Page 69 of Vibing Unity

“No, I don’t,” I snapped. “And he has some way to hurt my dad. He was completely sure he could do something to Dad when he came to Artemis. The times I’ve seen him since and—”

“Timesyou’ve seen him since?” Shael cut in, narrowing her eyes at me. “You saw him when you went to the news station and cut off his fingers. That should have been the only time.”

I met her upset gaze with my own. “My parents sacrificedeverythingfor us. My dad gave up his immortality to have me, and Faerie cost them the time they should have had together. I willnotlet some fuckhead ‘relative’ risk that. I won’t.I can’t. He’s sure he can do something real to my dad. He’s scared of me but sure he can take out my dad.”

“So it’s not just he’s nuts or overinflated, but he found something or got something from the demons maybe,” Stefanie muttered. “Fine, okay, we’ll discuss you not going with Lageos or that situation. But please answer Shael. How many times have you gone near this Mario?”

I opened my mouth to answer but then closed it and scrunched my eyebrows as I started counting the times.

“Great, it’s enough that she’s counting on her fingers,” Onas drawled. “Remember this moment when you doubt you’re the boss of us and we cage you.”

That was fair, but I wasn’t in the mood. “Look, he has tricks that shouldn’t be possible, and my dad doesn’t even know howhe managed. I was doing my homework, and I might not take my safety as seriously as everyone wants, but I’m notstupid.”

“What did you learn?” Iolas asked, curiously studying me.

I smirked at him. “That he can’t keep a barrier up when he sleeps, so it was just a matter of finding him asleep.” I shrugged when they seemed shocked. “If you’re looking for fair play or sparring rules when he’s attacked me in thebackseveral times—even metaphorically—you’ve come to the wrong woman.”

“Good point,” Shael snickered. “The results? He’d already be dead if you could have.”

I huffed and reached for more food. “He’s ridiculously good at sensing changes in the room. He defaults to using the fairy rune for speed. Honestly, I need to learn how to do that too. I’m a groggy fuck waking and a zombie sometimes.” I chuckled darkly. “I used to jump out of bed ready to bolt if it was the cops. I’ve lost my edge.”

“No, you finally have stopped having a fucking stress andtraumaresponse to so much,” Iolas yelled. He let out a growl and rubbed his neck too hard as he turned away. “You should be able to wake like that, Tamsin. That’s not having an edge. That’s something that broke my heart. You having to live in a way that had you have a blade under your pillow. All of it.”

Fair enough.

“Knowing you, you recorded it so you could study it later or try to see what else you could learn,” Onas muttered.

“Plus, I wanted Stefanie to be able to see when I got her revenge.” I met her shocked gaze. “I haven’t gotten it all yet. He will die, I promise.”

She slowly blinked at me. “What have you done to him?”

An evil smile spread over my lips. “He’s missing parts of him more than fucking fingers. A wing for a wing, but I got his whole fucking wing.”

“Nicely done,” Shael praised. “He won’t be much of a threat now.” She gave Stefanie an apologetic look.

“Plus, I took his other arm so he’s off balance.” I shrugged when their mouths dropped open. “I wasn’t going to fuck around. I got his ear aiming for his head.”

“Do you have a collection of your uncle’s body parts?” Onas asked, his tone incredulous not accusatory.

I gave him the look he deserved. “No, I burned them. I’m not a psycho. I said I was aiming for hishead. The fucker moves fast. I could get close enough, and the few times he was asleep, I didn’t hesitate and tried to take his head. Last week, I got his wing.”

“There’s no chance he can challenge you now. He’s just sitting and waiting for death,” Iolas muttered. “Still, I want to see the video and learn what I can before we go in.”

I blinked at the food on the table before slowly looking at him. “I’m sorry, what is this ‘we’ shit?”

He smirked at me. “You promised you wouldn’t go in alone. You won’t be. I know some tricks as well and have fought against fairies using that rune for decades. There are ways to handle his fleeing like a rat.”

Shael snorted. “How many can you teleport at once now? Five or six, right? We could cover any—”

“No, you’re our most senior commander now and keeping order,” Onas argued. “Morgan. Morgan will want to volunteer and is just as lethal as you are. He backs up the princess—which won’t be needed—and Iolas and I will make sure the rat doesn’t flee. That’s the best plan.”

“Taeral will be pissed you left him out,” Stefanie chuckled. “I’m annoyed, but I know I could be a liability.”

“You can come the minute after and bathe in the fucker’s blood,” Onas promised.

“This wasn’t an invitation,” I reminded them. “I was making it clear that I’m not as reckless as everyone accuses me. I know yesterday was—”

“They got their tails in knots because you admitted your magic stopped you,” Shael interrupted. “You had something else—you weren’t in as much danger as Neldor panicked. Lucca made it clear that you won’t go to temples or pray alone. You will try better to hit the breaks if one of your mates says to stop and take a minute.”

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