“Who then?”
“I don’t know… maybe it got into the wrong hands… maybe… maybe one of the servants. One of the human servants.”
The thought had crossed my mind as well, but I couldn’t make sense of it. “To what end?”
His gaze darted back and forth as he searched for an explanation. “Perhaps… oh, how should I know? They’re human. They might do— Wait, humans eat meat, right? Maybe one them was craving living flesh or something.”
“Xenith, they’ve been part of us since they were infants. They’ve never had meat. They would have no craving. They wouldn’t even have knowledge of what their kind ate.”
“Well, then, who? It makes no more sense for one of us to hunt an animal?”
I was relieved he was taking the issue so seriously. Part of me had worried he would brush it off as trivial, as he did so many things since his rebirth. Guilt washed over me at the thought now he was in front me. Despite his growing entitlement, Xenith had always been a tender soul, and like any of us, would be repulsed at the notion of harming another living creature for food or sport. “There’s more, actually, Xenith. It’s why I decided to tell you. Since it is no longer just one incident, I cannot pass it off as chance, accident, or happenstance.”
I told him about the owl. His revulsion nearly matched my own. He even glanced at my ruined wings as I spoke of the owl’s feathers. The fact that he hadn’t missed why it would affect me so only made me love him more. If such a thing were possible.
“It makes no sense, Quay.” Xenith continued to pace in the same circle he’d begun during the telling of the past several days’ events. “I cannot believe any fairy would do such evil.”
I nearly told him about our mother once more. Nearly told him about the few times I’d been used cruelly by select others since my downfall. Even having experienced those events myself, I found it hard to believe one of our kind would commit these atrocities to innocent creatures. Unable to completely stop myself, I motioned over my shoulder.
He stopped pacing, and his gaze followed, pain flooding his expression as he looked at the protrusions from my back. “Ever since I was little, I wanted to ask about what really happened that night. I’ve nearly asked a thousand times, but I’ve never been able to…”
I waited for him to ask now. To finish his thought. Part of me longed to tell him everything. Empty my soul and pain before him.
Even so, I was relieved when he didn’t.
“I wouldn’t have told you, even if you’d asked, Xenith.” I thought that was still true, but I wasn’t as certain as I used to be.
We stared at each other uncomfortably. The distance between us growing further, leaving me cold.
“I want you to speak to the queen about it. I’m not certain what is going on, but there is danger. I can feel it.”
His dark eyes widened. “No. I won’t. I’m not risking losing you. I’m not going to tell her that we see each other.”
Fear greater than anything I’d experienced lately washed over me. “No. I’m not saying that. You cannot let her know that we speak. Tell her a lie. Tell her you discovered them.”
“How would I explain that? That I saw a deer days ago and didn’t mention it until I stumbled upon an owl?”
“Tell her you found them together. That you found them today. The servant would be able to attest to your whereabouts. Not that she’d need to.”
Xenith continued to inspect me as he considered. “Okay, let’s say I do. How do I explain that I have no proof. I wouldn’t have just left the owl if I really thought there was danger she needed to know about.”
He was right, of course. How could I not have considered that? Even so, the answer hit me. As it did, I nearly staggered at the thought. “You’ll tell her that you healed the deer, letting him go. We can go back and get the arrow, I hid it nearby.”
“That doesn’t explain the owl.”
“I’ll retrieve it. Dig it up. It will be obviously many days old, but you can say you found it that way. Say after you healed the deer, you used your power to search for other wounded animals, and that the Goddess led you to the owl.”
He nodded slowly, considering. “Alright. That makes as much sense as anything else I can think of.” Xenith met my gaze, his expression growing even more serious. “We don’t have to risk this right now. We can wait. If it happens again, I can handle it then.”
How tempting his words were. “No. I know there is imminent danger, though I can’t say from where. I feel it around me. There is something coming. The queen needs to know. Perhaps she can protect our people from whatever it is, or whoever is engaged in this sickness.”
Xenith let out his breath in resignation. “Fine. Tell me where you hid the arrow. I will get it while you retrieve the owl’s body.”
My stomach plummeted further as I took in one final realization. I’d not been able to force myself to tell Xenith about giving the owl back its dignity. Nor could I. Before I handed the tiny creature over to my brother, I would have to remove its feathers once more. It took all my will to keep from vomiting at the thought.
Eight
“So you’re saying what exactly? That there’s a fairy out there getting ready to go on a killing spree?”
