Page 70 of The Innocent Sleep

“Ginevra and I will be some time, I’m afraid,” I said. “I need to be there when October wakes up, and once she’s actively participating in her own rescue, I expect things will get fairly chaotic.”

“I have things under control here,” he said, just as his phone made a chiming sound and his whole face lit up, making him seem, briefly, much younger than he actually was. He looked at me and beamed. “April’s responding! So’s Chelsea! Nothing from Quentin or Dean, but two is better than none, right?”

“Right,” I said. I smiled, quickly, and moved to ruffle his hair with one hand. He ducked away, already typing again. “Stay here and stay safe, and remember that I love you.”

He glanced away from the screen at that, blinking at me. “Uncle? Is everything all right?”

Possibly not, depending on how the next few hours went, but really, nothing had been all right for months now. I sighed, trying to keep my smile from slipping. “I’ll be back when I can,” I said, and stepped back into shadow once again.

The journey back to Golden Shore seemed substantially longer than the one away from it had been, every step weighted by the knowledge of what was coming and how much we still didn’t know. Knowing how much you need to learn is very rarely a comforting thing. So I ran away from my own discontent, racing back toward where my answers would hopefully be found.

I emerged into the throne room to find the refreshments cleared away and my party gathered near the dais, talking quietly. Their collective voices overlapped, erasing one another.

Ginevra looked up as I entered, then turned and hurried toward me, reaching for my hand. “I need you to stay calm,” she said. “It’s very important. Can you do that for me?”

I took a deep breath. “I can try.”

“October’s awake and on her way,” she said, pulling me back toward the others.

I stared at her, struggling against the feeling that I could no longer draw a proper breath. The room spun, suddenly smaller and much less welcoming. She was coming? She was finally coming?

I could have missed her?

The door eased open, and almost as one, we all turned to watch as a woman slipped into the room. She wore an unfamiliar green dress and a familiar black leather jacket, and she looked surprisingly small, like she was afraid to take up space. Like she was afraid of what would happen to her if she dared.

I had never wanted so badly to see Titania downed and bleeding before me, but in that moment, I thought I could have killed her with the force of my anger alone.

October glanced around, pausing when she caught sight of our group. Then, with a shuddering sigh, she broke into a run, heading for us with such determination that my heart lifted and for a moment—a moment—I hoped. August broke away, running toward her, and October adjusted her path, ever so slightly, to intercept her sister. My spark of hope guttered and died, blown out by reality.

They slammed into one another, both shaking and crying as October clung to her sister and buried her face in August’s hair. Simon shot me a sympathetic look before he started toward his daughters, putting one hand on each of their shoulders. October lifted her head, not letting go of August, and let it rest against his arm.

She whispered something I didn’t hear.

“No, the apologies are mine to make,” said Simon. “I should have seen that the timing was too convenient, the request too specific; this was an engineered attempt to get you away from us. Duchess Zhou confirmed it when I confronted her.”

“She told me, too.” October’s voice was a balm and a knife to the heart at the very same moment. She lifted her head, looking up at Simon. “She . . . she . . .”

She started to cry again.

I decided I was absolutely going to murder Titania. It would be a pleasure.

Simon embraced them both, lowering his voice and saying something too soft for me to hear.

October sniffled and pulled away, wiping her eyes as she tried to compose herself. August let go of her, slowly, reaching back at the last moment, swift as a striking snake, to pinch October on the side of the hand.

“Ow!”

“That’s what you get,” snapped August. “Blood magic? Letting yourself be taken somewhere other than Dreamer’s Glass? Getting arrested?”

“Yeah, it was lousy. Too bad you missed it,” said October, sounding almost like herself for a moment.

“Never do that again,” said August, hooking her arm through October’s. “Now come on. There are people who want to talk to you.”

“What? Why would anyone want to talk to me?” October glanced back at Simon as August began guiding her across the floor. He nodded, expression revealing nothing, and followed them at a reasonable distance.

August released her as they approached the thrones, stepping off to the side and letting her finish the journey on her own. October grasped the sides of her dress and curtsied. I turned my face away. My little fish had always insisted on bowing, ever since she’d received her title. To do anything else would be to allow them to think she didn’t deserve the respect inherent to her rank. And she simply couldn’t allow that. Turning her face to the floor, she held her position.

“May I present my daughter, October Torquill,” said Simon.