“It’s hard to believe someone lives here,” I muse, taking in its crooked lines and the huge claw marks scoured into the decayingwood planks. “It’s too quiet. Do you think the king’s knights got here before us?” I ask Rhett.
He doesn’t get to answer because the door screeches as it opens, barely holding onto the rusty hinges. A small body flies at us.
“Hello,” I say to the girl, who can’t be older than eight, when she stops right in front of me. “We’re here—”
“I’ve been waiting foryou.” She tucks a white strand as pure as snow behind her pointy ear as she regards me through thick lashes of the same color. Her dusty blue dress hangs at least three sizes too big on her, and the way her collarbones stick out is gut-wrenching. No child should look so malnourished.
“Thalia! Come back inside right this second!” A woman yells before appearing in the doorway, anguish marring her features. She blanches as her gaze finds us.
Thalia points at me. “She’s the girl from my dreams.”
We all share alook.
“Thalia, inside. Now,” the woman scolds again, then to us, “Who are you?” While there is some resemblance to Thalia, she has thick, chestnut hair braided like a halo around her head and shrewd hazel eyes that glare at us with suspicion.
“You should listen to your mother,” Sam murmurs to the girl.
“She’s not my mother,” Thalia huffs in a way that would make a teenager proud before trudging back toward the cottage.
“They’re with me,” Rhett answers. “We’re here to speak to the oracle.”
The woman’s tone could freeze over an ocean as she says, “There’s no oracle here. Now leave before the sun sets, and the dead come.”
“I’m a traveler. Maybe you’ve heard of us before. We help those who want to escape the war. These people are from the human world.”
She arches an eyebrow at Rhett as she ushers Thalia inside thedilapidated cottage. “I can tell. I have eyes, you know.”
“We mean no harm. Please, we only need a few minutes of the oracle’s time, and then we’ll be on our way,” I intervene, trying to placate her.
She ignores me. “You really bring fae to the human world?”
Rhett nods.
She nibbles on her lower lip. “What about the vampires?”
“They still pose a threat. But we’ve found ways to hide. It’s much better than living here amongst death and war.”
A stifling silence settles over us as the woman ponders her decision. “If I let you speak to the oracle, will you take us back with you?”
Rhett’s answer is immediate. “Yes. Even if you don’t help us, I will still take you.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Fine, but only one of you can come in.” She points her chin at me. “You.”
“I’m not letting her go alone,” Kaiden says, stepping up next to me.
I turn to look at him. “It’s okay. There’s a child inside. What do you think could happen? They’re spooked enough as is without adding a scary, six-foot-four tattooed demon to the equation.”
His nostrils flare, but he nods stiffly.
“Leave your weapons,” she clips out.
I slide off my backpack, then make quick work of removing all my weapons and handing them to Sam. An ominous feeling thrashes beneath my skin with every step toward the cottage. The rickety porch stairs creak under my weight as I ascend. The woman lets me pass through the warped doorframe, a glint of interest shining in her eyes as they rove over my hellseeker gear.
“I’m Iris,” I tell her. She’s as skinny as Thalia and much younger than I first thought. She might seem fragile, but the way she carries herself and the look in her eyes—the kind you only get after a life of hardship—tells me she’s wise beyond her years.
“Yana. I’m Thalia’s sister.”
The cabin has only one room. The pallet pushed against the farthest wall and covered in rags must be their bed. Still, even though it’s cramped, it’s clean. I expected another person to be here, maybe an old woman, but there’s only Thalia. She’s hunched over on the floor while playing with a doll made of sticks.
