wrong. The fae wouldn’t do something like that.”
Liam wouldn’t do something like this. Finn wouldn’t either.
Or would they? I’d only been here a couple of weeks and already I’d come face-to-face with how devious, dangerous, and dark they could be.
“It’s part of their Tithe to the demon realm,” Bree continued. “In exchange for the demons leaving Otherworld alone, the fae create sixteen Redcaps every year. On the Summer Solstice, they’re sent to prey on humans.”
With a shuddering breath, I stood from the floor and began to pace across the hardwood. As happy as I was to see Bree, the news she brought me was worse than anything I could have imagined on my own. To hear that the fae were behind this...
“But they have Hunters specifically trained to fight the Redcaps. Why would they—”
“The Tithe only says they have to return the monsters to the human realm. It doesn’t say they can’t kill them after they do. And don’t forget that it’s more than just the human changelings who get transformed. Any innocent who comes into contact with one, well...look at me. I got attacked, and now I’m one, too. And there are hundreds of us. Some have come back to Otherworld, like me.”
“Hundreds,” I repeated before I dropped to my knees in front of her. “But Bree, you seem so...”
“Normal?” She let out a bitter laugh. “I’m far from it. When I’m in my wolf form, all I can see and smell is blood. I haven’t killed anyone though. Not yet anyway.”
That last bit she muttered so softly that I almost didn’t hear her.
Her hand snatched my wrist, and her fingernails sunk into my skin. So hard that my veins began to pulse. “Not all of them are able to control themselves as well as I can, Norah. They’re more beast than human. I came here to warn you. You need to learn how to fight. One day, they’re going to come for you.”
“Me?” I whispered. “But why me?”
Soft footsteps thudded on the living room floor, and Bree’s body went razor sharp. She stood, letting the sheet pool around her feet. Slowly, she backed up to the window, her eyes so wide that they reminded me of twin full moons.
“Norah?” Sophia called out. “Who are you talking to?”
“Go,” I whispered furiously, my gaze locked on Bree’s waxen face. “If you’re right about all of this, you need to get out of here.”
“You’re not safe here, Norah,” she hissed back.
“I’m safe enough.” In two quick strides, I crossed the room and took Bree’s arms tight in my hands. She was so solid, so real. And I had to make sure she stayed that way. “I don’t know what they’ll do if they find you in here, and I don’t aim to find out. There are a few small villages near the edge of the Autumn woods. Go there. Hide. Steal food when you need it. I may be able to fix this, but I need some time.”
A soft knock sounded on my door.
Bree swallowed hard and nodded. She backed up to the window and disappeared behind the billowing curtain just as Sophia cracked open my door. I stayed there, gazing outside with my back turned her way. My heart trembled, but I suddenly felt a clarity of mind that calmed the frantic beat in my chest.
Bree was alive. She might be in some serious trouble, but she was alive.
“Norah?” Sophia’s voice held a frown. “What are you doing? Is someone out there?”
I took a moment to ready myself, but then I turned her way with an expression of intense weariness painted on my face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. Kael has me learning about some plants, and I have to recite a bunch of stuff out loud to him tomorrow. I was just practicing.”
She scrunched up her face, her eyes flicking to the discarded bedsheet on the floor. “I could have sworn I heard another voice in here. A girl.”
I laughed and shrugged. “Must have just been me talking to myself. I think I’m so tired I’m getting delirious.”
“Okay.” A pause. “You should get some sleep. We have History of Fae in the morning. It’s so dull that you’re going to nod off if you’re this tired.”
“You’re right. I should get some sleep,” I said with a nod. “Probably a bad idea to burn out during my first month here.”
With a smile, she moved back to the door but hesitated before she left my room. “Are you sure