“What?”
Every face in the room turned to me.
I’d said that out loud without realizing it.
I gulped, but I couldn’t back down now. Stepping away from my sisters, who shriveled under the attention, I cleared my throat. “I mean... Aren’t you going to take us to Mom? To, um, Maeve Thorneveil?”
“No.”
No explanation.
Part of me thought there must be some misunderstanding, but the more rational side knew he meant exactly what he’d said.
My panicked gaze swung back to Dad, Rissa, and Olive. We had nowhere else to go. Not to mention, if we didn’t go with them now... The king’s vicious glare worried me. Would we even make it through the night if we stayed, or would we have an unfortunate “accident”?
I shrugged off the weight of everyone’s gazes and turned back to Alaric. “You have to.”
“We do not, in fact.” Alaric’s impassive gaze sharpened into annoyance as he repeated, “If there is nothing else, then?”
“Youwilltake us with you.” I clenched my fists. “Mom wouldn’t just leave us here.”
“The Grimhollow clan does not have a place for humans,” Alaric said through gritted teeth, speaking to a point slightly above my head, as if unwilling to meet my eyes. “We came to release you from your contracts for your mother’s sake, but we wash our hands of you after that.”
They didn’t want us because we were human.
The message was clear:You don’t belong here.
It was what I’d believed my whole life, confirmed.
I didn’t belong anywhere.
Did I still believe that?
No.
I’d found acceptance here, with Soren and his friends. I glanced back at the shadows, finding Soren’s worried gaze. Without really realizing it, they’d shown me what belonging actually felt like: family.
So who cared if this giant jerk thought I should come with them or not?
Mom needed us. I could feel it. And we needed her. No more caring what other people—or fae—thought of me. They’d take me with them, whether they wanted to or not.
“It’s okay, Brynn,” Dad whispered. “We’ll figure something out—”
“It’snotokay.” Swallowing hard, I shook my head at him. Did he really want to risk losing Mom forever? I looked at them. Rissa and Olive huddled behind Dad, and he tried to hide his fear as he looked around the room. He was scared. He just wanted to go home, but he didn’t know the veil was closed. Staying here would be asking for trouble, even if he didn’t know it yet. If he couldn’t fight for our family, I would.
Impatiently, Alaric waited, but only on formality, clearly expecting me to release him. “If there’s nothing else?” he prompted yet again, more forceful this time.
That tone might’ve made the other fae here tremble, but it made me angry. “We’re not some random humans,” I snapped, taking a step toward him. Despite the way he towered over me, I somehow found the nerve to yell, “We have the same blood. We belong to your clan. You will take us with you!”
My last words echoed throughout the room as a hush fell over the court.
I got the sense that no one talked to these fae like that.
Ever.
But I didn’t care anymore.
I stood my ground, glaring at Alaric, who no longer looked past me. Now his gaze pinned me in place. His face twisted in fury. “You dare to command me?”
