Page 112 of Thunder with a Chance of Lovestruck
She shrugged. “No biggie.”
I thought harder about what she’d said.
“My best friend isn’t a—” I stopped speaking. Robin’s slip of the tongue about his father being the one to curse him into the pendant suddenly made a lot more sense. So did Drest’s dislike of him. “Really?”
Marcy grinned. “You’ve been good for Robin, Rachael. Good for Archie too.”
I looked over at Arch, waiting for him to get upset about the nickname that was reserved only for Demi.
He seemed enamored with Marcy.
She kept her hand on mine. “You’re good for Drest too. Amice tells me he changed for the better when he met you. And now that you’ve found each other once more, nothing willevercome between you again.”
I choked back a sob. “Really?”
“Yes,” said Marcy. “The two of you have more than earned your happily ever after. Oh, and Amice wanted me to thank you for everything you did for Astria. For loving her like a mother and honoring her wishes.”
I lost my battle with my emotions then. “When you see her again, will you tell her how sorry I am about what my brother did.”
Marcy’s gaze slid next to me. To a spot where no one was standing. She then looked back at me. “She’s never once blamed you. She doesn’t blame him either. Amice says things are clearer on the other side and that she understands his love for her was so great that it consumed him. She hopes he can be saved, but she’s not sure if he can.”
I didn’t voice the fact I was fairly positive there was nothing left to redeem in my brother.
I glanced to my side at the nothingness there. The smell of Amice’s perfume filled the air as did a sense of peace and love. “I miss you.”
“It’s silly to miss her,” said Marcy with a wave of her hand. “She checks in on all of you often. She’s been a guiding hand over the years, trying to make sure each of you are safe.”
I wiped my cheeks. “She really did visit me in my dreams eighteen years ago, didn’t she?”
Marcy nodded. “She’s sorry that she appeared as the monster form of herself, but it was all she could manage at the time. She also wants you to know that she’s tried very hard to visit you in your dreams since then, but a side effect of wearing Robin’s pendant is that it blocks most Fae from being able to contact you mystically. Kind of like how the pendants are for Demi and Astria.”
Nile’s body burned brighter, throwing heat this time. But still there was no smell.
Marcy glanced at her husband. “Can I keep some of his ashes?”
“No.”
“Please?” she begged.
He shook his head.
She frowned. “Fine. It’s nice of Amice to use her Fae gifts to keep us from smelling him burn.”
I smiled.
“I really need to go now,” she said, hugging me again. “See you at dinner in a few days. Enjoy your gifts from Amice.”
She and Austin left without another word.
Dave smiled at me and hugged me next. He eyed Drest and nodded before going over to Arch and drawing him into a manly hug. He didn’t seem to mind the blood.
“Arch?” I asked.
He grinned at me. “I’m fine. I swear. You do nae need to fret.”
“Don’t let him fool you, Rachael,” said Dave. “He loved getting to kill things. He’ll be talking about it for months. Maybe years.”
Arch’s smile widened. “Aye, I did love it. Do you want me to make you an entrail bow, Rachael? They’re kind of my specialty.”
