Reaching Answers (Artemis University #8) - Erin R Flynn Page 0,61

time with the humans, but my emotional growth and capacity to love certainly had been.

13

I flinched when my large metal water bottle touched the back of my hand. I quickly mopped up my face and glanced over in time to see Hudson plop down next to me.

“Hydrate,” he chuffed, River riding him hard. The dragon hated to see me upset. “It’s some juice infusion from fae fruits and fae tea—which I didn’t know was a thing.”

“Neither did I,” I muttered, taking it from him.

“Apparently, Neldor gets bitchy without his damn tea and they managed to clear one of the areas where it grows closest to what was already open,” Darby explained as he sat down in front of me. “He has been nicer the past week.”

I opened my mouth to blast the dark prince but sighed, realizing it was him who let them in to see me. Lucca sat down on my right, so all three of them had dropped everything and come when I was losing it.

Which was super sweet. Two weren’t staying with me and busy.

I sighed. “I can’t even give him shit about this one. I would have done the same if I’d known it was a thing. We aren’t from your world. Our stuff, it’s like… I can’t even describe it to you what it’s like to have our food.” I thought about it a moment as I also accepted several bags of fast food breakfast. “It’s like this. When you have such a craving for whichever place and you go just stuff yourself with it.”

“You feel that every time you have fae food?” Lucca asked, not hiding how crazy that sounded.

I nodded. “It’s that satisfying. The juice is better than refreshing water. The produce more than it is for you guys, and you guys say it’s so magical for you to.”

“It is,” they all agreed, Hudson added a grumble to eat.

Pushy dragon. It made me smile though and dig in. I tried the tea and groaned, like groaned. “Shit, I’ll be cranky if I’m denied that now that I’ve tried it.”

“He said it’s not caffeine like we think of it,” Darby muttered. “But it has like, fae caffeine?”

I snickered. “I have no idea. I’m shocked he was so talkative with you guys about any of our stuff since he’s so tight lipped.”

They shared a look as I stuffed my face, Lucca clearing his throat and fielding whatever was going on. “They were worried you were going to walk into the darkness. All the fairies were. They said what they were sensing off of you wasn’t normal for a fairy and… They begged we go after you and help you as your mates.”

I swallowed my bite loudly. “I’m not a normal fairy, am I?”

“No, you’re meant to lead and be—” Lucca agreed.

But Hudson cut him off. “That’s not what she meant.” He sighed when I nodded. “I’m not a normal dragon royal, my princess. I wasn’t raised how they were and I get being… Different. You think you’re emotionally stunted compared to—you’re not. I feel the same all the time.” He snorted when I shot him a look that he was crazy. “I think the same about you. Different is just different. It’s not worse.”

“In this, it is,” I rasped.

“Will you tell us what happened?” Darby asked gently. “We get it was a mistake. Craftsman is—he’s not the type to trick you like that.”

“No, no he’s not.” I took a bite larger than was polite. “I don’t think I can without crying.”

“Then cry,” Hudson huffed. “Just don’t choke as you eat and I’m going to hug you. Get it out. You can’t keep holding it all in alone. You have to be able to talk to someone about all of this.”

Like I used to with Mel. My lower lip quivered. “I miss her.”

“We know,” they said together again.

“She was the one person you never thought would bail,” Darby whispered as he rubbed my knee. “The idea of letting someone back in when that has happened, and we were both such duffers, is valid, agra. You’re not broken. You just can’t keep this in anymore. Even if we’re still rocky, let us help you.”

That was all it took. The flood gates opened and I confessed it all while I stuffed my face. I wasn’t sure it made sense all the time as I rambled on, talking with my mouthful and doing everything so attractive like that, but they diligently listened. Lucca rubbed my back while Darby ran