I swallowed, straightening my spine. “Well, Caius said my ‘connections’ kept him from doing anything to me. Wouldn’t Dad, Rissa, and Olive have the same connections?”
Soren’s gaze dropped to the table, as if he were studying it for answers. “He’s obviously aware of your family’s connections, but he doesn’t seem concerned. Knowing that, if I had to guess, I’d say he’s referring to your relationship with me.” He cleared his throat and continued before I could read into that. “Perhaps he believes your mother doesn’t know any of you are here.”
“You said earlier you think that’s probably true, right?” It had to be. She wouldn’t leave us here. If she knew, she would’ve done something by now. Even if I hadn’t known she was fae, she was stillMom. “So, if he’s counting on her not knowing, then...”
Gwen straightened, eyes on me, and finished the thought. “We make him believe shedoesknow.”
“And that there will be consequences!” Lore said breathlessly. “Yes!”
“It’d be just like the last time we tricked him.” I met each of their gazes, feeling my courage bolster as they took my idea seriously. “We could fool him into thinking he has to do something about it. And then maybe he’d... give them back?” The last words came out as a big question mark.
“That has potential.” Soren considered his drink, raising it to take a small sip. “It has some inherent risks that I’d prefer to avoid though. We’ve gotten quite skilled at stealing humans out from under their fae masters. If we can learn their whereabouts and get their contracts and the blood, we’ll still have the other option—”
“I’m afraid we don’t have any blood from Ivywren,” Julian interrupted from the doorway. He dropped into the chair across from me. “I’m sorry, Brynn.”
“It’s only a small setback,” Soren argued. “We can still get it.”
Julian sighed. “I would agree with you, but I know from speaking with Pious yesterday that Ivywren is stuck on the human side of the veil.”
“Oh no...” Lore groaned. “That’s the worst luck.”
“It really is.” For once, Peregrin stopped moving and sank into a chair as well, which somehow revealed how hopeless they saw it more than anything else.
“What does that mean?” I asked, pretty sure I already knew.
“The veil is closed to both human and fae,” Julian confirmed. “We can’t reach Ivywren for the next three months—not until the spring equinox.”
“So it’s back to Brynn’s idea,” Gwen said in a decisive tone. “And we can lean into the fact that Brynn can lie.”
“I don’t like it.” Soren drew a deep breath, blowing it out before saying finally, “But I suppose we’ll have to.”
“THERE’S JUST ONE problem,” I said, feeling stupid for bringing it up since the misdirection plan was my idea in the first place, but I’d forgotten a very important detail in the midst of everything else I’d learned this morning. “Caius knows I can lie.”
Silence.
“That changes everything.” Soren scowled, shaking his head. “We need to think of something else. It’s too dangerous.”
