Bloody hell, the kid wasn’t pulling any punches. Peri’s gut clenched at the boy’s words. She thought back to the many times when she’d used her magic, or a blade, to fight evil. She thought about the lives she’d protected and been willing to sacrifice for. Would someone else have been willing to do those things? She shook her head. “I’m no one special, Torion. And for me to think so would be hubris.”
He sighed. “Skender said you were stubborn.”
Peri almost smiled at the weariness in the boy’s voice, as if he were the adult and she an errant child who refused to obey.
“Do you honestly believe that you weren’t created specifically to be you? The creator said she has a specific purpose for my life. Does that mean she doesn’t have a specific purpose for you, too?” He turned so he was facing her and scooted forward until his small knees touched hers. “Do you think she created you and then said ‘oops’? Because I’m pretty sure the creator of our races doesn't make ‘oopses.’”
“That’s not a word,” Peri said dryly. She knew he made a good point, but she didn't want to allow his words to affect her.
“Yes, it is. Get a dictionary and look it up.”
She glanced up at him and lifted a brow.
He shrugged. “What? My mom tells me that all the time.”
“Are you done?” Peri knew what Torion’s answer would be, but she was hoping he’d surprise her.
“No.”
Nope. No surprise.
“I’m not leaving you while you’re like this, Peri.” Her hands rested on her legs, and Torion reached out and wrapped one of his smaller ones around hers.
She swallowed hard. “Like what?”
“Alone.”
The word reverberated through her mind, deep into the marrow of her bones and straight to her soul. Alone. It’s what she’d been for so long. After everything, she’d begun to believe that it was what was best for her.
“Sometimes, I want to be alone,” Torion continued. He turned his body so he was once again sitting beside her. Peri looked at his face while he stared out over the destruction she’d caused by throwing her little tantrum. “Every once in a while it just feels good to be alone. But my mom says beingtooalone is never a good thing.” He reached down and picked up a blade of grass and began to pull it apart. “She says that being too alone can fill the empty places inside with dark things.”
Peri bit her lip, but it didn’t stop her from asking. “What dark things?”
Torion kept staring at the area around them. “She said we fill them with doubt. Lies that we tell ourselves, lies that we’ve heard others say about us, and anger that we refuse to release.”
“Does your mom always speak to you as if you’re grown?” Peri was deflecting, but what else was she supposed to do? Pour her heart out to a six-year-old fae child?
Torion tossed the mutilated piece of grass to the ground. “She talks to me like I have a brain in my head. Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I don’t understand things.”
Peri’s lips turned up slightly. “You really do remind me of Titus.”
“He knows things, too.” Torion grinned.
“He knows too much.” Peri snorted. “That’s his uncle Gavril’s fault. And his aunt Jen’s.”
“He told me about his aunt Jen. I don’t think I want to meet her.” He shivered as if the thought was enough to cause him discomfort.
“Nobody does, kid.” She took a deep breath and slipped down to the ground so she could fold her legs in front of her. “You need to get back to the cave. Skender will be worried about you.”
He titled his head and pursed his lips. “Is that your way of telling me to get lost?”
“Pretty much.”
“Are you going to keep destroying the mountain?”
Peri glanced around. It wasn’t the first time she’d leveled a forest. Probably wouldn’t be the last. “I’ll try to refrain. For now. But I refuse to make promises that I won’t be able to keep.” She could practically feel the disapproval rolling off of him as he stood and brushed off his pants.
“I suppose that will have to be enough for now. Please, come back.” His voice cracked on the last word. She didn’t look up at him. Her emotions were still not entirely under control, and Peri was afraid she might completely lose it if she met his gaze.
