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We stepped into a massive room that was missing a ceiling, and I looked up at the monstrous trees and branches stretching way over our heads. I loved the way they swayed and danced in the wind.
Off to one side, Flood and Ivy were standing in a pool of water that definitely didn’t look like it belonged there. Flame stood next to them, and seemed to be translating whatever Flood was saying to Ivy. Instructions, most-likely, since Ivy was a water fae too.
Ayla was in a group of what looked like earth fae, if their red clothes were anything to go off of. Some of them seemed to be explaining something to her. All of them were focused on the castle, though—and I was pretty sure they were building it.
Storm was talking to one of the earth fae, but shut down the conversation and strode over to us when he saw us.
He brushed a kiss against Harper’s head before plucking Dove off Odin’s shoulders and then dragging my king into a huge hug. Huge, because both of them were so massive. Dove seemed to like getting squished between them, and when they released each other, she snuggled her face against Storm’s neck. It made my heart hurt that she felt like she needed to hide from the world… but I understood that feeling, too.
The two kings exchanged words that I didn’t hear, because I wasn’t close enough to them, and then Storm released Odin and stepped closer to me, offering a hand. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Margo,” he said with a smile.
I shook his hand, uncertain about what I should say to that. “It’s nice to meet you too,” I finally said, though it sounded more like a question than a statement.
“You’re going to make all of this much faster,” Storm told Odin, as the two of them walked away from us. Storm grinned at Harper, squeezing her hand before he walked away, but I got nothing from Odin.
Absolutely nothing.
“You’re not on fire!” Ivy exclaimed, surprising me as she bowled into me for a hug of her own. I surprised myself by how tightly I hugged her back.
Maybe I’d missed the other ex-humans more than I’d admitted to myself.
“You have to tell us everything,” she declared. “Flood’s making me work for another hour, but after that, we’re hitting the town. I heard there’s a restaurant in one of the buildings that’s already been rebuilt.”
“And Storm says that with Quake here, the rest of the city will pop up a lot faster,” Harper added.
Ivy made a face. “Damn. The water system will take longer than the buildings if Flood keeps making me do everything.”
Harper laughed. “You know he’s working on the rest of the town’s water while he teaches you. You’re just doing the castle.”
“And I’ll be doing it for the rest of my life at this rate,” she grumbled.
“We’ll hit the restaurant after the sun goes down,” Harper said. “Get back to work.” She shooed Ivy, who sighed dramatically, but padded back over to Flood and Flame. Her dress was a gorgeous burnt orange color; I knew the fire fae wore orange and yellow. Despite her own magic, I figured she’d put that color on for her mate.
His hand slapped her ass lightly when she reached them, and my face reddened.
I refused to look over at Odin, after he’d ignored me so completely during that walk.
Yes, I understood that there was stress in getting removed from his throne and kicked out of his land, but we were all stressed. I could barely go an hour without catching on fire, and still didn’t know a whole lot about the world I was now living in—so I understood stress.
Stress wasn’t a good reason to turn away from your partner; it was a chance to turn toward them, and grow closer to them as you worked through it.
So his reaction to that stress was still shitty.
Almost as shitty as my reaction to my own had been for the past few months that we’d known each other.
I really hoped we weren’t about to swap roles, because I didn’t think I’d handle it well if he turned into the bitchy one and I became the nice one. I much preferred the truce we’d had going since we landed in his cave.
But in that moment, I wasn’t sure my preferences meant anything to him. And that hurt almost as much as the way he’d shut me out.
Chapter11
Harper showedme around the castle while everyone else worked. She had spent all day with Dove, trying to help the little girl cope with her changing emotions while Storm dealt with the rubble.
A few hours earlier, Dove had gotten too overwhelmed though, and had needed her uncle—who was basically her dad. He’d given up on the city for a bit to calm her down, and had stayed close since then, working on the wreckage behind the castle while Harper and Dove hung out.
I couldn’t imagine being in that little girl’s shoes, and ached for her. I’d spent a lot of time with her while the others were in the Aboa, rescuing Flood and Ayla, so it hurt to hear how much she was struggling. I wished there was some way to help, but all I had to offer was fire. And as great as that was, the last thing Dove needed was more burnt bridges.
It would’ve made me feel nice, having a skill that could be useful. But fire, and rebuilding?
