Page 179 of Taken By the Fae

She purses her lips. “The Experiment. Do we have a plan?” She directs the question at Tristan.

He sets his drink down after taking a sip. “I’m waiting to hear from the royal court, as I’m sure Nikolai is. Until then, there’s not much we can do besides look out for each other. We can’t draw them out without posing a risk to our people, and I won’t allow that.”

“We wait for them to make themselves known, then?” Oliver asks.

I stiffen in my seat, flashes of being taken from right outside this building filling my thoughts. My pulse jumps when Tristan rests his hand on my thigh. His touch warms my skin and settles my racing heart. I clear my throat before I say, “I don’t think they’ll come around here, at least not for a while,” I say. “The Experiment will expect us to be on high alert, so I don’t see them risking an attack yet. They’re likely dealing with the fallout of us destroying their facility. They must have others, and we’ll find them, but it’ll take time.”

“Then what?” Skylar chimes in without looking up from her plate where she’s pushing a potato around with her fork. “Are we going to destroy everyone we find? Sacrifice more of our people doing so?”

“No,” Tristan says. “As much as within our power. Destruction and death are something the fae have experienced too much of. We need to prevent more as much as possible.”

“You brought that doctor back here.” Skylar lifts her head to meet his gaze. “Use her.”

“I agree,” I say, causing everyone to look at me. “Damn, guys, don’t look so surprised.”

Skylar snickers, then tries to cover it up by sticking a chunk of potato in her mouth.

“Dr. Collins has information. She may not have created the Experiment, but she made it her life after her daughter was killed. If anyone knows about other facilities, it’s her.”

Tristan nods. Ultimately, the decision of what to do about the Experiment belongs to the queen and king, but everyone in this room is confident Tristan and Nikolai will make a strong case.

After dinner, I’m cleaning up the kitchen, rinsing a plate when Skylar comes in and takes it from me to dry.

“Hey,” I say, trying to hide my surprise that she came to help.

“I called Monica today,” she says in lieu of a greeting.

“How is she?” I clean a handful of silverware and set it on the drying rack.

“Heartbroken. She won’t let me visit, which I understand, but I’m worried about her.”

“Does she have anyone to take care of her?”

She nods, taking the glass I hand her to dry. “She has a fiancé. He’s also fae and knows what happened.”

“That’s good.” I press my lips together, debating whether I should say what I want to. “Skylar, I know you’re heartbroken, too. Max was your best friend. As much as I’m sure you wanted to strangle the guy often, you cared about him. He knew that as much as I do. And he felt the same way about you. That love isn’t gone just because he is.” I swallow past the lump forming in my throat. “He, um, wanted you to know that you’re the fiercest, most powerful woman he’d ever met. He told me how lucky he was to have you looking out for him.”

She freezes, and her eyes flick up to mine. She swallows hard, blinking as if she’s fighting back tears. “Thank you.”

I offer her a warm smile and nod. “You’re welcome.”

She goes back to drying the dish in her hand again.

“So…” I drag out the word. “What’s the deal with you and Nikolai?” I cringe when she shoots me a glare. “Not looking to chat about guys. Got it.”

A ghost of a smile touches her lips as she turns away to put the clean wineglass in the cupboard.

We finish the dishes, and I can’t help but feel a little lighter, even with the current circumstances. Because despite them, tonight was good. I’m alive, surrounded by people I care about, and we’re going to make it through whatever comes next.

ChapterForty-Nine

We spend the evening sitting around Tristan’s living room, chatting as flames crackle in the fireplace. It’s not really cold enough for a fire, but it fills the room with a cozy warmth that makes me want to curl up in Tristan’s lap and do things that wouldn’t be appropriate with our friends present.

“I’m heading to bed,” Allison announces around a yawn. “You coming, Ollie?” They’ve been staying in one of the guest rooms in the penthouse since I escaped the facility, same with Nikolai and Skylar, though they’re sleeping in separate rooms.

Oliver nods, letting her pull him off the couch. “Night, guys.”

“Goodnight,” I mumble, leaning into Tristan’s side as he runs his hand over my hair.

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