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Our written reports were brief. We explained that we were home one moment and in the human’s home the next, and that she seemed genuinely unaware of how we got there—or who we were.

We told them about the tome—presented by Ranthus to the council before the meeting—which sparked uproar. None of them could explain how something from the infernal plane reached Earth without aid from this side. Still, no one knew its true origin.

We all agreed to omit our personal experiences with the human. They didn’t need to know how deeply she’d sunk her claws into us while we were there. They’d execute her without knowing half of what she’d done to our minds and bodies. The details weren’t necessary.

Before our meeting, Father asked about the claims made before the triplets, and I confirmed what her boss told us. It pleased Father to hear I’d destroyed him for escaping the infernal plane. I omitted that it wasn’t a deliberate action—that my shadows had moved independently, protecting her before I realized it.

Father didn’t need an additional reason to focus on her—or lock me away if he thought I lacked control over my shadows.

I smoothed my sweaty hand over my slacks and looked at my brothers.

Cyn and Zeke spoke in low voices, while Ash looked seconds away from falling asleep. He’d slept more often than not since we returned.

I cleared my throat. “I overheard Father and Ranthus talking about the hu—Raelynn.”

Zeke popped up, blanket pooling at his waist. “Is she okay?”

Cyn groaned and dropped his head against the back of the sofa.

“I missed most of what they said about her, but it seems her body is compatible with Cholian’s atmosphere—though it sounded like she wasn’t well.”

Ash sat forward, elbows on his knees. “Do you mean she’s sick?”

“I’m not sure. Leaving her in a cage for days can’t be good for her, no matter the environment.”

Ash nodded as if he understood, then asked, “What else?”

I told them what I’d overheard, and how Father couldn’t look past his obsession with a perfect reign to consider our prosperity—or at least mine.

“He’s going to kill her just to keep us away from her?” Zeke grasped the covers, his already pallid skin paling further.

“I suspect he would, whether she had something to do with our summoning or not. He’ll do whatever keeps his control over us. I think he suspects an attachment to her. Mother said as much.”

Cyn scoffed. “Speak for yourselves. I wish everyone would stop talking about her.”

“Shut up,” Ash said, rubbing his eyes. “We know how you claim to feel about her. But you know there’s something there. I can’t ignore it.”

I sighed, admitting something I’d held onto since we left Earth. “When the triplets first arrived, I used their distraction to give Raelynn pants to put on over her shorts.”

“Why?”

I looked at Ash. “The mark. You know as well as I do that if they saw her leg, she’d already be dead.”

Though, if they intended to execute her, why did I prolong the inevitable?

“I didn’t even notice her clothes changed,” Zeke mumbled.

“That was the point.” I focused on the balcony overlooking the living room, refusing to think about tomorrow. “I don’t know why I did it. I only know that I needed to.”

“Because you’re not sure, either,” Ash said with conviction. “I can’t dismiss it, no matter how many times I try to let it go. She’s surviving in our world, Ezra. Shouldn’t that mean something?”

“This is bullshit,” Cyn spat, jumping off the sofa to pace behind it on the raised floor around the conversation pit.

I curled my fingers over the sofa’s armrest as pressure built behind my eyes, my headache returning.

Setting aside the woman’s humanity, I’d never imagined having to share my Nyrith. I dreaded the day as much as I desired it, and I’d hoped Fate wouldn’t bind me—or her—to another.

I wondered if I could share.