I scowled at her.
“You’ve got to trust me if I’m going to trust you,” she said.
Okay, that was fair.
I shared a look with Meria, who nodded. Evelyn was a pain in the ass, but she had honor. Sometimes, you could just tell with a person.
“I’m looking for my parents.”
“It’s more than that.” Evelyn pointed to my ears. “What’s the deal with those? Why are you hiding them?”
“I’m not.”
“Um, yeah, you are.” Annoyance flickered in her gaze. “I can see that they’re rounded.”
“I’m not fae.”
Her eyes widened and her jaw slackened. “You’re not…wait, what?”
“Not fae.”
“Not possible. You were chosen to compete. You won.” She drew in a breath. “We have to have a fae queen. This can’t be right. Maybe you don’t know you’re fae.”
“My magic comes from the stars.”
“Shit.” She whistled out a low breath. “You’re serious.”
“Very.”
She laughed. “I can’t believe I lost to a witch. The king hates witches. Hell, we all hate witches. Ever since the prophecy was laid down.”
“Well, maybe I’m not a witch.” Hope echoed in my voice.
“You’re a witch,” Meria said. “But a good one. There are plenty of good witches, Evelyn.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just not the one who is supposed to arrive and decimate us all.” Understanding dawned on her face. “Maybe that’s why you won. Only a witch could defeat a witch.”
That logic worked for me, though I still had no idea how in hell I was going to win against someone with deathly magic.
“I don’t know much about my magic or who I am,” I said. “But I think my parents might know. I just have to find them.”
“And you want the Truth Teller to locate them for you.”
I nodded. “Pretty much. I’ve been looking for them for years because I wanted to know who they were. But now I have a real reason to find them. I’m hoping they can help me figure out what I am and how I’m supposed to defeat the witch.”
“So you’d be helping us for all the fae,” Meria said. “It doesn’t just benefit us.”
Evelyn nodded. “I’m starting to see that.” She dropped her head back and groaned. “But I can’t believe I know this secret now. By law, I’m supposed to tell the king something like this.”
Fear iced my spine. “Will you?”
“No.” She glared at me. “Of course not. I’m on your side.”
“Really?” Surprise flashed through me. I was pretty sure I saw some of it in her eyes, too.
“Girls gotta stick together. And I do think you’re a good person who will try to do her best by us. Hell, you’re not even one of us, and you agreed to stay and try to kill this super witch.”
“Yeah, I’m not looking forward to that.”
“I don’t blame you. I wasn’t excited about it either.” She stood. “Let me change, and I’ll take you to the forest.”
Relief rushed through me.
Evelyn left the room, and Meria and I looked at each other.
“I can’t believe that worked,” I said.
“I can’t believe Evelyn is actually cool.”
“Of course I’m cool,” Evelyn shouted from the other room. “I also have excellent hearing. And call me Eve.”
I grinned. It was crazy, but I felt like maybe I was making another friend. Two friends, which was two more than I had back in the real world. All I had to do was survive to enjoy them.
3
Sia
* * *
Evelyn took us to the portal on the beach. Now that we were no longer competitors, we were allowed to move freely through the kingdom. Dain had parted ways with us when we’d reached the path back to the castle, and from there, it was just the three of us girls.
Frankly, I was surprised the king didn’t have a guard on me.
Until I spotted one lurking on the path behind us. I frowned and turned to look at him. He wore the palace uniform and carried a long sword at his hip.
“I see the king has his eye on you,” Eve said.
“Do you think that’s who has been following you?” Meria asked.
“No. Definitely not.” Right? “I was sure they were dressed in darker clothes. This guy isn’t hiding, either. The shadow following me is a major lurker.”
“You’ve got someone following you?” Eve asked.