Page 111 of Onyx Cage: Volume II
She sighed. “For not making me come up with a more ridiculous lie that day. Because you’re right, I’m not great at it.”
I didn’t bother telling her how obvious that had been even before Korhonan mentioned her weather-toe.
“My family has fae blood,” she went on. “It gives us a connection to the earth. A heightened awareness of the elements around us, and in some cases, the ability to manipulate them, though not like those who are fully fae.”
That certainly put the legends of the old fae gods of Socair in a different light. Not gods, then, just people who could do things that would outwardly look like magic.
“I can see why you don’t make that known,” I told her, if only to assuage the guilt that shadowed her eyes.
“Yes, for all of the obvious reasons, but also because there are fae hunters. We aren’t supposed to exist outside of…wherever their birthplace is.” She shrugged, though the gesture was forced. “So they find a way to take care of that problem.”
I forced myself to take a breath, though the idea of yet another target on her back made my blood run quicker in my veins.
Royalty in her own divided kingdom.
The princess of the enemy in Socair.
And now fae.
“The others are used to hiding their gifts, but in Lochlann, it was never really an issue for me,” she explained, sinking into the chair across from me.
“Why not?” I asked.
She might be cavalier about her own life, but even she wouldn’t invite fae hunters to…take care of her.
Surely.
She looked pointedly toward the window. “The weather here is predictable, and that’s all I can really do.”
Predicting the weather might be easy to hide, especially when soldiers were trained to read the clouds, but I was fairly certain that wasn’t all she was capable of.
“Are you sure?” I pressed.
She snorted delicately. “I think I would have noticed something else by now.”
Though her tone was joking, there was a self-deprecating edge, bordering on disappointment. Whatever the abilities ofher family, she seemed to think hers were lesser, something I wasn’t convinced of.
Gallagher’s healing was impressive, to be sure, but the weather was no small thing.
I considered what I had seen from her. She had been furious at the Summit, the rain coinciding perfectly with the moment she realized I had tricked her into our wager. Then later, when she had predicted the storm, the wind had raced around us but hadn’t thrown us off the road the way it should have, something I hadn’t put together until the villagers came in talking about it.
And the day the Unclanned attacked, the day we lost Dmitriy and Igor, the icy rain had stopped the moment the first rock fell. Not to mention the more recent incident, perhaps the only time I had been conscious of what was transpiring at the time.
“I assumed you influenced it, to some extent,” I explained. “At the memorial...there was no humidity in the air, and those clouds were hardly ominous. Then you were grieving, and the rain came down.”
My thoughts grew fuzzier as I tried to explain, and I realized I was, indeed, worn out from Gallagher’s healing.
“That must have been a coincidence.” Her voice sounded farther away than it should have. “I’ve never been able to do anything like that.”
“Hmmm,” was the only response I could manage as she shifted in and out of focus, fatigue crashing over me all at once.
“Come on.” Her tone was amused, her touch warm as she pulled on my hand to get me to stand. “Gal was right. You need to rest before dinner.”
I couldn’t argue that, both because I was sure I would only yawn if I opened my mouth and because it was obvious at this point. So I let her lead me to the bed, holding my arm out for her and falling asleep with the feeling of her lips on my chest.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
In nearly every clan in Socair, it was considered rude to watch someone open a gift you gave them, thus denying them the opportunity to send a polite letter lying about how much they appreciated it.