“You all have.”
“You.” Dominik points to Briar. “Escort Lady Rose to her chambers.”
A beat of silence. Kassandra picks at her nails, yet I spot the nervous fluttering in the hollow of her throat.
“Go on,” she says to Briar, and then to me: “We’ll have the dessert now, please.”
My heart sinks at the resignation. She’s not just giving in to Dominik—she’s trying to clear the room so that the threat does not strike anywhere but her.
“My lady—”
“Return with our dessert and depart immediately. That is an order, and if you disobey, I shall release you from my waiting staff.”
I nod and restrain every muscle in my body to walk slowly—so slowly—toward the servants’ exit. As I swing it open, I steal one last look at the siblings who sit on either end of the opulent table, the plane brimming with unspent energy. When Dominik meets my eye, he grins.
The moment the door closes, I sprint to the kitchens.
Chapter Forty-five
The Nest jams up withday servants finishing their evening chores and night servants starting theirs. I slip between the bodies. In the kitchens, I snag the two dessert pies under Kassandra’s name and push through the masses again. Someone calls for me as I reach the stairs. I take two steps at a time, my blood rushing, pulse thumping in my throat.
“Avery!”
Glenn.
I stumble, catch myself. “Yes?”
The faerie stands a few steps down from me, his wide face upturned and open. “I just want to apologize for—”
“It’s okay—”
“No, it’s not. I pushed you away and we should’ve grieved together—”
“That’s sweet to say, but I need to go.”
“Do you need help?”
“I can carry these, thank you.” I glance up the winding staircase.
“Is something happening?”
I open my mouth, then close it when the Illusion oath pricks along my tongue.
“If anything happens, you take care of Benji,” I say.
“What’s—”
“I mean it, Glenn. You protect him.”
“Of course.”
I glance down again at the dessert before me.
Peach pie. I huff a laugh.
That spoiled brat didn’t tell me she was doing this again. There is fight in us both yet.
“Thank you,” I say.
