Chapter 29 Bree
Bree
The door swings open so fast it nearly slams against the wall.
"I'm so sorry, darling—I missed breakfast, didn't I?" Mairen bustles in with an apron half-tied and cheeks flushed, scanning the kitchen like she expects to find me still stirring eggs. "I've got a new batch going, don't you worry—"
I blink, halfway to rinsing my mug. "We already ate."
She stops short, blinking owlishly. "You did?" A beat. Then, cheerfully: "Oh, well. Plenty of mouths still to feed."
My frown deepens. "What do you mean?"
She smiles, wiping her hands on her apron like it's the most ordinary thing in the world. "The ones that came, dear."
She gestures vaguely toward the front of the house.
"They're all outside. Because of you."
My breath catches. "Outside?"
The woman nods, entirely unfazed. "Mm-hmm. I'd say about a hundred or so, maybe more. Quiet as anything, just standing there. Like they've been waiting."
"Waiting for what?" Rhett asks, straightening from where he's been wiping down the counter.
The woman's eyes twinkle. "You, darling. Or rather, her."
Jace lets out a low whistle. "Well, that's not ominous at all."
Theo's already moving toward the front windows. "She said they're outside?"
"I didn't hear any cars," Wes mutters, looking suddenly uneasy.
"They didn't drive," Mairen says simply. "They followed the Ether."
That draws a silence thicker than surprise—something heavier, older, crawling under my skin like static.
I glance around. The others are already in motion.
"Come on," Gray says, his voice quieter than usual. "Let's see what we're dealing with."
No one asks if we should.
We just go.
The hallway stretches ahead of us as we move toward the front of the sanctuary. Theo appears from somewhere behind us, slightly out of breath.
"Where were you?" Jace asks, falling into step beside him.
"Went out the back," Theo says, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "Thought I heard something. Didn't see anything, though."
"Following Stellan and Thane?" Jace's tone carries just enough knowing edge to make Theo flush slightly.
"Just... checking," Theo mutters.
I catch Wes's expression as we walk—something restless in the set of his shoulders, the way his eyes keep darting between the front door and back toward where Theo came from. Like he's caught between wanting to know what happened and being afraid of the answer.
There's something different about him lately. More... awake, somehow. Like he's been sleepwalking for years and is finally starting to stir. I want to ask him about it, but the front door is already in sight.
The front door opens to something that steals my breath completely.
The sanctuary grounds stretch out in gentle slopes of pale stone and flowering trees, beautiful in the morning light. But the beauty isn't what stops me cold.
It's the people.
Mairen wasn't kidding.
They cover the lawn like a sea of stillness—maybe a hundred, maybe more. Men and women of every age, standing in loose clusters or sitting on the grass. Some look like they've been traveling for days. Others seem like they just stepped out of normal lives and found themselves here.
But they're all looking at me.
The moment we step fully into view, the entire crowd drops to their knees.
Not quickly. Not dramatically. Just... naturally. Like breathing. Like they've been waiting for this exact moment their entire lives.
The silence is so complete I can hear my own heartbeat.
"Holy shit," Jace breathes beside me.
I can't move. Can't speak. The weight of a hundred pairs of eyes, all focused on me with something that looks like reverence, presses down until I can barely breathe.
"I didn't ask for this," I whisper.
The mist starts to curl around my ankles—not thick or dramatic, just a whisper of silver that moves as if it's trying to comfort me in response to my panic. But even that small movement draws murmurs from the crowd. Awe. Recognition.
Rhett positions himself slightly in front of me, protective instincts kicking in. Gray hangs back but I can feel his attention like a weight. Wes looks pale, his jaw tight with something that might be fear.
Theo, though. Theo is smiling. Just slightly. Like he's been expecting this.
"You knew," I say, not really a question.
"I had... an idea," he admits. "The visions have been getting stronger. More specific. People on roads, all moving toward the same place."
"And you didn't think to mention it?"
"Would it have changed anything?" His voice is gentle. "Would you have been more ready if you'd known?"
I look out at the sea of kneeling figures and know he's right. Nothing could have prepared me for this.
That's when one figure stands.
The first thing I notice is how she moves—confident without being threatening, like she's used to being looked at but doesn't need the attention. Dark skin, hair that shines in the morning light. There's something familiar about her, though I know we've never met.
She walks forward alone, and I tense slightly—but then she makes herself smaller somehow. Not like she's afraid, just... careful. Like she knows everyone's watching and doesn't want to spook me.
When she's close enough to speak quietly, she says, "Looks like someone forgot your throne, sweetheart."
I blink, startled. "Do I know you?"
She smiles, and some of the tension in my shoulders eases. "Not yet. But I have a feeling we're going to be good friends. I'm Zira, by the way."
"I'm Bree," I manage, though something tells me she already knows that.
Behind me, I hear Theo make a small sound of agreement. When I glance back, he's nodding slightly, that knowing look in his eyes.
I don't know why, but that doesn't worry me the way it probably should. There's something about her—the way she's looking at me like I'm a person instead of whatever these other people think I am.
I feel that pull again—the same one I get around Thane and Stellan and... Wes. But where the others make me feel uncertain or overwhelmed, this feels... steadying. Like recognition without the weight.
"We've come from all over," she continues, gesturing back toward the crowd without taking her eyes off me. "Different paths, same call. The Ether, it... pulled. And we followed."
"I don't understand," I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
"You don't have to understand it yet. You just have to feel where it's leading." Her smile softens. "They want to hear from you, you know."
The thought sends ice through my veins. "I don't have anything to say."
She tilts her head, and for a second, I think she might laugh. But her expression stays gentle. "Say that, then. Say anything. You don't have to command the room. Just let them know you see them."
I look back at the others. Rhett nods once, firm and steady. Jace gives me an encouraging smile even though I can see the worry in his eyes. Gray's expression is unreadable, but he's not moving away. Theo's still smiling that knowing smile.
Wes looks scared, but when our eyes meet, he nods too.
"You got this," Jace whispers.
Do I?
I don't feel like I've got anything. I feel like a girl who was eating breakfast twenty minutes ago and now has a hundred strangers staring at her like she's supposed to save them from something.
But they're all looking at me. Waiting.
And maybe... maybe that's enough.
I take a step forward.
The crowd shifts slightly, attention sharpening, but no one stands. No one speaks.
Another step. The mist follows, curling gently around my feet like it's trying to give me courage.
By the time I reach the edge of the stone terrace that overlooks the lawn, my heart is pounding so hard I'm sure everyone can hear it.
Behind me, Zira's voice is quiet but clear. "That's it, babe. Just let them see your eyes."
I open my mouth to speak.