Page 103 of Thunder with a Chance of Lovestruck
Torid picked then to wander over to Robin and sit next to him like they were the best of friends.
“What?” I asked, unsure what he meant.
Drest’s shoulders heaved as he glared at Robin. “I’ve been hunting for her all these years, and you’ve known where she is all along? I knew you were a piece of work, Goodfellow, but that was going too far. She’s my mate! My wife. How dare you keep her from me!”
I jumped in front of Drest as he went to go at Robin. “No.”
He stared past me at Robin.
I pushed on Drest, forcing him to back up. “It’s not what you think.”
“You’re not sleeping with him?” he demanded before snorting. “Sure. Okay.”
“Bright,” said Robin. “Eighteen years ago, I got a call from Rachael, asking me to look in on Astria. She said she’d been dreaming of Amice. That Amice was trying to warn her of something bad that was about to happen. Rachael knew I was in Grimm Cove then. And that Astria was as well. While she was on the phone with me, I heard her and your daughter being attacked.”
Drest stiffened. “What?”
Robin maintained his cool. “I still had my full powers then. I locked on to her location, and I flashed to her. The Order had sent assassins after them. And Henry’s monsters had come with them. It was bad. Really bad. I’ve been with her ever since then.”
Drest went right back to being angry. “You’ve been screwing my wife for eighteen years?”
“No,” I said, glancing nervously at Robin.
He nodded. “Tell him the truth, Rachael.”
I lifted the pendant to show Drest. “He’s been confined to this for that long. He has another two years on his curse still. And no, we’ve not been together like that. He’s my friend, Drest. One of my best friends.”
Drest touched the red pendant lightly, glancing at Robin as he did. “This is a blood magik pendant. What the hell did you do that got you stuffed in it? I’ve seen two of these in my life. Both times were because the Fae contained in them had broken the biggest rule of all—they’d brought a human back from the dead.”
Time seemed to stop as I registered what Drest was saying and realized just how it was Robin had come to be cursed into the pendant. I twisted around to face him fully. “Robin?”
His eyes moistened. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat, Rachael. You’re worth it.”
Astria gasped. “Aunt Rachael died?”
Robin’s jaw tightened, and he glanced away as he nodded. “About ten seconds after I got to her. I couldn’t… I had to do something. Her daughter was screaming for her, horrified by what she was seeing. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still love her at that time. Yes, I still love her now but it’s different. I’d change nothing.”
Drest moved around me fast, going at Robin.
I nearly reacted, thinking Drest was going to attack the man.
Instead, Drest grabbed Robin and drew him into a hug.
They patted each other’s backs and nodded before backing away as if the other was made of molten lava.
There was so much I wanted to say to Robin, but it had to wait.
“Demi,” I said, fighting a swell of emotions.
Drest glanced at me. “Where is she?”
“At my home,” said Robin. “And I think she’s in danger. I’m trying to connect with her on the path we share, but it’s blocked.”
“You share a path with my daughter?” asked Drest, his voice hardening.
I was just hearing about it for the first time now. I added it to my list of things to discuss with Robin at a later date.
“We need to go, now,” I said.
