“I know you met Danu earlier.”
“Technically, no,” I said. “She never appeared, only spoke to us, then shoved us out of the dirt and into the universe.”
“Sounds like something she’d do,” Dad grumbled.
“Is she hideous? Is that why she didn’t show her face?” I grinned at Dad.
“None of us are hideous. Life would be much easier if we were.” Dad dug into his stroganoff. “She likes the showmanship. Danu has always been the most dramatic of us.”
He paused and focused on his food for a moment before setting down his fork. “Evie.”
The way his voice sounded gave me pause. “Should we have one final meal together in peace? Then we can discuss how this most recent thing will fuck up our lives?”
Dad and Rowan exchanged a glance. Finally, Dad gave me a sharp nod. “That’s a fine idea. Should we invite your mother?”
“The more the merrier.” Speaking of inviting people… “Where are Simone and Garrett?”
Rowan carefully focused on cutting his beef. “They’ll be back shortly.”
I watched him. “Rowan.”
“They are fine, Evie. I promise. They’re temporarily out, acting in your best interests.”
“According to whom?” Now I was definitely suspicious.
“Everyone,” the Lord said simply.
“So now everyone is making decisions for me?” Anger made my hands shake. “How is this different from what I left?”
Rowan’s jaw tightened. “Unlike Caelan,” he said, fury vibrating in his voice, “I am not trying to force you into doing anything that might make you uncomfortable. I am, however, getting something back. Something I know you’ve missed while you’ve been with me.”
What could he possibly think I missed more than my land? “I have plenty of clothing,” I mumbled. “There’s nothing in my house I need right now.”
A vibrant streak of purple and orange shot through the colorful skies. My fork clattered to the plate. The brightkraa kraasound of a raven sent tears flooding my eyes. I stood so quickly, my chair thumped back and fell, then took off running toward the two birds flying straight toward me.
“Poe! Fee!” My voice broke as Fee zoomed in my direction, sparks of fire flashing from her tail. She screeched to a halt, wings spread twice the length of my body. Poe circled around us a few times before landing on my shoulder, careful to keep his claws from puncturing my skin.
He croaked and nuzzled my cheek with his feathery head. “Evie. Evie. Miss Evie.”
I stroked his silky back. “I missed you too.”
Fee was so large she could no longer sit on my shoulder. “And you, beautiful thing,” I crooned. “Look how big you’ve gotten.”
Fee made an adorable trilling sound. I held my arm out. She gently alighted, her weight less than I expected. I brought her closer and rubbed my cheek against her head. I meant to get them out before I left, but everything happened so quickly, and when I woke up and realized they were still with Caelan, I asked Moira to go over and get them.
Caelan had flat out refused. Poe could have escaped at any time, but he would never abandon Fee. If something had happened, Poe would have come to me, and to ensure they were still being treated well, Dad had poked his head in a few times.
Caelan might be a lot of things, but he would never harm someone or something who was no threat to him. A male and female came into view, one tall and lean, the other slim and blonde. The lean man had his arms around the woman’s waist, and they both limped toward me.
“Simone?” Fee flitted from my arm and zoomed toward Simone and Garrett.
“Injured.” Poe croaked. “Hurt.”
I swore under my breath and glanced toward Rowan who was already jogging my way. Dad followed behind.
I hurried toward them, noticing Simone had something tucked into the crook of her elbow. When I got closer, that something leapt from her arms, rattling its traps as it launched itself toward me.
An odd noise warbled from its throat. I gasped and reached out, wincing as the ceramic pot slammed against my hands. “Seymour?”
