Maeve
The castle was buzzing with activity. Dinner had been served buffet style, and everyone was congregating in the formal dining hall where the ball had taken place.
But I found myself in the library, which was quiet and empty, save for my dad.
He was standing in front of one of the windows, a dram of scotch in his hand. He looked ditative, but his brow was furrowed.
“Hey,” I said, closing the door behind . “You wanted to talk to ?”
He turned from the window, nodding, and motioned for to sit. I felt a sudden wave of unease, wondering if I was in trouble for sothing.
“I just wanted... I just wanted to say I’m sorry, Maeve–”
“For what? What could you possibly be sorry for?” I was dumbfounded, but I could tell sothing was troubling him greatly.
He sat down on one of the couches in front of the hearth and sighed, bringing the scotch to his lips before thinking better of it. He lowered his glass as I sat on the opposite couch.
“Is this about the moonstones? Dad, you couldn’t have known–”
“I knew enough to not send you to Valoria in the first place.”
“When I ca to live with Ernest?”
“Yes,” he lowered his gaze, swirling the scotch in his glass. “It was wrong of to put that kind of expectation on you–”
“I wanted to do it. You didn’t have to convince –”
“I should have handled the situation without involving you. I should have put Rowan in Ernest’s place. It wasn’t your responsibility to carry the weight of our family’s obligations, Maeve. It was mine.”
“Dad–”
He looked up at through his lashes, the fire in the hearth reflecting off his irises. He looked very young at that mont, and for a second I caught a glimpse of what Mom must have seen when she was my age, just getting to know my Dad for the first ti.
I couldn’t imagine. Even their stories of that ti couldn’t explain the full scope of what it must have been like for them.
I was in love, and able to show it. Troy and I fit together like a puzzle piece. We had always been able to communicate clearly and efficiently, and I didn’t realize that until trying to navigate my relationship with my father.
Dad was an enigma, totally and utterly impossible to read.
“I accept your apology,” I said, even though it felt like a lie. I had no reason to accept an apology from him. He had done nothing wrong. He only felt like he had. “I’m sorry too. For causing you so much stress.”
He looked at blankly for a mont, then snorted with mirth, shaking his head.
“I think I owe Troy an apology next,” he smiled, taking a long swig of his scotch.
“Troy? Why?”
“For putting up with you. I didn’t think anyone would be up for the job.”
I scowled, leaning back against the couch cushions.
“I’m kidding,” he said after a mont, “I only ant that... it would have taken a certain type of man to deserve you, Maeve. I didn’t think one existed.”
“I bet you didn’t think it would be your arch nesis’s son, either. Did you?”
His eyes darkened for a split second. He drained his scotch, then shook his head.
“Call it karma for all my past transgressions.”
I huffed, smiling to myself.
“I leave in the morning with your mother, Georgia, and Talon. Ernest and Gemma too–”
“I know. We catch the nine o’clock train to the Port of Valoria. We set sail close to sundown, I believe.”
A silence passed between us. The ti had co after many weeks. I had already left my family once, but this felt so much more final.
“I’ll co to visit,” I said, trying to smile to stop myself from crying. “Troy says autumn is a terrible ti to be in the Isles.... Hurricanes, can you believe it?”
“You’ll be just in ti to see the last of the fireweed blooms if you co in early August,” he said soberly, a flash of sadness in his eyes.
“And you and mom can visit every winter, in January... when it’s negative thirty and windy everyday.”
“We will. I promise you.”
I looked at him, searching his face, seeing lines of fatigue and of surrender. I was going away for good this ti, starting a life of my own, on my own terms. Rowan was the new Alpha of Drogomor and would be living here now with Hanna and his future children.
I realized, selfishly and for the first ti, how big of a change this was for my own parents.
I rose from the couch and went to him, sitting down next to him. I exhaled deeply, then leaned into him as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
“I’m proud of you, Maeve,” he whispered.
I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Thanks, Dad.”
***
“Well, we’re building a house just outside of the village. Sothing small and cozy, you know, maybe a bit smaller than what Rosalie and Ethan have. But, I think we need to plan for at least four bedrooms because, well, Gemma and Ernest will definitely have another baby. I’d like to have a playroom at our house too–” Georgia was chattering away, her eyes alight with excitent as she spilled her desires for the future to Vicky, who was listening earnestly to every word.
Vicky looked slightly overwheld, having been in the background for all of the drama of the last several weeks, but was doing her best.
