Page 86 of Cathmoir's Sons

“Congratulations,” I tell him.

“You better get summa or you’ll never hear the end of it,” Law says, grinning so widely I can count all thirty of his teeth.

I sneer at him. “I intend to.”

“They’re holding a ceremony for the mid-year graduates at the end of Winter Study,” Law tells me. “I’m inviting Kellan as my plus one.”

“Bold,” I say.

He grins even more widely if that’s possible. I expect his head to hinge open. “After today? I can’t be bolder than our mate.”

Mom pats his biceps. “Finish your story. What happened after she came out to the class?”

Law slants me an amused glance. Ever since I introduced Rhodes to my parents, every revelation has been a “coming out” for Mom.

“Her students peppered her with questions. Then Luca and I asked some questions to make her position as Crow Queen clear. Her students left with a great deal to gossip about.”

Luca chuckles. “Law’s underplaying the Q-and-A session. It lasted longer than her class.”

“She handled it like a queen,” Law says, grinning up at the ceiling as he stretches back into the cushions. “She was magnificent.”

She was. Standing at the front of her classroom in almost the same outfit that we first saw her in: high boots over soft leggings, a white button-down shirt that’s probably mine or Law’s under a wrinkled brown blazer, eyes gleaming glacial blue between wisps of black hair escaping her long braid, casual and confident and unafraid and somehow noble. Kellan becomes more her awakened self every day.

I’ve never been prouder to be hers.

“Where is she?” I ask.

She left her classroom hand-in-hand with us. We walked her back to her office. She said she wanted to check-in with Jane Serpa, which I thought was odd because Law told me Jane’s away until Thursday but would join us for dinner at Cait House. I snuck some one-on-one time with Rhodes before he headed off for a swim, then I came to Cait House. I expected her to be here already.

“In the Library with Aine,” our mother answers. “Kellan brought a statue from Isla Cedros for Aine to take to school.They’re on some sort of crystal ball with Aine’s friends planning a presentation.”

Law snorts. “It’s a videoconference. Your phone does them, too.”

Mom wrinkles her nose. “Human technology.”

“This generation of phones have so little metal in them, they can be used by the highest fae. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Holly King has one,” Law says. “I know for a fact that Callan Dùbhghlas has one because I saw him text on it.”

“Challenge you to get his number,” I mutter to my twin.

“Accepted.” He agrees so readily I narrow my eyes at him. What angle is he already working that he’ll be able to get the Thistle Regent’s personal cell phone number in twenty-four hours, which is the standard timeframe for our bets? “You’re off now until Madame Serpa’s class on Thursday, right?”

I nod. “You need me?”

“I’ve hit a ... snag in the search for Kimberly Cavalo-Darling. Your new Plane-Walking skills may come in handy.”

“You think she’s on another plane?” I ask.

Law slants his eyes at Mom, who is growing agitated by our exchange. “I’ll show you what I’ve found tomorrow. Mom, should I get the girls for dinner?”

She leans over and kisses his cheek. “Would you, darling?”

He motions me to follow him. He closes the door to the family lounge behind us and butts his shoulder against mine. “I don’t want her to worry. Dad won’t but she still does.”

“I get it. Where did that murderous bitch go?” I ask as we start walking toward the Library.

“Initially, into Faery. I tracked her through some of the outer lands. She was circling, getting closer and closer to the Court of Cold Mist. Probably tracking the scent of your human’s blood to the place you healed him. Before she reached the Force Isela, hertrail faded. I didn’t recognize it at the time, but now I know the lingering stench of Hell. That’s where I think she’s gone.”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” I ask my twin. I could dip into his mind to find out but I really don’t need to. I’m fairly sure he is.

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