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Danica was wearing jeans and a blue tank top. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail. She looked as tired as I felt. “Samael had business in the tower, so he’s already there. He suggested we use one of the larger conference rooms when everyone agrees to meet.”
Sliding my phone from my back pocket, I messaged Nathaniel.
“Nate says it’s okay.”
“Morning.”
We both turned to find Kyla leaning against a tree, one arm clamped over her mouth as she yawned. Danica strode over, and they hugged it out.
“Let’s find Virtus,” I said.
He chose that moment to stroll out of the forest, and we all studied his twisted wing. The loyal griffin had been wounded when unseelie creatures attacked his pack. He’d leaped in front of his pack’s leader—saving his life—and the creature had almost ripped his wing from his body. That pack abandoned him while they fled to a safer spot, and he’d been left half dead. Somehow, he’d survived, recovering from his wounds and tracking his pack, only to find them about to leave once more. Danica had told me this was how he’d lived, always following them on the ground, while they ignored him, flying to each new location. Not once had they made any allowances for his exhaustion. If I could make his pack pay for how they’d treated him, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Danica dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. “If this doesn’t work, we’ll keep trying until it does,” she promised.
The griffin nuzzled her in response.
“The healer is here.” Nathaniel’s deep voice sent a thrill through me, and I turned, meeting his eyes. He stepped closer to me, and for a moment, we were in our own little world.
“Hi,” he said, leaning down to brush my lips with his.
“Hi.” I smiled against his mouth.
“Let’s go,” Danica said, clearly antsy. I couldn’t blame her. I wanted this for Virtus. He deserved to be able to fly once more.
We gathered in Nathaniel’s living room. Samael had brought his own healer—likely at Danica’s insistence. Eldan radiated peace and calm, and being in his presence made you feel like everything was going to be okay. It was a little similar to the confidence Nathaniel projected, only with Eldan, you knew it would be okay because the universe would ensure it. With Nathaniel, you knew it would be okay because he would kill anyone who risked the peace.
“Hello, Evie.” Eldan smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back. The seelie was almost delicate, in that fine-boned, light fae way. His long blond hair had been braided back from his face, the rest of it left to fall down his back.
The door opened, and Meredith walked in. Her eyes met Virtus’s.
“I know you wanted me to rest, but too bad.”
The griffin sighed, and faint smiles appeared on a few faces. Mere hugged Danica and me.
“Why does he want you to rest?” I asked.
Mere made a face. “Morning sickness. I’mfine, but all the males in my life are being impossible.”
“You’re barely keeping anything down,” Vas growled, walking in behind her.
“We’ll talk about this later,” she hissed, and Vas just shook his head, giving me a pleading look.
“Isn’t there something you can do?”
“Morning sickness is a hard thing to treat. But I have a few ideas.”
Hope flared in his eyes, and I gave him a one-armed hug. “It’ll be okay.”
Eldan was laying out his tools. Lots of metal. Lots of blades. I sucked in a breath.
“What are the chances of this working?” I asked.
“High. But it’s not without pain.” Eldan knelt down and spoke to Virtus directly. “The bones will need to be rebroken, the twisted cartilage reshaped. I’ll then direct my healing once the bones have been adjusted into their correct places.”
“It sounds agonizing,” Danica bit out.
I knelt next to Eldan and met Virtus’s eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
