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“Wherever Claire wants,” Everett said simply.
Claire laughed and shook her head. “It can’t all be my decision. I’m fine wherever we can be together and rebuild the Realm.”
“Being together was a given, little love,” Desmond said, squeezing her hand. “Where would make you happy though?”
Claire bit her lip as she thought. She could live anywhere she guessed. The Elven Forest, the Fae lands, the Dragon Mountains, Windshire, even the Capital at the Council’s old mansion. But…
“What if we lived here?” she asked. The Academy had helped her so much and it was a neutral place to rebuild the Realm from. She could actually finish her schooling and help the Fae and Elven students integrate back with the Realm. Here was perfect.
“Then here we’ll live,” Everett said firmly.
Puck flashed an image of the stairs a few paces before she reached them and they ascended into the dining hall. The large empty space echoed with Bethany’s loud voice and Claire smiled.
So much had changed but the people in her life remained a comforting constant. With her family by her side, she could change anything in the Realm.
54
The darkness felt like an old friend. The shadows shapes were barely noticeable, almost indistinguishable from the darkness but there just enough that Claire let them guide her. That and a stubborn Notus on her shoulder who dug his claws in if she went in the wrong direction.
Claire traced her fingertips along the stone Academy walls. Although she could feel the magic of the sentient Academy underneath her fingertips, her own was sluggish to come to her call. The healers still agreed that she would eventually get her magic back after burning it out so completely. But it would take time.
And she might not ever get it back completely.
It was a fear that Claire read between the lines. This world of shadows and darkness might stay for the rest of her life.
But that was okay. Because that meant she was alive to spend the rest of her life with her Triad and their family. She knew she would miss the colors eventually, especially the colors of her men’s eyes. But she would choose this cost over and over again.
Her Triad and friends had been reluctant to leave her after breakfast, acting like she was going to magically explode if she was left alone. She wasn’t going to say they didn’t have cause for concern but she needed just a few moments to collect her thoughts. To process everything and then to figure out how to rebuild a Realm.
So after Malcolm growled at her that Puck was a nonnegotiable, they had left but Claire felt the Triad bonds flaring wide open. She smiled to herself but ignored them. She couldn’t blame them for being overprotective. Those brief few moments where she couldn’t feel their bonds when she thought they were all dying were some of the worst moments of her life. She never wanted to feel that empty again.
Her fingers left the stone and met canvas. From what Claire remembered, the painting that lined the rest of the wall was full of scenes of Unitam’s history. Except it was an edited history. The Fae and Elves had been written out of this painting. She was responsible now for rewriting the future. Luckily, she had good help. And she realized she didn’t need to collect her thoughts. Didn’t need to do it alone.
No longer wanting to linger, she hurried along the hallway. Puck pushed images gently into her head, the slight lip across the bottom of the archway, the room she entered and the hallway she walked down. She nodded a greeting at Gwen as she passed her desk. Pushing open the doors to the library, she inhaled the scent of crisp paper and old books. She heard someone off to the side of the doorway and turned. Cinnamon and smoke.
Malcolm was waiting for her. Claire wasn’t surprised and went gratefully into his arms. He gave her a tight squeeze and then guided her through the room. Faint shadows were beginning to lighten the darkness she saw. That was a good thing according to Greta as it meant her magic was returning. But she would have a long way to go for it to return completely. If it ever did.
“It’s good to see you up and around,” Kallan’s voice sounded from the left.
Claire turned her head in his direction. “It’s good to be up. How’s Toan?”
“He’s doing well. He stayed behind to keep an eye on the dungeons so Kieran and I could be here.”
“He sent me in his stead as well,” Synora said, her voice farther away like she stood behind one of the couches. Behind Holly’s couch if Claire had to guess.
“Yes, well let’s get started.” Holly’s voice had an unnatural brightness to it. Claire guessed that it had to do with the twins and Synora’s presence. Claire wasn’t going to be able to put off that conversation with Holly much longer. Something was clearly bothering her and preventing her friend from accepting the mate bond fully. Holly had helped Claire so much, now it was Claire’s turn.
“What are the biggest things we need to tackle first?” Claire asked. She had some ideas but Holly and the others had been handling most of it without her.
“The trials.”
“The rest of the ingredients.”
“Rooting out the rest of the rot.”
Kallan, Kieran, and Synora spoke all at once and Claire hid a grin. Holly was going to have her hands full with the three of them.
“One at a time,” Desmond said, a smile in his voice.
