Page 28 of The Rebel Seer

“He’s not showing off,” Cassie Thomas says, nudging her brother with her elbow. “He’s smarter in wolf form. Dad, you know he’s not really a wolf, right? Let’s see. He’s a complete weirdo with abandonment issues and weird prey instincts who makes the most ridiculous sounds. He’s obviously a Husky shifter.”

Neil snorts but opens his arms. The two supernatural kids he and Chad adopted move easily in, accepting his affection. He bows his head and kisses the top of Cassie’s. “Be nice to your weirdo brother. And be safe. Listen to Z. I’ll be back.”

He takes off after his hellhound escort.

Rhys sits on a rock roughly fifty feet from his papa, Shy next to him. Brendan and Cassie join them.

So the old folks are on their own.

“I don’t think they did it.” Dev stares at our son. “I would have felt it. There was no release of magic. I was ready to contain it, but it didn’t come.”

“No, but I’m pretty sure Shy did.” I find a big log and settle in, thanking the universe it’s not raining.

Dev’s brow rises. “Yes, I rather had that energy coming off her. I suspect Rhys is making a power play. Withholding himself is not the right call here. It’s going to get him in trouble.”

It’s a good time to remind my husband he’s not in control of this situation. “You have to let him make his own mistakes, Devinshea.”

He shakes his head and paces the length of the log in front of me. “That might be fine if his mistakes were something like staying out too late and getting in trouble at work. His mistakes can call Myrddin to us. We’re not ready. I worry we’re not ever going to be ready.”

“Why would you say that?” I need him positive. Danny and I are the ones who get mired in the what ifs, in the dark questions. Dev is the one with faith. “I think once we find Sarah, and more importantly, Mia, we’ll at least have the tools we need.”

Dev’s jaw tightens. “You truly think one girl can defeat Myrddin? We had an army when we took out Marini and he was just a vampire. And back then, the witches were on our side. They killed…so many of us. Even if we win, have we thought about what we do with the witches who fought on his side?”

I don’t like to think about it. In my head, they’ve all got thrall stones. I know it isn’t true and we will have to ask the hard questions. “We should cross that bridge when we come to it. Winning the war is all that matters now.”

He stills, his hands on his hips as he stares down at me. “And if we cannot win?”

I don’t think about that either, but I can see the thought has my faery prince in a bind. I stand and put my arms around him, offering the affection he needs. “There is no option and you know it. With Marini if we stayed in Faery he might have left us alone. We will not get the same courtesy from Myrddin. He cannot allow us to live. Daniel walking the plane—any plane—subverts his authority and gives the supernatural world a figure to rally around. And you should consider that until a few weeks ago, Rhys had taken that mantle. He was the figurehead of this rebellion, and that’s heavy. You are being too hard on him.”

He huffs but holds me close. “Yes, I’ve heard that a lot. I question if we would be in this situation if I had been harder when they were children. Damn it, my goddess, I can see the mistakes they’re making, how reckless they’re being. How can you not try to stop them? You and Daniel are far too calm, if you ask me.”

I have to wonder if he’s actively rewriting history or just forgetting. “Says the man who cut his hair and vowed to never return to Faery. You left with nothing more than a pack on your back.”

He chuckles. “Well, I did steal a bunch of gold, and my favorite brownie packed some sandwiches, but I get your point. However, I had to leave Faery. My mother forced my hand. I had no great desire to leave the only place I’d ever… Shit. You think Rhys is afraid to go to Faery because he was kidnapped by Fae. He’s using Shy as an excuse.”

I never said he wasn’t smart. My faery prince really left the sithein to make his way in the world. Having a human father who was a ridiculously successful businessman helped, certainly, but he was brave to leave what he knew behind. No one wanted Rhys to do that. “I’m worried they both think Rhys might have to sacrifice in order for us to obtain the army we need.”

Dev steps back, frowning. “He thinks I would ask him to… What?”

I hold a hand out. “Please don’t take this personally, babe. I’m not saying he thinks you are going to ask him. He thinks he’s going to have to make the decision and weigh the greater good with his own wants and needs. The Fae won’t simply fall in line. They will ask for concessions, and one of them might be Rhys. If you recall, your brother thought it would be best if I remained your mistress and allowed you to find a proper Fae wife.”

“And I punched him for even suggesting it. My goddess, I know we’ve had trouble with my family in the past and I will talk to my mother about how she handled our children, but the truth of the matter is…”

“We need them.” I wish we didn’t. “I intend to behave until I have what I need, but you have to understand where Rhys is coming from. Shy is everything to him. The way Fenrir is to Evan. And before you tell me they need time to see the world or find themselves, I’m going to ask you when you expect them to do that. They don’t get to go off to college. They didn’t get to graduate from high school and backpack through Europe. They got blood and sweat and fear. They had to spend their childhood on the run, and in the midst of all of it, they found family.”

“We are their family,” Dev says stubbornly.

“Of course we are, but not the way Fenrir and Shy are right now. Not the way Sasha and Trent are. You have to respect what they went through. We were not there. It wasn’t our fault but we weren’t there.”

“And that is why I will kill Myrddin.”

I need to get him to the place I am, the place where he’s honest, but first he has to be honest with himself. “Tell me what you’re feeling.”

“Rage.” He steps away, pacing again. “I don’t understand this fucking world. It’s like we came home to utter chaos.”

“Not true. We came home to a well-run rebellion. Sasha and Trent did a magnificent job.”

“They turned our children into soldiers.” Dev runs a hand through his hair, a frustrated gesture.

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