Page 69 of Solstice

Siobhan met my gaze with a discerning one of her own, seeming to suggest I needed to drive this point home with Ivy, that I had the most sway. What did she expect me to do? Short of standing outside Miri’s bedroom with a speaker and a classic love song, we couldn’tmakeher do anything.

“That’s enough for one night.” Finn clapped his hands on his thighs and tried to push to his feet. Still unable to support his own weight, Donnelly and Siobhan got under each arm to help him. “We’ll regroup tomorrow. Fare well, friends.” The three fairies lugged the commander up the stairs, and now that their homes were warded, Ivy’s siblings said their goodbyes. Carter and Ivy went upstairs to her room, leaving me alone with Poppy.

I wanted to ask her why she’d lied. I wanted to dig into why she seemed so uncomfortable with talking about the queen, but I didn’t. Instead, I acted like nothing had happened.

“We’re still following your plan, right?”

I pursed my lips and nodded. “Remember, it stays between us, okay?”

She agreed and stood, coming around the table to throw her arms around me. I reciprocated the hug, reminding her to be good before she disappeared back to Vera’s house.

And then I pulled out my phone.

20

Ivy

Life didn’t stop just because Alberich may or may not be after us. I still had to report to Congress and stroke the egos of my colleagues so they would consider passing my bill through the Senate. I put on the fake smile and shook all the right hands. I made videos for social media and took time out of my day to answer questions live. But at night, when the politics were over, I went home to my husbands, who plotted and schemed with Siobhan, Finn, and Donnelly.

“The timing needs to be perfect,” Lex said. “If you can’t get the army back in time for the wedding, we’re screwed.”

“If theFianna’snot there in time for the wedding, assume we’re dead.” Donnelly stabbed his cigarette out and immediately lit another one.

“Don’t listen to him,” Siobhan said. “Don’t assume anything until you see it with your own eyes.”

“Even then,” Finn added, “question it. We’re dealing with powerful beings that have no hang-ups about squashing tiny humans like you.”

Siobhan smacked his arm. “You’re scaring them.”

“They should be scared, Banshee,” Donnelly said. “This is the stupidest thing we’ve ever done.”

Finn pursed his lips and shrugged. “Maybe third stupidest. Calgary was a clusterfuck.”

“You said you’d never talk about that again.” Donnelly pointed at him while Siobhan sighed and looked between me and Lex.

“This is a long shot, Ivy.” She patted my shoulder. “But I’ve got a good feeling about it.”

She said it to give me reassurance, and the fact a banshee didn’t have a bad gut instinct about our plan gave me a spark of hope. I should have said something about invading the king’s mind. I hadn’t been completely honest with them, and holding on to this information didn’t do anyone any good.

If he could reverse the connection, he could see us right now. He could be watching. Of course that had occurred to me, but I had to believe I could control who entered my mind and who didn’t. I believed I would feel it if that sort of tether opened up, just like I had that night with the dream. So, I stayed quiet. I kept it to myself, holding it in my back pocket in case I needed to pull it out at the last minute.

That conversation had been four days ago, and the day after that, Siobhan left to go find her sister. Finn was finally healed enough to head north with Donnelly. Carter had rented a room in a hotel a few blocks away to keep up pretenses, but he spent most of his time at our house. Tonight was the last night he’d be in town before he left to go on his press tour.

“I hate this part the most,” I said. Lex was sound asleep next to us, the long days at the office catching up to him. “The anticipation of the next morning.”

Carter held me tighter and kissed the top of my head. “It’s only for a little while.”

“It’s always too long.”

“I’m worried about you, Weeds.” Carter kissed my forehead and wrapped his arms around my torso, pulling me in close to him. “Talk to me.”

What could I say? My mind had connected to the king’s, and in that intimacy, I’d seen things I shouldn’t. I didn’t know what this meant for all of us, and between everything else, I was falling apart. My upcoming nuptials were approaching faster than I wanted, my bill was unlikely to pass through the Senate, and we had no idea what was going on with Miri. She had all but stopped taking my calls.

I knew how I looked. I saw it in the mirror every morning, the bags under my eyes, the loose clothes hanging off my bones. If I stopped to let myself think about it, I’d lose my composure and never get out of this bed again. So I couldn’t stop. I didn’t stop. I worked until I was exhausted, and if I had a spare moment, I focused on Poppy or Abigail or research.

“You don’t have to bear this alone.” Another kiss to the side of my neck. “I’m here. Let me share it with you.”

Whether it was his words or the years of trust and intimacy between us, I turned in his hold and wrapped my arms around his waist, tucking my head under his chin.

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