The Lost Queen (Book 1 of The Lost Queen Series)

Chapter Thirteen

Seraiah's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. She could do little more than stare at Kai as he took another bite from the apple.

How could he be so calm when her entire world had shifted? Her little sister was not only a queen, but she also wasn't human?

"Remember when you asked me who I was," he said, after swallowing his bite, "and I told you, you wouldn't believe me?"

He didn't wait for an answer. "Well, this wasn't quite the reaction I pictured, but it's close. That's a remarkable impression of a fish out of water, by the way."

Seraiah snapped her mouth shut, eyes narrowing. It seemed Kai had reverted to being antagonistic toward her. Not that she didn't deserve it after the remark she'd made about his mother.

"Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't figure it out sooner. I'm sure you've read that book," Kai gestured to the book now hanging limply at her side, "several times. You grew up with a step-mother and sister, who were both elves. It's a wonder this is the first time you had the thought that they could exist. You even suggested that faeries were responsible for Sterling's disappearance."

"Kai," Kestrel said, warning in her voice.

"Why would I think that my sister and step-mother were some creatures out of a children's story?" Seraiah snapped back. "I'm not crazy."

Kai eyed her. "Says the girl whose dreams happen to come true."

Seraiah's hands balled into fists at her sides. She'd never been a violent person, but she would like nothing more than to strangle him right now. He seemed to have a way of getting under her skin like no one else did.

"Stop," Kestrel said, stepping between them. "This isn't helping anyone, least of all, Sterling. Let's focus back on what's important here."

"My apologies," Kai said, though he'd didn't look like he meant it.

As much as she didn't want to forgive him, Seraiah knew Kestrel was right. Fighting like this would get them nowhere, so instead of hurling another insult, she reluctantly issued her own apology.

"Good," Kestrel said. "Now that we have that out of the way, can we move on to more pressing matters like what exactly that dream of yours was about."

Seraiah blinked, for a second thinking Kestrel was referring to her nightmare.

"We need to discuss what you saw last night, and then we can decide how best to proceed from there."

Right. Last night's dream. She relayed everything she could remember.

When she finished, Kestrel was drumming her fingers on the top of her sword.

"It's not much to go on," she finally said. "I think it would be best if you tried to see more. As I was saying earlier before Kai showed off his pointy ears, while I don't have any experience with training seers, I'm fairly certain you can use a possession of the person you wish to see—in this case that book—to help focus your vision."

Seraiah hugged Sterling's book to her chest. "And how would I do that? Would I need to fall asleep?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Kestrel said, glancing to Kai.

"Don't look at me." He finished eating his apple and tossed the core away. "I don't have any experience with seers either. Since it was your idea, I'll leave you to it. Someone has to watch our backs in case the creature hunts us first."

Seraiah eyed the trees around them nervously. When she'd mentioned the beast with gray fur, they'd questioned her closely on the size. She hadn't seen the whole thing, but the two of them still seemed convinced it must have been what Kai had seen traces of yesterday and what had left the mangled arm.