Page 104 of Whispers of the Elderoak

“You do?” Quinn looked at her with confusion.

“Yes. A small cat-like creature.”

“Luna? I think it’s safe to come out.”

Okay.

Luna leaped from a window where she had been hiding on the balcony and padded over to Ava. Ava scooted back her chair as Luna climbed into her lap and scanned the table.

The group looked at her with surprise. “So, you truly are fae,” said Thorne. “It’s hard to believe when you look so?—”

“Human,” Casimir finished.

She glared at him but didn’t respond.

“What’s her name? How did she get to your world?” Raine asked.

“Luna. All she told me was that she chose me before I was born and followed us there. She’d basically been in hiding until I made it back to the farm.”

Luna chirruped in confirmation.

The group was silent as they watched Thorne, waiting for him to say something. She looked back at Raine, seeking support, when his eyes widened as he grabbed her face between his hands.

“What?” she said.

“It’s not possible,” he whispered.

“What?” she asked, louder.

Standing up, he announced to the group, “You lot are idiots. I know who her parents are. I’ll be right back.” Then he disappeared from the room.

She turned to the rest of the table, feeling all eyes on her. “What’s going on?” she asked Jorrar.

He smiled at her. “Raine has a subtle ability to sense things. He isn’t a seer but sometimes things click for him while the rest of us are left in the dark.”

Right. She had forgotten about that though he had told her just yesterday.

Moments later, he returned carrying a large, framed piece of art he had turned around, its back facing the group. Luna jumped from Ava’s lap and sat down on the ground, watching curiously.

He walked up to Ava, scrutinizing her, and then flipped it around. “Do you recognize this person?”

It was a portrait of a woman. She had pointed ears and piercing green eyes. She was dressed in a regal gown and had a crown sitting atop her long golden hair. Ava reached out and touched the painting, tracing the lines of her face, as her eyes welled with tears.

She nodded. Her voice was barely audible as she answered, “That’s my mother.”

Several curses sounded from the table.

He set the portrait down and paced. “I knew it. It makes so much sense. No one ever found her body… it’s possible she was pregnant… that she escaped with her father…” He was rambling now.

Ava looked at the rest of the table. They were all watching her with surprise and disbelief on their faces. “What? Someone tell me who that is.”

Raine sat back down in his seat. “Look at Thorne,” he said.

She turned and realized Thorne had gotten out of his seat and was standing before her.

“Do you see any resemblance?” Raine asked.

Thorne grabbed her hand and knelt in front of her with a mix of awe and surprise in his eyes.

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