The Rebel Queen (Outlaw #1) - Lexi Blake Page 0,58

had to bleed for that sword to work. Gladys required a sacrifice and it was my blood, my life if Daniel wasn’t around to save me. “He needs me. He needs me and that sword. I don’t know if he needs Kelsey to wield it or if anyone with companion blood will do. There were a lot of people who saw what we did that night.”

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Neil mused. “We’ll need to take this to the academics. They can sit down with our witches and try to figure out exactly what he can do if he gets his hands on Gladys.”

I hated it when I figured out how much worse things could get. “They should be out of their meeting soon. I’ll tell Danny and he can deal with the rest of it.”

We sat there for a moment, the night soft around us.

“When are you going to break, Z?” He asked the question quietly, as though he knew he was opening up a door that might be better left closed.

“What do you mean?”

“You lost years with them. You’re going to do one of two things. You’re either going to break or you’re going to try to do something stupid to get those years back.”

I went quiet.

Neil’s arm went around me, hugging me close. “So we’re going the stupid route. You know if you do that, I won’t meet Cassie or Brendan.”

I didn’t like the idea of that, but I also thought things would work out the way they were supposed to. I had to believe that. “Maybe you meet them a different way. If it’s meant to be, then it will still be.”

A chuckle came from him. “The fact that you can’t see the irony of that statement lets me know you’re still Z. It won’t work, you know. It can’t.”

“But you’ll help me, won’t you?” I asked.

“Of course. I’m your best friend. But I’m helping you because I know it won’t work,” Neil said.

It had to work. I had to get back to my real life. I didn’t understand this world I found myself in, and I couldn’t find a place in it. My children didn’t need me anymore. Not really. Sarah was gone. There was no guarantee we could win this war. The world had changed and I’d been left behind.

“I’ll be here when you finally break, Z. I’ll be here and we’ll rebuild. That’s what we do.” Neil’s head rested against mine, and we sat that way for the longest time.

* * * *

It was late into the night when I found myself sitting around the big bonfire. Most of the occupants of Frelsi had taken to their beds. Neil and I had talked to Danny and told him our revelations about Gladys. He’d gone straight back into the conference room to talk to the academics, though I’d noticed he hadn’t invited Alexander to this meeting.

At least he was practical about the Victorian vampire. The serial killer vampire.

Neil and I had made the rounds, playing the queen and her favorite courtier. I’d plastered a smile on my face and even managed to dance with both of my sons. Rhys had been stilted and proper, and Lee had swung me around like he hadn’t a care in the world.

I worried for both of them.

But for now I sat and contemplated the world I found myself in and how I was going to get out.

“Your Highness?”

I glanced to my left, expecting to see one of the brownies or the trolls who had made the effort to ensure I had anything I could need. Instead it was Lily Tucker. She wore a flowing skirt and a heavy cable-knit sweater, her salt and pepper hair flowing down her back. “Please. It’s Zoey.”

A ghost of a smile hit her face. “Maybe it was once. I remember when you were nothing more than my younger sister’s odd friend. How far you’ve come.”

“I don’t know. Right now I feel like I’m back where I started.” Maybe not exactly where I started, but pretty close. It hadn’t been long after I figured out how powerful Danny really was that we’d started our play to put him on the throne and free the supernatural world from the tyranny of the old Council. We’d been hunted back then, too. The only difference was now our children were on the run with us.

They had been on the run without us for over a decade.

Lily settled herself on the bench next to mine. “Oh, I don’t