Splendid Fall

Ch. 43 Bloodstains

Birdie looked up as her father's eyes landed on her, "Huh?"

"What did you mean when you said she locked you up?" Heyder asked.

Birdie could feel everyone's eyes and ears turning towards her. The group's undivided attention was on her as Heyder spun one of his rings and waited for Birdie to answer.

"When...when I was there, grandma was running a compound," Birdie began.

"Yeah, the Tyveer court, right?" Ali asked.

Birdie nodded, "She tried to force me to stay there."

"Why?" Hayden asked.

"She didn't want me to go near the feys," Birdie took in a lung full of dry desert air. "And she didn't want me to be seen by other jinns."

"She wanted to keep you locked up until she could figure out what you were," Heyder's eyes darkened. "Baby bird...why didn't you tell me all this before?"

Birdie did not know what to say. Her words were stuck inside of her throat as she thought of all that she was leaving out of the story. She could never tell her side of the story without revealing who had been beside her. The memories of navy blue eyes were too intimate for her to want to share with anyone else. But that didn't mean Ira was going to take advantage of Birdie's silence.

Baba, Hayden opened his mind-link to his father as he watched the way his sister's eyes lowered and she shifted from foot to foot. You know she's always been private. She's talking now...stop pushing her.

I want to know what happened to her, Heyder said impatiently. I want to know what happened to my daughter and who the people responsible are.

"Heyder," Clare was the first to speak. "We have other things that need your attention right now."

The Jinn's eyes lingered on his daughter for just a few more seconds before he nodded his head and shifted his attention. Birdie looked to where Clare stood and gave her a small smile to thank her for the distraction.

I'll try to keep him distracted, Clare opened her mind-link to Birdie. But the longer he waits for you to speak, the more questions he will have.

I know, Birdie said. I'm just not ready yet.

And that's fine...But in the meanwhile just get your story straight.

Birdie's gaze connected with Clare's over Heyder's shoulders.

I'm not going to ask you what you're hiding, Clare said. But just know that your father will see right through you if your story doesn't add up.

I know, Birdie took in a slow deep breath that made her chest quiver.

She didn't need a reminder of who her father was. Heyder would be able to tell she was lying from halfway across the world in the dark. But he had raised her. If there was anything Birdie learned from years of spending her days around jinns it was how to bend the truth.

Lies can be a heavy burden, Dr. Reed's voice echoed inside of Birdie's head, making her tummy tighten and her heart feel sticky with guilt. What's the worst that can happen?

I don't know...Birdie thought to herself. I don't want to know...

As the last of the tribes made their way into the portal, Birdie stuck by Hayden and Clare. She watched her father command the jinns and test the strength of the shield with Ares as they scanned the sand sea and signaled for Apollo to start moving the sun.