Page 130 of Drawn in Blood
Osiris sighed, sitting down in front of the dying fire as he nodded. “There’s a group of us who have been working ontearing it down from the inside, brick by brick.” He looked at Fen, concern in his eyes now. “A rebellion of sorts. You don’t understand what you’ve gotten yourselves into.”
“A few months ago, Collum started receiving letters from someone. He was giving them inside information, but something spooked him.”
Her conversation with Rowan played on a loop in her head. Could this be who she was communicating with? Could she have been working with Osiris all this time?
“Maybe not,” Fen shrugged, “but at least we’re together again. We can handle it.”
Osiris sighed as he bobbed his head. “I love the confidence, little brother,” he breathed a laugh, “but this is so much bigger than you can fathom.”
They cleaned up their makeshift campsite, packing away the blankets and cooking utensils, and set everything on the edge of the lake for the Merrow to come back for. Osiris’s words kept ringing in Ember’s ears, and the dread about what was to come settled in her stomach, like a stone dragging her to the bottom of the ocean.
Theo wrapped his hand around hers, smiling as he gave it a gentle squeezing.
I’m here.
After snatching his bracelet back from Fen, Osiris Echoed everyone to the entrance of Heksheim, then they all took the Echopoint home. There were ten Vala children in total, each of them scared and quiet and looking like they might wither away right in front of them. Ember’s stomach did flips as she walked up the drive toward the Kitts’ house, and she was very thankful she hadn’t eaten anything for breakfast that morning.
Osiris opened the door, and everyone walked in, the small group of children huddled together without saying a word. The house was deathly silent, but mumbling could be heard in theden—two men and a woman. Eira, Otto, and… someone else Ember couldn’t quite place. Fen must’ve heard them too because he suddenly looked like he was going to pass out.
“I am so dead,” he mumbled, his face ashen.
Ember took a step behind the boys as Eira stormed in the room, just to be safe.
“Fenrir Kitt, I should skin you alive!” she shouted, a frazzled look in her eyes. “How do you think I felt when I woke up and found you gone?”
“Me?!” Fen exclaimed. “Osiris was gone too!”
“Your brother is not sixteen years old with a curfew!” she replied, pointing a finger at him, nostrils flaring. “Just wait until your father gets ahold of?—"
The word got caught in her throat as she sucked in a breath. Maeve peaked out from behind Fen, a giant grin on her face as she ran toward her mother. Eira sank to her knees.
“Mummy!” Maeve shouted, grinning from ear to ear as she wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck. “Mummy, I’m back!”
“Maevie,” Eira sobbed, her chest shaking as she held her daughter close. The wailing grew louder, and soon, Otto was running into the room. He gasped, tears welling in his eyes as he wrapped Eira and Maeve in a hug, and no one said a word as tears slid down his cheeks as well. Della barreled into the room, like just the sound of Maeve’s voice echoing through the house called to her. She leapt onto the little girl, nuzzling her head under Maeve’s chin. Maeve wrapped her arms tightly around her neck, and Ember watched as she whispered into the Cat Sidhe’s ear—something only for the two of them to hear.
“How did you find her?” Eira whispered, as she looked at Osiris.
“It wasn’t me.” He shrugged, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. “It was those four eejits.” He pointed behind him ashe rolled his eyes. “I found them in a very precarious cave this morning.”
“Cave?” Otto asked, brow raised.
“Ember love,” Eira said, as she stood up, furrowing her brow, “what are you doing here?”
Ember squeezed Theo’s hand, touching her cheek where Collum’s knife had sliced her open with the other. “Um,” she stuttered, “it’s a long story.”
Otto cocked an eyebrow at Fen. “The four of you have some explaining to do.”
“And who might you all be?” Eira asked, as she peaked around the corner where the group of children were huddled.
“I would love to know the answer to that as well,” a deep voice said from the door leading into the den. Captain Balor’s auburn hair was perfectly trimmed, the top swept to the side and his beard neatly groomed. His emerald eyes bore holes into the four of them as he cocked a brow, crossing his arms over his chest.
“We called Captain Balor this morning when we realized both of you were gone,” Eira said, noting all of their shocked expressions. “We were just about to send out a search party. You had us worried sick.”
Ember sucked in a breath. She didn’t know that she would ever trust anyone in the Guard ever again, but especially not a captain.
“Siris, go get your sister and the children something to eat,” Eira said, then pointed at Odette, Ember, and the boys. “You four,” she commanded, “into the den.”
Ember glanced at Osiris—a silent plea.