She and Paul were leaving for Breles with their daughters in the morning, taking the sa train as Troy and I. We’d be riding to the port together, but they would imdiately board a ferry to take them straight to Breles, rather than the Isles.
The dining room was filled with conversation and music. Gemma was dancing with George in her arms, who was screaming with laughter as his mom twirled in a circle, keeping in rhythm with the piano. Mom was playing sothing upbeat and happy, and it lightened the somber mood significantly, giving our goodbyes a sweeter taste.
I was holding Charlie, who was wide awake. He was peering over the top of my shoulder, chomping lazily on my dress. Troy was walking around with Will in his arms, the boy fast asleep, while Dad had Oliver, of course, resting against his chest as he sat in a high-backed chair next to the piano.
I looked around, rembering how quiet and lonely the castle had once been, back when it was only , Ernest, and Gemma in residence.
I regretted not knowing the details of their early relationship, wishing I’d had the wherewithal to notice the small details I had missed. They had been in love from the beginning, and I was so thankful they now had the chance to be together like they deserved.
And thank the Goddess for George.
I patted Charlie on the back as I walked around the room, stopping to talk to Pete for a mont. He was planning to stay in Mirage for a while with Kacidra. They were getting married next sumr, when his mother could join them in Valoria. He no doubt thought he was the luckiest man alive, and I could see the joy in his eyes when he glanced over at Kacidra, who was talking with Georgia and Vicky.
I was just about to head back over to the piano when a warrior hurried into the room, his face pale and his eyes searching for Dad. He found him, and walked between the group congregated in the center of the dining room without saying a word. He walked right up to Dad and placed a letter in his hand.
Dad looked down at the note, his face undergoing an incredible transformation. He slowly rose to his feet.
Mom noticed the exchange, and she took her hands from the piano keys, looking at Dad with a quizzical expression on his face.
“Everything’s fine, just business,” he said, loud enough for the entire gathering to hear. But I could tell by the way he furrowed his brow that sothing was bothering him imnsely.
He put Oliver in Mom’s arms and bent to whisper sothing in her ear, then he crossed the room, exiting through the doors and disappearing into the hallway. I looked around, settling my gaze on Troy, who had just watched the whole exchange.
“Co with ,” Mom said, her voice shaking slightly. I nodded, following Mom out of the dining room. Troy was behind us as we reached the hallway, his voice a low hiss.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t–”
“The warriors know where Carl went,” Mom said quickly, her voice unreadable.
“What? Where?” I asked, shocked.
She turned to , her eyes shining in the dimly lit hallway.
“He went to the Isles, and then... South.”
***
“But if he went south... Dad, there’s nothing done there anymore, Dianny is gone... There’s only the tomb. Where could he have possibly gone?”
“I don’t know, Maeve. I’m just as confused as you are. He was spotted leaving Papeno in a cruiser, alone.”
“I thought, if he had survived what happened in the cavern...he would have gone north, to find the other refugees, Opaline–” Troy interjected.
Troy was right, the refugees from Lycenna had gone north. To where, the old woman, Hanna’s great aunt, hadn’t said.
And they had taken Opaline with them.
“He would have gone after Opaline, surely,” I added, my skin prickling with gooseflesh as I said her na. “Are you sure it was him?”
“He’s not hard to miss. I think we missed sothing here,” Dad said to himself as he paced back and forth along the far wall of the atrium. “Sothing isn’t quite right about this. You said the tomb was part of an ancient city, correct? A pack long gone? What business would he have there?”
“Well, he left the pack lands, right? He’s gone. There was nothing else in the tomb besides so gold... we don’t have anything to worry about now, do we?” I asked. I was nursing Will and Oliver, settled on the couch near the hearth.
“You said you thought we were missing sothing,” Troy said. He was leaning against one of the bookshelves, mulling the situation over in his mind. “Like... another pack, maybe, a pack like Lycenna?”
“Possibly, I don’t know for sure. We didn’t know about Lycenna and Dianny until recently–”
“It’s entirely possible,” Mom said softly, careful not to raise her voice above a whisper as Oliver lounged drowsily in her arms.
“Well, he has no allies. Lycenna is gone, from what we know. The refugees left with no interest in returning,” I continued, feeling increasingly uneasy. “Wherever Carl is going... he’ll be alone.”
No one spoke for a mont. I cleared my throat, looking down at my boys. Nothing else mattered to .
“It’s over,” I said with conviction. “He’s gone. It’s over.”
#
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