Page 52 of Invidia

I shrugged. “I doubt Austin cares about that. His life is here.”

Quietly, I suspected that Austin enjoyed how mysterious he now was in the human realm, because he was a shit-stirrer first and foremost. I didn’t think that would go down well, though, so I kept that observation to myself.

“It couldn’t be unrestricted movement,” Sebastian said slowly. “At least not right away. And Austin absolutely couldn’t go. But… I don’t know. There’s something to it, isn’t there? I’m really enjoying my time here, but I won’t pretend I’m cut out for life without technology full time.”

Theon made a derisive noise in the corner, and the king shot him a warning look.

“But what will happen to the Shades who visit the human realm?” Meera asked softly. “Can they feed safely?”

“Our preferred outcome is that the energy stores are filled primarily by the relationships between Shades and Hunters,” Allerick put in with only a minimal amount of awkwardness, considering the topic. “It’s far safer and more efficient for us.”

Everyone was watching the king’s face, but I was watching Lochan’s. Whatever he said, he obviously wasn’t a fan of the idea, if the vaguely repulsed expression he quickly wiped away was anything to go by.

“What do you think, Lochan?” Sebastian prompted.

“That’s certainly something to consider. It would make life easier for the seven Hunters who have already made a permanent move here. Well, six, excluding Austin.”

“Five, excluding Austin,” I corrected sharply.

There was a long silence, and out of the corner of my eye, Ophelia paled.

“My mistake,” Lochan agreed smoothly. “Five, excluding Austin. What else would you suggest going forward?”

Meera’s leg was jittering next to mine under the table. Was that a genuine slip of the tongue? Or did he know about Iris?

“Some reassurance that this is, in fact, a genuine attempt at outreach, though, I don’t know how you could provide that in a way we’d believe,” I mused, before going off on a rambling tangent about the last time the Hunters had broken a good faith agreement. I flicked Damen under the table, and he got the hint, quietly slipping away to check on Iris.

It had to be her, right? That had to be the reason why they were here. Sebastian seemed enthusiastic enough that there may have been a thread of truth in what he was saying, but ultimately, returning Iris to the Nash family had to be their end goal.

They had no idea what they were up against.

Meera and I went our separate ways once we got back to Elverston House, both needing a little recovery time in our rooms after an intense morning, but we’d perked up by the time we headed to the palace for dinner.

I think we both felt like we had to after Lochan’s comment. We both had to prove that there was no weirdness here. We weren’t hiding a whole person. Nothing to see here.

As much as I wanted to see Evrin, I figured his shift wouldn’t end until well after dinner. Maybe I’d meet him at the entry room again like I had one night before.

Sebastian and Lochan were making small talk with some Shades at a different table, and I relished the opportunity to have our spot back to ourselves.

“Where’s Cora?” Meera asked.

I peered through the sea of horns and tall bodies, finally spotting her on the other side of the hall with a younger female Shade I didn’t recognize, with glowing pink eyes just like Verity’s mad duke.

“Over there, see?”

Meera followed my gaze, eyebrows lifting. “I have a good feeling about her. What about you?”

I hummed in agreement. “Her brother, not so much.”

“Agreed,” Meera said quietly as we took our seats, jumping in surprise when Astrid dropped down on the bench opposite us, scowling at nothing.

“How do you do that?” I asked, clutching my chest. “You’re like a ghost.”

“Most people—and Shades—are remarkably unobservant,” Astrid deadpanned, a ray of sunshine as always. “How’d the meeting go? Ophelia said I wasn’t allowed to come.”

“Why not?” Meera asked.

“Something, something, pessimism. I don’t know. I’ve been in the human realm all day, scoping out the portal on their side. How did it go?”

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