“Nyleeria,” Caius said at the threshold, “I think it’s important for you to hear the rest of what Tarrin told us.”
“Of course there’s more,” I muttered under my breath.
Artton chuckled. “Just another Tuesday for you, eh, Spark?”
That got a smile out of Caius, and me. Looking to the High Lord, I said, “I’ve got a limited-time offer for the two of you, but the second we leave the veranda, it expires.” The false gravity of my tone had them both look at me with questioning concern.
“Go on,” Caius said, indicating for me to continue.
“Well, I’m offering you the spark for the low, low price of nothing. Which is a steal if you ask me.” They both looked at me like I’d gone mad as I continued. “Think of it—all the power in Lumnara in your capable hands. Sure, there are some…minorcomplications that come with it. You know, the fact that your family and friends are at risk of being kidnapped, maimed, or murdered—which, I mean, isn’t the best, but everything comes with a cost, right? Then there’s the little?—”
“You might want to interrupt her,” Tarrin said to Caius, “she’ll drone on forever if you don’t.”
“Hey!” I said, stopping my rant long enough to cut Tarrin an accusatory look.
“What?” he clipped back, the summer fae looking between the two of us as we bantered. “We both know your dark sense of humor has a way of stealing the show when you’re overwhelmed.”
Crossing my arms, I said, “That’s not true.”
“Actually,” Kaelun interjected, standing between Tarrin and Caius at the threshold, “he’s kinda right. Remember when you guys were at the beach?—”
“Gaaaaaah,” I groaned. “It’s not fair when you use my own memories against me. New rule, you can’t do that anymore.”
The mood lightened, and they all joined me outside, Sidrick finding his seat last.
“Myron and Fiora?” I asked Summer’s third as he sat.
“They decided to go home for a few hours. They’ll be back later to check on you and hopefully administer the last healing session,” he said to Tarrin, who dipped his chin in acknowledgment.
“Ny," Tarrin said from my right, sitting opposite of Artton, “I know it’s a lot, but you need to hear everything, and no matter what”—he looked around the intimate seating we’d all found ourselves at—"we’re all here for you."
His fae counterparts offered me encouraging looks in response.
“Okay.” I sighed. “Hit me.”
“Do you want me to soften it, or just tell it straight up?”
I couldn’t help but glance at Artton, who’d asked me the same thing not so long ago. Turning my focus back to Tarrin, I said, “Let’s just get this over with.”
He gave me a curt nod, they forged on. “Even though Thaddeus stopped the official search for you after six months, the three of us kept looking. With you gone, and Wymond sick of Thaddeus continually snapping at him for taking you, the High Lord released the twins back to our custody as a show of good faith.”
“They’re in the human realm?” I breathed, snapping my attention to Caius, then back as hope bloomed in my chest. Freeing them from Thaddeus’ grasp was surely easier than Wymond’s.
“Please,” Tarrin said, “let me finish.”
I knew he’d never quell my excitement unless his story would ultimately lead me to disappointment. Deflating a fraction, and my mind still reeling, I nodded for him to go on.
“You have to understand, Ny, Thaddeus was wracked with grief. He?—”
“Don’t,” I warned. “Don’t you fucken dare, Tarrin. You don’t get to manipulate me into feeling bad for him before telling me something we both know is going to hurt me. So just get to the point already.”
His eyes widened a fraction before he looked at me, assessing, as if he’d never seen me before; and I supposed in a way, he hadn’t. The truth was, the second I’d settled into Luca’s saddle and pushed forward, I was no longer the same naive girl that hadstumbledinto their lives. I wasn’t sure if I was a better version of myself, but I was a stronger one, to be sure.
“All right,” he said, palms up in surrender, “I’ll stick to the facts. Three months after Thaddeus took possession of the twins, he decided to take them out of stasis.” He didn’t give me time to process before continuing on. “A few weeks later, he learned how time was warping. And yes, before any of you ask,” he said, addressing the group at large, “he and Wymond came to the same conclusion about the variance, which led them to believe that you’re still alive.” Tarrin’s attention shifted to me, and I ignored the others bristling at the implication. “That’s when we relocated to the Autumn Court.”
I froze, and judging by how the others reacted, this was new information—and it wasn’t good.
“The Autumn Court?” Artton parroted.
