“When it is time for you to know, then the knowledge will be revealed.”
Peri rolled her eyes. “That’s a non-answer. Non-answers suck.”
“You seem to be more yourself as of late,” the beast noted. “It has been good for you to be here.”
“How would you know how I’ve been? You’ve been off gallivanting around while I’m trying to figure out the meaning of my life and how I will go on now that I’ve made a right mess of things back in the human realm.” Peri was whining. She heard it in her voice and wanted to kick her own ass for it. Maybe shewasbeginning to reclaim a little of her old self.
“What do you think that will look like?” Serapha asked. “You walked away from those you cared about because you were afraid to lose them. So, you essentially made your own fear come to pass.”
“Are you striving for the Captain Obvious award?” Peri muttered.
“You’ve now realized,” Serapha continued, not bothering to acknowledge Peri’s comment, “that your rash decision led to rash behavior, and none of it was what you wanted. You let your emotions control your actions. So how do you correct it?”
Peri clenched her jaw. She seemed to have a permanent headache since she’d released the cold fire, as if she needed the reminder that what she’d done had been the wrong course of action. “I just take the next step in therightdirection,” she finally said after several minutes. “I walked for a very long time in thewrongdirection, and the only way I know how to start over is to turn around and walk away from the path I am on back toward the path I should never have stepped off.”
Serapha’s large eyes bore into Peri. The high fae wondered what the draheim female saw. “I think that’s a very good understanding of where you are and where you’re going.”
“I need to make amends.” Talking it out seemed to help Peri feel grounded and less like a lost child with no one to guide her. “I need to show with my actions, not just my words, that I will put them first. My mate, my friends, my family, and pack. Basically, I’m going to be shoveling in very large quantities of humble pie.”
“I’ve heard of all the pies you could possibly eat, it’s much better than the consequences of the others.”
“True. Humble pie won’t give me an ass the size of Jen’s or cause me to have a sugar high and run around like a cracked-out Thia.” Peri smiled at her description. She missed her friend and even her weird child.
“What’s a cracked-out Thia?” Serapha asked.
Peri scrunched up her face and shook her head. “It’s really better if we don’t talk about it. It’s kind of like speaking of the devil. Say her name too many times, and she just might show up.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” the draheim said and then turned her attention back to Torion and her offspring. “Galan has asked if the fae child can stay here with us,” Serapha said. They watched as Torion patted the young draheim’s snout. Peri sensed Serapha was attempting to distract her from her thoughts, and for that, Peri was grateful. It was very easy for her to get lost in her own mind and chase rabbits that would offer no answers or comfort.
“He realizes the child is not a pet, right?” Peri asked at the same time that Galan told Torion to sit and stay.
Serapha chuckled, her voice rumbling deep in her chest. “Yes, he understands that. But he has come to think of Torion as his charge. Galan believes he is the boy’s protector.”
“Galan will have to take that up with his mother. She’s awake.”
“Why don’t you sound happy about that?” Serapha asked, showing more astuteness than Peri expected.
She stood quietly watching Galan and Torion play, carefree and safe without the threat of vampires, evil fae, or corrupt elf kings chasing them. “Because time is running out.”
“Even if she hadn’t woken, your mate and his mismatched pack are knocking on our proverbial door,” Serapha pointed out.
“Is that what you call it when a group of powerful supernaturals attempt to tear your veil open? A knock?” Peri smirked.
“They don’t mean me or mine harm,” Serapha said. “They wantyou. Your mate discovered your location because a soul cannot hide from its other half for long. And he is going to do anything to get to you. The question is—”
“There are no questions,” Peri interrupted. “You’ve said enough.”
“Why don’t you want to be found?” the draheim continued, showing no offense at Peri’s interruption.
She sighed. “What part of ‘there are no questions’ did you not understand?”
“The part where you forgot I could squash you like a bug if you get on my nerves by not answering my questions.”
Peri laughed. It was something she would have said to one of her own annoying friends, some of whom were currently attempting to help her mate get into the draheim realm.Damn, I miss them.The part of Peri that had been cold, shielded in ice by her fear and anger, was thawing. And now the anguish of being separated from her family, her pack, settled into her bones and ached.
“I’m just not ready,” Peri finally said. “Besides, Tenia, Skender, and Torion are safe here.”
“I understand Tenia and Torion need to be protected from the Order. Tenia’s power is unique, which makes her valuable. But the wolf?” Serapha asked.
