Page 94 of Samhain

“No,” Lex said. “I’ll take her to Russia.”

I narrowed my eyes on him, digging in my heels. I trusted Lex; I did. But after his speech about protecting us last night, I wasn’t about to leave her alone with him, either. I didn’t think he’d do anything to hurt her, but I needed to know for sure. “I’m not leaving her until I know she’s safe.”

Lex’s hazel gaze darted between mine before he ultimately relented and nodded. “As you wish.”

Act V

The best in this kind are but shadows,

and the worst are no worse if imagination amend them.

-Theseus, Act V, Scene 1

28

Carter

RUSSIA

Saying goodbye to Ivy and Miri this time didn’t wreck my heart like it did two years ago, probably because it wouldn’t be long before I saw them again. I couldn’t stay away; terrible things would happen if I did. We made plans to get together for Christmas next month, and even if it would take some massaging my schedule, I’d do whatever I could to make it happen.

Poppy, on the other hand, needed to disappear. Unlike my spouses, I truly didn’t know when or if I’d see her again. I’d only met the child two days ago, but my fate had become as intrinsically linked to hers as it was to the others.

She kicked her feet over the seat of the charter plane Lex rented, resting her chin on her crossed arms as she watched the clouds go by out the window. She seemed lost in thought, biting her bottom lip between her teeth. Lex sat opposite us, his attention on his laptop as he caught up on school.

It had been a rough couple of days.

Hearing ghosts in the woods. Having sex in Faerie. Meeting a fairy queen only to have her ambushed by the fairy king. And now, we had a gifted child in our care.

What a fucked-up tale. Who would believe it? I barely could, and I’d lived it.

If Poppy was curious about anything she saw, she didn’t mention it. She hardly said anything, which I figured was appropriate considering what she’d been through, what we’d all been through.

I tugged on a blond pigtail, and she looked at me.

“Flying is so long and boring,” she said. “Why can’t you show me a picture of where we’re going and I’ll take us?”

I laughed. “Remember our promise? No one can know. You need to stop using it so much.”

She rolled her big doe eyes like I was an idiot. For only being ten, she’d read me like a book.

“I need to tell you something,” I said.

“Okay.” She seemed unsure.

“I’m really lucky,” I said. “I never lose a game of cards. I once gambled twenty bucks and made over a million dollars in three hours.”

She pulled her lips in between her teeth and looked down to the ground between us.

“Lex over there,” I said. “He can make anyone tell him the truth. I mean anyone.”

“Really?” She raised her eyebrows.

“Miri can make plants grow with her hands.”

“Like the thistles,” Poppy said, seeming to understand.

I nodded. “And Ivy can get inside anyone’s head, know what they’re thinking, talk to them.”

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