“What did you say?” Vance’s voice was so quiet that I barely heard him.
Mother fucker! I fell to the couch, crushed by the weight of his emotions. Anger, betrayal, sadness, and defeat all warred for first place. I looked over at him. “Vance, I—”
He held up h
is hand. “Spare me the details, Karli. I’ll see you later.”
I remained in Ornessa’s office for at least a couple of hours. After Vance stormed out, she asked Ty to leave so we could speak in private. She told me that my mother had had dual visions before. She explained that when that happened, she was seeing two possible outcomes of the same situation. She begrudgingly admitted that my mother likely kept me hidden from her so I could make my own choices…be my own person. She repeated something Vance had told me before; that my mother believed in the Fates wholeheartedly. Ornessa believed that my mother had trusted the Fates to lead me down the right path. The ironic part of that was that I had never felt more directionless in my life.
Ornessa paced back and forth for a few long seconds before stopping and regarding me with heavy consideration. “I’ll agree to withhold expectations of a wedding for a little while, but only if you agree to spend time with Ty.”
When I began to object, seeing where she was going with this, she held her hand up.
“This is not a ploy to force you into a romantic setting. I only mean to, ah, what’s the saying? Kill two birds with one stone?”
I raised a brow but said nothing.
“Ty could teach you things others cannot. Although he’s a young immortal, his abilities closely mirror your own, and he’s learned to harness them.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “And after this training period when I still don’t want to marry him, then what?”
Ornessa shrugged. “Time will tell.”
I didn’t exactly like that answer.
“Of course,” she continued, “you’ll have to remain in Faerie, without argument, until the Winter Solstice. Thylus will need at least that long to make any progress.”
I did a mental calculation. “That’s three months away! I can’t walk away from my life for that long.”
With a reprimanding look she said, “Are you in disagreement with our terms then?”
My jaw clenched, but in an effort to calm myself, I let out a long sigh and closed my eyes. “No, I’m not saying that. But I have responsibilities back home.”
“Such as?”
“My job…bills…my friends. I can’t just disappear for three months without notice.”
She brushed her hands together. “Not to worry. I will send word to the guardians and they will take care of everything. You have my promise.”
“And you’ll allow me to return to Vegas after the solstice?”
Her expression revealed her internal struggle. “Of course.” I felt the sincerity in her words, but this couldn’t conceal her hope that I’d change my mind.
After leaving the council building, I headed back to the guest cottages to discuss everything with the guys. Ornessa had said they were welcome to stay as long as I did, but I wasn’t going to ask them to put their lives on hold for that long. I didn’t feel like I belonged here by any means, but I knew without a doubt that I was safe with these people.
I knocked on Vance’s door first, hoping to have a few moments alone with him.
“Vance, please open the door.” I knocked again when he didn’t answer. “We need to talk.”
Leo poked his head out of the adjacent cottage. “My love, I don’t think he’s there. I thought he was with you.”
“He was but he left before I did.” Dammit. Apparently he needed some time to cool off before he was ready to speak with me.
Leo opened his door wider. “Would you like to come in?”
“Sure.” I went inside and saw that he had a covered basket and folded blanket stationed by the door. “Are you planning a moonlight picnic or something?”
He smiled. “Naela got these for me.”