Page 23 of Fae Uncovered

I trudged up behind her and slowly leaned onto the seat beside her in case any sudden movement might startle her. She, of course, cut me a sidelong glare as if to askwhy on earth are you babying me?

Considering the fact that she’d nearly died twice in my presence this week, I think she deserved a bit of pampering. I wasn’t going to question her if she didn’t want it.

Instead, I leaned against the bar and asked, “What’s wrong, princess?”

Her upper lip curled. The bartender set a glass in front of her. Before he could even pull back, she swallowed the liquid contents in one gulp.

Shit, I thought. This had to be bad.

“Rhoan, what were my parents like?” she asked without looking at me.

I waited for the bartender to go about his business. Did the man listen to his patrons? Would he think twice if I spoke of fae kings and queens? I doubted it. He would blame the liquor and go on with his life.

So, I told her everything I knew. Cerri didn’t look at me once while I described her mother, a determined woman who fought fiercely for her family. She didn’t blink as I went on about her father, a tactful politician who did everything he could to protect his people. I admired her family, but she seemed to be unmoved by them.

I sighed. “They were good people. I looked up to them…A part of me admired what they had together. Though their marriage had been arranged, they loved each other more than anything else in this world. It was as if they’d been made for one another and somehow gravitated together as if nothing could stop them from being together.”

A yearning tightened my chest. It was a future I could never have. When I stole a sidelong glance at Cerri, I told myself that I could at least love from a distance. Sure, she had a way to go before she became a good queen, but I had faith that she could become the kind of person that I adored. I would be happy with being her knight.

Right?

If that was all I ever knew, then I could be happy.

Cerri set down her glass. What drink was this? Two? Three? I hadn’t been paying attention.

“Jasper James lived under the rule of a bastard serial killer for decades,” Cerri said.

I nearly recoiled from her words.

“But he still brought me to all of my soccer games. He stood on the sidelines and cheered like the world wasn’t falling down around his own ears. Then, when it came time for me to shift for the first time, nothing happened, and I wondered how I could fail my father like that.” Cerri wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand.

The king and queen had meant to keep Cerridwen safe from harm, but I could see just how badly they’d failed.

“Molly James put my first potion book in my hands. She gave me power when I had none. Because of her, I was able to stand by Ness’s side when she decided to make her stand against that bastard Alpha. My mother gave me a way to exist in a world that was determined to deny me left and right.”

My gaze dropped to the scars on her throat. “Did that bastard Alpha give you those?”

Anger rose, hot flames licking my throat. I kept my jaw clamped tight for fear of what might come out of my mouth next. Already, my muscles coiled, ready to fling me from this seat and into a hunt.

When Cerri nodded, I moved. She caught me, though. Her hand fisted in the front of my shirt, bringing me to a halt. I paused, but my chest was already heaving with untempered rage.

“He’s dead,” she said, low.

I couldn’t help the way my hands fisted at my sides. Useless once again, I couldn’t even offer my princess revenge.

“Twice over, actually. All my friends got a chance at him.” She shook herself. “What I’m saying is that I don’t belong to your world. I grew up in another. I don’t know the first thing about the fae world.”

Silence settled in. We both stared into our drinks. I fought hard to wrangle my thoughts, but most of them were still on a rage-fueled crusade against the dead man who’d hurt Cerri. Here she was, telling me something vital. Her confession meant everything to our path ahead, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how I wanted to wrap my hands around a man’s throat.

“Even Lakesedge alienated me,” Cerri said. “I knew I didn’t belong there, either. I’ve lived in some sort of space in between, unable to connect anywhere. The only people who ever made me feel at home are my friends…even then…”

Cerri’s voice trailed off. Her fingers touched the scars at her throat. If she were to wear one of the gauzy dresses that her mother favored, the scars would be on display. The dress might even reveal more.

I wished I could turn back time and pluck Cerridwen from the fate that her parents unwittingly subjected her to. They’d been in fight or flight. No one had time to look into the shifter pack that Cerri’s foster family had been a part of—not when Beryl was hunting down everyone in the Seelie Court one by one.

Unfortunately, neither of us were watching our backs. That was my job, and I was already failing at it, miserably. The shot didn’t come from the door. It came from the window opposite the pool table. I heard the crack of glass as the bolt pierced it and had just enough time to shove Cerri out of her seat.

Too drunk to catch herself, she dropped to the floor with a startled look on her face. The bolt shattered a bottle behind the bar. The smell of astringent liquor blossomed on the air as I bent to help Cerri back onto her feet.

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