Page 91 of Samhain

I hated him for it. I hated him for giving me this glimpse, this sneak peek, without explaining himself. But that was the point, wasn’t it? If, indeed, he was manipulating me, it was to his benefit to keep me questioning, to make me come to him for answers, to keep me barely satisfied, always hungry. If I were him, it was what I’d do.

I took a deep breath and calmed the rise of panic in my chest. He couldn’t cross over into this realm. Not only was he cursed, but I’d also grown the thickest patch of thistle thorn bushes in existence. It would take them eons to get through it.

As long as he didn’t find the ring.

We were safe for now.

I expected Lex to hear me get up and move around; he was the closest. But a soft, feminine hand landed on my shoulder before she reached for my cigarette to stab it out. Lost in my thoughts, I’d let it burn down to the filter.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she sat down facing me, “about Poppy in the woods.”

I cleared my throat, remembering she’d taken Lex’s side when it came to bringing the child with us.

“You both were right,” she said. “Siobhan wanted us to protect her, to bring her here.” A pause before she added. “But you know what this means, right?”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“We’re in this,” she continued, “for better or worse. Whatever was going on with the queen and the king, we now have the biggest chess piece.”

“We’ve been in this since you did whatever you did with Siobhan,” I said, my tone perhaps a little too curt.

“I know,” she said, hanging her head, “but Siobhan covered for us when she could have handed us over. We can still break this spell. We have to be patient and play this out.”

I wanted to be vengeful. I wanted to blame Ivy for all of this, to put the reasons for our unhappiness on her shoulders, but none of that was true. I’d known what we would find in those woods, and I’d gone anyway. I’d stolen a child and created a physical barrier around the entire fairy realm. I had no idea if it would keep them out, but I’d seen the rage on Alberich’s face before Lex yanked me home.

I’d kicked open a hornet’s nest.

“Thank you for protecting us.” Ivy grabbed my hand, brushing the words of our scars up against each other. “I saw what you did. You’re powerful…and incredibly hot.”

I cracked out a laugh.

“Even with the bloody eyes and ears and mouth and whatnot.”

I giggled harder.

“I love you, Miri,” she said, leaning in to kiss me.

“I love you, too,” I said against her mouth.

The anxiety in my chest lessened because, even if the king came for us, we had each other. And maybe with a bit of luck, and a bit of truth, and a bit of telepathy, and a bit of mother nature, we could take on whatever he brought with him.

I softened at Ivy’s touch. Sure, Carter and I had our star-crossed friendship from California, and Lex had always been my prince of darkness. But I’d met and fallen for Ivy first. She’d come a long way from that naive, innocent teenager I’d seduced on our last night at Mount Oberon. Now, she was a powerhouse, an Amazonian warrior that could read minds and fuck like a goddess.

I may have two husbands, but there was only one woman who held my heart tenderly in her embrace. Our love wasn’t like what I had with Carter and Lex, and I never wanted it to be. It was more precious and tender, built on our shared experience of being in the public light. Only I could know what it was like to be her, and only she could know what it was like to be me.

She held me close, massaging the back of my head with her talented fingers, and when I finally broke away, I leaned against her chest to borrow her strength.

“We’re in this together,” she murmured. “Please don’t forget that.”

Her words sounded prophetic, like perhaps she was the one that could see the future.

“I won’t,” I murmured. “I promise.”

27

Carter

The next morning, I woke to the sound of Lex talking to a small, childlike voice that I guessed was Poppy since she wasn’t in bed with me anymore.

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