Ten shelves and five books later, I’ve taken residence on the plush carpet of the library floor, flipping page after page of what appears to be a journal; a man’s retelling through the years of all the species his wife actively sought out. She was obsessed with finding supernatural beings who walked the human realm, mostly vampires and witches. There’s a brief entry or two about the Fae, about how they came face to face with those black, glossy eyes and viciously long teeth, but nothing more. I presume they fled before—
“You’re not going to find much, unfortunately,” says a familiar voice.
My head snaps up immediately, stare colliding with a pair of dark, velvety brown eyes. “Tigerlily?”
What is she doing here?
The Chief’s daughter smiles fondly and drops down to her knees before me, pulling me in for a hug. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine, I guess,” is all I answer, mostly because I’m not sure how to answer. “What are you doing here?”
Tigerlily chortles quietly and shrugs. “I live here now.”
“What? What do you mean you live here now?”
“I made a deal with Hook. If he let my brother go, I’d stay here and be his personal blood bag until Tavi’s debt is repaid,” she explains, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
My mouth pops open.
I had no idea. Hadn’t heard my mother or anyone in town mention it, not even once.
“And your father’s okay with this? How long have you been here?” I shut the book in my grasp and set it aside.
“It’s been a few months now. Three, maybe four? He wasn’t okay with it at all, no—not until Hook gave him my letter of reasoning. I suppose his spot on the council left him no choice, either. It’s too much of a valuable position, the only voice for our people, for him to throw away because of his headstrong daughter. Truth be told, it’s not so awful anymore. Quarters are nice as you can see,” she chuckles, circling a hand through the air. “And I get to see Papa whenever they hold a meeting.”
“You’ve been here that long?” I ask incredulously.
“Yup.”
“And how much longer til you get to go home?”
Another shrug, one almost too nonchalant for my liking. “Until Tavi’s debt is paid, but, I have no idea when that is. Enough about me, though—are you sure you’re okay?”
No, I think to myself, but I’m not about to voice that. “I’ve been better.”
“Is the…Is the blood lust bad?” she whispers, throwing me off entirely.
“Wait, you know?”
Tigerlily nods and scoots closer to me, setting a gentle hand over my own. “Honey, everyone within these walls knows.”
“Wonderful. What else do they know? Have they heard anything from town?” I cross my mental fingers she’s not about to say my mother’s losing her shit.
“Well, they know about you, period. About what you are. But I also overheard Hook chatting with Nina and Brielle. According to them, one of their coven sister’s along with Persia’s daughter have been missing since yesterday. There’s no word on whether or not Persia made it to Lapiz, either. Messengers have been sent, and none have returned as of yet.”
What feels like a boulder scrapes down my throat as dread begins creeping in anew. I’m not certain I want to know the answer to the question moments away from leaving my mouth, but I have to know. “What about my mom? Did they mention anything about her?”
“I didn’t stick around long enough to hear it all, but no, I didn’t hear anything. Why?”
This time, it’s me who hitches a shoulder as my gaze cuts down to my lap. “She doesn’t know I’m here.”
“What?” I feel Tigerlily’s eyes bulge. “So you becoming—she doesn’t know?”
I shake my head. “Far from it.”
There’s a brief hiccup in time following my response. I can’t even bring myself to look at the Chief’s daughter knowing what she’s undoubtedly about to ask.
“Then what happened?”
My world shattered, that’s what happened.
“I um…I…” I can’t get the words out. My fingers ache from how callously I’m wringing them in my grip. Having to say the words aloud is humiliating.
“You can tell me, Tinksley,” Tigerlily urges. “I would never judge you.”
Anyone would judge me.
“I tried to, um…I tried to end it all,” I blurt, keeping my stare downcast. “I’d have been successful in that attempt, too, if Hook hadn't found me on the beach.”
The Chief’s daughter gasps, loud enough that the aghast sound bounces off every hard surface around us. “You tried