Page 46 of Faerie Trials

Glancing behind me at the locked door, I noticed the plaque with the business name in Fae hieroglyphs above the door. Great, perfect. Then I swallowed my shock at seeing the splendid interior of the building. From the outside it was deceptive, a nondescript one-story exterior. But on the inside…

In some ways, the cathedral-like interior reminded me of the great hall of the academy. The walls soared toward a ceiling reflecting the image of the sky outside, with arched doorways and a cold stone floor. We passed a front desk ornately carved of living wood and a chair upholstered in velvet.

I kept my gaze averted, swearing the walls had eyes that watched me.

Rock Man brought me into a small room off a long corridor and closed the door. “Miss Alderidge, please take a seat. Make yourself comfortable.”

“I know how this goes,” I replied.

And sadly, I did. I’d been interrogated way too many times in my short life to honestly be surprised by the process. Although I would much rather have had Doug Wilson, the werewolf detective, sitting on the other side of the desk. He and I had at least come to an understanding. We each knew how the other worked. He’d been called to the mortal academy many times before and we’d managed to form a tentative mutual respect. I wouldn’t go so far as to say relationship.

“We’re sure you do.”

The woman spoke for the first time since leaving the academy, taking the seat opposite me and obliterating any fantasy I had about Wilson. The small table wasn’t enough space for me to feel comfortable.

“Talk to us about what happened with Juno Ians the other night,” she began.

I jerked upright in my seat. The cold feeling beneath my heart bit deep and settled into every piece of me. “What do you mean?”

The two of them didn’t look at each other but I knew they’d already planned out their interrogation of me. They’d isolated me in here and first one would come with her questions, then the other.

“We know there was an attack on the professor on the grounds of the Fae Academy for Halflings. Eyewitness accounts place a girl of your exact coloring at the scene. We know you are currently under her mentorship. Take us through the events of your intervention.”

So much for Bronwen’s shield keeping the fight out of sight. It must have gone down for a bit when she was knocked unconscious.

This was pure hell.

Nothing they found out should have surprised me. Except it did, and I found it hard to catch my breath.

What did the bureau know? How much of their knowledge involved me and what could I possibly say to take the spotlight away?

“Miss Alderidge,” Rock Man urged. He scraped out a chair and sat beside his partner, facing me. “Tell us everything. We know you were there. You have no reason to keep the truth from us.”

This was a far cry from how I’d felt with Detective Wilson. The werewolf detective didn’t exactly put forward his best foot; he had a problem being gruff, but he was pack. He was familiar in a way I knew I could count on. Talking to Wilson had been comfortable, like I could tell him anything. With these two, I didn’t know how much they knew or where their loyalties lay.

I wasn’t going to be able to get out of this by lying outright. So I had to carefully pick and choose the truths to impart. “I was out for a walk.”True. “Alone.”Not true. “I heard screams coming from the courtyard and I went to see what was going on.”True. I only hoped I could keep from tripping myself up.

“It was a risk for you to runtowarda scream rather than contacting the proper authorities,” Rock Man stated with what might have been a hard look. Still couldn’t tell.

“What were you doing out so late? Alone, no less.”

“I needed some fresh air,” I told them, forcing an appearance of calm. “I’ve been working hard at my studies and sometimes I go out and take walks. To, you know, clear my head and stuff.”

“It’s an awfully long way from the castle to the halfling academy campus. You don’t go there for classes, either.”

“No, but I do go there to meet with Juno. Professors Ians, I mean. I’m comfortable on the campus. It reminds me of my time in the mortal world.” My hands knotted on my lap. I didn’t regret what I’d done to save her. But this definitely brought the microscope down on me further, and in a way I definitely couldn’t afford.

“What did you see that night?” Moss Lady asked.

“I saw a large creature towering over Professor Ians. The darkness made it impossible for me to make out its features but it was tall, powerfully built. It looked like a beast.”

“You expect us to believe that a girl of your stature scared away the monster? What weapon did you use?” Rock Man spat. More, I heard what he didn’t say yet. Why had I not reported this?

“Nothing. I don’t think the creature expected an audience. It was surprised to see anyone and bolted when I called out for Juno. I ran over and saw she wasn’t in good shape because of the shock so I took her to the hospital. The, ah, healing center.”

“Again, alone,” Mossy stated. “You must be awfully strong.”

I hoped Bronwen had been able to sweep our tracks clean. “Yes,” I agreed without hesitation. “And yes.”

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