“Your Highness, would you like more tea?”
I looked down and a brownie stood at the end of our table, her small body in a shift dress and her scraggly hair adorned with a pink bow. I loved the brownies like I loved my pixie army. They were the sweetest of the Fae.
“Yes, servant,” Declan said with a sigh. “I will take some tea, and you may fetch my breakfast. I will need meat, of course. And bread. I believe I smelled pastries. Hurry along now.”
The brownies eyes went wide and the tea tray trembled. “Oh. I was speaking to…of course…”
“Nope.” I picked up the creamer and dumped it over Declan’s head. “She was talking to me, and as far as I’m concerned you are a prisoner here. Get your own breakfast.”
He frowned fiercely and picked up a napkin. “One of these days, Zoey.”
“Yes, one of these days, you will learn.” I shook my head and took the tray from the brownie, setting it on the table before I stood and held out my hand. “Come now, my sweet friend. Can you show me to my son’s brugh? I need to speak with him.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Of course, I shall,” the brownie said and began to lead me away.
“Zoey? You’ll do the job, right?”
I pocketed the amulet. “Yes.”
“Be careful with that,” Declan called out. “It must stay in close contact with one of the treasures. If not, it will find its way back to Faery, and sometimes the effects are violent, to say the least.”
That was good to know.
I would do the job, and it started with finding my son.
* * * *
I found Rhys walking out of the cottage Neil and Chad and their kids were staying at. I’d spent some time there the night before, catching up with Chad and getting to know Neil’s kids. They were all kinds of awesome, and they looked at their dads like they were heroes. Which they were.
I would have to remember to add them on my list of things that had to happen when I put the world back to rights. They would still be out there, still need Neil and Chad.
Rhys took one look at me and then stopped and seemed to try to decide if he could turn another way or go back inside and maybe hide. I saw the moment he figured out he couldn’t get away from me. “Good morning, Mother. How are you?”
Feeling distinctly unwanted was how I was. But then I remembered what Lee had said. He’d told me Rhys was nervous because he was unsure of his welcome. I thanked my brownie escort before turning to my son. “I’m good. I slept well. I think knowing your uncle is going to be all right helped a lot.”
Rhys nodded. “Yes. It was good to see that wolf again. It’s been years. And Courtney can finally be a kid for a while. She’s spent all of her time worried about her father and taking care of her little brother so her mom could watch after Uncle Zack. It will be good to see her smile.”
If we’d been there, Courtney wouldn’t have been forced to take all that responsibility on herself. My little niece, who had been afraid of everything as a child, shouldn’t have had to grow up so fast. And I barely knew my nephew. I hadn’t been there when he’d been born, hadn’t been a part of that particular miracle.
So much missed. So much loss.
“Have you checked in on Dean this morning?” I fell in beside him as he started back on the path toward the center of town.
Rhys nodded. “Lee took him to Lily’s last night. Dean stayed over so the witches could watch him. I believe Lee was going to check on him this morning, but he told me Dean was already feeling much better. And you? Are you all right? I notice you didn’t go with Papa and the others to buy the plane.”
“No. I trust your fathers to buy the best plane they can find.” I hated that our conversation felt stilted without Lee around to ease our way. “I know you probably don’t remember it, but you rode on a lot of planes as a kid.”
“I remember,” Rhys said, his voice finally going soft. “I remember there were always cookies, and Papa set up movies for us. I remember when we would hit turbulence how you would try to make a game out of it so we wouldn’t be scared. And you said that even if the plane fell apart, Dad would scoop us all up and fly us safely to the ground.” He huffed. “And then Lee prayed for the plane to fall apart because he thought it sounded like fun.”
Yes, that was my son. Lee had found a certain glee in turbulence. Evan had cried and clung to her dad, never once thinking of being “brave” because she was a baby and she needed comfort and had always received it. Rhys had been the one who’d sat silently, his hands on the arms of his chair, holding all of his fear inside. They’d all been loved and given our attention, but personality is something no parent can change. Rhys had been born with a core of reserve. I’d been the one to see it, the one to always ensure I sat beside him on the plane so if we hit strong winds, I could ask him to hold my hand because I was scared. “I’ll make sure you have cookies when we use the new plane.”