CHAPTER26
The mews were a good place to hide. No one came up here—at least, not since Kevin had freed all the birds. The long rows of perches lay empty, little bits of fluff and shed feathers still scattered underneath.
Tucked into a ball, Kevin stared up at the narrow strip of sky visible through the high windows. Big enough to let a falcon or hawk soar to freedom; not wide for even a small, skinny boy.
Not that it would have done him any good, even if he had been able to find a way up and out. He knew the precise limits of his prison, having tested every inch. He had free run of the house, and the grounds as far as the kennels and stable block. If he tried to set foot a step beyond, though, his knees went weak. A moment later, a crowd of horrified servants would descend to drag him back to his room, scolding him while also pressing candy into his hands.
Kevin sighed, resting his chin on his knees. It wasn’t that life at Sir Ferghal’s estate was bad, exactly—especially when the stick-up-the-butt knight himself wasn’t there, which was most of the time. The lesser fae were kind, even if none of them seemed to know whether to treat him as the heir apparent or some kind of not-quite-tame beast.
It was just… it wasn’t right, somehow. Way deep down, right in the pit of his stomach, he knew he didn’t belong here.
Of course, he didn’t belong here. Not really.
Kevin fingered the round curve of one ear, which marked him out from everyone else. He wasn’t fae—which, as everyone was so fond of telling him, was what made him special.
There were hardly any humans in this realm. He’d never seen anyone who looked like him… until today.
Kevin flinched away from the memory. He didn’t want to think about that. Didn’t want to remember the beautiful sorceress who’d made the empty place in his chest hurt.
Outside, he could hear the servants still searching for him, calling out in the dusk. He wrapped his arms tighter around his legs, huddling behind an abandoned eagle perch. If they wanted to take him back to the sorceress, they’d have to drag him there. It was bad enough having Ferghal leaning on his brain, trying to squish him into a different shape, a different person. Kevin wasn’t about to let anyone else stick their fingers into his head.
Glamour. Kevin screwed up his nose, as though the word was a fart. It was no secret that Ferghal had put magic on him, wiping away his memories of everything before the knight had taken him from the unseelie. In fact, Ferghal reminded him about it at every opportunity, like Kevin should be grateful to have had most of his mind wiped out.
The unseelie court is a terrible place,Ferghal had told him, in that pompous tone that made Kevin’s teeth itch. And the human world is worse. No need for you to remember any of that. Be grateful that I have saved you from such a life, boy.
Except he wasn’t grateful. He couldn’t be. Not with that nagging ache in the center of his chest, the feeling of something missing…
Kevin clenched his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. No matter how hard he tried, the first thing he could recall was Ferghal’s hard, armored arm tight around his waist, holding him steady as Eislyn’s back surged underneath them. Before that, there was… nothing. Just vague, uneasy gray, like a fogbank in his mind.
Something cold and wet poked the back of his neck. Kevin swallowed a yelp of shock. Twisting round, he found himself nose to nose with glowing red eyes. Before Kevin could flinch away, a broad pink tongue licked him from chin to forehead.
“Yeuch!” Kevin spluttered, then jammed his fist into his mouth. He froze, listening, but it seemed none of the searching servants had heard the noise.
The small black dog took advantage of the distraction to lick him again.
“Stop that!” Kevin hissed. Dropping his hand, he glared at the puppy. “I suppose Ferghal sent you to find me. Well, bark all you want. I’ll just run away and find somewhere else to hide.”
The black dog, to his surprise, didn’t start howling. Instead, the puppy snuggled against his side, as though hiding with him.
The dog didn’t look like any of Ferghal’s other hounds. Those were towering, long-legged beasts, all sleek white fur and slavish devotion to their master. Kevin had seen them practically falling over their paws to fawn over Ferghal, but his own attempts to befriend the pack had been met with cold green stares and rumbling growls of warning. None of them were small and soft and… well, fluffy.
Unable to resist, Kevin stroked the black dog’s fur. The puppy’s tail thumped on the floor, raising clouds of dust.
“Shh,” Kevin whispered, worried that someone might overhear the knocking. He sat back on his heels, studying the animal. “So if you aren’t Ferghal’s, who’s are you?”
The answer came to him even as he spoke. Kevin snatched his hand back from the dog. “You’re hers. The new sorceress.”
The puppy’s floppy ears flattened. He let out a low, definite growl, lips wrinkling back from tiny fangs.
Kevin might not have many memories, but he’d spent enough time around fae animals to know that they tended to be smart. Most couldn’t talk, but that didn’t mean they didn’t understand.
“No?” he asked. “You’re saying you’re not hers?”
The puppy perked up, tail wagging again. He yapped.
“Not so loud!” Kevin said, shooting a cautious glance round. He lowered his own voice. “So who do you belong to?”
The puppy licked his face.