Page 93 of The Demon Tide

Trystan nods. “Like her birds. I think the tattoos are his way of paying tribute to those Fae for their kindness.”

“The kindness of Death Fae?” I don’t know much about these mysterious Fae, but from what little I’ve read, kindness isn’t exactly what they’re known for.

Trystan’s lip quirks slightly. “They can be very kind. I’ve gotten to know two of them. But their relationship with Wren is ironic, since he’s constantly working against their power.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s a brilliant apothecary. Like our mother was. Like you. He spends all his time making medicines to save people’s lives. Mainly from the Grippe.”

Trepidation rises. “If he’s working against Death Fae power...does that mean they cause the Grippe?”

Trystan shakes his head. “No. Not directly. But they’re aligned with forces of nature that are...difficult.”

“Like sickness?”

He pivots his head as if equivocating. “Like that. They’re primordial, Ren. It’s complicated, and none of us has a good understanding of their power.” Trystan glances toward the blue rune border and frowns. “Wrenfir left to deliver Norfure tincture to those people you came through the Dyoi Forest with.”

Profound relief rushes over me. Emberlyyn and Tibryl will be cured, just like that, by the wildly expensive medicine.

“He steals most of the ingredients,” Trystan bluntly tells me. “To make medicine for those who can’t afford it. Like he couldn’t afford it when he was a child.”

I consider this. “You shouldn’t have to be rich to get medicine.” Trystan nods, our powers whirling around each other decidedly even as another question rises. “Are all those cats Wrenfir’s?”

Trystan nods. “He lost his childhood cat during the Realm War and he never got over it. He rescues them now.”

A pang cuts through me as I think of my own cat, Isobel, who split her time between our cottage and the Gaffneys’. I hope against hope she’s ensconced there now.

“When he’s not rescuing cats,” Trystan tells me, “Wrenfir works straight through practically every night making medicine for the people stuck on the other side of that wall. We’re an odd lot, but I rather like our family.”

“He’ll save Tibryl’s and Emberlyyn’s lives, you know.”

“Yes, well, Wrenfir knows what it’s like to bereallysick. And he knows what it’s like to be unwanted in a new place.” Trystan’s gaze slides down to Vothe and catches there, his water power breaking free of his control to flow toward Vothe in a heated shudder.

Vothe abruptly looks up, the shifter’s bright silver gaze meeting Trystan’s, his own power flashing toward my brother in a charged current.

“You know...” I venture, “Vothe has strong feelings for you. I can sense it in his power.”

Trystan turns to me, blinking with obvious, abashed surprise. “Are you Lupine now?”

I shrug, unable to suppress a faint smile. “Similar, maybe. I can sense the emotion inside people’s power. Vogel triggered something in my magic when Lukas and I...” Jagged pain digs in deep, like a shard of glass. “When Lukas and I were Sealed,” I tightly finish, overcome by the yearning to be back with Lukas in the imagined safety of Chi Nam’s Vonor. Wrapped around each other...

Trystan’s hand tightens around mine.

“I love him,” I admit, heart wrenching. “I love Yvan too, but I thought him dead. And then... I fell in love with Lukas. And...it’s so hard knowing that he’s out there somewhere, in trouble, and I have to wait to go after him.”

“You’ll get to him,” Trystan assures me. “Your power will be unbound in a day’s time. But Ren, I think it’s important that you don’t act alone. Vogel’s brilliant, and he’s going to do everything he can to draw you in. I think all of us, working together, can help safeguard against that. Vogel’s obsessed with the Prophecy, which means he’ll stop at nothing to get to you and Yvan both.”

I give my brother a fraught look. “I need to find Yvan too.”

“I know you do.”

My emotions give a hard, aching twist, tangling tighter than my lines. “But...when he finds out I’m fully Sealed to Lukas...” The ache twists harder. “It’s tearing me apart to even think about it.”

“Then don’t, for the moment. Elloren, Yvan will get past this, and he will persevere. We all understand that there’s a lot more at stake here than our own hearts.”

Tears sheen my eyes, my brother’s face wavy through them. “I love Yvan too,” I say, my voice breaking around the admission. “I can’t help it. I just do. I love them both.”

A compassionate weight enters his gaze. “Life is complicated, Ren,” he says. “The rigid lines don’t hold. We all have to navigate that, the best we can.”

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