Page 78 of A Killing Frost

“You think we don’t know the monster claimed you because you interceded on my behalf?” asked Patrick sharply. Simon turned to look at him. Patrick shook his head. “She never lived publicly as our Firstborn, but when Daoine Sidhe did things she didn’t approve of, they would take a meeting with the Countess of Goldengreen, and the misbehavior would stop. I had my own meeting with her, remember? I came out of it convinced Dianda was beneath me, and no good son of the Daoine Sidhe could find a future beneath the waves. I would have rejected her, and destroyed my ownhopes for a happy life, if not for your intercession. You helped Dianda return me to my senses, and you spoke to the Countess, and she never interfered with me again. Honestly, I’m not sure she ever spoke to me again. She had someone more faithful to serve her. Someone who already knew what it was to serve one of the First, even if we didn’t know her for what she was.”

“We should all have known long before we did,” said Simon, sounding more subdued. “We should have seen the way she bent the world by moving through it. She lied to us, and we allowed it, because something in us knew that any protest would see us slapped down and denied. She hated King Gilad because he stood outside her control. We should haveknown.”

“You knew as much as any of us could.” Patrick took a cautious step toward him. “You knew about Amandine.”

“Not until August’s birth,” said Simon. “I believed her when she told me she was Daoine Sidhe, before that. It didn’t matter. I had a human mother. That put us far enough apart not to be siblings, and so we could marry without concern of impropriety.”

That was the first time I’d heard a pureblood even imply that incest might be frowned on. I blinked at him, suddenly putting the lists of surnames I associated with the nobility into a new context. There was always something to learn about Faerie, even now.

“Amandine had a human mother, too,” said Quentin. “We’ve met her. She’s a weird lady.”

“Five-hundred-year–old humans usually are,” I said. “I guess once you get cursed by the Faerie Queen you betrayed, you get a little squirrelly.”

Simon turned to frown at me, snapped out of the shell of his reunion with Patrick. “Amy’s mother was a human?”

“Oh, buddy, you have a lot left to learn about the family you went and married into, although I have the feeling someone here is getting ready to fix that little problem,” I said.

Simon looked startled, then turned back to Patrick. “What is she talking about?”

Patrick reached for his hands, and when Simon didn’t pull away, grasped them firmly, twining their fingers together and holding Simon fast. “Dianda and I have discussed this, at length, since you and October brought August home, and you lost your own way. We want you to divorce your wife.”

“What?”

“You can now,” said Dianda. “August being back means both your children can declare which parent’s bloodline they want to belong with. Her absence was the reason we didn’t bring this up a long time ago—not that you would have listened while you were still trying to find her. Amandine doesn’t treat you like she loves you. She treats you like a useful pet, and maybe that’s how she knows to love, but I wouldn’t tolerate it if Patrick treated me like that, and I won’t stand by while someone I care about is treated like that.”

“What?” said Simon again, sounding even more puzzled.

“You can divorce Mom now,” I said. “August and I can both approve it. No one can stop you. Mom never tried to get you away from Evening. When you went looking for August and she knew it was hurting you, she didn’t help. She never even told me about you. She cut you out of her family a long time ago. Now it’s your turn. Cut her free. Cut yourself free.”

“You lost your way home and she did nothing,” said Tybalt. “I died today, watching October follow you into the dark. I can’t imagine sitting by and allowing her to remain lost as Amandine has done with you. Love can’t always save you, but love should always try to guide you home.”

“I can’t leave Amy,” said Simon. “August would never forgive me. She must still be so confused after being lost for so long...”

“Amandine already left you,” said Patrick. “A long time ago. You owe her nothing.”

“I think your relationship with August might be improved if she didn’t have to worry about whether Mommy and Daddy are going to be fighting again,” I said. “And we don’t know what she’ll choose if given the opportunity to observe your divorce. Maybe she’ll go with you. The parent who kept looking for her after the other one had given up and moved on.”

“I don’t have anywhere to go,” said Simon. “My brother will have me elf-shot on a slab before I can finish telling him that I’m coming home to stay. I don’t have a home in the human world any longer; I sold the apartment after my patroness feigned her death and left me with no need for legitimate business ties. Amy’s tower is the only home available to me right now.”

“That’s never been true,” said Patrick. “Even if you think it is, it’s not the case. I would have taken you with me from the start if not for Amandine. I love you.”

“Welove you,” said Dianda. She stepped forward, resting a hand on Patrick’s shoulder, while Dean looked quietly horrified. “I’ve never forgotten how much help you were when I was courting Patrick. We could never have navigated the differences between our cultures if you hadn’t been there to encourage him to try and keep me from swimming away. You had his heart before I did, and part of it has always belonged exclusively to you. I’ve never tried to win it away.”

Simon stared at her, speechless. I had to admit, I understood the reaction. I’d known they wanted me to find Simon because he and Patrick had been friends when Patrick still lived in the Mists. I hadn’t expected it to be because they were trying to get me to facilitate a threesome.

Not that I minded, exactly. It was just a bit of a surprise.

“Leave her,” said Patrick, voice low and urgent. “Walk away from that woman, who has never deserved you, not even for a moment. Let your daughters declare themselves one way or another, and you walk away. Come home with us.”

“You’ll be safe in Saltmist,” said Dianda. “We’ll keep you safe, and well away from all the dangers the land has to offer you. And before Amy gets any ideas about coming for you, we’ll marry you ourselves, and keep you in the deeps forever.”

“I...” Simon stopped, and simply stared at the two of them. Patrick and Dianda smiled hopefully back, Patrick never letting go of his hands.

“Okay, gotta admit, this is a solution I never thought of,” I said, leaning closer to Tybalt. Dean still looked horrified, although confusion was rapidly overwhelming his expression. Quentin just looked confused.

“It’s one that is not open to us,” said Tybalt firmly. “I refuse to share you, or to be shared.”

“Wasn’t going to ask you to,” I said. “I’m still human enough to prefer the standard model of marriage. Also not a Firstborn, and not planning to let you wander off on some life-threatening quest while I hang out with another dude for a decade.”

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