Night Fae (Dark Fae Kings #3) - Meg Xuemei X. Page 0,33
for us. I’ll stay with you all until the final battle, then I’ll go with Ileana Evelina to the Court of Dawn and stomp the usurper. My sister will need me then.”
I blinked at my six-year-old sister. “You’re not fighting in any battle, Fawn. All I want is for you to be safe, and you’ll stay right here.”
My parents stared at my sister. They didn’t know about her Seer gift and the bone witch living within her.
I glanced at my parents. “It’s a long story. Fawn is—”
“It’s okay, Evie,” Fawn said. “I’ll explain to Mom and Dad.” She regarded my parents with those ancient eyes of hers. “Everyone in this family has a magical gift. I’m a Seer. All of your blood children are mages, and you’ll have to let their magic bloom. The time to hide is over. It’s time to teach and nurture them. Cassidy is also supernatural. He can shift into his animal form.”
I scanned my siblings in shock, but I shouldn’t be surprised that they all had magical potential. I had just discovered mine a couple of months ago.
Instead of training us and letting our magic flourish, my parents must have put a dampening spell on each one of us to prevent us from developing powers, because we had to throw hunters off my trail instead of catching their attention.
Guilt washed over me. To protect me, everyone, whether they knew it or not, had sacrificed something valuable. But no longer. As Fawn had said, the hiding was over. The war had come my way, and my siblings needed their training for their own safety.
“All of you will be mages except Cassidy,” I said. “Our little brother is going to be a shifter.”
I held my parents’ gaze, a promise in my eyes. I would make sure my siblings had the future they deserved, and my parents nodded. They’d paid their dues.
“We’re the X-men.” Cassidy smirked. “And I’m the wolverine.” He curled his small, soft hand into the shape of a claw.
“You can only change into a raven or possibly an owl,” Fawn said.
“No shitty way!” Cassidy bared his teeth.
“Language, Cassidy!” Mom glared at him, then turned to stare hard at me. I spread my arms. What did I have to do with my little brother’s swearing?
“I’m not a little black bird! I want to be a bear,” he declared.
“You were born a perfect spy, Cassidy,” Fawn said with a smile. “In faerie, our magic will strengthen and speed up when it’s unlocked. We need to train, and everyone can help our big sister. Cassidy should start the shift soon.”
“You all need haircuts. That’s what you need,” Mom said, turning to the mundane stuff, as if she could postpone the world coming at us with hammers.
Asuka stared into the night, a hollow expression on his face.
“They took Nox,” the twin said. “I want to leave here. I need to go find him.”
“We’ll have Nox back soon,” Dad said fiercely. “We’re sorry that we had to go away for awhile and this happened, but your mom and I are back now, and we’ll do everything in our power to keep all of you safe. And we’ll make sure Evie comes home to us.”
“But Evie is here,” Emmett said in alarm.
“She’ll leave for a little while,” Fawn said, worry in her dandelion-gray eyes.
“Where will Evie go?”
Fawn thinned her lips. “The Wild Hunt.”
“I want to go with you, Commander!” Cassidy said.
“Another time, soldier,” I said.
Mom scrutinized each of her children closely, then she asked the question I had been dreading. “Where is Safiya?”
I hadn’t told my parents about Safiya’s treachery. I hated to see their heartbreak, but none of us could afford to be spared the truth anymore.
Safiya was going on sixteen. One might argue that she was still a child. I didn’t agree. Even a twelve-year-old should take responsibility for their actions.
And not all children were innocent. Some were bullies and some were born cruel. I’d personally had the misfortune of facing down quite a few vicious ones, though I’d never backed down.
Asuka’s face screwed into a furious expression. “She’s a traitor! She worked with the bad guys. She opened the door for the monsters to take Nox because she wanted to get back at Evie, and Evie has done nothing other than provide for us and protect us.”
I sent the twin a grateful glance. I’d thought they’d all blamed me for failing to keep them safe, and now they had to leave the familiar human world.