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She leaned her head against the back of the chair, weary. “No. Thanks, but…there’s nothing anybody can do now except to find Geoffrey and kill him.” After a pause, she added, “I suppose I need to find out where the police took Rex’s body and go about claiming it. And then, I guess…I bury my father.”
I waited for the tears but they didn’t come. “Peyton…”
As if she knew what I was thinking, she set her teacup aside and pressed one hand over mine. “I’m all cried out, Cicely. I guess…I’ll cry again later…when I’ve had time to sleep. But for now…I’m just numb.”
I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it softly, then reached out and stroked the bangs out of her eyes, brushing her hair back. “Drink your tea. Close your eyes. Rest. That’s probably the best thing you can do right now. Tomorrow, we’ll help you with the…arrangements.”
“Tomorrow, you’ll need my help. Leo has Rhiannon. Geoffrey killed my father. I’ll be damned if I let those bloodsuckers take her, too.” She closed her eyes and within a few moments was breathing softly, asleep.
I glanced at Luna, questioning.
She shrugged. “I spiked her drink with a strong herbal sedative. She’ll sleep through the rest of the night, so we might want to carry her up to her room when we’re done.”
“You’re sure it’s safe?”
“Yes, positive.” She handed the rest of the teacups around and passed the cookies. I took one, realizing I was starving even though it was hard to think about food right now.
Turning to Grieve, I slumped down by his side and leaned my head on his shoulder, rubbing his sleeve with my fingers. “What are you doing here? Should we all be away from the Barrows right now?” The thought that Myst might choose this time to attack again, when we were at our most vulnerable, wasn’t all that far from my mind, but I didn’t want to voice it.
Grieve shook his head. “No, they’ll be fine. The guards are thick as honey there, and Strict and Edge are watching over the Courts. Now…tell us everything that happened.”
And so, with Luna’s help, I did. As we came to the part where Leo snatched away Rhiannon, Chatter paled, and anger flashed in his usually agreeable gaze. The room grew warm, and a light breeze swept around him.
Ulean, what’s going on with Chatter?
Can you feel the heat? His fire is up. He’s repressing the instinct to summon the flames, but you can still feel them rising in his fury. But he has experience and even in his grief and anger, he can control them, I think.
Unlike a number of the Cambyra Fae, Chatter didn’t shift into an animal or bird, but instead a pillar of fire. He was unusual in that way, but the ability wasn’t unknown.
Grieve was watching him, and I felt the wolf tattoo on my stomach pacing uneasily. “Hold yourself steady. You can’t do anything to help her if you lose control.”
Chatter gave him an abrupt nod, and within the blink of an eye ceased to be Grieve’s buddy and became the fiancé of my cousin. The easygoing nature was gone, replaced by a man who loved his sweetheart and would kill to get her back. He leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg across the other knee, silent and brooding.
“So what do we do?” Grieve looked at me. “I can send men out to search for them, but the vampires are difficult to find when they want to hide.”
I glanced at Luna. “You said…if we didn’t get the seer, you could help?”
She hung her head. After a moment, she let out a short sigh and toyed with the edge of the throw that hung over the back of the sofa.
“Yes, I can do it. And I will. But…I’ll need sleep first. I’m exhausted, and if I hope to control the energy, I have to be at the top of my game.” She glanced at the clock. It was now close to midnight. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll do the ritual. I know it’s a long time to wait—I know it puts Rhiannon in danger—but I can’t make certain the spell doesn’t backfire if I’m not alert.”
I didn’t want to wait, but I knew how exhausted I was, and Luna had to be close on my heels. The last thing we needed was magic gone wrong. I wanted to pace, to move, to do something, but my body refused to respond.
“We’re all exhausted. It’s been a horrid day.” Any excitement or joy of shopping for our wedding gowns was swept away by the reality of the dangers we were facing. Bleakly, I stood. “We all need sleep. Grieve, should we return to the Barrow? Or can we crash here? There are plenty of guards outside, both Fae and vampire.”
He nodded. “We’ll stay here. I’ll send word to Strict and to Edge.” He slipped out the back as I glanced, once again, at Chatter.
“Chatter…” But I stopped when he looked at me. His shrouded gaze was dark and brooding. His long dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and while I’d always liked Chatter, I was beginning to see him in a different light. I was beginning to see the man that my cousin had fallen in love with.
“You can’t help me. And I can’t say anything to make you feel better. Except that when we find them, we’ll tear them apart. But, Cicely—” He leaned across the table and took my hand, staring intently into my eyes. “Leo’s mine. Rhiannon may be your cousin, but she’s my fiancée, and she’s my love. And if he touches her, he’ll find out just how ruthless the Fae can be, and why the outer world fears us. Vampires are dangerous, yes, but they flaunt their power. While we nurse our powers, and nurture them, and then use them like a strike of lightning.”
Wearily, I patted his hand and stood. “Yeah…that’s something I’m learning how to do, still.”
Grieve returned, and Luna asked him and Chatter to help her carry Peyton to her bedroom. I followed, trudging up the stairs. After the guys left, Luna and I undressed her and bundled her into her nightgown. The sedative kept her out like a light, and we tucked the blanket around her. Luna sat on the other side of the bed.
In a whisper, she said, “I’m going to sleep here, in case she wakes up with nightmares. The bed’s big enough.”
“Grieve and I will take Kaylin’s room, and Chatter can sleep downstairs on the sofa.”
