Flight (Children of the Sidhe) (7 page)

“Wait here.” He didn’t need her buzzing around his head.
He jogged a few steps off trail, and stooped down with the bucket Season had conjured. He brought out the shovel and worked at the earth. He wanted a couple of inches of topsoil to examine. When he had it, he started to retreat, but he found a thick vine had wrapped around his ankle while he worked. He tried to shake it loose, but the more he pulled, the tighter it became. Sentient plant life? That wasn’t possible – was it? He’d certainly seen more surprising things in the last couple of days.

Season came after him, and hissed when she saw the vine.
Finally, he hacked at it with the shovel, and it fell away with an intense vibration Nathan felt more than heard, as though the plant’s scream was in an octave his ears couldn’t pick up.

Nathan stumbled back
onto the trail, the bucket heavier than he’d expected.

Season glared at it
. “I can have that back to Tessa’s in one second.”

He set it on the ground.

She touched the bucket and blipped out of sight for literally one second before she was back. She buzzed past him with a whispered, “Let’s go. Right now.”

Nathan took up a brisk pace; it was definitely time to be back within walls. Since the moment he’d h
acked at the vine with his shovel, the forest had seemed to focus on him, its malevolence directed at him. At least he had what he’d come for. A soil sample to study. Something to do instead of going crazy with inactivity. As long as he was here, he might as well learn something.

Eleven

Tessa let out a soft wail when she saw her study. Nathan had cleared off her desk – a pile of her things was resting on top of a cabinet. At the moment, her desk was covered in dirt. Dirt!

“What are you doing to my desk?” Tessa usually prided herself on her composure, but she couldn’t keep the fury out of her tone now.

“Oh, it’s just a soil sample.”

“A soil sample? Why is it on my desk?”

“I thought I’d be able to clean it up easier. I didn’t know when you’d be back.” Was that supposed to be an apology?
If so, it was terribly inadequate. “I wanted to know more about what’s out there. It’s hard to ignore the fact that I know nothing about this place. I’m stuck here for now, so I might as well use my mind. Say, I was thinking – you have a lot of books around here. Do you have a reference cataloguing species in the forest? That would really be helpful.”

Tessa glared at the back of Nathan’s head as he turned back to filtering through the soil. Every once in a while he added another object to a pile Tessa guessed he meant to study further. It was hard to stay mad at him.
She understood the need to stay busy. He was obviously into what he was doing, and now that she looked closer she saw he’d carefully stacked her books in the same order they’d been in on her desk. He hadn’t really harmed anything, but she certainly wouldn’t have chosen to have his soil sample in her study. Gross.

Nathan picked something up. It was long, almost an oval shape, like…a pixie’s wing. Tessa stepped forward, almost involuntarily. It couldn’t be.

But it was.

“Nathan,” Tessa said softly, “Bring that and follow me.”

“What is it?” He gave it a little wave, and then paled as he caught her expression. He stood, and followed her outside.

“Season!” Tessa called.

Blip.

The pixie popped into vi
ew directly in front of her. Tessa didn’t give an inch to the little bug. “You must see what Nathan has found.”

Season looked curious, and buzzed over to Nathan. She almost alighted on his hand, as Tessa had seen her do before, but this time she swerved away at the last second, her chest heaving.

“So it’s true,” Tessa said. “The llaiadains? They’re back?” Tessa sat down fast, her legs crumpling beneath her.

Nathan dropped
the wing he was holding to reach for her, and Tessa resisted the urge to scurry from it. In itself the wing couldn’t hurt them. Her brain knew that. Yet the llaiadains had never been known in Tir Nan Og in her time. She found herself speaking. “The dark pixies haven’t been seen in Tir Nan Og in millennia.”

“Dark pixies?” Nathan asked, sounding fascinated. Not a reaction Tessa was comfortable with.

“Llaiadains are created when a pixie turns dark, and loses its wings.” Tessa took a deep breath, the ramifications of such a discovery still coming clear to her. “Their reappearance has to be taken as a sign of the darkness welling up in Tir Nan Og with recent events.”

Nathan stooped beside her, his hand a comforting weight on her shoulder.

“I saw one in the forest yesterday. That’s what made me fall. I didn’t want to admit it could be so. It was hateful, it radiated rage like I’ve never felt – certainly not from a pixie.”

“We’re usua
lly a cheerful sort, it’s true,” Season contributed helpfully in her singsong voice.

Tessa frowned at her, and then turned her worried gaze on Nathan. “I don’t l
ike this. Not at all. It is a bad sign.”

Nathan looked at the pixie still flitting about their heads. “Season, the Morrigan should know what we’ve found. Will you take her this news, right away?”

Season considered him. “Will you stay safe while I’m gone?”

“I’ll be with Tessa.”

The pixie squeezed her lips into a thin line. “Tell me you will stay safe.”

“What is that supposed to mean? Nathan is safe with me. I’ll not let any harm come to him. Besides, my brother will be here for dinner soon. He’s an Authority Guard – it doesn’t get much safer than that!”

Season glared at her, and turned a quick smile on Nathan before she blipped out of the clearing, on her way to take a message to the Morrigan.

Twelve

“Mikhail, I have something I have to tell you,” Tessa started as soon as they were alone
in the sitting room. Nathan had gone back to the study to continue with his
soil sample
, promising all the way that he’d have it cleaned up before she had to see it again. His smile had said she was definitely overreacting, but he would humor her to stay in her good graces. As long as she didn’t have to see dirt on her desk again, she’d take it.

“If it’s about the half-human sauntering about like he owns the place, you don’t exactly need to speak the words. It’s obvious you like him.”

“It doesn’t sound like you do.”

