Page 42 of Invidia

“It was a Hunter who directed Iris here,” I murmured distractedly, having at least some information on that front. “But we have no idea if that Hunter told anyone else about it. There’s a very good chance that they know, and the reason they’re here is for her.”

I shifted my weight uncomfortably, wishing my shift was over. Tallulah hadn’t looked overly familiar with the new Hunters when I’d seen her interacting with them, but that didn’t mean she’d never met them before. Fuck. What if that weaselly little Lochan had been in love with her, the way Sebastian had been with Verity? I should have just killed him the first time he’d irritated me.

“I don’t think they’ll leave,” Galen said with unearned confidence, since the only ex-Hunter he’d probably had any interaction with was Astrid, as she was part of the Guard now. From what I’d heard, she couldn’t go back. She was the Hunters Council’s greatest enemy. “They’re happy here, right? Why would they go back? The human realm seems terrible. It’s so loud.”

“Depends where you go, I guess,” I pointed out. It was easier to feed in big cities, so Shades usually opted to go there when we went through, but that didn’t mean humans had to live there.

I was desperate to speak to Tallulah.

The idea that she might someday leave had never occurred to me. She seemed to be such a permanent fixture at court, so popular with everyone, so depended upon by the other ex-Hunters, including the queen. But if the Hunters Council were willing to entirely forgive her for coming here in the first place, if she was allowed to return home without consequences…

By the time I exited the in-between after my shift, I’d worked myself up into a state of near panic. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to do first, though logically, I knew that I should go straight to Captain Soren and provide him with an update—namely that there were no updates. But logic wasn’t ruling my mind at that precise moment.

“Evrin!”

I stopped instantly at the sound of Tallulah’s voice, the relief I felt immediately energizing me after what had been a long and exhausting day.

“Hi,” I said, embarrassingly breathless just to be speaking to her. “How are you? How was your day?”

“It was good.” She shifted on her feet, pulling her pale pink coat a little tighter around her. The Herst winds were blowing today from the mountains, sending a chill through the usually temperate palace grounds. “I don’t really know why I’m here.”

Tallulah laughed nervously, and it broke my heart a little. She’d laughed like that when we’d first met, but over time she’d grown more comfortable with me, and it had changed into something throatier, and more authentic.

At least she hadn’t used the bright, confident laugh that she used on everyone else, but it wasn’t much of an improvement.

It was like what we had never existed.

“You’re cold. Here, let’s get out of the wind.” I ushered her toward the palace where the smooth stone columns next to the stone outer wall would shelter her a little. “You should really stay inside today until the Herst wind dies down. It blows through every year.”

I’d intended to bring up Galen’s theory, to casually discover whether Tallulah knew Lochan, and if she was intending on leaving if he suggested it, but I was distracted by the sight of her overbright eyes and flushed pink cheeks. Even the tip of her nose had turned an adorable shade of red.

Tallulah shifted restlessly. I’d been staring too long.

“Oh! That’s why I came to find you.” Another nervous laugh. “I, um, just wanted to say thank you for yesterday.”

“Okay.” I couldn’t think of a single thing I’d done that would warrant her gratitude. Unless she was thankful I’d led Lochan to her, in which case I didn’t want to know.

“When you asked the others to make space for me at the table,” she clarified.

Ah. “I thought you may be having trouble asking for what you wanted.”

“That does seem to be a recurring issue of mine,” Tallulah muttered. “How was your day? Anything exciting happen in the in-between?”

“No new arrivals, if that’s what you mean. The captain has assigned me an abundance of colleagues. I suppose that’s exciting.”

Her smile looked a little more genuine this time. A little less brittle. “You sound thrilled about that.”

“None of them want to be there. It doesn’t make for the most relaxing work environment. How have you spent your day?”

“Sewing. Almost everything in Cora’s room needs to be replaced. I thought I’d make a start on it.”

“That seems very practical, especially since there are more of you living there. Perhaps more still to come, if some kind of agreement can be made. Did any discussions happen today?”

Tallulah’s thoughtful expression was almost as delightful as her smile. “I wouldn’t call them discussions. Introductions were made to the Council of Shades, apparently.”

I wondered if Roan had been part of those conversations, or maybe his position wasn’t quite secure enough to be included in that yet.

Tallulah shivered again, and I ushered out from next to the column. “Come on, we should get you inside before you freeze. Are you going to the palace, or shall I escort you to Elverston House?”

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