Tisha spoke up from behind her, “None of us blame you, so you shouldn’t blame yourself.”
She wanted to refute their statements, but found she couldn’t. If they didn’t blame her, she should stop borrowing trouble for herself. It wasn’t her responsibility to take care of the whole world, even if people thought she was some avatar of the gods. Everyone was entitled to their own beliefs as long as you didn’t shove them down the throat of others. She had no interest in being called a hero. That was the classic definition of someone who got other people killed.
Shaking her head, she finally nodded tiredly. “Okay.”
Victor raised his brows. “Just okay?”
She nodded again. “Yeah, just...okay. I’m tired enough that all I want to do is sleep for a few days. I doubt I’m thinking clearly.” Looking down at Tevon’s body, she asked quietly, “I’m curious, though. What will you tell people?”
Derrick’s voice was confident as he stated, “The truth. We’ll tell them the truth. They’ll find out anyway, so it’s better to hear it from us. Now that we know where they get their information from, we can work to make things better. Change whatever we know they knew before they were taken. However, what Tevon said will be kept to those in this room.” She nodded absently. It was true, people would find out. She’d experienced firsthand how fast the gossip mill spread information. She wasn’t surprised that they wanted to hide the fact that she was the concentrated target of a Dark One. After all, half of writing history was hiding the truth.
Brushing a hand absently through her hair, she detangled the ends as she decided, “I should go get some sleep. I don’t even know what day it is at this point. Do I have school tomorrow?”
Ashanna and Derrick exchanged glances, then Ashanna spoke, “No, school has been cancelled for the next week. We’ll have a small funeral for Tevon tomorrow, which you’re welcome to join us for, obviously. However, we’ve received word that there are several delegations from other countries waiting to use the gates to arrive on Monday. In consideration of them, the ball has been moved to Wednesday, partially in celebration of the safe return of those taken. There will of course, be several smaller gatherings with the delegations before then, and your presence will be requested for many of those.”
Nodding absently, Jade tried to organize her thoughts. She mused aloud, “Do the delegations have anything to do with my arrival in this world?”
There was an obvious pause, then Ashanna shrugged. “We aren’t sure, but it’s likely.”
“Okay. I need sleep then.” She knew she was repeating herself and didn’t care. If she was going to have to deal with political intrigue, she wanted to be not tired. Maybe when she was rested she’d be able to think more clearly. She couldn’t remember how many times she’d drained her magic, only to eat or use the sunlight to recharge again. Everything was blurring together.
“Let’s get you home.” She vaguely realized that Mike was trying to lead her to the door.
“Mommy, the birds.” Ramoth’s voice in her head made her look to the side, noticing the golden birds she’d left on the floor in their cage when they unloaded the capall. She didn’t know at what point it had been removed. Probably before the attempt. She realized her babies were watching over the golden creatures, almost tauntingly, as they stared hungrily at her little ones.
“Right. The birds.” Her mumble preceded the finger of wind she sent out, grabbing the cage and bringing it over to her. Her fellacai winged along behind it as she clasped the cage, settling down on her hair as they reached her.
From her side, she heard Will ask, “Would you like me to carry that?” She glanced uncomprehendingly at him for a moment as he gestured to the cage. Belatedly, she nodded and he pried her fingers from the metal. “Don’t worry, they’ll be fine.”
“Fine, yeah. That’s fine.” She nodded absently, squinting as they crossed the threshold and into the sunlight. Shouldn’t it be not bright outside? Or was that just the fact that she was exhausted and thought the sky should be too? Her sense of time was all messed up at the moment.
Despite how out of it she was, she still managed to notice the looks they got as they passed. In all honesty, most of them were directed at her. The guards nodded respectfully, bowing to the royalty, but keeping their eyes trained on her. She plastered a smile on her face, trying to nod back to them when she met their gazes. It felt fake, but she was too tired to care. She wasn’t going to scowl at them no matter how tired she was.
It became even more obvious as they left the compound. Her enhanced hearing picked up on the whispers of the people as they passed. “She brought back the taken. The traveler returned with the taken!”
Smile fixed firmly, she ignored the cacophony that broke out as they passed. Head held high through sheer determination, she was supremely grateful when The Green Dragon came into view. They’d left most of the healers and royal family behind, with only Mike, Will, and a few guards accompanying them. It was funny, but when Mike said ‘home,’ the first thing that came to mind was The Green Dragon. This world had grown on her so quickly, her experiences so vivid that they were quickly claiming priority over her feelings.
Stepping through the familiar door that Will opened, her fake smile broadened into a real one as she saw Jessica, Kaylee, Raphael, Stephen, and Eric waiting for her. Mike released her as she stepped into their open arms one by one.
“You did it, just like you said you would.” Kaylee’s voice was dreamy, and Jade could tell she was fantasizing about it being some grand adventure. She could disillusion her later. For now, she nodded.
It was Jessica who began mother-henning her, “You can tell us all about it after you’ve slept. You look like you’re about to drop.” She turned to the others admonishingly, “Help her up to her room while I grab some food.” Jade mouthed thanks to her as she winked and bustled off, obviously feeling like food was the appropriate comfort.
Stephen put an arm around her, guiding her up the stairs to her room as Will followed behind them with the cage of her birdies. He spoke conversationally, “It’s good to have you back. Everyone has been a bit on edge while you were gone.”
Tiredly, she acknowledged his statement, “This was merely the beginning. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back, though. You’ll have to catch me up when I’m a bit more awake.”
He patted her shoulder as she flicked her key out of her ring into her hand with a tiny bit of magic. Opening her door for her, he led her inside, Will coming in and setting the birds down on her desk before he grinned at her and backed out. He passed Jessica, who’d made quick work of bringing food up. She must’ve been walking slower than she thought if Jessica was already here.
“Eat something and then take a good rest. You’ve earned it.” Jessica beamed warmly at her, setting the food down and shooing Stephen out of the room. He nodded to her while Jessica fussed, helping her change into more comfortable clothes and making sure her fellacai were taken care of. She left Jade alone only when she’d finished eating and was securely tucked into her bed.
Her last conscious decision was to go through all the notifications she’d suppressed. The red dots indicating dead siphon targets were dismissed summarily, and she smiled as she made her choices of the active options, peaceful as the pain took over and sent her into sweet darkness.