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Grinning.
They were happy for us.
They’d been cheering forus, too.
My eyes stung a little, and Teris captured my hand, sliding his fingers between mine.
Groans went through the group as someone got hit with something below us, and just like that, no one was looking at us at all anymore.
But that warm feeling remained.
“No one hates you, baby,”Teris murmured to me.“Don’t let fear make you believe that. None of these other women would be here if you hadn’t come first. You paved the way for all of them. Because of you, we have peace now.”
“January did that,”I said quietly, my eyes still stinging and my emotions intense.
“No. She ignited the change, but the women were only a family because of you. They only lived in the Stronghold because you insisted the seelies build it. There would’ve been nothing for January to change, if not for you.”
My eyes stung more.
Rather than fighting with him, I just nodded.
I needed to stop denying my strength.
I needed to accept that even though I’d done some shitty things, I’d done some good things, too. And the shit didn’t outweigh the good, no matter how much it might feel like that.
I had to accept the past, so I could move forward in the present.
So I could startlivingagain, for the first time in so long.
An excited cheer erupted from me when one of the men dodged one of the more difficult obstacles, propelling himself into the final portion of the maze.
Teris roared with me when the man crossed the finish line—and even louder when one of the female fae captured him in her arms, kissing the hell out of him.
We spent hours and hours sitting in those branches, holding hands and watching the display together. Someone even brought food for everyone, passing it around so no one had to leave partway through. By the time we headed back to our cave, the sun was going down, and I felt happier than I could ever remember being in my life.
“Well?”Teris asked, flashing me a grin as we walked hand-in-hand, swinging our arms. The fights were still going on, but no one had come by with food for a while, and our voices were getting hoarse from all the yelling so we’d decided to call it quits. “Was that a good enough date?”
I laughed. “Yes, it was.”
“Good.” He dragged me closer, tugging his fingers free from mine and draping his arm over my shoulders. “I’m so damn glad to have you with me.”
The smile on my face was insanely wide. “Right back at you.”
He chuckled. “Let’s grab some food before we head back home.”
Home.
I loved the way that sounded.
His home didn’t feel completely like my own yet, but I was comfortable there. Maybe more comfortable than I’d been anywhere since that first house I’d called mine in Vevol. I’d always felt like I had to walk on tiptoes in the unseelie land; I’d been terrified of pissing someone off, or running into Aeven, or finding myself trapped with one of the men.
Now, I didn’t have to fear that.
Or anything, really. Not with Teris next to me.
And I didn’t think he’d ever leave me.
We grabbed food, saying a quick hello to the beaming Blue and red-faced Oren, who were working in the kitchen with a few others, and then headed for the only empty table left. The place was packed, and I assumed a bunch of other people got hungry at the same time Teris and I did.
