Chapter 37 Phin
Phin
Aquick peek showed that the three Nephilim were out cold, all cuddled together in my bed. I’d been worried that it would be too small, but clearly that fear was unfounded. Harmon and James each hand an arm and a leg over Brinda, who was sandwiched between them.
Ramsey had curled up in front of my bedroom door to guard. She was sleeping, too, but I had no doubt she’d be up the moment she heard them stir.
Seir went into the first library almost immediately and closed the door behind himself, confusing me terribly. After a beat, he opened it a crack.
“Sorry, Phin!” he called, which almost made me laugh.
“What’s he up to?” I asked as I followed behind Tap, who first went to the great hall and shuttered at least half the gates and then went into the kitchen and started stacking ingredients on the counter.
“He’s using my larger scrying mirror I assume. A friend of his is the King of Everwood, in the fae realm. We may be able to send your cousins to him for temporary safekeeping.”
What Tap had said was all real words, certainly, and most of them sensical. But it took me several tries to really grasp what he’d said. “Cousins? Fae king?”
“Yes. Ris is Greta’s father, actually. And in a manner of speaking, they are cousin to you, are they not? All Nephilim?”
“Oh.” I blinked, taking this additional information in. “I suppose that’s correct enough, yes.”
Tap’s mouth twitched as he started chopping and sautéing what appeared to be a very large pot of hearty stew.
“Thank you,” I said, emotions still riding me heavily. “For this.”
He shook his head, bumping his glasses back up his nose with his wrist as they started to slip. “You owe me no thanks for this, Feather. This is simply the decent thing to do.”
“And yet you’re ignoring how rare it is to be so.” I squeezed his arm and moved to chop or stir, whichever was more helpful. “Do you think it would be okay to eat in the first library? The table in there would be better to seat everyone.”
“Yes, that should be fine. There’s nothing so secretive in there they couldn’t see it. And they wouldn’t be able to do much with it anyhow.”
Seir came in as I was stacking up bowls.
“Ris is quite agreeable to our request,” he said proudly.
“His palace has plenty of open rooms, and there’s always work for people to do.
His soldiers are well trained and likely bored.
They’ve been very efficient at clearing out all the disloyal since I was there last.”
“That’s good news, all of it.” Tap sprinkled spices over the simmering pot of stew, the aroma already mouthwatering.
Seir came to peer over Tap’s shoulder and added another couple dashes of spice, earning him a stunned glare from his brother.
“I also checked in with the others. Rylan says things are odd, but aside from the sun beginning to disappear a little, there’s been nothing else to worry over.
Magnus and his teams explored the gates that signaled the energy surges, but they also found nothing unusual.
Seems it’s just the eclipse making things go a little … off.”
Tap nodded, but the pensive look on his face told me he didn’t want to dismiss anything yet. “Won’t be long then, if Rylan noted the sun is going dark.”
They went off to check as many gates as they could while the soup cooked, and I took the opportunity to make some quick bread to have with it. That didn’t occupy quite enough time, so I left all the doors between the living area and the deals library wide open and made myself sort for a while.
Ramsey finally alerted me that everyone was awake a few hours later, and I walked out the libraries to find her leading the three Nephilim back to the couch. They all sat, clearly still groggy and looking both as though they had slept well and like they needed to do the same thing for a week.
“I trust you slept well?” I asked.
“Very much so, thank you.” Brinda smiled. “We haven’t been in a bed like that in ages.”
Years, I’d wager. Ramsey chuffed in my head. They’ve endured much, mistress. Comfort is not something they’ve had much of.
My heart squeezed, and I felt terrible for having ever complained about my circumstances at the church.
It was not a competition, but I’d had it easy, compared to them.
“I’m glad to hear that. Are you hungry?” They glanced between themselves, clearly embarrassed to say they were after having already eaten.
“There’s stew and bread. Get you full and warm before you go. ”
“You’re being so kind,” James said. “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing, really,” Tap said from the other side of them, drawing everyone’s attention. “Please also allow me to apologize for the impression I must have made when you got here.”
“Your reaction was warranted. We understand and appreciate all you’ve done, very much,” Harmon agreed.
