The Masked Fae (Royal Fae of Rose Briar Woods 1)

“I lost a sister when I was young,” I admit, looking at the lights as they flicker in the trees. “It’s not something you forget.”

“A sister?”

“That’s right.”

He mulls it over, perplexed. “What happened to her?”

“She vanished while we were on holiday. There one moment, gone the next.”

“How old was she?” Brahm asks slowly, looking as if he’s thinking very hard. “Where did it happen?”

I don’t like to think about Eleanor’s disappearance. It was the event that destroyed our family. After she went missing, my parents spent their last years obsessed with finding her. People claimed she must have been stolen by the Fae. How else could she disappear without a trace? And everyone knows that people stolen by the Fae never return.

Still, Father and Mother searched for her tirelessly, leaving Gustin and me with Grandmother as they scoured the Fallon border. They died during one of their trips, killed in a rockslide that took out the road they were traveling upon.

I don’t think I’ve ever quite forgiven them, to be honest.

Brahm leans back, perhaps reading my dark expression. “Never mind.”

“It’s late,” I say. “We should go back.”

He nods, offering his hand as he stands.

As soon as I rise, the bench disappears. I step closer to Brahm, not liking it one bit.

“Alice,” he says suddenly, his tone off. “I’m sorry I brought up the subject. I can tell it’s painful—we needn’t speak of it again.”

I nod, taking his arm.

The walk back to the manor doesn’t take long. When we reach my room door, Brahm turns to me, clasping his hands behind his back. “Why were you so desperate to leave tonight? You never said.”

“I just needed some air,” I answer. “Thank you for walking with me.”

Brahm nods, wishing me goodnight as I slip into my room.