Page 122 of Death of a Mortal

“I do not.” He’d been very short, all traces of the smile gone.

I wasn’t sure if his answer was good or bad. Maybe if he did, we could stop doing whatever we were doing. And not doing.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that. It was stupid and personal and…”

He chuckled, calming my embarrassment. “Don’t worry, Naci. You won’t have to fight any females over me.”

I rolled my eyes.

He could change up so fast it was making me dizzy. I wondered why his initial reaction had been so brash.

“Not sure why anyone would fight over your arrogant, moody ass,” I said.

I heard a laugh that was quickly disguised as a cough from behind us.

“You’ll see one day,” he said. “So what about the mysterious Naci Corren?”

“All you gave me was your last name, and you already know mine. Give me something real, and I’ll give you something real. But you first.”

He remained silent for a while, but I waited. He wouldn’t get anything from me without giving first. That was how trust worked from now on for me.

Finally, he said, “I’m the last of the Rhyven line. My parents and brother died when I was young.” He swallowed, and I stopped breathing. “Many years after that, it was your mother who took me in and brought me to base. I was a young male with no purpose, but she gave me one.”

My heart squeezed, for his loss and for mine. It was cruel that this male, sitting so close to me, had spent more time with my mother than I had. And for him to lose his whole family at a young age, grow up an orphan? I knew loss, but not like his.

“Drayce, that’s awful, and I’m sorry. And for what it’s worth, I’m glad she found you.”

“She was an incredible female.”

He’d said female, not woman.

“So shewasfae?” My voice shook. I’d assumed, since my magic broke free. But now I knew for sure.

“She was. And a powerful one, too, even among us.” His voice had become gentle.

I swallowed. It felt like everything I’d ever known was a lie. But underneath the building resentment, there were underlying feelings of excitement. If she had been a powerful fae, maybe once I started training with my powers, I would become a powerful one too.

He let me sit in silence with my thoughts for a while after that.

It was equal parts infuriating and sad that I was surrounded by people who knew so much about her when I knew so little. And she’d left me behind to be with this group. She had stayed with them instead of coming back to me. It had been a choice.

I didn’t want to be angry at her now that I knew she was dead, but it was becoming hard not to be. I just couldn’t understand.

And right on cue, as if he could hear my whirling thoughts, Drayce said, “She loved you. Everything she did was for you.”

“How was it for me?” Hot, angry tears stung my eyes. “What I needed was her, but she chose all of you instead.”

The rage that had been caged in my chest for so long flared up. It was that same black, scalding feeling that seemed to come out of nowhere.

The same that had seemed to take control when my powers exploded.

“I’ll let her explain. She kept a journal as long as I knew her and gave it to me the night before we left to storm Ashthorn, intending me to get it to you if she…couldn’t.”

At this moment, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to read it.

“And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry too,” he said as delicately as I’d ever heard him speak.

He had nothing to be sorry about. It wasn’t his fault. We were just two people, two fae, who shared harsh pasts plagued with loss and trauma. So he understood. And I was feeling like maybe I understood him too.