“You should send me and Sammy.”
Henry snorted at Nico’s suggestion as if it were some kind of joke. “We can’t send a woman.”
The initial shock of my brother being back had passed. I stepped around Nico and glared at Henry.
He held up his hands in defense. “The council members are stuck in their ways, you know that. If we send you in there for a council seat, do you think they would give us one? Especially when they just had a crazed woman at the helm?”
“I know the prince on a very intimate level.” I left the comment vague and let him come up with the story for that. “I can be very convincing.”
Henry raised his eyebrows. “She’s kidding, right?”
Nico shook his head. “She’s not. They were pretty close before Lilith came along.”
Henry looked at me, his black eyes shining. “I’ll speak with the other elders first.” He turned toward the main tent, leaving me and Nico.
I didn’t need his permission to go. If my brother were back, I had to go. Still, Nico and I had been with this group for a while, and I didn’t want to disappoint people I considered family.
I began wringing my hands and pacing back and forth. What was I thinking, wanting to go back there? I was happy here on the edge of everything. We seldom faced threats and didn’t have to deal with any political bullshit.
“Talk to me.” Nico crossed his arms, his shirt pulling at his biceps.
“What if he’s actually on Lilith’s side? He killed our parents and then…” I bit my lip and tried to stop the tears from filling my eyes.
I was unsuccessful.
“You moved on from that a long time ago, Sammy. If your brother had any control over what he did, he would havesaved your parents.” He stopped me from pacing by grabbing my arms and turning me toward him. “We’ll go, and I’ll scout things out a bit. Then we can decide if we want to go in.”
“Do you think he can defeat Lilith?” If she had found a way to control my brother and defeat my powerful father before, there was no telling how much more power she had now.
He grunted in response. “He’s thousands of years old now, Peanut. Much older than your father was. Lilith couldn’t even kill your father; she had to have Reve do it.”
I sighed because he was right. As much as I hated to admit it, the rational part of my brain knew Nico’s assessment made sense, just like it had the million other times we’d talked about my past. The emotional part of my brain, which was still reeling from learning my brother was back, wanted to curl into a protective ball and hide from everything, though.
He pulled me into a hug, and I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his chest. The familiar solidness of him anchored me when everything else felt like shifting sand. He smelled faintly of walnuts and trees, and if I could bottle the scent, I would keep it with me always.
“If the elders don’t approve, let’s leave tomorrow morning,” I murmured against his shirt.
After years of existing on the edge and making myself small and unnoticeable, the idea of voluntarily walking back into the center of that world seemed absurd. Yet somewhere beneath the fear lay a flicker of something I hadn’t felt in ages. I was filled with purpose and the pull of blood and family that transcended even betrayal and tragedy.
CHAPTER TWO
NICO
Riding into a shifter village as a squirrel was like walking into a lion’s den carrying a sign that read “free lunch.” My muscles tensed as we approached the cluster of buildings on the outskirts of what once had been Sammy’s home.
I scanned every shadow, window, and rooftop for signs of danger. Memories of past humiliations and near-death experiences flashed through my mind. How many times in my life had I been tossed around like a toy, chased up trees, or cornered in alleyways before I’d left it all behind?
None of that mattered now. What mattered was keeping Sammy safe.
We’d decided to stop in Blackbriar, a village about thirty minutes away from the castle. We could have just camped like we had the last two nights of our journey, but we needed to know what had transpired since Reve had returned. One downside of living the way we did was that we rarely knew what was going on outside our cluster of nomads.
I’d suggested we stay at an inn next to the castle in Kingsmore, but Sammy was worried someone would recognizeher. Plus, her purple hair drew lingering glances. Color was for the rich and powerful, but brightly colored hair was rare and was only seen on witches.
Sammy wasn’t a witch.
“Stay close to me,” I murmured, positioning myself slightly in front of her as we dismounted our horses behind the Howler Inn.
She shot me a look that said she wasn’t helpless, but she still moved closer to my side. Smart woman. Beautiful woman.Mywoman, though I’d never cross that line.
