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I still.
He eases back to his seat with a warning look. I don’t like this version of him. I don’t like any of them. I want my old hiveback, but that will never happen. Even without Titania’s spell, we are changed. From the moment Legion touched Willow on that battlefield, the final stage of our metamorphosis from death to life was complete.
“Fox was right.” Emrys’s raspy voice is unmistakable as he stalks into the loge, the curtain falling closed behind him.
Bodin bursts through the curtains next, his chest heaving as if he ran the entire way from the keep. That distance would take seconds if I could unlock their true selves. He is dressed for work in a shirt and plain breeches. He smells like the stables.
Nostrils flaring, his eyes dart to Emrys. “Have I missed it? What did you find out?”
The others stand to meet him in the eyes, but I remain down, hesitant.
“She wears a wisp within a vial around her neck,” Emrys explains. “She admitted to stealing it.”
Bodin folds his arms, expression pensive as he catches his breath. “And she is mortal, despite those ears?”
“Correct.” Emrys’s lips flatten before adding, “The blue-haired one glamoured her face to hide the scars. Puck requested I remove the deception. She is a Nothing, through and through. She belongs with the Nightmares, not with us.”
Such vitriol in his voice. Has he spent too much time as Titania’s lap dog to remember his roots?
“And so do we, brother.” Bodin’s lips curve wickedly. “Perhaps a nightmare is exactly what we need.”
Emrys cracks his knuckles, his blood-red gaze turning inward, no doubt recalling his interaction with her. For this, I am the epitome of envy... he touched her. I scent the evidence on his hands hiding beneath the gloves. That alone is proof she’s ours—can they not see?
Normally, the only touch he allows on his body is pain.
“I suppose she will not be needed for long,” Emrys sneers. “I will endure it. For the hive.”
I turn to Legion, for it is his decision we wait for. He already studies me with unwavering eyes.
He might not remember his true self, but he is no fool. He knows I am the only one keeping them all alive, separating dreams from reality, sustaining them with my own feeding, and defying the death sentence trying to smother us.
“Have you discerned the truth from her mind?” he asks me.
“No.” And I never will unless she permits me.
“How will we know she is the one?” Legion asks.
My face slackens, and I let the glamour holding my true self at bay slip. The quick image of my true self is a trigger. Something innate inside them recognizes the monster within, and parts of that true identity return. They remember Legion is only the First because of Varen’s sacrifice. But I must remind them daily because they forget every night.
As I stand, Emrys takes my arm. “Are you sure?”
I stare at his gloved fingers wrapping around my sleeve.
“She is a thief by her own words,” I point out, “and a good one to hold a wisp on her person. She claimed to use a charm to improve her status, proving her resourcefulness.” I know it’s a lie, but they don’t. And I’m prepared to do anything to bring her to our castle, where she’s safe. Restoring their memories can wait. Until then, it’s sometimes easier for me to follow the rules of Titania’s spell—fit the narrative of this ridiculous place. “She has been trained in combat—you can see it in how she moves. And look—” I point down to where she strolls with her arm out, helping a flawed mortal to walk. “She is unafraid to break the rules. What more do we need?”
His gaze narrows on me with distrust. Legion may know how to read people, but Emrys knows lies, and they roll off my tongue like honey. Willow did not steal that wisp, but somehow, she ishere in Avorlorna when we are most desperate for help. I never wholly believed Varen’s prediction that she would come until now, so I followed their plan to free Styx.
But now she is here. This changes everything.
“You’re hiding something,” Emrys snarls.
I shake him off. “Doubt me again, I dare you.”
He lets go but warns, “Once the djinn is out of the bottle, it will not go gently back in.”
Bodin adds, “As soon as Puck knows, Titania will too. The clock will be ticking on Styx’s demise.”
“Don’t you think I know this?” I hiss back. “He is as much a part of me as you.”
