Christine. That was what I had named her.
I didn’t wait to see Collith’s reaction. I drifted back up the stairs, and I reentered the club without looking back. The door slammed behind me.
This time, I had a drink.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
It was nearing sunrise when I got home.
The escort Viessa sent with me vanished at the tree line, and he didn’t bother saying goodbye. It had been a silent walk from the Door to Cyrus’s land—the faerie was one I didn’t know, and I was distracted, thinking about all the things I’d seen in Collith’s head tonight. My emotions felt like tangles and knots, which was why I barely noticed when the Guardian left. I stepped onto the lawn alone, pushing a snow-covered branch out of my way.
Then I lifted my head and got my first look at the homestead. To my surprise, every light in the loft blazed bright. Why was everyone awake? Had something happened? And why was Damon pacing in front of the barn?
I broke into a run, cursing the heels I was wearing. They were better than bare feet, though. Damon heard me coming and lifted his head. His eyes were wild. Finn sat near the barn doors wearing his wolf shape. He watched me approach, already scanning my body for anything amiss.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Damon blurted the moment I was within earshot. “I told her that seeing Matthew was probably a bad idea—it would just confuse him when she left again—but she threatened to call a lawyer. Do I even have legal rights here, Fortuna? Now they’re up there, alone, because Savannah asked me to give them some privacy. Oh, fuck, what if she takes him?”
“Okay, take a breath, please. You need to breathe, Damon.” I glanced up at the window, as if I’d see Savannah standing there. “Is Emma with them?”
“No.” Damon shook his head. “She’s in the house with Cyrus.”
I frowned at this. Emma was fiercely protective of children, and she already loved Matthew like a grandson. It seemed strange that she would...
Oh, fuck. My confusion cleared. Of course Emma wouldn’t want to be in the same space as the necromancer. Savannah was the one who killed Fred. She hadn’t been the one to rip his chest open, but it was a creature she was responsible for.
“Nym is up there, though,” Damon added, as if that meant something. Our faerie roommate wouldn’t be much help in a situation like this. Or any situation, really. Nym meant well, but most of the time, he wasn’t sure which day it was. He called Matthew The Tiny One.
Before I could ask Damon what else Savannah had said, she emerged from the barn, slipping through the doors as if she wanted to be as unobtrusive as possible. Matthew’s baby monitor glowed in her hand. Savannah’s auburn hair had grown in the brief time since I’d seen her last, and now the pixie cut looked like a jaw-length bob. She wore what looked like the castoffs of a fae courtier. A gown of thick, red velvet and a velvet-lined cloak.
She looks good, I admitted reluctantly.
“I put him back to bed. I’m sorry I came so late,” Savannah said. She held the baby monitor out to Damon, who took it wordlessly. That was when the necromancer noticed me, and her mouth puckered in confusion—she could probably sense the magic disguising my face.
Belanor may have known where I was, but I still had a lot of enemies that didn’t. I wanted to keep it that way. I waited until Savannah’s gaze met mine. Trying to be subtle, I glanced at the ring on my finger.
“It’s a blending spell,” I said under my breath.
Savannah’s face cleared, and she shifted her focus away. It landed back on Damon. We watched her visibly take a breath before she said, “I want more time with him.”
“No.” Damon didn’t pretend to think about it. “You raise the dead just by being near a body, Sav.”
She didn’t flinch. Instead, Savannah held her head high, and her voice came out firmer. “It isn’t a problem as long as I stay away from graveyards and funeral homes.”
Damon opened his mouth to respond, and I could tell from his expression that there was an argument coming. “I’m going to check on Matthew,” I said quickly.
Both of them looked at me, but I didn’t wait for a response. I walked toward the doors, and Finn promptly got to his feet, readying to follow me. Damon’s voice floated through the frigid air.
“You left him, Savannah. On the fucking doorstep.”
“That wasn’t because of my… issues. I was being hunted, Damon.”
“Issues? Is that what you call it?” I heard Damon say as I pulled the barn door open. “And if you were being hunted, what changed? Why is it safe to come back now?”
Savannah’s response was too faint to make out. I crossed the first floor of the barn, my heels making clicking sounds against the concrete. Finn loped past me, his fluffy tail swishing. He went upstairs without hesitation. I stopped at the bottom of the steps, using the railing for support, and slipped off both shoes. They dangled from the tips of my fingers while I started up the stairwell after Finn.
At the top, the lights in the kitchen hit my eyes. I didn’t react to the brightness—I was completely sober. Seeing Savannah in our home, knowing she’d been near Matthew, had burned away the magic in my veins like wildfire over a field of dry grass.
Finn was already on the rug in front of the fireplace. Someone had left the flames on, but at a muted setting. They cast the faintest of glows over that side of the room.
Feeling an inexplicable urge to check on everyone, I went to Nym’s bedroom first. I tapped softly, and the door cracked open at the gentle touch. Light fell over the floor, reaching toward the bed. Nym slept on, his brown curls draping over the pillow as if he were a prince in a fairy tale. His face looked peaceful, for once. There was no sign of the worry lines that always made him appear older. I crept backward, pulling the door shut without a sound.
Matthew was next. My nephew slept in his crib, facing me. His breath came in soft, long sounds, and his mouth formed a perfect O. It struck me for the thousandth time how much he looked like Damon.
It felt like I had stolen Nym’s ability to travel through time, and I was now standing in the doorway of my baby brother’s room. Checking on him as I always did, because I’d made a promise.
Feeling a rush of protectiveness, I stepped back and closed that door, too. On my way back to the kitchen, I paused to listen for any sounds from outside, but Damon and Savannah were either keeping their voices down or finished with their conversation. Finn appeared to be asleep—his eyes were squeezed shut and the glow of the fire shone around him like a burnt silhouette. He yelped, over and over, but it was more with his body than his mouth. His big paws twitched.
Smiling faintly, I sat in one of the stools. I pulled out my phone to respond to some texts. It was so late, but I wanted to stay awake for Damon. As I started typing a message to Bea, my gaze flicked toward the clock over the stove. That was when I noticed the teddy bear on the counter—it must’ve been a gift from Savannah. I didn’t recognize it. I also noticed the bottle of wine Damon and Danny must’ve taken off the wine rack and opened for dinner. Picking it up, I glanced at the alcohol content and made a surprised sound. Fifteen percent. Not bad.
Slowly, I put the wine back. Even more slowly, I returned my gaze to the screen in front of me. I mentally recited a list of reasons why I couldn’t remove the cork from that bottle and pour myself a glass.