A Fae Tale by Genevieve McCluer

Author:Genevieve McCluer [McCluer, Genevieve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635559194
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2021-03-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Dovana

She’s really here. Gulping, I stare at the one-eyed woman sitting on my bed, her messy light blond hair framing her angular face. She’s not quite how I’d pictured her. I’m not sure what I expected. I didn’t imagine her as a little girl anymore, but I never thought she’d be so, well, beautiful. If I was less exhausted, I might be blushing at that.

Instead, my heart is still racing a mile a minute. We were almost eaten. I almost got Taya and Caroline killed. At least I wouldn’t have had to live with myself, but that’s hardly an excuse. I’m gonna have to talk with my ethics professor.

I clear my throat, trying to force myself to say something, but what? It’s been fifteen years, and I still don’t even know what I want to say.

Roze offers a faint, hesitant smile, emphasizing her striking cheekbones. “Are you all right?”

I stare at my feet. “I think so.”

“No,” Caroline shouts. “They were going to eat us!”

“They didn’t,” Taya says.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter.

Caroline reaches across Taya, taking my hand. We’re all sitting on her bed, save for Roze. I’m not sure how we ended up like this. I kind of want to go over to her, but I’m scared. I don’t know what to make of any of this just yet. “I’m not blaming you. I wanted to help. I just didn’t realize what I was getting myself into.”

“But we found her,” Taya says.

“We did. But how?” I ask.

Roze’s smile turns into a grimace. “I was looking for you.”

“What?”

She folds her arms around her belly, pressing the white dress close enough to show how thin she is. “I felt something was wrong. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt before, and I couldn’t ignore it. It kept dragging me back to Toronto. It was practically screaming.”

“I don’t understand.”

Roze nods, her brow knitting as she looks at the hardwood floor. “And I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s like how I know when children are in danger but different, and it pulled me right to you.”

“You know when kids are in danger?” Caroline asks. “That’s a weirdly specific power.”

Taya leans in, peering at her. “Can you detect every child in trouble in the whole world?”

She shakes her head. “No. It doesn’t work like that. I simply know when there’s a child in the woods who needs my help. It’s how I met our mutual friend.” Roze shoots me a hesitant smile.

“Is that how it works?” I ask. “You’ve mentioned it some, but I never really understood it. I thought it was like a Spidey-sense.”

“What’s a Spidey-sense?”

“Spider-Man?” Taya offers.

She cocks her head.

“Okay, then.”

“Am I missing something? Was he one of the monsters there?”

Caroline laughs. And laughs. And keeps laughing to the point where she sounds like she’s hurting.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

She coughs, shaking, still laughing. “I’m fine,” she says, her eyes watering.

We all stare at her.

“I think it’s the adrenaline.”

Taya stands up, gesturing at the bed. “Do you need to lie down?”

She shakes her head.

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