Page 57 of Solstice

“All right, all right,” Siobhan said, ripping Finn’s shirt open. “Let me see it.”

“It’s deep,” he groaned, coughing again. This time, ruby-red liquid sputtered over his lips and down his chin.

Siobhan grabbed his jaw and held it up, forcing him to look her in the eyes. “Six hundred years, Finn. This is not how you die.”

He tried to laugh but ended up falling forward on her, his eyes rolling back in his head.

“Shit!” Siobhan looked at me. “Take us to Ivy’s house. Now.”

I yanked the gear into drive and took off, alarm blaring through me. I didn’t know Siobhan or Finn well, but they’d helped us. Yeah, this shit started because of her, but she’d also said we were important, that we had a role to play. I didn’t want Finn dying on us before he had his chance to do his part.

18

Ivy

Isaid I was okay, but someone had taken a sledgehammer to my head, scooped my brain out, blended it, and dumped it back in.

Diana’s laugh and her impenetrable stern gaze, a swell of adoration and unyielding envy burning in the center of my chest.

The glint of the sun shimmering off a ruby ring, my most prized possession, the one I’d spent millennia looking for, the one that would get me out of Faerie once and for all.

Seeing Poppy for the first time and knowing, deep down, she meant something important. She would be my downfall.

I had to destroy her. I had to absorb all that energy. I had to?—

These weren’t my memories. They weren’t my emotions, and yet, as I tucked myself in Lex’s arms for the drive home, worried about both Siobhan and Finn, I struggled to understand where they’d come from. My stomach churned and my chest tightened, screaming at me that I already knew. There could only be one explanation, but I didn’t want to face it. Not yet.

My heart ached for Theo and his family. I didn’t know if he was dead or gone or if he would find his way back to our house, disheveled and aching from his experience with the king. My conscience slapped with shame. Even though he knew the risks when he signed up to be our bodyguard, I still hated the fact he’d gotten involved in this because of me. We owed him a debt we’d never be able to repay, and my heart hung heavy for his sacrifice.

When we arrived at my townhouse, Lex and Carter hopped out to help Siobhan with Finn, but I recognized the vehicles parked along the alley. My siblings were here.

“Shit.” My voice sounded hoarse, and considering I’d been choked within an inch of my life, I was surprised I could talk at all. I ran my hands over my hair, trying to brush it out of my face, and wiped at the blood under my nose. I was a mess. “It’s my bachelorette party.” I’d completely forgotten. With my upcoming nuptials, trying to get my bill through, going to see Siobhan, and researching any possible way to defeat the king, it had slipped my mind.

“Who’s here?” Siobhan said.

“Kit, Jon, and Abigail.”

She nodded, urging me forward. “It’s okay.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What?”

Finn groaned as Lex and Carter struggled with his weight, but the big fairy somehow managed to get his feet under him. The wound on his chest dripped with shimmery crimson blood, and I winced as I imagined the pain. It likely would have killed a human.

“They’re a part of this, too.” Siobhan gave me a reassuring glance and gestured me toward the door.

“I think the fuck not.” I rebelled against getting my siblings involved, swearing to protect them no matter what. Drawing them into this fairy-tale bullshit would only put them in danger.

“You don’t have a choice,” Siobhan said as a sedan pulled up behind us, the headlights blinding me for a moment. She pushed me behind her, a hand on her weapons, but relaxed when the driver got out.

“Lieutenant,” she said, rushing to jump in his arms.

“Hiya, Banshee,” he said, giving her a kiss. He was tall with dark hair and bright blue eyes, almost glowing in the moonlight. When he lifted his gaze to Finn, his expression sank and he pushed past me to get to the wounded fairy. “Commander?”

Finn could do little more than groan and wince. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“We need to get him inside,” Siobhan said.

I took a deep breath and led them through the yard and up the stairs to the back door, pausing before I opened it. My hands and clothes were covered in my own blood. My hair was a fucking mess, and running my hands through it only made it knottier. The welt around my throat burned from where the king had strangled me.

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