Reaching Answers (Artemis University #8) - Erin R Flynn Page 0,52

coincidence or if Faerie truly is this sentient.”

“How so?” White asked me.

I gestured between Iolas and Katrina. “I mean, seriously?”

Katrina figured it out, knowing me well. “Yes, I will vouch for him. You’re one of the most distrusting people I’ve known, and that’s saying a lot. He was an advisor for your mother—who you are upset with, so that wouldn’t have won points with you—but you still wouldn’t have trusted him. Now you will give him some trust instead of your crumbs, and that skips steps when we need it.”

“Did the magic seriously pick two fairies that could be vouched for by two people I trust most?” I muttered, glancing between Iolas and Cluym. “Fine, I went for Cluym for Geiger but…” I shook my head. It was too trippy to even really consider.

Instead, I went over to greet Keya and Mourn who were in charge of the estate, thanking them for handling this all so last minute. Their son wanted to give me a hug—which I never said no to—and I immediately did, holding him on my hip as I greeted everyone else.

Then the other hobgoblin children wanted hugs so of course, I had to give them. In returned, they dabbed for me and any unease I had about the meeting was gone in laughter and their giggles.

“It’s a dance thing,” I told the fairies so they weren’t lost or thinking I did something weird with the kids.

Once the kids all headed out and everyone settled, it was time to get down to business.

Which I had to be the boss of.

Fuck.

I stared at everyone sitting at the tables that were set out in the ballroom and let out a heavy sigh. “You all have a ton of questions, even those of you who were in the loop. I would too. I have lots of questions myself. Sadly—for right now—we won’t get those answers. We just won’t. You have to accept that before we can move on because there are some things we want to tell you and get your thoughts on.”

“Nice to have you back, Iolas,” Mr. Silva said, emotions dancing in his eyes. “I thought we’d lost you, my friend.”

“I told you that I’d see you again,” he mumbled, scrubbing his neck. “It’s longer than I thought and my head is spinning, but yeah, nice to be back.” He frowned. “I hope.”

“It’s bad. Worse than you could have imagined,” Mr. Silva warned.

I held up my hand to hold them off. “And now you see the problem. These are the first fairies I’ve brought out of Faerie, and they’re two decades behind. I won’t give you specifics—”

“As it’s fairy business,” Neldor interjected.

I rolled my eyes before I could stop myself. “It will get out. It always does. Saying that just because fairies are secretive doesn’t…” I trailed off when several people burst out laughing.

Including the fairies.

I scrubbed my hands over my face and felt better when the ones not laughing were Hudson, Izzy, Darby, Lucca, and Craftsman. So all of us who didn’t grow up knowing fairies. “Fine, you all can keep the secret forever. Kinda not the point at the moment.”

“We apologize,” Mrs. Vogel said, one of the first to recover, but others nodded.

“I won’t give specifics, but magic went amuck in Faerie and people ended up trapped in it.”

“That’s more than you should say,” Neldor quietly seethed.

I blinked at him. “It’s been twenty years, and you are still clearly not an adult fairy. Keep all the secrets you want, but don’t assume others are idiots. Everyone who has recognized you has been surprised. Mostly as you look no different than you did twenty years ago.”

He opened his mouth but then closed it, trying again. “You’re absolutely right, and I missed that in my summation of the situations. I thought it shock at seeing me again. I apologize.”

Now it was my turn to be shocked. I bit back a snort as I reminded myself other fairies were around now and he was going to be on better behavior. “Anyways, that is where we’re at.” I waved Claudia to explain what she had done with Geiger, which she did before I continued. “We need a program set up to get people reacclimated.”

“Like the continuing education program already going on at the havens,” Geiger interjected.

“Except not that formal,” I added. “We could do videos. I think we should do videos.” I gestured to Mr. Vogel. “I know you’re busy, but you would be someone the fairies would recognize and listen