Page 33 of Acedia

“It’s delicious,” I agreed, forcing myself to be polite and not shove the whole thing in my mouth. It was creamy but sort of citrusy all at once. So far everything in the shadow realm I’d eaten tasted very similar to the kinds of flavors I would expect to find back home. Not flavors I’d eaten necessarily, since Nana and Clara had always favored plainer foods, but they were things I’dheardabout, at least.

“How are you finding everything so far?” Ophelia asked, kindly waiting until I’d finished chewing to ask.

“Amazing, thank you. I feel very welcome and taken care of.”

“Good, good. We know this is a big adjustment for you, and we really want you to be comfortable here.” I waited, sensing that there was more she wanted to say. “I hate to get down to business as it were, but I kind of have to ask about your parents. Did they know you were going to leave? How are you expecting them to react?”

“You don’t need to worry about them coming after me,” I assured her, feeling silly that their concern hadn’t occurred to me earlier. Of course, they were worried that harboring Moriah Nash’s daughter would bring trouble to their doorstep. “That would mean publicizing my existence, which is something that Moriah has always been very careful not to do.”

“We’re not suggesting you go back or anything,” Ophelia said softly. “If this is where you want to be, we’ll defend your right to stay here no matter who challenges it. We just need to know what to expect, that’s all.”

“If they thought I was in the human realm, I imagine they’d discreetly hunt me down and lock me back up again—it was why I didn’t want to stay there even though I was given the option to escape them. I wanted to come here. They’ll never follow mehere. If anything, they’ll be glad that I’ve removed the problem from their lives.”

The silence extended for a painfully long time, and I wondered if I’d been a little too honest. Maybe I should have come up with a palatable lie rather than giving them such an uncomfortable truth.

“They’re fucking idiots,” Damen grumbled, breaking the tension.

“I’m sure they did the best they could,” I said weakly, because Nana would have been so disappointed with me if I didn’t at leasttryto defend them. As she always pointed out, my birth had been a terrible setback for Moriah’s career.

“And a Hunter helped you to come here?” Allerick asked eventually. “He contacted Astrid, if I recall correctly.”

“Yes—Lucas. My brothers had befriended him. He offered to smuggle me here. Or somewhere in the human realm. Just anywhere away from my family, really.”

“This is the same Lucas who reported Verity to the Council when she showed up in the human realm?” Ophelia confirmed, though it was clear by her tone that she already knew the answer.

“It is. But he feels really bad about that,” I added quickly. “And he put himself at a lot of risk to get me out. I really hope he’s okay…”

“We have a contact in the human realm. I can ask her to check, if you like?”

“Oh, would you?” I asked, immediately relieved. “I would really appreciate that. I just don’t want him to be suffering because of me.”

Damen grumbled something too low for me to catch, but he sounded distinctly unimpressed. Lucas probablydidhave a bad reputation here because of what he’d done to Verity—maybe I should be a little less overt in my concern. The idea didn’t sit well with me, though.

I didn’t want to have to hide away pieces of myself anymore.

“There’s not much we can do,” Ophelia said apologetically. “Verity’s mate will likely not be the most understanding if we bring Lucas into the shadow realm—if Lucas even wants to be here.”

Mate.It was such an interesting word to use.

“Theon is also my older brother,” Damen added, leaning in to speak to me. “And his ability to think things through and assess the possible consequences of his actions is extremely limited.”

I nodded in understanding. Lucas likely wouldn’t be safe here either.

“Is there anything I should be doing?” I asked tentatively, not wanting to bring up the whole power generation thing again. Perhaps lust was a slightly inappropriate topic to broach over tea and cake with strangers. “I feel very lazy, sitting around all day. Is there some kind of job or something I could do?”

“Not right now. Just get accustomed to the shadow realm first and see what you’re interested in. There’s no rush.” There was an urgency in Ophelia’s voice that took me by surprise. I’d vaguely considered that the Shades needed the ex-Hunters who’d moved here more than the ex-Hunters needed them—the idea of being valuable was a large part of what drew me here.

At the same time, I wasn’t like the other ex-Hunters who’d chosen to come here. My options were more limited, I was very much reliant on the good graces of the Shades. I didn’t want to take advantage of their kindness.

“Why don’t I take you around the palace?” Damen suggested. “Give you more of an idea of the place. I know Tallulah and Meera covered the basics, but there’s a lot more to it.”

“That is so kind, thank you.” I bumped him gently with my shoulder before searching my plate for the next little cake to eat. Was cake more delicious than pizza? I couldn’t decide. I neededmore pizza to be able to truly judge, but I somehow doubted that was a shadow realm food.

“It isverykind,” Allerick agreed, sounding amused. “Veryhelpful. You’re really going out of your way, Damen.”

“Damen has been so generous with his time,” I told them. “I’m sure he has much more important things he should be doing—I’m so grateful for all his help.”

“I’m sure it’s no trouble for him,” Allerick said cheerfully.

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