to know the rules by heart, though. Unlike him, this wasn’t their first trip to visit the Lady.
It only took Toby a moment to process what Daisy had said. Pack. He already was pack, whether he’d admitted it to himself or not. Whether he understood it or not.
He wouldn’t have been allowed through the portal into the fae realm if he hadn’t been part of the pack. The sword Hildr had held to Brooks’s neck proved as much. Only Nick’s pack had been allowed through the portal, and that had included Toby.
“Whoa.”
“Whoa!” Gus repeated before he plopped down on his butt in the water with another splash. He giggled and kicked his feet.
“What’s wrong?” Jeremy asked softly.
Toby looked down at him and laughed, his world shifting a bit as he accepted what Nick and the others had known since the beginning. “I’m pack.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes, leaned down, and then splashed water at Toby’s legs. “Duh.”
Marigold and Daisy joined in the fun, and before he knew it, he had a dozen kids splashing him with water. He finally gave up and sat down next to Gus and let them soak him.
His belly hurt from laughing, and he fell back onto the sandy beach, his bottom half still in the water. “Pack.”
“Pack,” the kids chorused back.
The lake pulsed again, a warm, welcoming embrace. Finally, it said softly, you have found your home.
Toby probably should have questioned why he suddenly felt so relaxed, but he’d been carrying so much stress lately, he just let it flow out of him and into the water. As hard as it was to believe, he truly trusted with all of his heart that they were safe here. The warmth of the water surrounded him like the softest of blankets Ollie insisted they needed.
Toby gulped, worry returning with a sudden rush. He hoped his friend was okay. Ollie had been at the construction office working that afternoon. He’d not been within the wards.
What if the others hadn’t been able to stop the Erlking?
What if they’d gotten inside the rec hall and to the other kids?
The lake pulsed again, stronger this time.
Toby sucked in a breath. He couldn’t panic about what was happening on the other side. He trusted they could take care of themselves. His responsibility was to the children on his side.
A familiar pop sounded behind him. Toby turned his head, expecting to see Puteri snarling at him about how much work a dozen wet children would be for her. Instead, he saw a different but similar scowling face.
Germanà.
The children froze, unsure what to do around this stranger who looked so much like the little brownie they adored.
Toby scrambled to his feet, scooping Gus out of the water as he went. Gus wiggled in his arms, but no way was Toby going to let the little escape artist out of his sight. He’d heard stories of Gus climbing to the top of trees and his dads having to rescue him. Not on his watch.
“Are you Germanà?” Toby asked softly.
He gestured to his bloody shirt, and her gaze moved to the handprint Puteri had left behind.
She hissed when she saw it, and Toby had no doubt that if he hadn’t been within the safe boundaries of the lake’s shores, there wouldn’t be more than a speck of him left.
“Puteri asked me to show you this.”
Germanà scowled at the bloody fabric like it might do her bodily harm. “Dead, then, is my traitor sister?”
“What? No. She’s not dead. Well…” Toby paused, wondering how much to confess in front of the children. “She wasn’t when I last saw her.”
Daisy and Marigold leaned against him, and Gus began to whimper. Toby held him close as he rested his hand against Daisy’s curls.
Germanà growled. “Then a boon the traitor requests. A powerful one.”
It dawned on Toby a second later what Puteri had done.
Blood magic was powerful in the fae lore. By willingly parting with hers, Puteri had bound herself to her sister. And from what Germanà was saying, it was a dangerous decision to make.
“Tell me this boon, human, so I may decide whether or not to bind myself to the traitor.”
“Stop calling her that,” Jeremy snapped. “Puteri is our friend!”
Germanà’s sharp gaze turned to him. She snarled again.
Toby held out his hand, drawing her attention away from Jeremy. He only had one card to play. “Never mind. We want nothing to do with a person who isn’t a friend of Puteri’s. We will find our help elsewhere. I’m sure the