“Is it just me or is this hunter even heavier when he’s passed out?” Mauro complained.
“Just focus on speed right now,” I said quietly. I would never admit it, but I was genuinely concerned Theron would die before we made it to the mountains. “Frisk?” I couldn’t see the fox, but I knew he was nearby.
“I’m here, Snow.” His voice came from somewhere to my left.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the Demon Fae?” My bones were still quivering from the incident, and I couldn’t shake the empty look in those dead eyes or the foul stench of its magic.
It dredged up the horrifying memories of Calista that I thought I had buried deep. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
“What do you mean?” Frisk asked, but there was an edge to his voice.
“You knew they were out here. And you didn’t warn me.” It wasn’t a question. Frisk and Mauro were fae creatures; if anyone knew about the Demon Fae, it would be them.
I didn’t know the Demon Fae lived in the woods, though. The only one I had ever encountered before was Calista. I assumed that all of them, like her, had been warped and twisted into monstrous creatures by dabbling in black magic.
I had no idea there wereferalDemon Fae who actually lived out here, preying on travelers. Otherwise, I never would have settled in Knockspur. If there was even achanceof encountering another one, I never would have risked it.
Frisk was silent for several long moments. The subtle stiffness in Mauro’s back told me the stag was listening carefully. Kendra poked her head out of my satchel, her wide blue eyes darting between the three of us with interest.
“We fae creatures don’t like to associate ourselves with the Demon Fae,” Frisk said at last. “They make us look bad.”
“Us?” I repeated.
“The unseelie,” Frisk said. “Demon Fae are unseelie, like us.”
I knew my forest friends were unseelie. Any fae who could take the appearance of a non-human creature was technically part unseelie.
But that didn’t explain why Frisk was comparing himself to a Demon Fae.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I demanded.
“Just say it,” Mauro mumbled, panting from the effort of sprinting for so long.
I swallowed hard around a lump in my throat, holding my breath as I waited for Frisk’s response.
Frisk took a long breath before he said, “We fae creatures are… part Demon Fae. There is Demon Fae blood running through our veins.”
My body jerked with surprise. He couldn’t be serious. “You—you—are Demon Fae?” My voice came out as a high-pitched squeak. Every ounce of me was frozen with terror.
“Only partially,” Mauro said defensively.
I shook my head, unable to process this. It was absurd. Based on the stories I’d heard, the Demon Fae were dark, terrible creatures—not at all like Frisk and Mauro.
“B-But you looknothinglike them,” I argued. “And the smell of their magic, it’s… It’s not possible!”
“We don’t possess fae magic like they do,” Frisk said. “Andour bloodline has been watered down by many other species over the generations. It’s only a distant connection, really. It wasn’t worth mentioning.”
“Not worthmentioning?” I seethed. “Frisk—” I broke off with a frustrated sound, running my hands through my hair. Shivering bones, my head was spinning right now.
My gaze snagged on Kendra, who promptly ducked her head back inside my satchel.
“Hey!” I jabbed a finger at her. “Get back here. Did you know about this?” As a dragon, she wasn’t part fae at all, but I suspected she knew more about fae bloodlines than she let on.
Slowly, Kendra poked her nose out of the bag. She sniffed once before replying. “I… suspected.”
“Damn it, Kendra!” I wanted to scream into the sky. “Dideveryoneknow except me?”
“Don’t blame me, Snow,” Kendra said, her voice quivering. “My dragon blood allows me to scent magic on other creatures. But it would have been rude for me to bring it up. It’s… quite personal. And it wasn’t really my place to share it with anyone.”
