Page 38 of Hell's Storm

“I’m Hollister. I’m a retired guard for the king.”

I frown. “Retired? You look really young.”

She shrugs, brown curls flowing over her shoulder. “If you count being one hundred and fifty young.”

My eyes widen. “Are all elves this old?”

She nods. “Or will be. They stop aging at twenty-five, unlike how you get really old.”

“How old is the king?”

“Almost a thousand. His reign will end soon, though. Once they find a successor. So, uh, Prince Ryker… he’s your boyfriend, too?”

Too. Hazen does talk about melike that. I nod.

“How many do you have, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Four, for now.”

“For now?!” She lets out a laugh. “How do you even deal with that? Men give me a headache.”

I laugh with her. “I’m the queen, it’s pretty easy to control them.”

“Really?”

“No.” I shake my head, looking up at her. Hollister is gorgeous, despite being over a hundred. Her skin is a perfect bronze that compliments her chestnut curls. Her eyes are dark chocolate with specks of gold.

“I didn’t come over here to give you a hard time or to bother you. I wanted to say thank you. The kids don’t know who you are, but we adults remember the attack like it was yesterday. It changed some views on you today.”

“Yours?”

“Fuck no.”

I burst into laughter, and she laughs with me. After a moment, I decided to ask about the attack. “So, my father is the reason that your village got destroyed? I’m very sorry on his behalf.”

“I guess karma got him.”

Was Evara pissed that the Devil got her village destroyed? No, she seems just focused on the Flame, not revenge.“Yeah… my little brother too.”

She looks at me. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you. So, Circe was after…?”

“The Flame? The daughter? The son? Who knows. She slaughtered hundreds to get what she wanted.”

I frown. “I’ve never lived in Faeland.”

“No, the other daughter. Legend has it that the Devil slept with two fae women weeks apart and is said to have gotten them both pregnant. I don’t know how true it is. We all learned Derrick is your brother and left when his mother passed. But that’s all we know.”

She knows more than I thought she would. There’s no way my father had a baby without knowing it. My father said he always knew who his kids were. We didn’t believe him in a way, but hearing that made my stomach go in knots.

Is Evara working to kill us because she’s working for someone who might be in line for The Flame? Did Circe know I wouldn’t make it through birth and try to find Derrick and the other one?

Hazen must feel something is off because he comes close to me. “Are you okay?”

“Just hungry.”

He nods. “Let’s get back. Nice to see you, Hollister.”

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