Reaching Answers (Artemis University #8) - Erin R Flynn Page 0,95
her. If her charm had flared and going after her could risk all the fairies, leaving her to suffer whatever alone could save them… I couldn’t have left her. Hell, that was what I’d risked as I was the only one who could unfreeze all the fairies.
I risked that all the time, but I couldn’t trade my friends like that. I understood the life of one wasn’t worth the life of many, but that one life meant a lot to many, and writing anyone off was never acceptable. There was always another way.
Always.
But I wasn’t my mother and I couldn’t see what she had. I couldn’t know how much time she’d had to work it all out. That was always a factor in finding a better path or plan.
Time. We did the best we could in the time we had.
For the moment, I would try to give her the benefit of the doubt she didn’t have enough time to find a better plan that didn’t sacrifice me. That was about the only inch I could give.
I thought it was fairly generous given all she’d left for me to handle and on my shoulders.
After cleaning up my mess, I opened a portal and walked into my garage and was immediately wrapped in a bear hug. I knew they weren’t a threat but it was disconcerting, so I was glad it didn’t last long, Iolas letting me go and shaking me.
“Don’t do that again,” he begged, several of the Light Guardians standing with him. “We couldn’t track you. Even your mates couldn’t locate you, and that damn warlock refused after he checked you were safe. We won’t intrude but you must be protected, Your Highness.”
I sighed, stepping away from him. “Yeah, I know, I’m the only one who can do whatever with Faerie and—”
“It’s not about Faerie!” He cleared his throat and muttered an apology, taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. “We could not protect your mother and it crushes our souls. You are the last, Princess. You are the last of our royal bloodline. You are the last of our history. You are our people’s light and hope. Not your power that can unlock us from that magic. You are. You have to live.”
“You don’t even know me, mate,” I whispered, the tears coming back. “There’s so much more darkness in me than light. Fine, I’m the last, but you’ve gotta look somewhere else for hope because I’m barely hanging on. I have almost none of my own, and I really can’t muster any for others. I’m sorry. I just can’t.” I ignored their shocked looks and left the garage, ready for bed.
Fine, after I raided the kitchen.
Then I went to bed.
21
Darby was waiting for me at the cafeteria for lunch Monday. That wasn’t weird. He was waiting outside to catch me instead of inside. That was.
“Everything okay?” I checked.
“Yes. I want to eat off campus somewhere,” he explained. “I got a field trip cleared for both of us. I promised Professor Puth that it ties into shifter culture and you’d learn a lot, so he allowed it. Will you come with me, agra?”
I would have, even if it meant skipping class. He rarely asked me for anything and he was nervous. We were still… Hesitant with each other and I wanted to move past it. I felt like we were always moving past stuff and it was my fault. I knew it wasn’t, but if he was dating someone else, someone normal when he wanted normal, maybe it would be like that for them.
“Sure. Where are we going?” I asked as I extended my hand to him.
He smiled as he took it, bringing it to his lips and kissing my glove. “Hell.”
“I’m sorry?”
He chuckled as he pulled me to walk with him. “You’ll see.”
“I’m not sure I want to now,” I grumbled.
Which only made him laugh harder.
Dick.
We headed to the student union and he used one of my unlimited portal passes that I’d had for a while now. I normally just opened my own temp portal or used the faculty one, but this was an official outing or whatever.
He didn’t let me see what he wrote down and I played fair by not using my telepathy to listen in. He took my hand again and we went through the portal once it activated and came out into a bustling office.
I hadn’t realized it, but he had also slipped a glamour charm on over my head at