Page 84 of Crown of Wrath

“Of course, it was Brenna Morvyn who created a death cloud and became a nightmare for all the Immortals, all while keeping her precious shadow walkers safe. Of course. Dragon's damned favorite child. I swear it’s just because she’s the only female Conduit.”

He says the words with a bit of frustration in his voice, but there’s a smile across his face. “Are you just upset you didn’t think of it?” I ask, an eyebrow arched.

“Yes! If it was as easy to protect my House as to ask Calyr for it, I’d have done it. I doubt that the world would have taken to a wandering firestorm as well, though. Or maybe it would have worked even better. Mists may be creepy, but a firestorm traveling across the land? Now that would be terrifying. Plus, it wouldn’t be as eerily quiet.”

All of us chuckle a little, but there’s a strangeness to all of this. This isn’t our world. Echo is proof of that. Yet, it’s kept my friends and family safe. Who knows what Gethin would have done if we’d have made Aerwyn or Blackgrove our base of operations? He would have burned them both to the ground. He’d have found us. He knew we were coming from Stormhaven, and he set an army against us that would have burned every town it came across.

My mother saved every person who I care about. I look from Hazel to Da, and before I even open the door, I walk toward them. I wrap my arms around Hazel first.

“I’m so glad you’re alive,” I whisper to her.

“I missed you too,” she whispers back, and her arms tighten around me. “Maeve, do you know if my parents are safe? Brenna said that you flew away with my mother, but what about my father?”

“Safe in Stormhaven,” I say. “They’re happy. King Aric has been told that they are important to me, and that means that he’s taking care to keep them close and protected. They’re safer than anywhere other than Valinar, but your father is really enjoying spending his time in Aric’s court.”

“I bet he is,” she says with a grin. “And I’m glad they’re doing it without me. Being in Valinar with your mother has been eye-opening. She’s an incredible woman, and she’s been so kind.I’m not so sure I’m all that interested in going away to court or marrying a prince anymore. In fact, I think I might start a bakery. Brenna says that in Draenyth even human women can make something of themselves if they’re excellent cooks.”

My thoughts go back to Mari, the Wyrdling baker who almost died because she was a Wyrdling that happened to be too close to me. “She’s right. A good baker can earn a fortune in Draenyth.” I don’t mention the dangers. Let her have her dreams for now. If we all get out of this unscathed, I’ll be there to protect her.

I turn to Da and give him a hug that’s just as heartfelt as the first one. “I thought you’d died, too. I watched you walk into the mist.”

He nods to me, but he doesn’t say anything. He just keeps holding me tight to his chest. I look up at him after a few moments and say, “Is it nice being back with Mother?”

He gives me the widest smile I’ve ever seen. “It’s just as good as it was before. The only thing that was missing was you, Little Star. You have no idea how excited she is that you’re here. That’s all she’s worried about for months. Ever since she found me and even before that.”

There’s a pause, and then he says, “But Maeve…” He pauses again as he gets his thoughts together. “You have to understand that your mother isn’t human. She… she doesn’t love the same way that we do. She’s still learning. Like a child who hasn’t quite learned to run yet, she still stumbles. The words she says sometimes are a little emotionless. There are a lot of things happening in the world, and she is very invested in the way they all play out. Sometimes she forgets that peoples’ lives matter, and they’re not just tools.”

I chuckle. “I understand, Da. She’s an Immortal. I’ve been having to learn how to be more like them. Maybe we can both learn a little from each other.”

“That’s my girl,” he says with obvious relief. I didn’t understand Immortals for a long time until I started watching my friends “die”.

Now I understand how important it is to be cold when everyone close to you could be taken away. I pull away from Da and smile at him.But not him. Not him or Hazel. I mourned them both already, and they will not be put in harm’s way again.

“I’ll catch up with you two later, but I think I need to talk to a few of my other friends now.”

Da grins at me as I turn to look at the crowd waiting patiently behind them. “I think that if you don’t, we might have a bit of a mob on our hands. We don’t need anyone getting pitchforks out just so they can give you a hug.”

“They’ve missed you,” Cole whispers as he wraps my hand in his.

“More like they missedyou,” I mutter, but then I see their eyes on me. Their smiles and grins as they wave to me. Not Cole.

“No, they were thankful for me. They appreciated what I did for them, but they cared about you. Theymissedyou.”

“Well, I’ve certainly missed them, too,” I say, and then Bog begins to tell us all about how he taught Brenna how to catch us.

Interlude 4

BrennaMorvynholdsthechild, a strange thing that seems less like the High Fae her mother was and more like the world that she’d come from. A new thing. Something other. High Fae blood flows through her veins like her mother, who lies dead in the bed behind Brenna.

Elowen Vael was one of her best shadow walkers, a testament to her House. When she’d become pregnant, everyone had thought it had been a miracle. They’d believed that being in Valinar had brought back the possibility of children. Everyone had been so excited.

Brenna could feel that something was wrong, though. In Elowen. She’d become lethargic. She’d struggled to stand, to speak, to even exist. Everything took so much effort. Her powers had faded to nothing.

No one knew what it would be like to have a child in Valinar, though. No one knew what the cost would be.

Brenna knew that this was wrong. She could feel the power draining from Elowen. The child was feeding on her mother rather than drawing power from the void, as it should. Shetook her aside and explained what she was feeling. She told her that there was a good chance that she wouldn’t survive the pregnancy.

And Elowen decided. A life for a life. Elowen saw her daughter for seconds before the last of her power was gone. Seconds.

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