Ambrose was trapped for so many years. I sit up, all my guys, Ambrose, Sage, and David, and even Echo who’s sitting on top of a familiar crown, sprawled on the beach around me.
“Your nose is bleeding. What did you do?” Zander asks, crawling across the stones to me as a wave of exhaustion rattles through my body. I wipe at my nose with the back of my hand. Zander rips the bottom of his shirt and dips it in the saltwater before holding it to my nose for me until I take over.
“Thanks,” I say, and just then I notice that he’s in his pajamas. Well, I know who did the night shift guard and slept today. Must have been one hell of a wake-up call.
Gage and Jonah talk quietly as they make sure we are alone, but they carefully watch me at the same time. Pitch is uncharacteristically silent.
“I saved everyone in the academy and sent them to random places across the human world,” I tell them, and everyone goes silent as they stare at me in shock.
“That explains the nosebleed,” Zander says. “You used an incredible amount of power to do that. You’re fucking amazing, Corvina.”
“While I agree that Vina is amazing, such power is impossible,” Ambrose points out, staring at me. “No fae should have that kind of power. What exactly are you?”
I don’t have an answer for him, and no one else does either.
Zander helps me stand up. We all stand around, wondering what our next move is. I need rest, and we need somewhere to hide.
“My sister has a secret house not too far from here. After what happened, she wanted to disappear,” Jonah says, and my hand shakes in Zander’s.
“We will go there,” Pitch agrees before I can veto the idea. It’s the first he’s spoken since we arrived here.
Sage picks Echo and the crown up and walks over to me, placing her hand on my arm. “You look pale, are you sure you’re okay?”
I almost humorlessly chuckle at her because I feel awful, but instead, I simply nod, clamping my hand tighter in Zander’s grip. He kisses the side of my head as we turn and follow the others through the forest. Please, please don’t let Jane remember me.
We reach the cottage by nightfall. Scattered leaves crunch under my boots as I step onto the path winding through the flowerbeds up to a small wooden porch. The moon reflects off the wind chimes rustling by the yellow door, and a strange sense of déjà vu creeps over me. I can’t help but feel like I’ve been here before, but I have no recollection of it.
“What’s up, Buzzie?” Sage bumps my shoulder with hers. “You look even paler since we got here.”
I peel my gaze off the cottage and smile at her. “I just feel like I’ve been here before. Have we?”
Sage looks at the cottage and squints her pink eyes. After a moment, she shakes her head. “Nope. I have no memory of this place.”
Neither do I, yet I can’t shake the feeling that I have.
Zander and Jonah rush past us, elbowing each other in an attempt to get into the cottage first. Jonah wins and closes the door on Zander, who blasts it open with magic before marching after him.
“Come on,” Sage whispers, tugging my arm. “I’m freezing my patootie off, and Jonah said there would be food.”
Swallowing nervously, I let her take me into the cottage. The inside is small, warm and cosy. The fur rugs and the country-style furnishings remind me of my childhood home. Perhaps that’s where the déjà vu is coming from. This cottage is so like the one I lived in for all of eight years. Except, the walls are covered in colourful artwork, and there are pots of paint and canvases on every possible surface. Clearly, Jane is an artist of some sort, and she’s good. I especially like the one of Professor Greyhorn dying a horrible and painful death above the mantelpiece.
“Jane, we’re here,” Zander calls, collapsing onto the sofa beside the fireplace. Echo flies over onto his lap. “Feed me. I’m tired.”
I smile and drop down beside him, leaning my head on his shoulder. He kisses my head as Pitch and Ambrose duck through the front door, both going separate ways, presumably to check out our surroundings.
Meanwhile, Jonah rushes over to the pots bubbling away on a wood-burning stove in the kitchen. The heat from the fire and Zander’s body is comforting, wrapping