her dress trailing behind. “Watch your mouth, young lady.”

Illaria indulged in a laugh before stepping up to stand at Kieran’s side. “Oh, acting like a real parental figure, that’s rich. Where were you when the gate closed and locked Yelena and me here, in this wasteland, without access to the source of our magic? I’m dying to hear the answer. It better be a good one.”

Her body shook with something. Anger or terror, Kieran couldn’t tell. He watched Oona stride forward and crane her neck downward to face her daughter. This was the true alien, he realized. Not the creatures who made Hedgehill Marsh their home. The monsters from legend and myth.

No, the door to Fairy had been closed for a reason.

To keep creatures like Oonainside.

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