Page 31 of The Mirror in the Mountain

“That was an incredibly reckless thing you did,” Rivan grumbled as he pulled me closer.

“You would’ve died if I?—”

“Thank you.”

My mouth dropped open, then stretched into a smile.

Yael touched her forehead to mine, her eyes bright. “I’m furious with you, I hope you know that.”

“You all would have done the same for me,” I said quietly as we pulled back for air. Yael shrugged as if to say, fair enough.

Quinn now stood next to me, Tobias’s arm still around her despite everyone else having let each other go. He stiffened as he noted the direction of my gaze, quickly lowering his arm to his side. But Quinn’s eyes danced in delight as she looked at Bash’s hand still firmly clutched in mine.

“Don’t start,” I begged her.

“FINALLY,” Quinn squealed. “It’s about time for you to be happy. I might have found a way to tell you the truth sooner if I realized you would finally be with someone longer than fourteen seconds, but here I thought?—”

“Quinn,” I exclaimed, cutting into her diatribe. I felt my cheeks heat as Yael let out a muffled snort of laughter, Bash’s lips pressing together as he tried to contain a smile. “This is Bash. And Yael,” I said, gesturing at them both in turn. “And?—”

“Rivan.” He stepped forward, grasping Quinn’s hand in his own larger ones. I saw her big amber eyes blink slowly as she stared up at the burly male, whose mouth twisted in a roguish grin before he let go. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Quinn fixed him with a look that I knew meant trouble.

“Oh, I’m sure it is,” she said tartly, arching an eyebrow at him.

Tobias bristled, his shoulders squaring slightly though I was certain I was the only one who noticed. I could feel Bash’s amusement across our bond, though it dissipated as his gaze lowered to where my sleeve had ridden up—the freshly healed red lines where my chains had dug into my wrists now clearly visible. Shadows swirled from his hand to mine, winding carefully around my arm in a slow caress.

“Interesting company you’re keeping these days, Eva,” Quinn murmured to me. “I didn’t know you had fallen in with a whole faction of arrogant fae warriors.” She gave me a pointed look as she turned away from Rivan, and Yael snickered loudly. “Though I suppose it’s a little late now to warn you away.” Her voice warmed as she looked at Bash.

Reluctantly, I let go of myanima, turning to Tobias and holding him at arms’ length so I could really look at him. He was taller than I remembered, too pale and thin from his imprisonment, yet sculpted in a way that I knew he must have spent his time training in that damp cell. His eyes were still haunted as he took me in, darkening as he scanned the bruises visible on my face and neck.

Tobias’s gaze dropped below my collar, and I realized my neckline had shifted enough to show off the bite marking the skin above my collarbone, still healing atop the scar below it. His eyes flashed with something that looked like lightning—nearly washing out the familiar crown of gold around his pupils. I stiffened at the memory of that power holding my friends, myanima, down as it choked the life from them, then shook my head. Though it was hardly Tobias’s fault his power had been stolen from him.

He lifted a hand, smoothing my hair back from my face. “Hey, sis.”

It was an effort to speak through the lump in my throat. “I thought I’d lost you, again.”

“I thought I lostyou, this time,” Tobias murmured. “When I’d only just gotten you back.”

“Never again,” I said firmly, hoping it was true. I squeezed his hand, relishing the feeling of finally having him back with me as we nodded at each other in silent promise.

“Let’s get everyone settled and fed, and then we can discuss what comes next in the morning,” Quinn said in a light voice.“There are a few rooms down the hall from me, and more on the floor above that. I can show you the way.”

I was still staring at Tobias as he turned to Quinn. And I wondered if he knew how much he gave away as he looked at her with his heart in his eyes. His mouth tightened…and I watched as his guard went up, shielding his true feelings from the world. Like after so long in that mask, he had forgotten what it was like to live without it.

It would take time for him to open up again, and I knew better than to push after the trauma he had endured. The years he had spent being tortured in that cell, guarding our secrets in order to keep me safely hidden, had no doubt taken a toll I couldn’t begin to understand. Even if I hated the fact that he had carried that burden without me, I knew he had done itforme. A fact, I realized, that applied to Quinn as well.

Had he always had a thing for my best friend? Maybe that had been there all those years ago, and I simply never noticed until now. Though Quinn clearly hadn’t either.

Perhaps I was reading too far into it. But as Quinn came forward to envelop us both in a hug, I grinned widely at my brother’s too loud swallow.

My friend didn’t seem to notice. “It’s been too long since our trio has been together.”

“I’m glad you were there for Eva when I couldn’t be,” Tobias said, his voice low and earnest.

Quinn’s head cocked to the side, giving him a searching look before she looked away. “Me too.”

My brother continued to watch her intently as Quinn gestured at the house around us. “This was where your parents lived when they weren’t holding court below,” she explained. “Your true home. It was built to accommodate visitors.”

---