Free Memory's Wake Omnibus: The Complete Illustrated YA Fantasy Series by Selina Fenech

doesn’t know. How could I have said that to her? Her effort to apologize turned wrong rapidly. She hardly knew how to talk to someone her own age, even without the communication gap Memory suffered. She’d never been able to make friends, even when she was allowed to mix with children her age in class. Always too shy, too different. The weight of her secret always added an extra boundary.
    With a look of exhaustion, Memory turned her back on Eloryn again. She pulled back the covers and wedged herself between them, as far to the edge of her side as she could.
    I have to try again. Eloryn knew her title meant a lot more to everyone else but she only wanted simpler things, to be safe and happy with people she cared about. “I know I made things worse by hiding who I was from you. But maybe I can help you understand. I was raised by Alward, the man who saved me when my parents were killed.” Goosebumps prickled her all over. How she’d dared to feel dissatisfied with her life before made guilt simmer inside. Their life together was good, comfortable, and safe. Alward did everything he could for her, to keep her safe and make her happy. He treated her as his daughter even though she wasn’t, and she knew it meant he never had a chance to have his own children, his own life. If anything happened to him, it would be her fault. “It was hard, growing up, to understand why we lived how we did, the terrible things that had happened. Alward used to tell me a bedtime story...”
    Memory made no movement, and Eloryn thought maybe she’d fallen asleep. Still, Eloryn pulled her knees up and put her chin on them, and spoke the words of the fairytale she knew by heart.
    “Once upon a time in a beautiful land, surrounded by seas, man and fae lived side by side, peacefully, under the Pact. The Queen of this land was beautiful and young, and time came for her to take a King. Many tried for the place but only one could be chosen for her. One man, Thayl, became obsessed with the Queen. He swore vengeance on the Wizards’ Council when they picked another man to be the Queen’s husband. Then he disappeared, vanished without trace. The Queen married and grew large with her first child. The time came when the Queen went into labor, and on that night, Thayl returned.”
    Memory turned over and propped herself up on one elbow, wide eyed and enthralled like the children in Eloryn’s classes.
    “Thayl stormed Caermaellan and slew all between himself and the Queen as he had vowed. The King, the council of wizards, the castle guard, all fell before him as he unleashed a terrifying new magic. One wizard escaped and ran to save the queen. Too weak from her labor, she ordered the wizard to take her newborn and flee, to only and most importantly keep her child safe. He did, and the Queen was left to her fate. Thayl took control of the kingdom, forever still hunting the few wizards that escaped him and seeking the heir he knew survived that night. Some tried to fight, but none could stand against him and his new powers.
    “The wizard went into hiding and raised the Queen’s daughter, caring for her and teaching her, and keeping her safe from all those he knew would be hunting her.” Eloryn finished, and Alward’s voice echoed in her head, the words he would speak each night before kissing her forehead and dousing the lights, Always, always, keeping the princess safe.
    Memory stared unmoving for a long moment after Eloryn finished her tale. When nothing else came, Memory blustered, “But! What? He couldn’t have her, so he killed her? That’s crazy person logic! What kind of story was that?”
    Eloryn cringed and wiped away a tear. “I thought it would help you to understand, to know what happened.”
    “He killed all those people? And this guy is still looking for you? Bloody hell.” Memory put a hand over her mouth. “You were right, I didn’t know. There’s a lot that I don’t know. But, it’s a little bit less now.”
    Eloryn slid