to trust her more."
"We also need to make sure she doesn't run herself ragged," Nick told me. "How do we balance those two things?"
"We trust her more," I told him again. "We tell her when we are worried the same way she tells us. We tell her about the things she has never heard of." And I looked at Luke. "Like your angel myth."
"I already told her," he shot back.
"You skimmed," I countered. "You and Nick give her only the little she needs because you think she is too weak to take more."
"He's not wrong," Nick admitted.
Luke just groaned and dropped both his crossed arms and his forehead onto the table. "I just took her to a fucking bar. The same one she used to work at. I wasn't trying to get her hurt!"
"No one thinks that," I told him.
Luke thrust an arm toward me without raising his head. "Yet all I've heard is what I should have done!"
"Should be doing," Nick told him.
I just laughed. "You told him to be with the Muse, huh?"
Ron let go of Sam and moved to Nick. "Luke's worried that if he cares about her, then something bad will happen."
"She died," I told him. "Something bad happened. You still love her. Lying about it does not make your love any less real. It just means you have to share your boyfriend instead of, well, sharing your boyfriend." Then I nodded to show I was done and turned. "I need to check on the unicorns."
"They probably left the Vale," Nick called after me.
"They will come back," I yelled over my shoulder. "This is where they belong."
"Fucking pests," Luke grumbled.
I ignored him. He was just trying to make himself feel better about what I said, which meant I was right. Although, I hated seeing him like this. Luke was the kind of man who was most impressive when he raged. Worrying did not suit him, so he pretended that it didn't happen. Most of us did. It was easier that way, but it did not make the fear go away.
And I was still afraid for Sia. I had a feeling we all were. What had just happened with her was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The way her skin had shined like it was made of light? That shouldn't happen. I couldn't even think of a reason why it would. That aether had colored her eyes bothered me less, because I'd seen it before, and people could make the most miraculous sounds when they were in pain.
As I pushed through the dry and wilted vegetation, I realized that I simply hated the idea of her hurting. Any kind of hurt. My Muse had suffered too much in too short of a time. She deserved to spend her time painting things she found pretty, or wrapped in the arms of her men. Women like her should have their every wish brought to them, but her dreams weren't things I could give her.
She wanted parents. She longed for peace and comfort. She worked so hard to take care of others - including us. I didn't know how to give her what she desired, so I gave her what I could. The paints were one small thing, but it had made her so happy. Holding her in my arms did the same. More than either of those, she liked it when I tried to talk to her, even when I messed up her English words.
And this. Reaching the far edge of the Vale bubble, I found a small open area where my unicorns liked to sleep. This was their idea of home, and the fact that it was where they retreated didn't surprise me. That the youngest was lying flat out, though, did. It also wasn't a good sign.
"Pony," I whispered, letting them know I was close.
The male lifted his head, looking like it took all of his energy to do so. That meant Sia had drained them. Not enough to kill them, but the young one didn't look good. Slowly, as quietly as I could, I moved closer. None of them flinched away. They were too weak to even run.
"Let me help," I said in my own language. "I can fix the kid."
I closed my wings as tightly to my back as I could, and made sure my tail was still. I didn't drag it on the ground because I didn't want to disturb them, but I also couldn't let it whip like a snake or a