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Claire nodded her head slightly but couldn’t look at Kallan. Now she understood why neither of her cousins told them where they were going earlier. For starters, Claire probably would have never believed him. Even now standing here in this room, she could barely believe it.
“Can I…?” She bit her lip, her eyes still on her father.
Kallan answered her unspoken question. “You can. The Metallicum won’t hurt you.”
Claire hadn’t really been worried about that but nodded anyways. She looked weakly up at her Triad and friends. “Can I have a few minutes? Alone?”
Tears glistened in Holly’s eyes as she felt all of the emotion in the room but she nodded and gave Claire a watery smile before taking Bethany’s arm and putting a hand on Cody’s shoulder.
Her Triad didn’t budge at first.Please,she begged down the bond, afraid to open her mouth for the fear she might break down.
Not for long,Malcolm growled down the bond, his eyes flashing golden as his dragon rode him hard. To scoop Claire away from here, she was sure, and protect her from everything. But he couldn’t protect her from this.
Desmond squeezed her hand softly and Everett moved in front of her, lifting her chin and staring into her eyes, trying to read to her soul. She ached at the vulnerability and broke his gaze, looking away before she broke down in tears. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before granting her the space she asked for.
“We’ll be right outside,” Kallan’s voice was soft as his and Kieran’s footsteps retreated.
After the echo of footsteps faded, Claire still sat on the bench across the room, staring at the bundle of blankets that was her father. She forced herself to her feet. Puck had refused to leave but he stayed on the bench as she forced her legs, which felt like they were filled with lead, to carry her across the room.
If she didn’t know about the stasis, she would have thought he was just lying there asleep. His face looked peaceful, like he didn’t have a worry in the world. His eyes were closed and Claire wished she could see for herself their color. According to the twins, she had the same color eyes but she had never seen them in person.
She sat tentatively on the side of the platform, finding his hand nestled in the blankets. She carefully closed her fingers around his fist, the only sign he was anything but peaceful in his body language.
“Fa-... Erick? It’s me, Claire.”
She stopped, biting her lip. What did one say? What did she say to a man she thought was dead? She took a breath and thought about what he might want to hear.
“I’m doing good… well not completely good. We’re still dealing with the Council and now they are trying to build this ultimate weapon…” Claire trailed off, probably best not to talk too much about that if he could actually hear her. “But anyways you shouldn’t worry about that. I’m doing… okay all things considered.”
“I’m sorry about mom,” Claire bit her lip against the wave of tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. “I don’t remember much about her, whether she did that intentionally or not, but everything I’ve learned so far made me wish I did remember. She sounds wonderful and I know now, like you, that she would have done anything in her power if there was another way. But there’s not.”
“But I’m not alone,” Claire rubbed her fingertips across his cold knuckles, a chill skittering down her spine. “I met my Triad. Which I don’t know if you would be thrilled about if you were awake. Not because they’re not good men but because is any dad supposed to be thrilled at their daughter dating? Or maybe that’s just a witch thing that I saw growing up.” She huffed out a humorless laugh.
“That’s right, your daughter grew up a witch… and completely unaware of any of this. So I’m kind of struggling here. But what I learned yesterday with the help of my Triad and my friends who you would love I think, that whatever happens, whatever lies ahead, whether my mother saw it in her visions or not, I’ll be able to handle it. We’ll be able to handle it. As a family. Like you and mom protected me, I’ll protect them.”
“And the rest of the Realm. I don’t know how much of her visions mom shared with you but apparently I’m a Champion of the Realm too. I’m still learning what that means. You probably know Friednar but he helped me fill in some gaps. The rest I guess I’m supposed to figure out.”
Claire paused and wiped under her eyes. “Anyways, I have a grumbly dragon in my Triad that will get upset if I’m too much longer. Not because I can’t do what I want but because he hates seeing me upset. Which I understand. I hate seeing any of them upset too but anyways, I’m stalling.”
Claire looked down at her father’s tight fist, wrapping both of her warm hands around it. “I don’t know what we will face, but I promise that I’m going to see this through. I’ll finish what you and mom started. I’ll end this so our people don’t have to live in hiding and in fear anymore. I’ll unite the Realm.”Even if I die trying.
Claire didn’t say that last part out loud although it might have been the one thing that woke her father up, knowing his daughter was in danger. Instead, she leaned over and brushed a kiss across his knuckles before shakily standing to her feet. Puck chirped at her from the bench but she paused by one of the Metallicum pillars.
Reaching inside of her, she pulled on her magic and Energy, feeding it into the pillar until it glowed brightly. Hopefully her familial magic would help and if it didn’t, she would try and bring one of the Elven healers, maybe even Greta, here as soon as possible. She didn’t want to let the small spark of hope inside her that he would wake up grow any bigger, but she also would do everything she could. Maybe one day she would be able to look into his same blue eyes.
43
When Claire exited the cavern, her mind felt like it was still back there with her father. With every step up the tunnel however, her mind cleared until it was filled with a solid determination. She would finish this mess with the Council and maybe, just maybe get a second chance with her father.
She exited the tunnel, blinking at the strong midday sun. Her friends and triad stood on one side of the path, her cousins on the other, the divide and tension clear in the group. Her cousins stood with bodies’ tense and avoided her gaze. Claire wanted to be angry that they kept this from her. But their entire bodies screamed their guilt and regret. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place between her and the Fae Elders. If news that Prince Erick had survived the Great War got out, the Council probably would have redoubled their efforts to find him. Or find her, Claire realized. Their silence had kept her father safe. And even though the last week’s grief of thinking her father was dead had threatened to overwhelm her, she understood why they didn’t tell her until now. Why theycouldn’ttell her till now.
So instead of getting mad at them she just smiled gently. “Can you take me to the rest of the Fae commanders and the Elders and help convene them? We have much to discuss.”
Kallan nodded, his eyes still stormy with worry but his shoulders relaxing slightly as she gave him a task instead of a lecture.
The lecture could come later. Maybe. They had more pressing things to figure out first.
Kallan and Kieran led them back to the five large manor houses and to the one on the far left. When they entered, it was clear that it had been converted from a large manor house to a large meeting hall. A long table with close to fifty seats dominated the center of the large room. Spots had been left open on one end but the rest was filled with the Elders as well as several Fae Claire recognized from the crowd. Friednar didn’t have a seat at the table but instead leaned against the wall, cane at his side.
