“That’s really below you,” Thea said quietly. “There’s no need to be mean, Paesha.”
“No, really, I swear it was…” My words disappeared as I took in Archer’s face and his sympathetic smile.
“You must have glanced at it too quickly,” he said.
I knew what I saw. I knew it was Aeris’s face only seconds ago. I opened my mouth to argue, to insist that I knew what I had seen, but the words died on my tongue. Doubt crept in, insidious and unwelcome. Did I imagine that? Was the stress, the pain, the constant battle against Alastor’s magic fucking with my brain?
I forced a smile, though it felt more like a grimace. “You’re right. I must have looked too quickly. My mistake.”
Aeris’s quick smile smothered the glint in her eyes until I was sure there was a hint of hurt shining through. “It’s all right. We’re all a bit on edge.”
She covered the knocker with her hand and pulled it away to reveal the original. Then, without a word, moved down the step and to the back of the line. As if to retreat from a space she didn’t feel like she belonged. Which was fine with me, because she didn’t. Hurt feelings or not, I didn’t want her there. Still, Thea’s glare in my direction spoke every word Aeris hadn’t.
To break the tension, I reached forward, slamming the ring of the knocker against the metal plate two times before it crumbled in my hands.
“See? She was only trying to help,” Quill said.
With nothing to say and the pain around my wrists burning, I didn’t acknowledge her. Instead, I changed which arm my cloak hung on and knocked louder. No one came.
After a few moments, Archer stepped past me using his favorite knock, before placing his ear to the door. He shrugged. “Guess they aren’t here.”
“I find it hard to believe Briony took all the kids out on an adventure,” I argued, reaching around him to try the knob.
The door swung open effortlessly. We stepped into the foyer. The house was still, unnaturally so, as if all the life had been suddenly drained from it.
“Hello?” Archer called out, his voice echoing through the empty halls. No response came.
We moved farther into the house. The sitting room to our right was bathed in warm sunlight streaming through the windows, illuminating a scene that made my blood run cold. Briony lay sprawled across the chaise, a book fallen from her limp fingers to the floor. Her chest rose and fell in the slow, steady rhythm of deep sleep. Nearby, two children were slumped over a game of chess, their heads resting on the board, pieces scattered around them.
In the kitchen, we found more of the same. A young boy sat at the table, his face planted in a half-eaten bowl of porridge. Lianna was collapsed by the stove, a wooden spoon still clutched in her hand.
“What’s happening?” Quill whispered, her voice trembling as she clung to my side.
I swallowed hard, fighting back the rising panic. “I don’t know, but stay close.”
12
Thorne
“Aeris just used her fucking magic on my house.”
“Did you get a little tickle in your ass to tell you that?” Tuck gave me a discerning look as he handed me a glass of whiskey.
I forced a smile as I took a swig of the drink, so immune to the burn I used to get, it might as well have been water. I swirled the amber liquid in my glass, watching the light dance across its surface, a familiar comfort in a universe that was spinning out of control.
“It’s nice to see you’re having a good time in the mortal king’s castle.”
Tuck leaned back in his leather chair, propping his boots up on the desk. “Gotta make the best of the situation.” He grinned, revealing a flash of white teeth against his dark beard. “Besides, the mortals know how to live. Have you tried the cheese they make here? It’s divine.”
“You hate cheese. And your humor isn’t going to work.”
He crossed his arms. “You always say that and you’re always wrong.”
“It’s not the same. She’s not dead. She’s still fucking here. She’sright thereand I can’t do shit about it.”
“Youcould…”
The ache in my fucking chest at the thought of shutting this whole show down was nearly unbearable. There wasn’t enough power in the universe to do that now. “She’s never going to choose me. That ship has sailed. You weren’t there. You didn’t see the way she looked at me.”
