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“Holy shit. Holy freaking shit.” Pearl let out an expletive, then a whistle. Ruby shushed her, but a small smile formed on the younger woman’s lips.
“Holy shit indeed,” Ruby mused. “Who is he?”
“A wonderful man,” Emerald said honestly. “A Fae who defies what the books say about Fae folks and…everything.”
Panic blossomed. Giddiness rushed at its heels and she took their hands, unable to stop her affection from flowing—and heavens, it was all Rick’s fault and she loved him for it too.
“I have to go back,” she repeated, grinning when they did. “Oh, heavens. I made him believe I was fine leaving him when I wasn’t. I have a lot of explaining to do. What if they don’t accept me back? What if he’s moved on already? What if—”
Pearl squeezed her hand firmly.
“Em, calm down. Don’t panic. You got this. And if he’s moved on already, then he will find out what the Sutton siblings’ wrath is like.” But the smirk died from Pearl’s lips. “But let me tell you that going back to La Fleur is difficult. Complicated. I don’t even think the Council would let you. And—”
“Miss Sutton?”
Pearl clamped her mouth shut and the three turned to John, who approached them with purposeful strides. Emerald braced herself for the Council to call her back to the room, but all he did was hold out his hand. She blinked at it, then tentatively shook it.
“Mr. Wheeler?”
“Thank you for volunteering for the mission, Miss Sutton, and for retrieving the gemstone for us.”
John smiled. She smiled back and watched Pearl and Ruby move back a bit to give them some privacy.
“Of course. It’s no problem, Mr. Wheeler.”
“Call me John. I came here to let you know that the Council is very satisfied with the work you have done for us, Miss Sutton, including this one. Don’t think we haven’t been keeping tabs on the missions you accepted and how you have completed each one with flying colors.”
“Oh.”
“We are very watchful of what the Sutton family has been doing to uphold the integrity of Broom’s Isle and we would like to extend our appreciation.”
“I…thank you.”
The complete turn, especially when the Council hadn’t been on their side years ago, felt like it should be another moment of victory. But all she could think about was how to insert the topic of La Fleur at some point. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted Pearl’s impatience and realized her sisters were waiting for that point, too, and her heart swelled at the knowledge that her happiness meant more to them than anything else.
“To be honest, we have been looking for the gemstone for a while now but just didn’t get a chance,” John said, unaware of her conflict. “You retrieving it from the Fae folks is nothing short of a miracle and it’s one we ought to celebrate. No one wants it getting into the wrong hands.”
“Why?” she asked, distracted as she arranged her speech in her head.John, I have a favor to ask. A request, actually. Something unusual, but I hope you and the Council can grant it as a show of your appreciation.“Does it contain our spells or our secrets?”
“No, but it’s a very ancient one that could break through any kind of magical defense and kill the person it’s targeted toward. There were more of these gemstones in the past with different powers before we caught on that a crazy warlock made it and we tried to contain its spread. When we heard rumors about this particular one circulating, we knew we had to act. It’s a good thing it’s in our hands now, because imagine if someone used it to target a Council member.”
John laughed.
And Emerald felt her world dimming as she thought of Tru and the only person in the Winter Court whom a killer would need the gemstone for.
Chapter 14
“You look like you have just gone through the ends of the Earth and back again in only a day or two…actually, no. That’s not even accurate. It looks like you aged a few years in the last few days—and not in a good way.”
Rick stared at Erin blearily, but only because Erin had planted herself in front of him with her hands on her hips and her expression determined to keep the conversation going. Her body language told him she wasn’t leaving anytime soon either.
“That doesn’t even make sense, Erin.”
She scoffed. “Fine. Here’s a more accurate description: you look like you have been to Hellhole and back. You lookterrible, brother.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“I don’t like it.”
