Flight (Children of the Sidhe) by J.R. Pearse Nelson Page A

himself, his human side. It had already begun to fade in a forest strewn with pixie parts, snakeskins and the other wild things.
     
     
    Sixteen
     
    “ Brother, the time we feared has arrived.” Tessa dove right in. She’d sought him out at the Authority Guard immediately after her meeting with Abarta. Mikhail wouldn’t appreciate stalling on this particular topic. “Abarta is angry. He may harm the girl just to wound me.”
    Mikhail swiveled to face her, a question he wouldn ’t ask in his eyes.
    She wanted to shout at him. Of course it would hurt me if she were harmed on my account! But she didn’t rise to the bait.
    He took a deep breath. “I should go to them. Yet this conflict doesn’t allow much space for personal time. What do I tell them?”
    Tessa sucked in a quick breath, and gave him the best advice she could muster, surprised he ’d bothered to ask in this situation. Yet she was his big sister, and he’d always counted on her advice. “I would tell them the truth. It’s time to come clean. There are already half-Sidhe children protected in the name of this conflict. Let the girl be another among them.”
    “ And her mother?” His quick smile was more of a grimace. Tessa wondered, not for the first time, what had happened between them.
    “ What do you think, Mikhail?” This was a question she had no right to interfere with, not now.
    “ I won’t take her daughter from her.”
    “ Then I guess you have to convince her to come, too.” Her smile was a peace offering.
    He glared at her, like he knew the objections that rose up in the back of her throat at the idea of his half-Fomorri, half-human lover in their world. “I know she bears Fomorri blood, but I’m not ashamed of her, or the child. Rosa is a Guardian. It is a sacred trust. She’s worthy of any Sidhe’s respect. I don’t mind people who aren’t Sidhe, and I don’t care what the foolish among the Sidhe think of me because I took her to my bed and got her with child.”
    “ I know. We’ve spoken of this before.” Tessa spoke quietly, as if to a wounded animal. His regret reeked like a rotten wound.
    Mikhail looked her in the eye. “Will you support me, if they come to Tir Nan Og?”
    “ I will always support you, Mikhail.” That would never change. “Safe travels. Call on me when you return.”
    “ Will I find Nathan still in residence?”
    Tessa just smiled a small smile. “I have no idea.”
    “ Well, if he needs a place to go, ask the tree-folk. They will guide him.”
    “ The tree-folk? What are we in the middle of, Mikhail?”
    “They have agreed to help the half-human children if there is need. That’s all I know.”
    The tree-folk were ancient beings even by Sidhe standards. They rarely got involved in disputes among the fae. If they did it meant they believed Tir Nan Og itself was in danger. Tessa thought back to the llaiadian wing Nathan had found in the forest, and the creature she thought she’d seen in the deep shadows of that oak tree the day she fell. This piece fit right in with the dark puzzle of what was happening to her world. Tessa didn’t like that one bit.
     
     
    Nathan looked up when he heard the front door open. He ’d been waiting for Tessa, and met her in the hallway.
    Something shone in her eyes for a moment when she saw him there. She pulled herself up straighter, her chin lifting. “You’re leaving?”
    He smiled. “And you’re perceptive.”
    She waved him off. “No, my brother was just asking about you. For a moment when he asked, I almost hoped...but of course you’re going. Why now?”
    “ Nemglan returned. We spoke at length. It was his feeling I’d been here long enough. Setting up residence isn’t a great idea in current circumstances.” He felt his lips twist in the start of a snarl. “He’d rather I go into hiding.”
    “ And you think that’s a bad idea?”
    “ Don’t talk to me like you do your brother. I’m no child for you to guide. Yes. I think it’s a bad