Page 124 of Heartsong
“There is one last thing I must admit,” said Gavren. “I hope the ritual works for you as it did for us. I want it for you and for my mate’s people. I want it for my own as well. I have hope that as more guardians discover their mates and break the curse, that much more magick will be untethered from the Underhill.”
“You want to break your people out,” guessed Anna.
“Yes. Before escaping myself, Queen Rhiannon told me that her sister, Morrigan, hadn’t died when we fled Faerie. She gave everything to the spell to keep out the Fomorians and had to take the eternal sleep, but she was outside the Underhill when she did. I must find her, and together, with the Underhill weakened, I hope to free my kind.”
An echoing silence met Gavren’s declaration, and Frey tried to swallow it. His soul raged against the idea of letting out the very monsters who cursed his people. Part of him took ugly pleasure in hearing of their suffering inside their own prison.
And yet…and yet.
The haunted way Gavren spoke of life in the Underhill called to the pieces still broken inside Frey from centuries of stone sleep. He knew what it was to wither, to watch his people fade away from despair.
He wished it on no one. Not even the fae.
“I will help how I can,” he said, meeting Gavren’s gaze. A promise. “It is the way of clan.”
“Thank you,” the fae said, simple and with feeling.
Captain jumped into Anna’s lap and made himself comfortable. His happy purrs resounded through the living room as they all watched him knead Anna’s chest.
“I reckon that’s enough for one night. You both look exhausted. We have extra bedrooms in the house, but there’s also a guesthouse on the property. We’d be delighted if you stayed there.”
“We’d appreciate it,” said Anna, “but I need to go back to my apartment.”
“We’ll go tomorrow,” agreed Gavren, “and see what can be salvaged. We can move anything you want to keep through a rift easily.”
“Oh, but…”
“I meant what I said, Anna,” Carys said gently. “We want you to stay. There is plenty of room for both of you here.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I can’t exactly afford Tiburon rent.”
Carys sat back in her seat, looking offended. “Who said anything about rent? You’ll stay with us as clan. Family. We have the space and the means, we don’t need your money.”
Anna blinked. “But…”
Waving away her concerns, Carys said, “No, I won’t hear of it. You’ll stay with us as long as you like. The guesthouse has sat empty since we purchased this property.”
“We’ve spent our years building a life for ourselves but also preparing,” added Gavren. “We wanted to ensure our people had everything they needed to begin again.”
“Which reminds me—I hope you’ll stay on at the museum, but I also would love to have your help cataloging our collection.”
“But…the museum is already cataloged?”
Carys grinned patiently. “The museum is a fraction of what we have. We’ve lived a long life, and I’m afraid some of our things have gotten away from me. I’d appreciate the help cataloging everything to assess what we have.” Leaning forward, she said in a conspiratorial whisper, “Mostly I need someone to help me figure out spreadsheets. I can’t make heads or tails of them.”
“Yeah, I—” Anna blushed at how loud her voice went. “I could help you with that.”
“And Frey, I can offer you a position at a new security firm I’m establishing,” said Gavren. “It’s in the beginning stages now, but I aim to use magick to enhance the digital security suite. For now, it would mostly be guarding the museum as I work out the details, but you’d be near your mate.”
Frey’s ears perked, but he couldn’t help but point out, “And what would your human guests think of a guardian walking amongst the statues?”
“I’ll need to experiment, but I believe I can make you something to glamour you. Carys and I use glamour to blend in with humans, but she is able to do it because she is mycariad. For you, we can attempt to make something that you control with your own magick.”
It all was too much of a temptation. Not only could he spend his days with Anna, he could have a position, a purpose, and therefore the means to take care of his mate. That made Gavren’s offer priceless.
He would ask more questions and learn more about what would be expected of him tomorrow—for now, he reached across the low table and clasped forearms with Gavren.
“I accept.”
