“You really didn’t know you’d crossed over, did you?” I said, leaning in closer.
“No.”
No wonder no one can find you,I thought.They’re all searching the human realm.
“Were you looking for me here?” she asked.
“No. I was heading back to report to Wymond.”
Her heart stuttered, and I knew instantly what meaning she’d taken from my words. Raising my hands in reassurance, I said, “I’m not going to take you to Wymond, Nyleeria. Iwaslooking for you in the human lands, but to bring you to the Summer Court, to Caius. It’s safe for you there.”
She sat there, unblinking, shoulders weighed down with unspoken burdens. I offered a comforting smile, stood and held out a hand to her. “Why don’t we get you cleaned up before we set off?”
Tentatively, she accepted my help up, and the instant she caught her balance, she pulled her hand away.
“Shit, we’re a lot farther from the Summer Court than I would have liked,” I muttered and turned toward the sound of a horse that’d clearly found apples.
“Endymion.“
My name on her lips in that soft, almost questioning tone slipped past my defenses like an arrow finding a gap in my armor. Swallowing, I faced her, only to find her chin tilted up in what I’d forever recognize as herdecision-madelook. She took a breath, lifting her small stature just enough to make her next words hold weight.
“I can’t go with you.”
Gods almighty, she couldn’t be serious. “Nyleeria,” I said with calm as I choked back the direct order I’d preferred to give. “If Wymond gets his hands on you, he’ll lock you up, use you for your powers the rest of your life—or worse, kill you trying to take them for himself.”
Stepping forward, I held her gaze, needing her to understand. That fierce resolve—I respected it, gods knew I did. But this was suicide. And fuck if the innocence staring back didn’t make me wish the fates had chosen anyone else to carry the spark’s burden.
Then…I wondered. “You don’t know, do you?”
The question seemed to press down on her, stealing that fractional surety she’d held a heartbeat before.
Bracing myself, I said, “Wymond knows you’re the spark incarnate. He figured it out during the summer solstice. When you returned to the human realm, he paid Thaddeus a visit and threatened your life.”
“Is that all?” she said flatly, crossing her arms.
Her indifference caught me off guard, a jarring reminder that there was a depth to her I hadn’t even begun to understand—one I feared was rooted in pain.
“No,” I said slowly. “They made a bargain. Wymond would allow you to live with Thaddeus if the king gave the high lord access to your powers as he sees fit. As leverage for your complicity, Wymond took possession of the twins.”
She considered before asking, “What doesstasismean?”
“It’s a form of perpetual sleep,” I said, then added, “the twins have no idea what’s happening and have not been physically harmed.”
“How do you know?” she asked, and her crossed arms tightened slightly, as if unconsciously bracing herself.
Flashing back to the memory, I hesitated before answering. “Because,” I started slowly, “I’ve seen them, Nyleeria. And as the stars are my witness, I promise nothing has happened to them.”
“Oh gods. Ohgods,” she gasped, then bent over, her breathing now pained—ragged.
Her heart thundered in her chest, and I could hear her lungs struggle to fill. Knowing there were no words I could offer; I closed the gap between us and placed a hand on her back.
The moment my fingers caressed the soft fabric of her coat, she jerked away. “Don’t touch me,” she spat, whirling to face me, her eyes blazing. I froze. She had no problem with my touch in the Summer Court. But the look now pinning me was like a jab to the chest I’d mistakenly thought guarded.
Not knowing what else to do, I raised my hands as if in surrender and slowly took a step back.
Fear and panic replaced her anger, and I was forced to stand witness as she fell apart a stride away.
Eventually she calmed, and standing as tall as I knew she could muster, she looked at me with watery eyes that felt like a silent plea.
