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He tilted his head and regarded her with disconcerting warmth. “Hey, maybe you could help me with my fae powers, too. I can feel something different in me, like a humming presence that wasn’t there before…or maybe it was muted. But even though I know it’s there, I have no idea what to do with it. I don't even know how to access this power. I’ve tried a little, but I keep hitting some sort of block or wall. Is there something I need to do to unlock my powers as a fae?”
Isa considered it. She studied him closely, her attention snagging on his humanly rounded ears. If his glamour had indeed been lifted, his appearance and his powers should be those of a fae or… She frowned.
Well, yes, then again, considering who his father was, it would make sense that his ears weren’t those of the fae. As for his powers, his paternal heritage could also play a part in his inability to unlock them. “I’ll try to teach you. It’s possible you just haven’t tapped into it deeply enough, but I can try to show you.”
Basil’s shoulders relaxed and he took a deep breath. “I appreciate it.”
She held up a finger. “I will help you, yes. But know this—you will owe me a favor in return.”
Basil frowned. “What do you mean? Don’t you owe me a life debt?”
“Sure I do.” Isa shrugged. “But that debt will be paid when I save your life. Now, helping you with anything else, like finding your lost adoptive sister, or unlocking your powers, is another matter. Since you already thanked me, and thus accepted my offer of help, you are now bound to me with a favor of your own.”
Isa expected him to be angry, resentful of the way she sneaked that favor in there. But he surprised her. The corners of his mouth lifted in a sly grin that did all sorts of unwelcome things to her need for detachment.
“All right, all right. I can admit when I’ve been had. My adoptive mother warned me to watch out for favors when dealing with fae, and that thanking them would make me beholden to them. I guess I should have paid more attention.” He tapped his forehead with his fingers and saluted her.
Isa blinked, baffled by his reaction. He just seemed to take everything in stride, didn’t he? He was so unlike anyone else she’d ever met.
“Just one thing: The favor will not end my life, enslave me, or do either of those things to a person close to me.”
Ah, this she could handle. She cocked a brow. “Negotiating?”
One corner of his mouth tipped up. “Let’s just say a friend of mine recently had to learn the hard way how to cover all bases with open favors.”
She inclined her head. “Accepted.” Ending his life would not require her to collect a favor… This was just additional security. She cleared her throat. “Regarding your search for your lost adoptive sister…"
“Rose.”
“Yes, Rose. I was thinking…her exchange wouldn’t have been well-known.”
Basil came to attention. “Right. Because if the fae smuggled me out to hide me, she wouldn’t advertise the fact she’d done an exchange.”
Isa nodded. “If she wanted to spirit you away from danger, she’d have kept the entire thing a secret. If she brought back a human baby—”
“Witch,” Basil interrupted her. “The baby was from a witch family.”
“Close enough,” Isa muttered, waving a hand. “If she brought back a non-fae baby as a changeling to be raised here, and didn’t hide that fact, people would ask whom she exchanged for that baby. When the fae who were after you realized you were gone, they’d definitely have gone looking for any changeling swap made recently, and they would have come across the one with Rose. Unless the fae hid it well.”
Basil exhaled through his nose, his mouth pressed into a thin line. “Which means it’ll be extremely difficult to find any hints about Rose’s exchange.”
Isa was silent for a moment, pondering. She had no stake in his quest, had no reason to stick around until he actually found Rose. All she wanted was to bide her time until she could save his life and then break her curse. She could lead him on a merry chase through Faerie, pretending to help him look for clues of his lost adoptive sister, without ever getting him any closer to his goal.
And yet… “I know someone who might know more.”
Hope sparked in his eyes. “You do?”
“Well,” she shrugged, “I’m good at finding people. I have some resources, contacts we can tap for information. There is no such thing as the perfect crime, and word always gets out about everything. You just have to know where to look for rumors and gossip, and whom to bribe and charm into giving up more than they intended to.”
He bowed and made an extravagant flourish with his hand. “Lead the way.”
She nodded. “I suggest we stop at an inn and spend the night. It’s on the way to my contact. It's getting late, and it's been a long day for me. We can catch some sleep, and start fresh in the morning."
Basil let out a heavy breath. “If it’s on the way, sure. To be honest, it’s been a long, hard day for me, too.” He shrugged one shoulder. “You know, the whole finding-out-I’m-adopted-and-not-actually-a-human-without-powers-but-a-fae-with-an-unknown-parental-history-and-a-lost-adoptive-sister thing.”
Despite herself, Isa had to smile. She jerked her head in the direction of the path leading farther into Faerie, and started walking. Basil fell into step with her.
“If it’s any consolation,” she offered, “you’re taking this rather well. I’m not sure what I would do if faced with such life-altering revelations.”
