The fae might be beautiful, but they’re also terrible.
“He’s not a threat. He’s an old man who takes care of the graves at night. I don’t want any trouble.”
Even as I say the words, I know it’s pointless. Trouble? I’m already in it up to my ears.
“As you say, Shadow.”
Shadow. I wince, closing my eyes. Did he really have to go there?
“Don’t call me that.”
“It’s your name.”
“My name is Riley.”
“That’s what your first human family called you. That’s not your name.”
My stomach drops to my slippers.
That’s right. Not only has he hidden this prophecy thing from me but, holy shit, he actually knew my mother.
“So my mom named me Shadow?” I say warily. I wish I had more energy. I want to get up and pace, maybe even rant and scream and demand Nine tell me everything, but I’m too tired. I haven’t gotten more than an hour or two of sleep in almost two days. Plus, my panic attacks always take every inch of my strength. I push on, though, because I have to. “Or do you call me that because of that stupid prophecy the other monster mentioned?”
“He’s not a monster.”
“Po-ta-to, po-tah-to. He’s a killer.”
Nine smartly stays quiet.
I grab a handful of the grass that covers Robin Maitland’s grave. I won’t touch him, but I’m frustrated enough to throw the blades at Nine. They flutter in the wind, covering the tip of his shiny boot.
He frowns. “Was that necessary?”
Yes. “Tell me about the Shadow Prophecy.”
“What if the human finds you here?”
“You just said you’d spare him if I wanted you to. I want you to. It’ll be fine. Now, stop stalling. I went with you to that weirdo place. I left Black Pine. Now it’s your turn. What was he talking about? What’s this prophecy and what the hell does it have to do with me?”
Throwing his coat behind him, Nine crouches down so that he’s right beside me. His silver eyes beam in the darkness, brighter than the lantern the caretaker uses. He isn’t blinking, watching every tired line on my face as I wait for him to answer.
I want to go to sleep, but I’m still shaken up from the scene with Rys. What if I do and he follows me into my dreams again? I can’t risk it. Not yet.
“Tell me about the prophecy, Nine. Please.”
Maybe it’s the please that gets to him. I’ll never know. After nodding a few times, Nine begins to explain.
“There’s an ancient prophecy in Faerie. Melisandre has been queen for almost two centuries and she has no plans on abdicating anytime soon. She’s ruthless, Riley, and she’s gone further than most to secure her crown. The lesser citizens call it the Reign of the Damned, though she takes tongues from those who say it.”
I swallow reflexively. She cuts out tongues? Oh, shit. “Okay, well, she sounds like a peach. But what does this queen have to do with me?”
“It’s the Shadow Prophecy. It’s been said that a shade-walker—the Shadow—will have the power to defeat the Fae Queen. With Melisandre’s death, the Reign of the Damned will come to an end. You can imagine that she’s desperate to keep her head.”
Tongues and heads. Good thing I still haven’t eaten—my stomach lurches at the images he’s sticking in my mind.
And that’s not even the worst of it.
It takes me a minute to process what he just told me. I don’t know what I was expecting him to say—but you can bet it wasn’t that. I’m not like Rys. I’m not a murderer. I don’t care what this stupid prophecy says. I’m not about to kill anyone—especially not the Fae Queen.