6
Fin
Acrowd is gathered in the central area. I stand, adjust Megan in my arms, and stride through the shin high grass. My stomach knots. I’ve never heard of faery being attacked, not even when a few brave humans worked their way through the outer realms seeking treasure that doesn’t exist.
The scent of acrid smoke sticks in the back of my throat.
A few people at the fringes of the crowd notice my arrival. Riders returning home is nothing out of the ordinary. That I’m back so fast is. Fast for them, but two years in the human world felt like forever to me.
“I need a healer,” I call.
But how many others are hurt because of the fires?
Some people turn. One breaks away and comes toward me. I recognize her, she’s one of the healers. Then I see Lindsay, the previous owner of the café also running over.
“What happened to the trees?” I ask when they reach us.
“An exile stole a rider’s necklace—” Lindsay says.
“Cillian’s.”
“Yes.” Lindsay nods. “You were there that night when Daire gave Cillian his.”
I remember the bitterness between her and Daire, but I’m glad it has passed. “Has the exile been caught?”
“Yes, but not before some of the trees were burned,” Lindsay says. “The Court is debating the sentence.”
“Who is she and what happened?” The healer touches Megan’s neck, then her hands. “Is she human or fae? Where is she hurt?”
“Megan’s human.” I flip back the towel to reveal the welt beneath her ribs. “A poenpoeth stung her. Can you help?”
The healer presses the welt and bites her lip, then she looks up with worry filled eyes. “I don’t know.”
While I barely know Megan, a fissure opens in my heart at the thought of her death. Another one caused by my hands.
