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Rhys glowers at me like he wishes he was Cyclops from X-Men, so he could incinerate me with his laser vision. Good thing he’s just part Fae and not a superhero.
“Alright, you two, stop trying to stare each other down like we’re in Tombstone.”
“If the prick would stop touching you, it wouldn’t be an issue.”
Lena shifts as if she’s going to move, but fuck that. As a compromise, I move my arm from her shoulders and grab her hand instead.
“As good as it’s going to get, Rhys.”
“Can we ignore all of this crap between us right now? I need to tell you what I found out tonight, and you need to tell us who the hell that girl was. She was real right? I didn’t hallucinate her?”
“Yeah, she’s real.” Rhys leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees as he stares at the ground. I know my friend well enough to tell his head is messed up. “We don’t have all the details yet. We left her at Ruby’s to get cleaned up and fed. She’s been squatting on the island and hasn’t had a decent meal in a while.”
“And the reason she looks so much like Ruby?”
Rhys shakes his head. “No idea. She wasn’t exactly chatting up a storm.”
Worry for Ruby has me squeezing Lena’s hand. “Are you sure it’s safe to leave her alone with Ruby?”
“Ezra’s there, but honestly, I don’t think she’s dangerous.” Rhys gets that faraway look again and the shadows seem to grow around him, clinging like a heavy cloak.
I blink and rub my eyes. I’m not sure if this is something I can see because of my shadow magic, or if it’s my imagination acting up because I’m so damn tired.
“Why don’t you tell us what happened in the clearing tonight, Lena.” I focus on something that we actually do know.
Lena rubs at the corners of her eyes and blinks a few times. She must still have her contacts in because she doesn’t have her glasses here. Either that or she took them out and can barely see right now. It’s possible she doesn’t want to see our faces when she tells us whatever she discovered.
“I was able to cross into the astral plane tonight. Apparently, it’s the space between our world and the Shadow Realm. Everything is muted there, colors, sound. It’s the same...but not. I could hear you guys, but you couldn’t hear me. And when I moved, my body didn’t come with me.”
An involuntary sound rumbles low in my chest. I don’t fucking like that she left her body behind. Who the fuck knows what could have happened? What if she wandered away and never came back? I grit my teeth and bite back the words I want to spew. Lena squeezes my fingers, trying to reassure me, but it’s not helping a fucking thing. I focus on breathing while Rhys goes another route.
“Seriously, Lena? Are you fucking crazy?”
I nod at her brother, and for a moment we’re united on the same side.
“No. Neither one of you is going to get all controlling and growly after the fact. We all knew going in that this was an unknown situation. It’s not like we have a bunch of Fae mentors hanging around, waiting to give us tips and tricks of the trade. This needed to be done.”
“It didn’t,” Rhys snarls back. I keep my own council because I don’t want Lena looking at me like she’s glaring at her brother.
“Dammit, Rhys! It did. I needed this. I needed to know what the hell happened all those years ago.”
Rhys deflates a little and stares at Lena. “I don’t like you risking yourself doing things that we don’t know how to manage.”
Lena stares at Rhys for a long few seconds before she nods, but she doesn’t relax beside me. “I saw her. Our mom. She didn’t take off and leave us behind. Our dad murdered her and buried her out in that same clearing where we were tonight.”
We always knew this was a possibility. Not that their mother was buried in the clearing, but that their dad had done something to her. Even if Rhys never wanted to admit it out loud, I know there’s always been a part of him that wondered. I think he wasn’t sure which idea was worse. That their mom abandoned them, left them behind with a monster, or that she never left because that monster killed her.
Rhys slowly sits back in his chair. He scrubs his hand over his face and runs his fingers through his hair once again. There’s a weary and defeated appearance to his body language, and this new revelation is sending him into a tailspin. Lena pulls away from me, getting up and sitting on the arm of Rhys’s chair. She punches his arm, and he gives her a flat look, but it’s all for show. He’s hurting inside and he’s trying to keep that from Lena. As if she didn’t notice it right away.
“You want to set fire to our old house?”
Rhys huffs out a surprised laugh. He lightly punches Lena back on her arm before pushing himself out of the chair. “I need to sleep.”
Lena follows him to the front door. I hang back, giving them some semblance of privacy, even though I can hear everything they’re saying.
“Are you going to be alright?”
“Not sure that’s even on the menu right now.” Rhys looks so damn sad that I want to pull him in for a hug. He’d probably punch me with how much he likes me right now. He does give Lena a hug, though, looking over her shoulder at me as he lets her go.