“Not
now that I suspect he’s been far too friendly with my sister,” Mikhail growled.

Tessa waved him off. Rather than confirm or deny his allegation, she changed the subject. Like that wasn’t obvious enough. “It’s not about him. Well, it’s not about him specifically…it’s about Abarta.”

Mikhail’s eyes narrowed at the name. “What about him?”

At Mikhail’s ready suspicion, Tessa decided to just come out with it.
She would face his rage on the subject eventually. Why not tonight? “Abarta has been blackmailing me, trying to get more information about the Sidhe children.”

“What does Abarta have on you?”

“It isn’t my secret I’m protecting, brother.”

Mikhail jumped up from where he’d been resting on the arm of a chair. “Abarta knows about Rosa and the child?”

Tessa frowned at the woman’s name. “Yes, he knows about your mistake. I couldn’t figure out how he knows, but he’s told someone else as well. I felt I had to help him – or at least pretend to help him – to save our family’s reputation.”

Mikhail was silent for a full minute, and Tessa
found herself fidgeting. She’d gotten in way over her head here, and it was one of the first times she could remember when she should apologize to him. Suddenly she decided to do just that. “Mikhail, I’m sorry. I should have come to you right away. I just knew you’d do the
noble
thing, despite what it means for you. I was not so willing to sacrifice you.”

“But what about them? Does he know enough to find my daughter?”

“I believe he does.” Tessa saw the hurt in her brother’s eyes as soon as she spoke the words. “But he didn’t seem apt to use it. He wanted to trade on the knowledge instead.”

“
And you let him. It shames me.”

“More than common knowledge of your half-blood daughter?”

“Few of our kind have such a fierce reaction to
half-bloods
as you, Tessa. Haven’t you realized it yet? Your mode of thought is outdated. The Blood Wars have returned, but only through tactics of concealment and magic. Not because there’s support for it.”

“You’re the one who left your daughter, Mikhail. You made that choice on your own.”

“Oh, you supplied plenty of advice, sister. I knew my
mistake
had no welcome home here.”

Tessa sucked in a pained breat
h. So it came out. Like a punch to the gut. She had no reason to be so affected. He was right. She’d made her opinion plainly known. She’d told him if he wanted a child he could live beyond the veil with her. She’d been disgusted, especially at the thought of the mother’s heritage.

And now
, surprisingly, those same viewpoints made her stomach ill.

She finally spoke softly. “Don’t be angry, Mikhail. I’ve said I was in the wrong. I’m telling you now.”

“For your own reasons. Always for your own selfish reasons.” Mikhail nodded in the direction of the study, and Tessa turned her face from him. He was right. She was beyond selfish. Even with Nathan. She’d taken him in because he might have some value. She’d taken him as a lover because she liked the way he made her feel. None of that was fair to him. Not when he didn’t even understand her past, her feelings about his sort. But what were those feelings now? She didn’t know. The abstract idea of lesser beings sharing her superior blood was all muddled up with the reality of Nathan, and the unanswered questions she had about her niece.

Mikhail gathered a deep breath. “I can tell you’re struggling with this. I’ll try not to be angry. I hope you figure out just how wrong you’ve
been. Until then, I need to be sure of your plans. Can I assume that if you believe my daughter to be in danger you will tell me the instant you know? Do you have that much honor where your
family
is concerned, Tessa?”

Tessa had to forgive his tone. This wasn’t a pleasant discovery. “I’ll tell you the moment I worry for her safety. Let us hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Mikhail paced across the room, stopping to stare out the window. Maybe he was trying to come to grips with the news she’d shared, or maybe he was just getting his emotions under control. Tessa had never responded well to emotional arguments. He knew her well enough to know that.

“
So...” Something in his voice made Tessa’s attention snap back to her brother. “What is this, with Nathan?”

“
Why would you ask me that? I’ve known the man all of three days.” Tessa glowered, and turned away. Her brother didn’t deserve her ire – that’s what his tone had said.
Dare I broach a sensitive subject with my bitter sister?

She took a deep breath, resigning herself to
the awkwardness of honesty. “I don’t know what this is. Distraction? Comfort? He’s been through something, and so have I. And he’s really good looking.”

Mikhail laughed out loud at that, and Tessa smiled. Her little brother
; she loved his laugh. Moments later, he turned a solemn expression her way. “Don’t get involved if you’re going to throw the half-human thing in his face later. That’s just cruel.”

“
People end affairs for all sorts of reasons. What’s one more?”

“
Don’t be cavalier. This is a big one. Don’t do something you’ll regret.”

Tessa didn
’t have time to form a retort before he left the room. She didn’t know how he’d known, but a moment later the bell rang, calling them to dinner. Leave it to Mikhail to be extra perceptive when it came to food.

Tessa hung back, weighing her thoughts like she could actually feel them in her hands. Could she promise that she wouldn
’t hold Nathan’s half-human nature against him, in the end? And if not, what right did she have to treat him so callously?

Thirteen

When Nathan heard the bell calling them to dinner, he frowned. He still wasn
’t halfway through the sample he’d taken, but he’d already found a number of very peculiar things.

The wing was the most di
sturbing, from a llaiadian, as Tessa had called it. She’d said it meant Tir Nan Og grew darker. That sounded pretty ominous. From looking through his sample, he already had suspicions about several species he would not like to run into in the forest. It was hard to gauge what a darker Tir Nan Og meant. This place was so strange to him just as it was.

Among other things, he
’d found part of a snakeskin, with scales so large Nathan shuddered to think how vast the creature must be. How many of those were in the forest? He was glad the form he was most likely to take in the forest had wings. He’d also found what appeared to be a chipped off piece of razor-sharp tusk, ivory white and as large as his thumb.