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“Octavia, he shoved a knife into my heart and danced over my body while I bled out. You’re never going to convince me that Galen is the wronged party here.”
She sits back down, her posture deflating. “I never meant for any of this to happen.” She looks up at me, her eyes red.
“Did you give Galen the knife?” I ask carefully. The storm clouds are still above us, loosing small, steady raindrops.
“What? No.” She denies this too fast, and her gaze darts away. Dave growls, and I pat his head.
“Want to try that again?” I ask, keeping the waver from my voice.
“I didn’t give him the dagger, but I also didn’t hide its existence from him. He asked me questions about the two God Killer blades and I answered them. I mentioned they were being kept in the family vault in our home.”
The fucking vault that they all had access to. I get up from the bench and approach Costello, attach his lead rope, and walk him back toward the stable.
Abbott huffs at me, and I shake my head. “I’ll be back for you, I promise.” I pause and look at Octavia. “Why are you telling me any of this?”
“Because I want my son back, and if that means ripping my heart out for your pleasure, then I’ll do it. He doesn’t deserve death. You’re about to be a mother. Surely, you can understand.”
I look away from her, squeezing my eyes shut. Now it’s my turn to face her with tears in my eyes. “I would have been a mother long before now if your son hadn’t killed me. You’re making your case to the wrong woman.” I may have already agreed to bring Galen back, but I haven’t told Octavia that yet. When her children decide they want her to know, they can tell her.
I settle Costello in his stall before coming back for Abbott.
When I do, Octavia is gone.
CHAPTER15
Cat stays with me most nights while Essos is gone. He and I have been back together for only three weeks, but his absence makes it difficult to sleep.
Cat and I have movie nights, and when Zara is free from helping Sybil and Estelle, she spends time with us too. Now that we have a plan to deal with the zombies and we know about the ritual Essos and I need to undertake, I try to find a solution to putting the veil back in place.
Much as I hate to admit it, it’s thanks to Octavia that I’m on the right track. I keep finding books flipped open to passages I should read left scattered around the house. The information is too precise to be from anyone else, and if it was a friend pointing things out, they would just do it.
“I know planning your last wedding was no fun,” Cat starts, flipping open a binder. It’s the kind of thing I expected from Posey, not Cat. She would have one for her own wedding for sure. But mine? “But maybe we can make this one better?”
“Catalina, I love you for wanting to throw this baller bash complete with—” I flip to the dessert page, which features a donut wall “—special desserts, but I want low-key. I already had my own version of the red wedding, and I’m not interested in a repeat.” Just the mention of the scene has me clutching my abdomen in sympathy pains. The brutality of the show made my womb ache when I was mortal.
“But you deserve a big wedding, like an all-out bonanza! I want to release doves, and have them shit glitter all over the party, and I just…I feel like we all need a win. We all needsomething. Everyone is so depressed, and bringing Galen back is only going to make it worse. Give us some joy, damn it.”
“Is the life I’m growing not enough joy for everyone?” I ask.
Cat reaches out and touches my stomach. “Of course, it is. But weddings are also fun.”
I fall back into my pillows with a sigh. “Fine, fine. Let’s plan my wedding.”
Cat laughs and claps. We send Dave for Zara, who makes the effort but still seems subdued after the visit to her family. I try to draw her out, asking her opinion on each detail and sending flower petals in her direction.
I’ll admit to having more fun planning this wedding than my last one. I make Cat practice her magic to summon samples of things. I assure her that I will do all the floral arrangements, though she does make me create a few different types for her and Zara to approve.
Zara eventually leaves us to help Sybil with something, and after sitting there for three hours, I need to use the bathroom. I throw back the covers and get to my feet.
“Where are you going?” Cat inquires, breaking her focus on the cake topper.
“To pee. There’s a tiny god or goddess who is crushing my bladder.”
I make my way across the room to the en suite bathroom and open the door. Darkness greets me, and I fumble for the light switch as I step in only to find there’s nothing there. I have no chance to call out before I go weightless, like I’m falling.
My feet hit the ground, and pain shoots up my legs. My landing is too sudden. I could have softened it had I been expecting it, but now I’m using all my energy not to fall over.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” a high-pitched voice whines.
