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“It’s been busy. We did end up having the meeting, and a number of wolves are out on their asses. There may be more in the coming days, but Saoirse’s supporters are all gone.”
“What happened with Bhrunyz?”
Donovan reached for a small porcelain box on the bedside table. “It’s yours now.”
I lifted the lid. Inside was the brooch. Shaking my head, I pushed the box back at Donovan. “Nope. I want nothing to do with that thing.”
“Better you have it than someone else.”
That was true, but… I wanted to know Bhrunyz was locked away or dead and I didn’t want to think about him again. Not for a very, very, very long time. “The fey didn’t want it?”
“Ah. This is where we get to the fun bit,” Donovan grinned. “Not only is the brooch—and Bhrunyz—yours to use or not as you see fit, but the Lunar Queen herself owes you a debt.”
I sat up. “What?” That was a huge deal. People were usually indebted to the fey, not the other way around. And not with one of the most powerful fey queens. “Why on earth would she owe me a debt?”
“It appears that she was in violation of her promise to Lucas. Bhrunyz was meant to be locked away forever. She offered the debt to Lucas, but he passed it along to you. Since you were directly affected by the violation, he felt it was only right that you hold the debt. You can collect at any time.”
“But aren’t they going into hiding?” How could I call in a debt if they weren’t going to be around?
“The courts will disappear in the next week. We’ll have limited contact through designated meeting spots and mirrors, including my direct mirror to Helen. You’ll be able to contact her at any time.”
I had no idea what I’d ever need the Lunar Queen’s help for, but maybe I could use the debt to free Cosette? I’d have to text her. But either way, I was kind of shocked. “That’s pretty intense.”
“It is.” Donovan’s eyes flashed blue as he gripped my hand. “I thought you’d died.”
I swallowed. It had been pretty scary. For a moment down in Bhrunyz’s lair, I really thought I was going to die. It’d been really close. Much closer than I wanted to admit to Donovan. I don’t think he’d get over that. “It was pretty fucking scary.” I had a feeling Donovan wasn’t going to be the only one with nightmares now. “Thank you for what you did. I know killing Saoirse—”
“Don’t. It had to be done, and I blame myself. I haven’t been here. If I had…” He shook his head. “Maybe it was coming either way, but I bear a lot of the responsibility for this.”
“How’s Ian handling it?”
“Not well.” He looked away, and the sharp sting of betrayal he felt from his cousin ran through the bond. “He says that he didn’t know what she was up to, but he doesn’t believe my reasons for killing her were just.”
Pissed, I sat straight up. “What the hell? Is he for real?”
“Apparently.” Donovan got up and started pacing the room. “It’s as if the world went topsy-turvy. I didn’t know… I feel a right git. My negligence nearly got you killed. I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Don’t. You can’t blame yourself for other people’s actions.”
“Can’t I?” He stood at the foot of the bed, hands on his hips. “I can’t believe I had everything so wrong. I’m too old for this kind of thing to sneak up on me.”
I threw off the covers and slid to the end of the bed. “You made some mistakes. Sure. But you can’t take the full weight of this on your shoulders.”
“You didn’t see what I saw. My mate on the floor, half-dead at the hands of my pack. I should’ve stopped it. I should’ve known what was happening. I—”
“Stop!” I stood up, gripping his arms and giving him a little shake. “Stop it. You can’t know everything. Even you, the great, almighty Donovan. Sometimes people will surprise you, in good ways and bad.”
“Well consider me thoroughly surprised. I nearly lost everything.” He pulled me to sit on the bed again. “Sebastian was by a few days ago. He was sorry he missed you.”
Sebastian was his closest friend who was also in the Seven. Was Donovan actually considering leaving the Council? “Was he here because you’re leaving the Seven?”
“No. For something else, although we did talk of that.” He sighed. “After all this with Saoirse, I wonder if I should keep the pack. If they don’t want me, then why stay?” He grasped my hand, linking our fingers together. “It seems like a lot of work to fix. It’s something we’d have to do together, so we need to decide together.”
“Me? You want me to help decide?” I shook my head. “It’s really thoughtful that you’re including me, but I don’t know this pack. I don’t know what it could be if it were healthy. I’ve seen one very bad side of it. Honestly, I’d say ditch them, but that might not be fair.”
“No. It’s fair. So what do we do?”
He wanted me to decide this, too? “I have no clue.”
