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He stilled, and scrubbed a hand over his face. ‘Yeah, that’s her, but I didn’t think you knew the story.’
I laughed: it wasn’t happy. ‘Seems like everyone I talk to just now has something new to tell me about the curse.’
‘But then, you haven’t really talked to anyone about it before, have you, Gen?’ he said, a hint of reproach in his words. ‘So it’s only natural now you’re asking, that you’re going to hear about all the sordid stuff that no one usually mentions.’
He could say that again. I pursed my lips. ‘So Helen doesn’t like any sidhe because her father ignored her when she was a kid, and I’m the one who ends up as her whipping girl.’
‘It wasn’t just that. The sidhe took Helen’s son for a changeling, remember. When that happened, her feelings understandably worsened. Then things got difficult when Tavish’s list came out. When Nicky found out that I was going to be courting you, she got really excited and was desperate to meet you. Helen was … well, she got very upset about it all. I think she was frightened that after the sidhe took her son, you would try and steal her other child from her.’
I had this vision of a miniature Helen, only with cute little horns and pigtails, jumping up and down on her tiny hooves, then being sent to her room. Poor Nicky. It didn’t sound like having Helen as a mum was much fun. But then, maybe I was biased. Not to mention, ‘very upset’ sounded more like paranoia.
‘I know it’s irrational,’ Fi
It had never crossed my mind … which in itself was kind of odd, now I thought about it, but then other people’s family were hard to chat about when you were trying to keep your own family a secret. I stared blindly at the rest of the traffic inching along out of the blacked-out window. Fi
I looked back at Fi
He gave an odd laugh. ‘Gods, no—Nicky is very independent. She’s doing a Media and Arts degree. I wanted her to stay with her mother, or with the herd, but she insisted on moving out. She and three of her mates share this tiny two-bedroomed house. I’m lucky if she remembers to return my calls more than a couple of times a week.’
I blinked. ‘Just how old is Nicky?’
‘Nineteen.’ He gri
‘Shit, Fi
His grin faltered. ‘Why’s that a surprise?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said, stumped. I’d never really considered his age. I’d always thought of him as not much older than me, and I’d so never imagined he’d have a grown-up kid. Of course, he only lookedmy age—not that youthful looks meant much, with most fae being long-lived to nearly immortal—but most of the time he didn’t act much older either. ‘It just is,’ I finished lamely.
He rubbed behind his left horn. ‘I keep forgetting you’ve been brought up by humans. I’m a hundred and ten, Gen, but I’ve only got the one kid. Some fae my age have a lot more.’
‘Yeah … Ricou said he’s got six pups.’
‘Ricou’s also got about thirty-odd halfling grandkids and great-grandkids,’ he said drily. ‘If I remember right, his youngest is in her fifties and she’s got two grandkids herself.’
Oh.
Fi
Chapter Thirty-Three
Now? Meet his kid now?What if she didn’t like me? For all that Fi
‘Okay, you just let me know when,’ he said, reaching out to give my arm a reassuring squeeze. Then he frowned. ‘So, want to tell me what’s been happening?’
I told him everything about Tavish, the Morrígan, my visit to Sucker Town (leaving out the gory details), the sad memories I kept picking up, Tavish having some sort of deal with Malik (mentioning Malik’s name brought a scowl to his face) and, lastly, about Jack the raven’s mysterious visit. ‘So I think it’s all to do with the curse, but I can’t work out what, and how it all fits together? Any ideas?’
He tapped the limo’s leather seat thoughtfully for a few moments, then clasped his hands together and gave me a frank look. ‘Clíona’s daughter and granddaughter, and Ana and the dreadful things that happened to them, they’re everything to do with the curse, Gen. And to be honest, yes, one of us probably should have told you before, but it’s not a story that any of us are proud of, especially after the dryads tried to do something similar to you. We need you to help us, and telling you about all the terrible things that we fae have done in the past to other sidhe isn’t the best way to make you feel sympathetic, is it?’
He’d got that spot-on.
‘As for the Morrígan and the memories she’s shown you … well, they seem to be relevant to Ana and her time with the vamps. It could be that this Maxim—or the other suckers—are a threat to Ana again, and the Morrígan is using you to make sure she is safe.’
‘Okay,’ I said, frowning, ‘but why would she do that?’
‘Guilt’s one reason. The Old Do
‘He was her son?’ Damn, she’d lost her own son! No wonder she’d told me, ‘ Losing a child is painful.’
‘Anyway,’ Fi
‘So she’s got Tavish chained up just so she can talk to me?’ I asked, incredulous.
He laughed, but there wasn’t much mirth in the sound. ‘Don’t start feeling responsible, Gen. The Morrígan’s been after Tavish for years. If he’d so much as breathed in her direction she’d have nabbed him. It was him, with the help of the fossegrim, who killed the Old Do
Tavish had killedthe Morrígan’s son? Crap, he really was in trouble, and despite him being interfering and arrogant and over-protective, he was still my friend. He’d helped me when I needed it, and I wanted to do the same for him. If I could just work out how …
‘But surely if the Old Do