Page 73 of Gray Dawn

The only thing that saved us from a return trip to Hael was Moran catching him and shoving him forward to make room as she and six members of the centuria emerged behind him. No friendly neighborhood assassin, but Carver was his own keeper. If he felt he best served me by remaining in Hael, that was what he would do.

“You’re okay.” I breathed him in, smelling smoke, sweat, and copper. “When I didn’t hear anything…”

Time moved differently between this world and the realms you could access from here. Faerie and Hael kept a pretty similar timeline, relative to Earth anyway. Never had I been moregrateful for a quirk than I was now, holding him in my arms so much sooner than I ever could have dreamed possible.

“I’m fine.” He rubbed his cheek against mine. “Goddess, I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” I clung to him. “Oh.” I winced. “Colby is cloaked, so keep an eye out for her.”

“He can’t keep an eye out for me.” She cackled with delight. “I’minvisible.”

“Okay, InvisiMoth, dial it down a few notches.”

“Catch me up to speed.” He gestured for the centuria to fall back, but Moran held her ground, her gaze a drill that bored into the side of my head. “What do you need us to do?”

Abandoning her taunting of Asa, Colby sat on my head while we got down to business.

“Hael.” I forced myself to prioritize his priorities. “Is everything settled there?”

“Far from it.” He flashed his teeth. “We’ve ended the bloodshed?—”

“There’s always bloodshed in Hael,” Moran cut in quick, her mood grim, her eyes sharp on me.

I was definitely picking up on a vibe. Asa must have broken the news to her about Clay while they were in Hael. That look promised things wouldn’t end well for me if we didn’t awaken him soon.

“We’ve ended the bloodshed our actions set into motion.” He waited a beat to see if she disagreed then continued his update. “Your letter convinced Calixta she requires help to smooth over the rocky start to her reign if she wants to avoid a civil war. She allowed me to assist her with the uprisings, but she made it clear my position is temporary. We’ve made progress in opening lines of communication between her and her more vocal subjects, which is a good place to begin fixing the division in Hael.”

“She spoke to you?” A sour taste flooded my mouth. “I never received an answer either way.”

“She sent word to my estate, figuring the time difference would be kinder to me than to you.”

As much as it chilled me that she cut me out of the loop, she wasn’t wrong in that skipping the middleman was faster.

“He’s established a tentative peace,” Moran told me with pride. “He would have been a great high king.”

For a fraction of a second, I couldn’t tell if she was hinting he ought to side with the revolutionaries and take back the throne or if she was merely bragging on him.

“But I understand,” she said, after noticing the flinch I couldn’t hide fast enough, “why he made his choices.”

That was as close to condonement as I was likely to get from her, given her and her people had been raised to serve him as the future king. They would have directly benefited from his leadership, and I was costing them the opportunity for prosperity.

“Even a temporary position means I’ll be spending more time in Hael,” he warned me. “It’s the only way to keep either side from backsliding.”

“I understand.” I placed my hand over his heart. “I’m happy to loan you out as atonement.”

Maybe it would alleviate his guilt and grant him insight into how he could best aid his people outside the hierarchy. The truth was kings spent most of their lives wrapped in red tape so tight it cut off circulation. Asa was more likely to affect positive change working in the shadows than perched on the throne.

“Your turn.” He covered my fingers with his. “What have I missed?”

Since the update was longwinded, we walked as we talked, mostly to burn off my frantic energy.

“You’re not touching the Hunk,” he said, command heavy in his tone from his time spent with the centuria. “Never again will I risk you to its false promises.”

Had I been able to see Colby, I had no doubt she would have been gloating right beside him.

“Now that you’re back…” I twisted my fingers in his shirt. “I was hoping Blay could try his luck tracking Dad.”

“He’s welcome to try.” He released me and stepped back. “How are you getting him up there?”

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