The Unseen by Lilla Glass

Author:Lilla Glass
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781648983948
Publisher: City Owl Press

“Your folded fists mean little, so long as your lips are loose,

With every word, another knot is tied into your noose.”

Chapter 19

One Last Deal

TAWNY

Tawny crouched low in the foliage, timing her steps with the Wilds’ rhythm so the crunch of crisp leaves wouldn’t give her away. Blissfully ignorant, Daulle let her down slithering trails, up treacherous hills, and over streams of silvery water. Eventually, he arrived at a circle of standing stones.

Much like toadstool rings, the stones served as fixed points in the natural tumult. They were powerful places, altars built in honor of the Shadows. Mother had spoken of them often, but she’d never mentioned there was one so close to home.

Hoping to spy on Mailair’s beta, Daulle hunkered down a few feet from the stones. His horns poked from the ferns like shiny black beacons. For a second, Tawny was glad Sasta would not truly be investigating the scene, as she would most certainly have found and killed her friend. Then, she realized that she felt like killing him herself.

The sickly-sweet stench of rotting flesh filled the air, accompanied by the manic din of flies and rot-fae. Those signs all but confirmed the fate of the only other mortal she’d really known.

“You monster!” Tawny shouted, barreling toward the murderer.

Daulle’s ears perked, and he whirled around. “Tawny, I—”

She hit him at full force, slamming him into the trunk of an oak. He pushed back, too weakly to make a difference. “You’ve always hated Flint!” she shouted, punching him over and over, wishing her strikes were stronger. “You’ve always seen mortals as toys! You’d kill us all if it suited your mood!”

“It wasn’t me!” Daulle ducked away, nearly tripping on his own hooves. He scrambled around the tree, peeking out from behind it. “You have to believe me!”

“How’d you know where the body was, then?” She plucked a pinecone from the undergrowth and lobbed it at him, missing. “You killed him, and I hate you for it!”

“No! I swear, Tawny, I didn’t kill him. But…” His shoulders slumped, “but I know who did.”

From what Tawny had read, fae could not lie. Apparently, that was a lie too.

“I’m so tired of your tricks, Daulle,” she said. “I wish Mother had taught me curses. It’s not right that you get to walk away with a boil-free hide.”

“Tawny—”

“Who did it, then?” Tawny asked, rounding the tree. “Who, but you, would do such a thing?”

“Your mother!”

Tawny froze, fists falling to her sides.

“She doesn’t know I know,” Daulle said. “If she did, she would probably kill me too.”

“No…”

“I’m so sorry.” He kicked at the leaves. “I didn’t want to tell you. There aren’t many things in the Wilds that love each other. She really does seem to love you, and I know you love her, I didn’t…I didn’t want to ruin that.”

“You’re lying.”

“You know I can’t.” His ears drooped. “It happened during your last trip to the Spring Isles. You were gone a long time, so I sought her out to see if she knew when you’d return.

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