where everyone is.”
Arwyna suddenly shot into the air and started back the way we came.
“Should we follow the insect?” Taggart asked.
A scream of pure terror was our answer.
We took off and I prayed we made it in time.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Zoey
I watched as my daughter smiled up at her fathers and my heart couldn’t have been more full. Summer had brought Dev into our circle, and she’d made both Dev and Daniel comfortable. There had been no hesitation in her.
I was so proud of her.
It was surreal to be standing here with the child I’d lost so many years ago. But not so many years that I should be standing with a woman. She’d been a baby, a newborn when I’d lost her, and she was a woman now.
“How?” Her gaze moved between her father and I. “How did you get here? Did you come to look for Papa?”
It appeared Dev had filled her in on what to call him and Daniel. The fact that she’d already adopted their names made me want to hug her all over again. “Yes, we were looking for Papa, but your dad and I didn’t exactly mean to come here. It was a trap of sorts. Sweetheart, we can fill you in on everything, but for now I need to make sure you’re safe. Do we need to get you away from here?”
“No, Momma,” she said resolutely. “I’m fine. Mr. Taggart and the Dellacourts are taking me to Tír na nÓg. They think we might find some answers there. I would love it if you would come with me. I think Papa could be helpful when dealing with the Seelies. He’s a Green Man.”
“I would love to see the most powerful of Fae planes,” Dev admitted.
My father would be getting a lot of stories when we got home. My dad had been born in Ireland and he still had a reverence for the great Fae tribes who’d been mere legend for him before we found out Tír na nÓg actually existed. He’d visited the Seelie plane connected to ours. Dev had been born to the Fae who stayed after the strongest left the plane. Our Faery was a place of wonder. I couldn’t imagine what Tír na nÓg would be like.
Summer looked like she was cosplaying Black Widow. It was a good look on her, but not what I’d been expecting. I’d always thought of her in the flowy gowns I connected to the Fae I knew. But then she wasn’t on Tír na nÓg, and from what I’d been told hadn’t been back in a long time. I reached for her hand, needing to touch her to truly believe she was here with me. “Baby, I’m so happy to see you but I have to ask what happened.”
Her hand slipped from mine.
Daniel immediately moved in. “Summer, we don’t need to know anything you don’t want to tell us. You can come home with us and we won’t ask a single question. But you need to understand that telling us about your past won’t change a thing. I don’t care. All I want is you home and happy.”
“I’m glad to hear that, my king,” a deep voice said. I glanced to my right and Marcus walked up. Like Summer he was dressed in all black and looked ready to enter the matrix or something. “Taking Summer home and ensuring her happiness is my mission.”
Dev’s shoulders straightened in that “not with my daughter” way of his. I looked that faery right in the eyes. “Don’t you dare.”
Dev’s mouth firmed and I knew I was in for an argument.
Summer reached a hand out. Not to either of her fathers, but to Marcus. “Papa, I know you’re worried about Marcus, but I feel safer with him than I’ve ever felt with any male. I hope you can accept our relationship.”
Marcus’s lips curled up in a smile that let me know that relationship was not platonic. He brought her hand up to kiss it before holding it to his heart. “Yes, Devinshea. You should understand that Summer is the most important person in the world to me, and her safety and happiness are my highest priorities.”
“I am so glad to hear that.” I’d only thought my heart couldn’t get any fuller. Marcus had been longing for years. For all the time I’d known him there had been a deep sadness that marked his soul. Kelsey had made him happy for a while, but the satisfaction I saw on him now