Chapter 34 #2
His brows drew together. “That makes absolutely no sense. Why would you storm the brain? No. We’re picking the ideas out. It’s brain picking. I’m sure of it.”
Biting my lip, I giggled. I couldn’t help it. When he raised a brow at me, I laughed harder. It felt like talking to an exchange student, which made sense, considering the fae world basically was an entirely different country.
“No, I’m sorry, you’re right. That does make more sense.” I waved a hand in surrender as I wiped tears from my eyes, trying not to lose it again at their mystified expressions. “Brain picking it is. How do we start? I’d like to stay, if that’s okay.”
“Of course.” Soren dipped his head in a nod. “It’s usually a bit rough to start out. Have faith that we’ll think of something with a little picking.”
I pressed my lips together to hold back another giggle at this serious, handsome dude trying to use human slang for my sake and totally failing.
Lore stood up. I thought she was going to say something, but she just cleared her plate, bringing it to the kitchen to set it in the sink.
Everyone sat quietly, thinking. As Lore came back, though, she got animated, waving her hands.
“I have an idea. Since Brynn can lie, we could glamour her to pose as Soren’s sister—”
“Caius knows Soren’s sister. Quite well,” Gwen said, shooting the idea down. I thought of the dark-haired beauty in the painting upstairs.
“Oh.”
“But it’s a good start,” Peregrin said, heading toward the kitchen, where he started washing dishes.
Gwen tapped her lip thoughtfully. “The prince will be suspicious of anyone coming to collect Brynn’s family.”
“That he will,” Soren agreed in a grim tone.
“So, we’ll need to mislead him somehow, or distract him . . .” Gwen stared into space thoughtfully.
I spoke up. “We could use the fact that he knows I’m from this Grimhollow family-clan-thing, right?”
They turned to me.
“You’re from what?” Lore said into the stunned silence.
Gwen frowned. “Who is Grimhollow? That name sounds familiar. Wasn’t it in the logbook recently?”
“The legends of the Grimhollow clan never reached the redcaps?” Lore teased her with a grin. “They’re one of the most dangerous families in the Shadow Court.”
Gwen snorted, unimpressed, but Lore turned to study my face. “I can see it, actually.”
“They could rival you and your family, Gwen,” Peregrin chimed in, then coughed and turned back to the dishes when she leveled him with a glare.
“Yes, the prince is well aware of the Grimhollow clan,” Soren answered my earlier question, bringing us back to the point. He gave me an encouraging nod.
I swallowed, straightening my spine. “Well, Caius said my ‘connections’ kept him from doing anything to me. Wouldn’t Dad, Rissa, and Olive have the same connections?”
Soren’s gaze dropped to the table, as if he were studying it for answers.
“He’s obviously aware of your family’s connections, but he doesn’t seem concerned.
Knowing that, if I had to guess, I’d say he’s referring to your relationship with me.
” He cleared his throat and continued before I could read into that.
“Perhaps he believes your mother doesn’t know any of you are here. ”
“You said earlier you think that’s probably true, right?” It had to be. She wouldn’t leave us here. If she knew, she would’ve done something by now. Even if I hadn’t known she was fae, she was still Mom. “So, if he’s counting on her not knowing, then . . .”
Gwen straightened, eyes on me, and finished the thought. “We make him believe she does know.”
“And that there will be consequences!” Lore said breathlessly. “Yes!”
“It’d be just like the last time we tricked him.” I met each of their gazes, feeling my courage bolster as they took my idea seriously. “We could fool him into thinking he has to do something about it. And then maybe he’d . . . give them back?” The last words came out as a big question mark.
“That has potential.” Soren considered his drink, raising it to take a small sip.
“It has some inherent risks that I’d prefer to avoid though.
We’ve gotten quite skilled at stealing humans out from under their fae masters.
If we can learn their whereabouts and get their contracts and the blood, we’ll still have the other option—”
“I’m afraid we don’t have any blood from Ivywren,” Julian interrupted from the doorway. He dropped into the chair across from me. “I’m sorry, Brynn.”
“It’s only a small setback,” Soren argued. “We can still get it.”
Julian sighed. “I would agree with you, but I know from speaking with Pious yesterday that Ivywren is stuck on the human side of the veil.”
“Oh no . . .” Lore groaned. “That’s the worst luck.”
“It really is.” For once, Peregrin stopped moving and sank into a chair as well, which somehow revealed how hopeless they saw it more than anything else.
“What does that mean?” I asked, pretty sure I already knew.
“The veil is closed to both human and fae,” Julian confirmed. “We can’t reach Ivywren for the next three months—not until the spring equinox.”
“So it’s back to Brynn’s idea,” Gwen said in a decisive tone. “And we can lean into the fact that Brynn can lie.”
“I don’t like it.” Soren drew a deep breath, blowing it out before saying finally, “But I suppose we’ll have to.”