“We’ll bring everything, if you’d like to show them to the table, Feather.”
“Of course. Come with me?”
They rose and, as a cluster, walked with me through the first door into the familiars library.
They chose seats all in a row down one side of the table, Brinda still at the center between James and Harmon.
They all looked around with awe, the tall shelves packed with scrolls and envelopes stunning no matter how many times I’d seen them.
Tap set down the huge pot while Seir dished out bowls and passed them around. Ramsey got hers delivered on the floor and sniffed at it.
“Not to your liking, hound?” Seir teased.
Just too hot to eat, demon. She sat back, doing the dog equivalent of an eye roll.
I laughed, startling Brinda. “Sorry, Ramsey and Seir are teasing one another.”
“Oh.” Her mouth twitched into a smile. “How fun. She’s truly something else, isn’t she?” Her awe of the hellhound made me hope there was a special creature in her future.
As directed, the three of them ate as though storing up what they could before they entered unknown territories again.
“Where did you plan to go after this?” Tap asked.
James shook his head, reaching for another slice of bread. He smeared butter over it before taking a bite. “There are a few places we know we can stay for a few days or longer before having to move on. Probably start with one of them.”
“What if there was another option?” Seir asked, his grin playful.
“Like what?” Harmon asked. Brinda paused, spoon halfway to her mouth.
“Have you been to the fae realm at all in your travels?”
“No. We’ve only mastered the portals in this realm. It was hard enough finding places to go that were habitable and wouldn’t immediately be deadly, we didn’t dare risk going further, to somewhere inherently more dangerous.”
“Fair enough. Would you go there, if it meant you no longer had to keep running?”
They all three stopped, looking from him to me. “They would not betray you like that, I promise. This is a serious offer.”
“How would you convince the fae to take in three Nephilim who are being hunted by a dangerous member of the angelic council?” James chuffed, though he was not amused. “That’s an awfully tall order.”
“King Ris of the Everwood welcomes you,” Seir said plainly before eating a bite of soup.
“And the catch?” Harmon asked. “What are we trading for such generosity?”
“Likely some light labor around the palace, depending on your skills, of course. Some gratitude to those who’ve provided aid.
Information about those who wronged you and potentially some in-person testimony so they can be brought to the justice they deserve.
” Seir shrugged and the three had a conversation between themselves without ever speaking a word.
“That’s it?” Brinda asked.
“Should there be more?” Tap asked.
I understood her confusion to my bones. I’d reacted much the same way when Tap brought me here. After leading such a life, the notion that someone would do a kindness for no reason other than it was right was definitely perplexing.
“You can go today,” Seir said calmly. “I’ll escort you myself, after you’re finished eating.
If that’s what you want.” He sat back in his chair.
“Though if you want to continue on as you have, I respect that as well. Sometimes it’s harder to let go of the familiar than to take a chance on the unknown. ”
“You’re serious.” James repeated.
“Quite.” Tap nodded.
“I know you don’t know us from Adam,” Seir said, smirking hard, especially when James chuffed a laugh, “but the offer is genuine. Ris is a good man. His story is not mine to tell, but he was also imprisoned just for being who he is. He is beloved by his kingdom and does his best to treat everyone kindly. With fairness.” He swiped his napkin across his mouth and leaned forward on his elbows.
“Honest work. Ample food, warm bed, hot baths. What do you say?”
“Yes. Please.” Brinda fought her tears, but they won in the end. She dropped her head into her hands and sobbed out her thanks, her two men comforting her and giving us their gratitude just as vocally.
For a day that had started off feeling wrong, I couldn’t help feeling hopeful that we’d managed to turn everything around, at least for them.
After the meal, everyone gathered in the great hall near the portal to the fae realm. The one that led directly to Everwood was a deep, rich brown. There was a small pine tree in one corner and a red leaf in the other.
I briefly wondered if I would ever remember the symbols and sounds for all the places on the other side of the doorways like Tap did.
As if confirming my question, when I looked at the one beside it, a doorway built from driftwood with a sprinkle of golden sand in one top corner and a shell in the other, I knew that it led to a place called Aevum Cay.