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Despite my sorrow, I was also relieved we retrieved the dagger before Colin arrived. Seeing him again had reignited all the anger and hurt I’d experienced over the last few months. Make that the last few years.
Hell, my entire godsdamn life.
My nostrils flared with my quickening breaths. Colin was the reason my parents fled the Mirognyan realm and kept my brother and me in the dark about our true identities. He was the reason they were all dead.
Since that wasn’t enough emotion to deal with, anticipation also churned through my stomach, knowing what was coming, that the actual war was beginning.
We’d lost so many lives already—how many more would he claim in his ridiculous quest?
And for what? Why the fuck was he doing this? Any of it?
The couch sagged as Ivan and Lena dropped to either side of me.
“Chyort! What just happened?” Lena asked, her voice quiet despite the harshness of her words.
I didn’t know how to answer her, and judging by the ongoing silence, no one else did either. Winter Court fae weren’t totally unexpected, but the neamh-mairbh’s arrival had thrown me off, way off. There were so many of them, and it hadn’t even been dark yet.
Then he showed up. Thinking back, he didn’t seem overly upset that we beat him to the punch. Because I was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted, I didn’t have the brainpower to think through what his lack of reaction meant or if I should even worry about it.
“I can’t believe he showed up,” Ivan murmured as if reading my thoughts. “Thank sweet Mokosh Thane had already gotten Angela and the dagger out of there.”
Glass clinked together as Kit rummaged through my kitchen cabinets. She pulled out four shot glasses and a bottle of tequila and filled each glass to the brim. We definitely deserved—and needed—a few drinks after that shitshow.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out and answered Thane’s call.
“Oh, thank God you made it back,” he said, relieved. “Is everyone else with you?”
“Yes,” I said, too tired to say more.
Kit deposited the drinks before us, and we wasted no time tossing them back.
The alcohol burned its way down my throat, and I wished it would burn away the sorrow burrowing deep within my heart. A few more shots might numb the pain, for tonight anyway.
“Let Kit know Angela’s fine,” Thane said. “She was only out for a moment, but whatever spell she channeled through the dagger took most of her energy. The angels are monitoring her vitals just to be safe.”
I relayed the message to Kit, who immediately looked at Ivan. “I need to hitch a ride.”
He pushed himself to his feet and reached for her hand. They disappeared a breath later, and I heard Kit’s voice on the other end of the phone. I smiled as she fussed over Angela.
The phone went dead, and a warm, tingling sensation spread across the back of my neck. I knew without looking that Thane stood behind the couch.
Realm walking was amazing.
He sat beside me and wrapped me in his arms, where I all but melted into his warmth and entwined our fingers. Lena leaned into my side, and I lifted my arm to let her snuggle closer. We all needed comfort right now.
“That was insane,” I murmured against Thane’s chest. “Colin showed his face right after you and Angela left.”
His body stilled, and his heart thudded against my ear. “What did he do?”
“Nothing.” I tightened my hold on his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Ivan got us out of there real fast.”
He released a deep breath, and his heartbeat slowly returned to normal. “I’m surprised you didn’t try to fight him.”
I chuckled. “That makes two of us.”
“Three,” Lena muttered against my stomach. “What kind of spell was that? The one Angela did.”
“Shadow magic. It came from the dagger,” Thane said.
