Cassidy stepped back and Erik made his way into the house with me following behind. The door closed and Cass entered the living room, where we were smothered in a thick, heavy silence.
"You know you can't tell anyone what you know. It'd more than likely cost her life," I told him.
"I'm not an idiot."
Erik sighed and took a seat, neatly folding an ankle over the opposite leg. But Cassidy and I continued to stand, staring at each other.
"How much did she tell you?" I asked.
"Everything."
"Everything?"
"Everything, Grayson."
He was trying to be confident, but Cass, unlike his sister, had a staunch belief in the Gods. He didn't look me directly in the eye, and his voice held a slight tremor. I respected him for attempting to be strong for the sake of his sister.
"Is she okay?" I asked.
Cass softened slightly. "She will be. Quen is nothing if not resilient. I..."
I watched him and even Erik leaned forward, curious about what he wanted to say.
"She's my sister. She's the only family I have. I've watched someone hurt her before and I don't care who you are, but I won't have you hurt her."
"What makes you think I'd hurt her?" I asked, trying to control my rising temper.
"I don't know. I'm not keen to trust you after everything she's told me. I'll be the one picking up the pieces when you leave and head back up there." He gestures his arm up towards the ceiling, signalling to Elysia and beyond.
The front door opened, and I heard Quentin's laugh; the music only she created, and my heart lifted.
"Maybe," she said. "But if I moved, you'd have double the Scott to put up with. Are you sure you’d —”
The sentence came to an abrupt end when she saw me.
Move? She was thinking about moving?
"Quentin!"
It was Erik that broke the silence as he got up from the couch and moved towards her, hugging her tight. She returned the gesture, but her eyes stayed on me.
"Say the word, duck, and they're out," Cass told her.
"Quentin, I think we should talk," I said to her.
"Sure," she said eventually, overcoming the shock. "We can go to my room."
Cass didn't sound impressed as he said, "You can stay here."
"Cass. I'm a twenty-seven-year-old woman. Can we just not?"
His face flushed pink at the reminder of her age, and Quen turned and left the room. I followed her out. We walked into the guest bedroom, and she sat on the bed, biting her bottom lip.
"You must have left in a hurry," I said to her, unimpressed by her sudden desire to flee.
"Great deal on flights."
"You're a horrible liar."
