Reaching Answers (Artemis University #8) - Erin R Flynn Page 0,108
long to see that and worried you’d regret giving up your family for me. I’m sorry I doubted your love.”
He gave me a watery smile. “You were sort of traumatized by what he did to us. You have not a damn thing to apologize for. I thank the gods you gave me the chance to win you back. Chances even, and I don’t deserve you.”
“No, you don’t,” Iolas grumbled from my left.
I used the wind rune to send him flying as I reached with my right hand to pull Darby in for a kiss, amusing lots of the fairies around us. And a lot of the hobgoblins, from the way the kids cheered.
“Darby’s the best boyfriend ever,” Elasha bragged to the Dark Guardian still holding her. “He made her an ice sculpture before they were dating. He said she was like Maleficent when she was good and fighting for everyone. He was super in love with her then. And he models for the co-op to help Tamsin when she’s nervous. He protects her at the photoshoots from all the dogs. Momma calls them dogs.”
“I think that’s enough of you repeating the adult talk,” one of the hobgoblins said as she changed colors to show she was embarrassed.
I didn’t focus on that though, but the first part of what Elasha had said, blinking at Darby. “You knew before I told you. Did you know then?”
“No, no I didn’t,” he chuckled. “I had no idea before we started dating. I figured it out when you were preparing for the Power Playoffs. You were reading a book written in Faerie. I thought I’d lost my mind, but you had been for a while and set it down and it slid off the pile after you left the room. I picked it up and it was in Faerie. I swore it was the wrong one, but then I started checking the books you read.”
“And you busted me,” I sighed, shaking my head when he nodded. “Yeah, I got a bit lax. My mind was focused on keeping all the runes straight and which ones I couldn’t use that would give me away as being a fairy that Craftsman had busted me a few times too.” I gave him a sweet kiss and brushed my nose against his. “That statue did mean everything to me. It touched my soul, my prickly pear.”
“It’s still how I see you, agra. You fight for what’s right and will never stop fighting, even if you lose your wings—even if you don’t have your wings yet.”
“Who’s Maleficent?” someone asked quietly.
Not quietly enough since we all heard him.
“Way to ruin the mood, jackass,” someone else replied.
I glanced up to see a light fairy ribbing a dark fairy and I didn’t give a single flying fuck that they’d ruined the moment I’d been having with Darby. The two guys were joking around and not giving a shit they were light or dark.
And that was one of the best presents ever.
And then we all enjoyed a massive brunch spread. The hobgoblins had brought a ton of food; so had others coming from the hotels, and a fuck ton from deliveries as well. We had blankets set up and runes to keep us warm in the winter weather.
It was honestly one of the best mornings of my life. There was only one thing—one person missing, and I was honestly tired of missing Mel, so I told my heart to stop. I wasn’t going to let her ruin this for me when my soul needed this.
Oddly enough, it worked. Sad, but it did. We all had a blast, and Faerie got to have some real joy liven it up in a way it hadn’t in twenty years.
Even if it was just one section of it.
Even if it was a fraction of its population.
Even if it was just for a morning.
It was a huge fucking win that we all appreciated.
23
After the picnic and it was clearly time to come in from the cold—since even magic could only do so much—I decided to push a bit. Everyone had been enjoying themselves so much and crossing the lines that I couldn’t help myself.
Plus, I thought it might really help us.
I walked right up to Taeral, a captain of the Dark Guardians who was a trusted advisor to Neldor’s mother and still fiercely loyal to her. Basically, Iolas’s counterpart in the other realm.
And supremely distrusting of me and Neldor’s biggest fan because of it.