Page 88 of Given to the Fae
‘You don’t need to feel embarrassed, Bryn,’ he murmurs.
I wince at his words, feeling more mortified than ever now that he’stalkingabout it.
‘I don’t,’ I lie. ‘But there’s something you should know.’ I take a deep breath and hope that this conversation doesn’t lead to dire consequences for me.
These fae are still masters, whether they pretend to be different or not, and I know what happens when masters find out thatI’mdifferent.
But I need to know why I felt that way. What made it start? Why did it stop? I need to make sure it doesn't happen again. Jak was a healer. He knows more than I do, so he’s my best chance at finding answers.
I rub at the welts I know are on my wrists even though I can’t see or feel them.
‘Yesterday, it wasn’t the world, or the cave that made me feel as I did,’ I say. ‘I felt it as soon as I woke in the morning in Dead City, I just didn’t understand what it was. There was an ache.’ I touch my lower abdomen. ‘It was faint, but it was there.’
Jak
I lean back in the chair and regard the girl in front of me.
‘There’s more,’ she says, taking a steadying breath.
‘Go on,’ I murmur, hoping my expression doesn’t give away my thoughts.
There’s nothing I can think of that would cause what happened to Bryn, bar a plant that grows in the Light Realm, which would be nigh on impossible to bring here because it needs to be fresh. The only other cause might be a conjure, but Locke told me there was nothing on her at all, and he would have sensed it.
I can’t shake the notion that the human in front of me knows more than she’s decided to let on. Things don’t quite make sense when it comes to this girl.
‘Since I’ve been traveling the Breach, it has taken its toll on me. The healer said it was Gate Sickness, but I... I hear voices. Inside the portal tunnels. I have since the first time. Screaming and crying, feelings of terror and sadness. It’s been like that every trip.’
I keep the frown off my face. I’ve never heard of anyone hearing anything like that in the Breach itself. But she’s clearly afraid of what’s happened to her already, and the last thing I want is to add to her fear and make her stop talking to me.
‘But this morning,’ she continues, ‘it waseasy. I could still hear everything, but I could will it away, not let it affect me. I think...’ She clasps her hands together. ‘I think it made mestronger.’
I know she’s seen the concern in my eyes even though I banish it quickly.
‘I’m telling you because...you’re a healer and because I’m afraid that if I don’t know why it happened, it’ll happen again and...it won’t be you who I’m begging...’
She stares at the table and I try to ignore the elation that rises in me that she wouldn’t want to ask anyone else.
‘Do you have any ideas about it at all?’ I ask.
She shakes her head.
‘And you’ve never felt like that before yesterday?’
Another shake.
‘I’m sorry,’ I say softly, ‘but there’s nothing I can think of that would cause a human to...’
A human.I said the same thing last night, I realize.
‘Do you remember your parents?’ I ask carefully.
‘No. I don’t recall anything before The Barrack as I said in Dead City.’
I sigh. The cogs in my head are turning slowly, but I need more information.
‘And is there anything about you that’s unusual for a human? Anything at all?’
‘No,’ she says quickly.
