RAFFERTY
Her voice.
I knew I’d heard Ailis back at that first village, and I’d fucking ignored it because—impossible. Have I not learned my damned lesson about the impossible? Stomping through the trees with two fae behind me, I search for the tear. There has to be a tear—it’s the only thing that makes sense.
Not that finding it will do me a whole lot of good. I do not possess the power to close it. None of us do. Discovering the hole will prove to me that Ailis has, in fact, found a way to return. Whether that will be a good thing or not—I don’t know.
I step into a small, empty clearing, save a handful of pixies floating at the edge. When they hear us, they all turn, their small bodies little more than the size of a loaf of bread, and yet they are some of the largest pests in Faerie.
Not because they’re particularly dangerous, but they’ll sell you out without thought if it means some extra coin.
“What in the bloody ‘ell are ‘ye doin’ ‘ere?” A pixie boasting a large ring through its nose flutters over closest to us. He’s completely naked—they all are—and the fact that he felt the need to put me on eye level with his cock pisses me off.
“Get that damn thing out of my face if you want to keep it,” I snarl.
The pixie huffs but does as he’s told. “I asked ye’ a question.” He’s clearly trying to assert dominance to save face with his friends. Unfortunately for him, I’m not in the mood.
“One I have no intention of answering,” I snap back. “Why are you out in the open? Aren’t your kind killed for your wings?”
He pales slightly and moves farther away from me. “No one seems to be bothered with us lately,” he replies. “Far too occupied with finding the rebel fungus.” Turning his head, he laughs to his buddies.
They all chuckle in response, their high-pitched voices piercing to my ears.
“Let’s just kill ‘em, Raffe.” One of my men rips his sword from its sheath.
“No!” The pixie buzzes back to his group.
“Not today, Lupin.”
He growls but puts his sword away.
Plastering on my best fake smile, I take a step closer to the group of them. “Do you feel like making a trade?”
The pixie I spoke with earlier narrows his eyes. “What type of trade do ye’ ‘ave in mind, then?”
“I am looking for the location of something. And since your kind tends to have a magical radar not like ours, I was hoping you could help me find it.”
His amethyst eyes brighten. “I might be able to help ye’.”
He knows where it is. I should order the information. Make him tell me. No trade needed.Taking a deep breath, I shove the thoughts away. Utilizing that magic will take me closer to a cliff I’ve no intention of leaping from.
That in mind, I reach into the sheathe at my waist and withdraw a dagger boasting a golden sun on the hilt. It’s my favorite, one I don’t take out—ever. A gift from Fearghas the First, this blade has never seen blood. It’s lucky the Rebellion kept it for me after I was taken.
But if giving it to this pixie means confirming what I need, then so be it.
The creature’s eyes widen, and it licks its lips. “What do ye’ wish to know?”
“We have a deal then?”
“Aye.”
“What is your name?”
He puffs up his chest. “I am Falcon.”
Behind me, the men chuckle, and Falcon glares in their direction. “Falcon, I am looking for a tear in the Veil.”
He doesn’t even blink. “I know where it is.”