“The prince,” Germanà hissed. “The prince will come.”
“The prince loves Puteri,” Marigold yelled. “She told us about him. She kept him safe his whole life, and she said that he would always be our friend.”
Toby tried to think fast, processing this new bit of knowledge. He needed to tread lightly. The rules of the fae realm were different. He at least knew that much.
“Come on, kids. Let’s get out of the water and stretch out in the sand to dry off for a bit. We’ll wait on the prince to come help us.”
Germanà made another sound.
Toby ignored it.
Politics were at play here that he didn’t understand, but Puteri must have had a reason for doing what she did. He had a sneaking suspicion Germanà would want to be on the prince’s good side. Especially if she considered her sister a traitor.
He really needed to get more of the backstory of what had happened to the pack before his arrival. He had a feeling a lot more of his questions would be answered if he did.
“Nack?” Gus asked pitifully. “Jus?”
“We’ll get a snack soon, little man. Alpha and our friends will come.”
“Hmph,” Germanà muttered. “The realm is closed tighter than a troll’s cave. No one enters. No one leaves. The Lady wills it so.”
Toby gulped. “What do you mean, the realm is closed? We have to get home.”
Germanà glanced at the water, then back at him. “The Lady’s will be done. Germanà must help until then. The Lady’s request will not be denied.”
She didn’t seem happy about it, but Toby was willing to take any help he could get at this point. And at least it wasn’t Puteri’s blood that had done the trick. The Lady seemed to have intervened with Germanà
“Could we get something to eat and drink, maybe?”
“Yes, yes. And wet clothes will not do. Unhappy children will cry. Germanà hates crying.”
She snapped her fingers and a swirl of warm air flowed all around them. Gus wiggled and giggled in his arms, and it took Toby a second to realize they were both completely dry. So were the rest of them.
“Germanà will be back with food for the children. The human should stay on the sand for safety.”
“We will,” Toby promised. “Thank you, Germanà.”
“Bah.” She disappeared with a pop.
It sounded like they were stuck here for a while. Toby counted the kids once more, double checking for his own sanity. He needed to keep them busy or they were all going to go a little wild.
“Okay, everyone, listen up. Everyone has to find me five small rocks on the beach. Only five. No more. No less. Choose wisely because we have a job to do with these rocks once we’re done. Take your time to pick ones you really like.”
Gus didn’t seem at all interested, but as the youngest of the pack, Toby didn’t really expect him to be. The others were old enough to begin exploring the beach. Toby had noticed earlier that there were different colored rocks along the edge of the water, and they would hopefully hold the kids’ attention for at least a few minutes until he could think of something else.
“And no getting in the water,” Toby reminded them. “We’ll play again later.”
The children skipped away, curious about his task. It gave Toby a moment to gather his thoughts, even if he really needed a lot longer.
“It’s going to be okay, Toby,” Marigold said softly.
He hadn’t realized she’d stayed behind until she spoke, but he reached out his hand, and she placed hers into it.
“I know.”
“Brooks will come for us.”
And Toby knew that too. He didn’t have a single doubt.
“Our pack will come for us,” Toby answered instead. Because he knew that as well.
She grinned up at him, that crooked smile so familiar to one he’d seen Brooks give him only a couple of days before. “Alpha’s gonna be annoyed.”
That was one word for it.
Toby grinned and sat down on the sand. Gus sat next to him and ran his fingers through the sand, playing a game only he knew the rules for. Marigold sat on Toby’s lap and leaned back against him while they watched others choosing their favorite of the brightly colored stones along the water’s edge.
“He’s gonna use bad words,” Toby said after a moment. “Really bad words.”
Marigold giggled and pulled his arm around her. He cuddled her close and let her draw what comfort she could from him.