Chapter 117

• “August,” she had whispered, barely louder than a breath. “You have to protect her. You must protect her. She is pure… innocent… hearted. And don’t ever forget this—she is a fairy.”
• August, still young and clueless back then, had looked into his mother’s face, confused and overwhelmed. A fairy? What did she mean by that? He had opened his mouth to ask, but his mother’s hand had gripped his wrist tighter, stopping his questions.
• “They will come to take her away,” she continued, her voice breaking with the weight of her fear. “Her mother… her mother never wanted her to go with them. Never. They… they’ll come for her again, August.”