Page 43 of Deadly Little Games

My emotions thrummed through me like electricity. I wanted to pull away, to go back to the city, but I remained rooted to the spot.

“He didn’t know what she wanted with you, but he feared she might try to take you. So he went to the fairies.”

My eyes flew wide. “What could he have wanted with them?”

She sighed heavily. “You know of their glamours.”

I did know of their glamours. I had seen them just a few hours ago, but—

“He made a trade with them. He asked them to fake your death.” She squeezed my arm. “Eva, I don’t know if your mother ever came back for you, but she wouldn’t have found you, because to her, andonlyto her, you look like someone else.”

“That’s why he changed our names,” I breathed.

She nodded, her face creased with sympathetic lines. “You look different to her, but someone living under her daughter’s name would have drawn her interest, and she would have figured it out. But your father covered everything. Your mother thinks you’re dead. It was the only way he could think to protect you. To make it like you no longer existed, so no one else would come looking.”

I inhaled sharply, refusing to let my tears fall. “She no longer thinks I’m dead,” I said evenly. “Everyoneknows I’m her daughter.”

But had she really destroyed the paths to the other realms? Was it even possible? Sebastian had claimed that she was old, but I just couldn’t quite reconcile the story in my mind with the previous idea I’d had of my mother. And of my father.

Theresa watched me, probably waiting for me to break down, or to at least react.

But I suddenly felt entirely empty. “Why are you telling me this now? Why after all of these years?”

“Braxton told me what happened. He told me about the bounty on your mother, and about bad people being after you. I thought you needed to know everything.” She squeezed my arm. “I only wanted to keep you safe, Eva. And that’s what your father wanted too.”

I pulled out of her grip. I knew her words were true. I knew I shouldn’t be mad at her. But I had also been lied to my entire life. “I just need a moment to myself.” I abruptly walked away from her, back out into the tavern, then quickly skirted the growing crowd and headed for the bathroom.

I locked the door behind me, then unclenched my shaking hands. In one palm the chocolate chips had melted into a brown sticky mess. I turned on the faucet, rubbing my hands vigorously beneath the cold stream of water, until finally I lifted my gaze to the mirror, meeting my eyes in my reflection.

It was a mistake. I wasn’t sure who the person was standing there. Did I even look like myself? Or was it a glamour?

No, Theresa had claimed the glamour was aimed at my mother. I would only look different to her, not to myself. And that was how Sebastian had originally recognized me, because in reality, I looked a lot like my mom.

I dried my hands with a paper towel, then pushed my hair back out of my face before dabbing at the few tears that had escaped my eyes.

Nothing was different, not really. Just now I knew that my dad had lied to me, and that my mother really had thought I was dead. When she tasked Lucas with killing night runners, she didn’t realize I would be at risk.

Of course, that didn’t change the fact that she was willing to kill innocent people to keep herself safe. Something like that simply wasn’t forgivable.

So why was I still protecting her?

I straightened my hair and clothing as much as possible, but there was nothing I could do about the red rims around my eyes. I left the bathroom, then headed for the table where everyone waited.

Sebastian was the first to notice me, and as he turned to watch my approach, I couldn’t quite read his strange expression.

Braxton noticed me next, and he watched me warily, comprehending the news I had just received.

As the others turned toward me, their expressions were a mixture of hope, curiosity, and the same wariness. Everyone but Braxton was depending on me, in very different, but also in some ways similar, regards. They had all gotten drinks. A beer for Braxton, what looked like hot green tea for Elena and Crispin, water for Gabriel, and black coffee for Sebastian. There were a few menus strewn about, but no food.

“Mom came out to take our orders,” Braxton said evenly, like he was speaking to a spooked horse. “I figured you’d be alright with a burger.”

I nodded, then slumped into the vacant seat beside him with Sebastian to my left. Gabriel had made the valiant sacrifice of sitting at the devil’s other side, with Ringo perched on the edge of the table beside him.

I looked across the table at Elena and Crispin. “Sorry for dragging you both out here. Once we eat, if you don’t mind dropping the rest of us off in the city, you can get back to Emerald Heights.”

Elena tried to act casual, but her green eyes were pinched with worry. “That werewolf woman told you something you didn’t like.”

I frowned. I was among friends… kind of. But that didn’t mean I was about to spill my guts. “I’ve learned a lot of things lately that I’m not terribly fond of. It’s nothing important to anyone else though.”