"Wilder opened this one," I said. "Or am I not supposed to mention that? Can you forget I said that?"
"You're fine," Bracken assured me, "but I didn't know Wilder could do that. Are you sure it wasn't Torian? Aspen, maybe?"
"Definitely Wilder," I said. "Torian and Aspen were dragging, so Hawke got nectar for them, and Wilder made the walk shorter."
"So he's getting stronger," Liam told Bracken, sounding happy about it.
"And those four are hiding it," Bracken countered.
"Not from you," I pointed out. "I think they're hiding it from everyone else, but today, Torian decided to trust Keir."
"He fought for Aspen," Bracken explained, "and to Torian, that means a lot."
"He also mentioned you two are related. You and Aspen, I mean."
Bracken waved that off. "Keir knows I'm a baron. Well, likely, if my father isn't alive, and I doubt it."
"I'm sorry," I mumbled.
He offered me a gentle smile. "It's ok, Rain. It's been a long time. I'm more worried about how you're doing."
"She's pushing it away," Liam said. "If she focuses on the present, the traumatic crap she saw stays distant."
"Stop analyzing her in front of her," Bracken chided.
But there was something nice about this. All of it. The way Liam was putting my own feelings into words and explaining why I didn't want to think about it. Bracken acting like a good partner and proving their relationship was very comfortable. Even just sitting on their couch and not worrying about being in trouble was nice.
Safe. That was the word I was looking for. This was what home was supposed to feel like, and it didn't matter that this wasn't really their place. It had nothing to do with the rooms or the things in them. The security here came from these two men. The ones who had claimed the position of my dads, and were making it so easy to get used to all of this.
"I stabbed a guy," I said softly, dropping my eyes down to the rug under the coffee table.
It had a pattern on it. Swirls of some kind, but not like paisleys or anything I was used to seeing. The main color was tan, and the swirls were dark brown, but it looked soft. Clean, too. The sort of rug that would be in a nice house.
"How do you feel about that?" Liam finally asked.
I just heaved my shoulders in something that was meant to stand in for both an answer and a shrug.
"Can you try that in words?" he pressed.
"It popped," I said. "I could feel it all the way up my arm, and I jerked the sword out." I looked up quickly, turning to Bracken. "Did I mess up?"
"No, Rain. You're supposed to pull the blade out. The damage is done, but hunters don't stay hurt for long. They heal. Iron is the only thing we've found to damage them at all, and Tag isn't enough to push them all back."
"Tag was fighting?"
He nodded. "She was, but at the Forge. She holds the door so her students won't be taken, and she is fierce. Sloppy, but fierce."
"I was sloppy."
"It was your first time," he countered. "Being sloppy is a lot better than being dead."
Liam winced. "Brack!"
"She saw Fin, babe. Ran all the way to the gate to try to help him andgot there first. Her shadows forced the Hunt to ride off, and Jack was bringing a murder to chase after them."
"Morrigan," Jack said softly.
"And I think he's tired too," I told my dads.
