Page 84 of Faerie Hunted

Her willingness to do even the smallest magic warmed the splintered pieces of my heart grinding together in my chest. “What do you feel?”

“Nothing yet.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

I ignored the way my gut plummeted and disappointment followed soon after, filling the empty space. “It’s fine.”

Mike threaded his fingers through mine and squeezed in a silent show of commiseration.

“I’m sure we’ll find her soon.” Bronwen, ever helpful, grinned around at the table.

The young male carried a tray of water in two hands and dumped the plastic cups at the center of the table before darting off again.

“Look, he didn’t even bring you a dish, bud.” I clucked my tongue for Noren. “Maybe it would have been better for you to wait outside.”

Even surrounded by my friends, the people I trusted the most in this world, I still didn’t want to let Noren out of my sight.

“I’m sorry about Glenwood. He’s new and he spooks easily,” a new voice piped up. “I’ll be happy to take your order. Have you had a chance to look at the menu?”

The sweet feminine tone stole my breath before I looked up at the newcomer. Slowly, I peeled my gaze from the belt of her trousers up the long line of buttons to the base of her delicate neck. Rich brown hair had been pulled up into a messy bun at the top of her head, leaving tendrils free and curling around her pointed ears.

The eyes, the nose, the lips—they were exactly the same as Nexa, Coral’s mother. They had the same wide-legged stance that somehow managed to look feminine and brutal at the same time.

I narrowly resisted lifting my hands to my bust, the same size as the woman in front of us. I knew it. I knew it in my bones and in my blood.

Mom.

22

She’s here.

My mom was alive, after believing for two decades she’d been murdered.

The pure adrenaline rush of seeing her in front of me, alive and breathing, tied my tongue into knots.

Her presence stunned me. Absolutely and completely.

She stared at Mike as though trying to place him, her lips pursed and her teeth gnawing on the inside of her cheek. Through it all, she never lost the permanent smile of a public service worker, the one pinned in place even with the roughest clientele.

“I, ah… No. We haven’t had—what I mean to say—” I fumbled to speak and mentally beat myself up.

Gone were any perfect first lines I’d practiced. The kind of opening zingers to let the other person know in an instant, and without a shred of doubt, I was special.

I was special enough to be herdaughter.

The spells we used to disguise ourselves wouldn’t matter. All the potions I’d taken or years of hiding would fade away in an instant and she’d drop to her knees with tears in her eyes, apologizing for lying to me. For allowing me to think she’d died.

From the corner of my vision, I noticed Onyx watching with a mixture of confusion and compassion.

“Hi, yeah, we have a few questions for you.” Mike, on the other hand, had no such confusion. “Is your name Dae?” he wanted to know.

The same Mikewho knew every inch of my face. Who had recognized my mother in a string of heartbeats based on our similarities.

My heart wrenched up into my throat at hearing the name spoken out loud, and I bobbed my head once at him, to thank him for taking charge.

“You don’t have to answer here if you aren’t comfortable,” he rushed to say. “We’d be happy to speak somewhere privately.”

She didn’t answer.

Our eyes locked, her gaze penetrating. Unlike Nexa’s eyes, Dae’s were the color of a blooming lilac, with a rich navy hue near the center. They penetrated past every defense, and I felt the moment the magic rushed out of me. The moment the disguise disappeared and left me raw and aching in front of her.

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