I need space to breathe and think.
I need for surprises to stop being lobbed at me.
I need to stop caring that other people’s lives are chugging on ahead while mine is stuck in limbo.
“I need to go,” I manage to say.
“Very well. Allow me to fly you to Antoni’s so you do not have to brave the streets of Luce.”
“You know me and my passion for promenading.”
“Fallon.” He sighs. “It’s the last time we will see one another for some time. Let me at least ensure your safe arrival at your destination.”
“What do you care if I arrive safely?”
The smile warps off his face and his jaw clenches as though his head is becoming a lump of metal.
“As per our agreement, no one will harm her,” Dante, who’s yet to command his captain to steer him back to Isolacuori, exclaims.
Lorcan swings his attention toward his fellow monarch. “Have you seen what your people did to her house, Regio?”
The Fae King’s gaze travels over the blue walls that, once upon a time, kept me safe. “I have not.” Though his answer doesn’t alter the state of my home, it does alter the state of my heart, sweeping away one layer of hurt. “I’ll see that it is restored to its original state.”
“Please also see that all of your soldiers keep their distance from my—” Lorcan so rarely stumbles over his words that his drawn-out pause pulls my eyes back to his. “Subject.”
“I’m not your subject.” My tone holds no bite. It barely holds any volume. I feel deflated and tired.
I miss Phoebus. I miss Nonna and Mamma, even if they don’t—
The rock!I dropped it. I scan the cobbles, but my eyes blaze with so much emotion that the ground beneath my feet resembles a painter’s palette. I blink several times, but it does next to nothing to clear my blurry vision.
I crouch and run my hands over the wind-and-salt-buffeted stones, over the coarse grass that somehow found a way to grow in spite of the harsh winds and briny sprays.
What are you looking for?Lore asks through the bond, or maybe out loud—I’m not certain.
I’m not certain of anything anymore besides the need to find this piece of my mother and get to Syb as quickly as possible. “Mamma’s rock.”
Although no giant wave is closing over me, I feel like I’m about to be sucked so far under that I won’t emerge this time unless I have someone and something to hold on to. I crawl on my hands and knees, shaking fingers scrabbling over the cobbles until they connect with a smooth rock. Mamma’s.
As I rise, I grip it so tightly that the shallow grooves dig into my palm. “Actually, I’ve changed my mind about the ride.” I need Syb like Minimus needs the ocean. “If your offer to take me to Antoni’s is still on the table.”
“Antoni’s?” Dante’s eyebrows jerk so near each other they almost kiss. “Antoni Greco’s?”
“My home is not fit to live in, Maezza.”
Although Dante has changed—we’ve all changed—I don’t miss the bob of his Adam’s apple. “Ríhbiadh is allowing you to stay with the likes of Antoni Greco?”
“Antoni is a friend. Besides, it’s my life. My decisions.”
“If you need a place to stay, Fallon, I can find you accommodations in the castle,” Dante says.
“No.” The gold in Lore’s eyes churns as smoke curls off the edges of his broad body. “She’ll stay with Greco.”
Dante’s mouth hooks into a crooked smile. “I thought you trusted me, Lore.”
“Do not call me Lore. You’re neither a Crow nor a friend, Regio. As for trust, it is earned.” Before my next breath, Lorcan bursts into five crows that slam together to shape one.
“Till our next meeting, Serpent-charmer.” Had the nickname escaped any other mouth, I would’ve scowled, but from Dante, it doesn’t sound like an insult. It sounds like an olive branch.
