Gwinifer’s expression sobered as she continued. “But she still carried their marks for a long time after that. I spent weeks with her while she stayed in this city to recover. When you experience trauma like that, even if we influenced her mind, her body would still carry the trauma, and she wouldn’t even know why. So, she stayed for a while.”
It was so rare to see Gwinifer with a longing expression. I recognised it and couldn’t stop staring. The way she spoke about this human, the look on her face—this wasn’t just someone she rescued. This was genuine affection.
“Is she in the human lands now?” I asked.
Gwinifer cleared her throat. “Yes, she’s there now, living her life as she should be.”
My heart tightened in my chest. “And do you meet her often? Does she know who you are?”
“I meet her rarely. She thinks I’m human too, a friend, no one important,” she said. Then, to my surprise, she actually smiled. “When I see her, we...Well, it’s almost like it was before she left.”
My gaze lowered.
Not just a human. This person was something more to her.
“Don’t make that face, Red,” she said, her usual smirk returning. “She’s well now. She’s happy.”
I offered a sympathetic smile. “I’m still sorry.”
The way she stared at me told me she understood. I said nothing more, and we both reached for the books spread across the table, scanning through them a second time.
???
I heard noises in the middle of the night, not sure how, but it made me jump out of bed and leave the room in the nightgown I was wearing. I crossed the dark hallway and rushed down the steps.
“And did they arrive in time?” asked a voice that I recognised as Cerridwen.
“The largest force arrived yesterday afternoon,” Gwinifer’s voice said. “That means you went up against them before, didn’t you?”
My feet hurried down the steps, barely escaping a fall. My chest was tight, but I didn’t stop to consider it, nor did I give myself a moment to think twice about what I was doing.
“What protocol was this?” Cerridwen asked acerbically.
Warm yellow light spilled from a door left slightly ajar, illuminating the hallway.
Something urged me to slow my pace, but I ignored it. I went straight in, pushing the door open.
The noise startled Cerridwen and interrupted her as she spoke, standing in front of the dining table with her hands on her hips.
My eyes darted to a figure sitting casually, spread in the chair, raising an eyebrow as she took me in. Gwinifer. And behind her, Finnegan rested against the wall, arms crossed in front of him.
My pulse skipped and raced as none of them spoke at the sight of me. But it wasn’t their silence that concerned me; it was the fact that I couldn’t find him as I faced the room.
I dug my nails into my palms, forcing myself to stay calm.
“Is he here? Did he...” I began until a thump like a glass being placed on a table came from behind the door. I stepped past it, entering the room and turning to my left, toward where the sound came.
“You’re back.”
CHAPTER 20
“I’m back,” Reagan murmured, matching the tone of my voice, as though trying to gauge what I wanted. “I live here.”
By the look on Cerridwen’s face, I thought she might smother him for the audacity to tease when we all thought he might die.
My gaze was drawn to his clothes, dirty and covered in soot. His sturdy brown trousers were scuffed, and his once-white shirt, now smudged and grey, was ruffled and rolled several times over his elbows. The collar was open at the first two buttons, revealing a smooth, slightly paler chest beneath.
I scanned him for injuries, but there were no visible wounds. He just stood there, his hand falling from the glass he’d just rested on the trolley laden with bottles. There was a faint, almost imperceptible hint of surprise in his eyes.
