“Connor? Connor’s here?” Flynn darted down the stairs ahead of me. How was he so spry on only a couple hours sleep? I had to grip the balustrade to stop myself from keeling over. The weariness was like alcohol, corrupting my balance and impairing my brain functions.
I followed Flynn into the Great Hall. Jane sat on the couch, jiggling Connor in her lap. The rest of the guys crowded around her, but they parted so I could step through and sit beside her.
“What happened? What are you doing here?” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, shocked at how cold she felt through the thin jacket she wore.
Jane shrugged me off. “Don’t fuss. I’mfine. I just couldn’t sleep in the cottage. I kept jumping up to check on Connor every two minutes. So I put him in my bed, but then I couldn’t close my eyes in case the fae came…and I remembered that the castle was impregnable to the fae, and I thought…”
Jane waved a hand at the stroller beside her, filled to bursting with blankets and toys. A wooden mobile stuck out the side like a rhino’s horn.
“You thought you’d be safer here?” Corbin finished for her.
She nodded. “Is it okay that Connor and I stay the night?”
“Of course. Not that there’s much night left now,” Corbin mumbled. I looked up at him, surprised to see how drawn his face appeared. Huge black circles marred his usually handsome face, which was streaked with sweat. His bloodshot eyes couldn’t focus on anything – they darted around the room as though he were following a particularly engaging ping pong match. His hair stuck out at all angles, and he gripped the arm of his chair as if it was the only thing stopping him sliding onto the floor. That fae draught must have done a number on him. I mean, none of us were ready for anAmerica’s Next Top Modelphotoshoot, but Corbin looked a hundred times worse.
“Of course you can stay.” Flynn held out a rattling toy for Connor, who giggled as he tried to reach for it. Connor’s high-pitched shriek sliced through my head like a blade. Corbin winced.
Rowan backed silently out of the room. Arthur told Jane that he was going to make up a guest room for her.
Corbin grunted, his eyes squeezed shut. “Where’s Blake? How come he isn’t down here to meet our new house guests?”
“Does it matter?” I asked. “He’s just as tired as the rest of us, and he did literally leave the only home he’s ever known to save us today. I won’t begrudge anyone some extra sleep. Speaking of which, you should go back to bed.”
“I will,” he said, but he didn’t move.
“Corbin.”
“Mmmmm.” Corbin’s head flopped against the arm of the chair.
“I’ll take him.” Arthur folded Corbin’s arm over his shoulder, leaning his leaden body against his own. They shuffled toward the stairs.
“I should give Arthur a hand with the damn eejit.” Flynn kissed Connor’s forehead and loped after them. “If you need any help with this wee one, give a yell and I’ll come a running.”
“Thanks.” Jane smiled up at him, and with a final wave to Connor, Flynn was gone.
I was alone with Jane and Connor. She bounced the baby on her knee, not looking at me. At the end of the room, a clock ticked through the minutes. I tugged at the hem of my dress, suddenly aware that I wasn’t wearing underwear. I waited for Jane to speak, sensing from the tension in her shoulders she was nervous about being here.
She doesn’t like asking for help and admitting she was scared.
“I didn’t mean to come barging in here and wake you all up.” Jane’s voice cracked. “I know you guys must all be exhausted. I walked around the whole perimeter of the castle first, just in case there was a window open I could crawl into and sleep on the sofa until morning.”
“Hey, you can come here anytime you need. I’ll even get you a key cut so you can come and go without any attempted breaking and entering.”
“We don’t need that. It will just be tonight. I don’t want to be a bother.”
“Stay as long as you like. Otherwise, what’s the point of having a friend who owns a castle?”
Jane’s face twisted. I wondered if I’d struck a nerve by reminding her I owned Briarwood when she had so little. But I was too tired to give the gesture more thought. Her secret hung between us, and I couldn’t think of anything else to say that wasn’t “I don’t care that you have sex with men for money,” and so I didn’t say anything at all.
Jane cleared her throat. “Connor loves it here,” she said finally. “He grabbed a handful of Flynn’s hair and wouldn’t let go.”
“Flynn seems to have taking a liking to him, too. It’s nice for him to have someone around with the same emotional age.”
Jane snorted. “I can see that. Listen, have I thanked you recently for bringing Connor back?”
“Only about seven million times.”
“Well, I want to say it again.”
