Page 16 of Tragic Ink
I blinked. Whatever I’d expected him to say, that wasn’t it. “All right,” I saiduncertainly.
“You’ve thought over myoffer?”
“I have.” My shoulders sagged, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was admitting a loss. “And we should do it. Work together, Imean.”
I blinked, realizing he’d wandered closer. When I took a step back, he frowned. The heat of the fire warmed the back of mylegs.
“What?” I demanded when he didn’t sayanything.
He cocked his head, peering at me. “Are you still taking the mistletoe—your vitamins, Imean?”
“My— What the hell does that have to do withanything?”
“You look a little tired. I just want to be sure you’re taking care ofyourself.”
I didn’t miss the fact that he’d mentioned mistletoe—the same thing that mysterious letter had mentioned—or the way he’d just changed the subject, like he’d said toomuch.
“Of course I’m tired,” I snap back at him. “I’ve just lost the only mother I’ve ever known. And what the hell do you know aboutmistletoe?”
He took a step closer again, this time invading my space, and my pulse thrummed wildly. But Rhys was scanning me head to toe as if on alert, completely oblivious to the fact that his smell had invaded my senses and made it hard to remember what the hell we were even talkingabout.
“Something happened,” he said, his brows dipping inconcern.
I lifted my chin, determined not to react to his closeness. “I went to the police today to ask about collecting Aelwyn’s remains. They said she’s gone. Apparently, they released her to you already, so I’m here now to discuss her arrangements. I think we should bury her in the cemeterybehind—”
“Gwen, stop for asecond.”
“What?”
Rhys looked away, and there was something about his expression that sent alarm bells off in myhead.
“Do you have something else in mind?” Iasked.
“We can’t bury Aelwyn in town,” he saidquietly.
“What are you talking about? Where else would we buryher?”
“Nowhere. She’ll be cremated,” hesaid.
“What?” I stepped back. “You can’t just decide something like that without me. Look, I know I didn’t return your texts about the arrangements, but you could have told me you’d already picked her up. I had to find out from Deputy Conall, who by the way, has a shitty bedsidemanner.”
Rhys sighed. “I’m sorry. You weren’t returning my texts or calls, and I couldn’t wait anylonger.”
“Wait for what?” I demanded. My heart thudded hard in my chest as I stared at his tight expression. There was something he wasn’t telling me here, something more. “What have you done with Aelwyn,Rhys?”
“She’s been returned to the Seelie Court,” he saidgently.
“What do you mean ‘returned’ to the SeelieCourt?”
Rhys spoke gently. “It was her wish to return to her homeland whenshe...”
He didn’t say the words, but I couldn’t appreciate his sensitivity. Not when I was still processing what he’d just said. Like he knew for sure that’s where she’d gone because he’d been a part of it. And I didn’t just mean now that she was gone. He’d known about this all along, and he’d kept it from me. No wonder Aelwyn had told me to go to Rhys. They’d been in on whatever this wastogether.
My pulse raced faster now, but it had nothing to do with attraction and everything to do with fear. Rhys was holding back. And if there was some lie, some secret he was keeping, I needed to know. I damn sure couldn’t let him betray metwice.
“How do you know all this?” I demanded, my voice low to keep it fromshaking.
“Because,” he said, “I took her there myself last night. I used the portal that brought her here almost twenty years ago. The same portal that brought you here with her. The same portal that brought me when I was ten.” His voice was sad, and I knew he was bracing himself for the truth he was about to admit. “We’re all three from Faerie, Gwen. And we’re connected in ways you don’t yet know. But I think... it’s time to tell you. Aelwyn would want that, and I can’t keep you safe any longer without admitting thetruth.”
