“You’re in enough trouble,” Hollace reminded her.
“This is my life,” I muttered. “Whydidn’t you wear the right color?”
It felt like a whine, but the volume of my voice made it a yell. I simply couldn’t help it.
“Are these not the right colors?” Niamh asked. “I was told to order brown.”
“A brown pocket square,” I said as we descended the stairs. Soon, I’d have to button up my personality. The other packs were probably already there. They’d want to see this mess of a crew show up. “A brownpocket square.Like at Elliot Graves’s cave, remember? I’m not crazy, you were all there. This is not a new situation for any of you. And how did Fred get a suit so quickly? More importantly, why is she here? No offense, Fred, but you’re not magical.”
Mr. Tom cleared his throat, catching up to us. He handed off the undershirt to Cyra. “That might be my fault, miss. About the suit color, not about the off-center Jane tagging along without permission. It seems I misunderstood what you meant. I was very precise in ordering the correct suits and getting them tailored, as requested, so Edgar had plenty of room at the front of his pants. They come in all colors, and you’d been firm on the color scheme when I asked. I wasn’t aware it was just…the square.”
“But then why areyoudressed appropriately?”
“Because that’s what Ulric and Jasper said we were wearing. With the purple pocket…Ah. Yes, I see. I should’ve put two and two together. Well…” I could hear his wings flutter. “There is nothing for it. Miss, I humbly ask to be retired in disgrace.”
“I’d take him up on that,” Niamh said.
“I had my own suit, don’t worry,” Fred called up. “I’ve found my people!”
“That’s not something to be proud of, I don’t think,” Ulric murmured.
“You’re one to talk,” Jasper said. “You two have the same hair.”
“Are you color-blind?” Ulric shot back.
“What are you even doing with me?” I asked Austin, sagging once again.
He took my hand and threaded his fingers through mine. “Remember when we arrived at the town outside of Kingsley’s?” he murmured, directing me to the interior of the resort. “You were trying to squish a basajaun into a van when a local asked if you wanted help. You agreed, and I realized then that we’d be showing up with a lot of dirty, decrepit trailers and motor homes instead of the sleek, matching fleet I’d reserved. I’d worried, above all, about losing style points. About not showing well to my brother and his pack.”
“Yeah. Old me would’ve caved and resumed shoving the basajaunak into the vans.”
“Yes. And old me would’ve been a nightmare when I didn’t get my way. I realized that at the time—that I was acting like a remnant of my old self. In trying to show my brother I’d changed, I was regressing.”
He hadn’t told me that.
He nodded, as though hearing my thought. “The realization shocked me. Scared me, honestly. It’s why I apologized. Why I backed off. And in the end?”
“They were impressed that the locals would help, and the basajaunak…were the basajaunak?”
“Yes, but also, in a moment with just the two of us before our final goodbyes, my brother complimented me on how I’d handled that situation. He’d been impressed that I’d allowed it. That I’d let you handle your side of things, even though it didn’t follow custom. At the time, he couldn’t believe I’d been that calm. No alpha likes to look messy on arrival like that. Our training forbids it. To do so, to look messy, makes the leadership look weak. It was only after getting to know you and your people, and seeing how you lead, and learning how incredibly effectiveyour style of leadership is with the power amassed in your crew, that he came to respect my reactions. To him, I proved my growth as a person.”
Now I teared up for a different reason. “Why didn’t you tell me all of that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I didn’t really believe it, or thought that if I voiced it, the shine and glimmer would wear away, and it would stop being true. But…well…”
“Here we are again.”
“Here we are again, and this time, I’m calm. Like I said, I expected it. And what I said was true—it’s better they know about your leadership now than find out as a surprise.”
“Okay, but let’s get serious. The colors of suits, fine. The extra person…sure. Hopefully, it means we can keep her, because from what I’ve heard so far, she’s invaluable.”
“Did she say I was invaluable?” Fred asked from the back. “Is that what she said? I’m eavesdropping as much as I can, but I’m no bionic woman.”
“Yes,” Mr. Tom said. “Now,shh. The miss doesn’t like to be reminded we eavesdrop.”
“Seriously,” I said to Austin, lowering my voice a little more. “Burn marks on the suit? Rips and stains? A line that looks like a snake slithering through the grass—no, I don’t have to look back to know it. It’s happening. I can feel it happening. This is on a level…”
I shook my head.
