The Unkindest Tide (October Daye #13) - Seanan McGuire Page 0,21
was broken. Janet won’t age or die, through natural or unnatural means, until Maeve returns and allows her to do so. And since we don’t know whether Maeve is ever going to come back, well . . . .
She could be around for a long, long time. She’s too human for Faerie, and too fae-touched to be comfortable as a part of humanity. Maybe it makes me a bad person, but in a way, I’m glad. She took my daughter away from me, and she did it on purpose, discouraging Gillian from reaching out, believing I was just another careless fae parent who didn’t want or deserve her partially-mortal child. Janet and I have reconciled some of our differences. We’ve had to, for Gilly’s sake. That doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven her completely, or that I’ll ever be able to.
The door swung open, revealing a woman with the healthy tan of a gardener and buttercup-blonde hair drawn back in a complicated braid. She was wearing a lace sundress, and she looked like she could have stepped off the cover of a magazine advertising the latest in holistic health care, or maybe the newest trends in early childhood education.
She blinked once. “October?” she asked, in a startled, wary tone. Her accent was pure California, but I could hear the shores of Scotland lurking beneath it, like her roots were unable to resist the magnetic pull of her own blood. She’s my grandmother. Parts of her will always know me, whether she wants them to or not.
When I first saw her, Cliff’s new wife, the woman who swept in while I was absent due to Simon’s spell, the woman who won when I didn’t even know that we were competing, I’d thought she looked too much like me for comfort, like Cliff had a type he couldn’t get away from. There were similarities in the shape of our eyes, the length of our fingers, even the curve of our hips. Her coloring was more saturated than my own—Dóchas Sidhe always look faintly bleached, if my sister and I are anything to go by—but it was easy enough to draw a line from her to me, from me to her. Learning we were actually related had almost been a relief, except for all the ways in which it wasn’t.
“Yeah,” I said. “Can we come in?”
Janet glanced warily at Tybalt. “Your friend is . . . ?”
“Fiancé,” said Tybalt. “We’ve met, in passing. You may call me ‘Rand’ if it suits you to do so, or you may call me nothing at all if that suits your sensibilities better. I’ll be accompanying my lady either way.”
Janet’s wary glance turned into a blink, and then a look of dawning comprehension. “I see. Well, I suppose you’d best both come inside. I can put a pot of coffee on if you’d like something to drink.”
“That’s all right,” I said, stepping into the front hall and stepping to the side so that Tybalt could do the same. “Caffeine doesn’t do anything for me anymore, so coffee’s just bitter and frustrating.”
“That’s not fair,” said Janet. “Caffeine is one of the true wonders of the modern age.”
“What do you consider to be the others?” asked Tybalt.
Janet shrugged. “The Internet. Telephones. Vaccinations. McDonald’s. Fast food in general. I assume this isn’t a social call?”
I wanted to ask more about that whole “McDonald’s” thing, but this wasn’t the time. I shook my head. “Not a social call, no. Is Gillian home? I need to speak to both of you.”
Janet went very still, like she thought I might forget she was there if she just waited long enough. There was a long, silent pause. Finally, in a softer voice, she said, “May I ask why?”
“I’m not here to hurt her or to take her away from you,” I said. “Please. Can you get her?”
“I don’t know if I want you talking to her right now,” said Janet. “She’s in a delicate place. She doesn’t need to be confused.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have a choice,” I said. “I waited as long as I could, but time’s short, and we need to talk before things go any further.”
“It’s all right, Mom,” said a new voice. Janet and I turned in sudden unison, and there was Gillian, standing on the stairs with one hand on the banister, watching us. My heart leapt and sank in the same moment, the way it always did when I saw my daughter’s face.