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Ridley is still staring down at his tattoos in complete bewilderment.
“Not to add insult to injury here,” Bronywyn starts. “But the entire human population now knows of the existence of supernaturals.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Ridley snaps, his attention focusing completely on us now. “How the bloody hell did that happen?”
“The councils attacked civilians, and we fought back. It’s been national news for the last few days. Rainey and Elijah are in D.C., trying to get it all handled.”
“Of all the people you could have sent, you picked the one with the worst temper. Great plan.”
“She’s the interim police captain ever since Paloma died,” Bronwyn says sadly. “She was the one they wanted to see.”
My phone rings, so I pull it out and answer. “What is it?”
“You near a TV?” Elijah asks.
“I am.”
“Turn it on.” I grab the remote from my coffee table and turn on the TV.
“Flip to the news.”
I do as he instructed, stopping when I come across a press conference where Rainey is standing before at least a dozen cameras. “For the last time, we are not here to probe anyone,” she says.
“How can we be assured that we are safe?”
“Listen, you guys are just learning of the existence of supernaturals. I get that. It’s terrifying, stressful, but we’ve been here for as long as you have. Until this council began abusing its power, you were completely unaware that we were your next-door neighbor, the police that showed up to help, paramedics, doctors. Shit, some of you are likely married to our kind. While this is not going to be an easy transition for some, I assure you we are working to rebuild a council that includes a human representative to ensure all continues in a perfectly safe environment.”
“All the missing people,” a woman calls out, completely ignoring Rainey. “Are they due to supernatural attacks?”
Rainey’s lips flatten, and she glares. “I can assure you that humans have monsters amongst their ranks just as our kind do.”
That gets them going, and they begin shouting question after question at her. A man steps on stage and holds up a hand. “That’s enough,” he says. Rainey moves off-camera to make way for some politician I have no interest in hearing.
I turn off the TV and lean back against the cushions. “There’s no way fae can fix this?” I ask, already knowing the answer. After all, Fearghas explained it to us the same day we were exposed.
“Not of this magnitude. Though I’m not too concerned.”
“Of course, not. You have another world to disappear to,” Bronywyn snaps back.
“Not because of that.” He easily dismisses her accusation. “Listen, I’ve been around long enough that supernaturals have been exposed—shit—at least a dozen times. Every time, it’s the same cycle. People panic. They forget. Some don’t even believe it in the first place. And then, everyone moves on. I don’t see this going any differently.”
“Except people saw it on camera this time.”
He shrugs. “It’ll be complicated, but not anything you guys can’t handle.” He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I need to go find Rachel.”
“Give her some time,” Bronywyn tells him. “And maybe lay off the whole ‘souls tethered together’ thing until she wraps her mind around what she is.” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a cell phone, offering it to him. “It’s hers.”
He takes it and disappears without another word.
“Think she’ll come around?”
Bronywyn turns to me. “She watched me perform magic but still helped me. She fought alongside us, accepting what we are. I think she’ll be just fine. I’m just happy she’s back.” She settles back against me on the couch. “It’s one less thing to be depressed about. I’m calling it a win, and as soon as I have a chance to breathe, I’ll see if I can’t track her for Ridley.”
We settle back in silence now, letting everything we’ve been through over the past few months come to a screeching halt.
Humans know we exist now, which definitely means life will never be the same.
There will likely be some who hate us—hunt us—and some who seek us out because they want to confirm the knowledge they’ve gained from television and books.
But even taking all of that into consideration, one thing is to be celebrated. We were faced with a fight where we were outmatched, and we survived.
And that will have to be enough—for now.
* * *
