“That’s the spirit,” Waryn said, slapping her shoulder good-naturedly. “You won’t be doing it alone. I’ll be right beside you.”
“Me, too,” Glyma said, and Quin shook her head.
“No, Glym, you mustn’t. My mother—”
“I’m not letting you face her alone,” Glyma said, purple brows drawing down in a scowl. “I’m not afraid of her.”
But Quin was. Even now, after she’d made her choice, her mother still scared her.
“I don’t want you on her radar. She’ll—”
“You want to be with me?” Glyma asked, and Quin blinked.
“Of course.”
“Everything? All of it?”
“Yes.”
Glyma leaned in and kissed her briefly on the mouth. “Me, too. I’m here for everything, for all of it. That includes your mother.”
“But she’ll target you. Your reputation. Your cafe.”
“Maybe,” Glyma conceded. “But we’ll face that together, too. Okay?”
Quin wasn’t sure what she had done to deserve this woman, but she was going to spend the rest of her life making her happy. “I think I love you already.”
And Glyma beamed at her and kissed her again, deeper this time.
Together, the three of them drove to Quin’s parents’ home. Quin and Glyma sat in the back, tails knotted firmly, as Quin fought nausea the whole way. Bravery, she found, was not comfortable or reassuring. She was an anxious wreck as they parked in front of the gated mansion and climbed out of the car.
She shook out her trembling hands as they approached the front steps, and Glyma took one in hers, tangling their fingers. Waryn took the other, palms pressing tight. United front.
“You don’t have to do this,” Glyma reminded her. “We could just disappear in Purgatory, and you can send her a break-up text.”
Quin huffed a humorless laugh. “No, I do have to do this. I deserve a rematch.”
“It doesn’t have to be a fight,” Glyma said.
“It’s not,” Quin said, reaching out for the knocker. “It’s a game.”
“You don’t have to play,” Glyma said firmly, cupping Quin’s chin in her free hand. “You say what you have to say, and that’s it.”
“I don’t know if it’ll be that easy,” Quin admitted.
“Well, if you’re going to play her game, you don’t have to play by her rules. Play by your own.”
“Or make up the rules as you go,” Waryn added. “Just for an extra bit of chaos.”
“You are an absolute fiend,” Quin said, and he laughed as she engaged the knocker.
The Anura who Quin believed to be planning a robbery, opened the door and scrutinized the three of them. She must have recognized Quin because she didn’t say anything at all, simply waddled back to open the door wider. They walked inside.
“Hi, I’m Glyma,” Glyma said to the Anura.
“Good for you,” the Anura said with a roll of her bulbous eyes.
“Is my mother here?” Quin asked, and she pointed a webbed thumb in the direction of the dining hall.
