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There was an accusation there somewhere, though Pearl managed to make it sound like she was talking about something fun. Henry’s frown redirected to Pearl, but the short woman didn’t care. When Henry glowered, Pearl responded with the same scathing look.
“This is official business and you are—”
“Welcoming my sister, who was gone for a while and probably needs all the care and rest in the world—”
“I just need to meet up with the Council,” Emerald interjected, cutting off whatever argument she could sense was broiling. “Now, if it’s possible.”
“We will escort you—” Henry started again.
“I will escort her. You can escort us if you’re that suspicious.”
Again, Pearl managed to make it sound light, but Emerald could feel the tension in the woman’s shoulders. So, she hooked her arm around Pearl’s and led the way herself, leaving the two men no choice but to follow. Gunther soon led the way, quiet and formal, the distance he put between them allowing Pearl to ask her questions.
“Where have you been? Why didn’t you contact any of us?”
“It’s a long story. It’s a crazy story.”
Pearl scoffed. “I live for crazy. Try me.”
Emerald leaned in, telling what she could. White-gray eyes grew bigger and bigger in disbelief until Pearl was staring at her as if she had grown three heads.
“You can’t be Emerald. You must have abducted my sister because the Emerald I know wouldn’t just run off with a Fae.”
“It was for the mission. And survival. And my safety. That’s all there is to it.”
“It’s still crazy. The Council will have a fit.”
“No, they won’t. Not when I got them what they wanted.”
Soon enough, she was standing in front of the Council members, with Gunther and Henry present, and the story repeated in the closed-door function hall. She began with an apology about the lent boat, then details about the uncharted island. Then it was time to talk about La Fleur, after which Gunther was no longer avoiding her gaze.
“And during the time you were in La Fleur, no one attempted to hurt you or manipulate you? You weren’t under an enchantment and you aren’t under one now?” one of the Council members, John Wheel, asked.
“No. I had an ally and the court I was in had pretty good security, including against me. They have their secrets as we do, and all I needed to do was behave until I had the opportunity to get the gemstone.”
“Are you sure there will be no retribution from them and we won’t have ships surrounding us soon?”
“They don’t do ships, they do portals. And no. You can use a spell on me to check the truth. I voluntarily submit to a proper interrogation, too, to ensure that we would have no trouble and doubts moving forward.”
They did the spell to verify her answers but didn’t proceed with the interrogation at a majority of the Council members’ approval. Just like that, the mission was officially done, faster than she would have anticipated and leaving her with no doubt that it was a raging success.
Unbidden, her gaze flicked to Gunther, who was now looking at her directly. She recalled how this had all started and what taking the mission had been about: pride and an opportunity to prove the man she had once cared for wrong, a big slap in the Lyras’ face, and another victory for the Suttons. But all she felt was blankness when she looked at him, the triumph and smugness eluding her. All she felt was the hollow pit in her stomach, her body and soul not as fulfilled as they should have been.
When she was dismissed, Emerald promptly marched out of the room, feeling like she couldn’t breathe. Pearl was waiting outside while another familiar figure engulfed her in a second, equally warm hug. When Ruby Sutton stepped back, soft brown eyes regarded her with relief.
“You look different, Em.”
She felt different. Emerald smiled. “It’s the hair. I couldn’t maintain its shine while I was away.”
“And that smile,” Pearl observed loudly. “And your eyes. And the fact that you didn’t nag us about our responsibilities and the household—and whatever we did—in your absence.”
She opened her mouth, then shut it when she realized that Pearl was right. After their two oldest siblings, Silver and Sapphire, had chosen to live off-island with their mates, Emerald had stepped in as the next head of the household and had taken her role seriously. It had been a complicated job to clean up the family name, but it had been nice. It had given her great joy to restore their glory and reputation, but the excitement hadn’t kicked in yet.
Her two sisters took her aside further when the Lyras walked out of the room. She felt Gunther’s gaze on her again but shocked herself when she couldn’t even be bothered to look back with defiance—like he was truly dead in her mind and heart. Pearl looked, though, and scoffed.
“Assholes.”
“Careful,” Ruby warned in a low voice. “We’re no longer outcasts, but they’re still powerful.”
