Chapter 28

"We are for real getting up this time," I told Evrin sternly, taking a step back when he went to reach for me. "Evrin! They're all going to be wondering what we've been doing up here for two days."

Evrin snorted. "Tallulah, my love, no one is wondering."

I gave him my most long-suffering look as my cheeks flamed red. "Still, we should show our faces. Our friends will want to know we're okay."

"Your friends," he corrected, blinking in surprise.

"They're our friends. They care about you, too," I said firmly, knowing that Meera wouldn't have gone through to the human realm with just anybody.

He sighed, flopping back on the bed, though a small smile played around his mouth that he was trying to hide. "I suppose you should put on clothes then."

"Fortunately, Meera brought me some." We'd had a steady supply of things dropped at the apartment door for the past couple of days, but no one had tried to interrupt us. I felt a little bad about it—surely there were questions that needed to be answered and plans put in place to make sure there was never a repeat of what had happened.

But maybe they realized that Evrin and I hadn't been ready to answer those yet. We needed time to just be together, to reconnect, to seal what we had first. My fingers idly brushed the raised scar of the mating mark on my neck as I picked through the bag of clothes Meera had packed for me, noting with a smile that she'd only packed things that were loose on top.

Eventually, I settled on a simple skirt, top, and flat shoes before pulling my hair into a low bun so my mating mark was on show. I quickly applied the barest minimum of makeup I needed to feel presentable in public, while Evrin rolled off the bed, draped himself in shadows, and called it a day.

I definitely envied his getting ready time.

"Do you need to siphon?" I asked, grabbing a sweater as we headed for the door.

He nodded, having already ducked out a few times to go top up the energy stores.

"Nervous?" Evrin asked, inhaling deeply as he tried to read the nuances of my scent.

"No, I wouldn't say nervous. I guess I'm a little worried. All of the things I've been able to avoid thinking about for the past two days are seeping into my brain all at once."

Evrin linked our fingers together, giving my hand a quick squeeze that had the tops of his claws leaving light indents on the back of my hand. "Don't worry, my love. There is a very capable group running this realm who can figure out these problems without us, though I'm sure our input will be appreciated."

I suspected Evrin was being sarcastic, but he'd soon find out how appreciated he was. He'd been incredible when everything had gone sideways, taking point and leading effortlessly from the small glimpse of him I'd seen from the cell and from Austin's words.

"There you are!" Damen grinned as he strolled down the hallway toward us. "I was sent to knock on your door. I lost a bet," he added with a laugh.

"Fortunately for you, we're already decent," I replied, nudging Evrin's arm. He almost smiled, though he certainly wasn't as relaxed as he'd been when it was just the two of us alone. I didn't think he ever would be, but that was okay. I had every intention of being his place of comfort and safety, just like he was for me. "We were going to try to make it to the dining hall before breakfast finished."

"No need—Allerick and Ophelia have set up a private breakfast. They were hoping you'd join them."

"Of course." I looked up at Evrin to make sure I hadn't overstepped, and he nodded in agreement.

After a brief stop off at the stores so Evrin could siphon, we headed for a small but grand dining room on the second floor.

"Oh wow, everyone's here," I said, blinking in surprise. There was a blur of pink, and then Verity was wrapped around me like a cherry-vanilla-scented cobra.

"I'm so glad you're here! You are okay, right?" She pulled back, scanning my face before her gaze snagged on my neck. "Ooh, we've got a mated lady over here! Congratulations."

I felt myself getting flustered by all the excited attention, but Evrin was more flustered, which had the unexpected effect of making me calmer. I wanted to be steady and supportive for his sake.

Verity moved out of the way for Ophelia to give me a hug, followed by Meera, then Austin. Astrid tipped her chin at me from where she was already seated at the table next to Iris.

To my surprise, Cora and Sebastian were there too, sitting rather sheepishly at the table.

"Are you okay, Tallulah?" Cora asked, eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know—"

"I know," I assured her, giving her a shaky smile, though I clung a little tighter to Evrin's hand as we took our seats opposite them.

Did she know that Lochan hadn't survived the event? I glanced nervously at Astrid, who was staring impassively back at me—I was pretty sure that was her affectionate face, though. She pursed her lips, nodding ever so slightly, which I took as confirmation. Though I suspected that even if Cora knew that Lochan was dead, she didn't know that Evrin had been the one to strike the killing blow, and I was more than fine with that.

The table was piled high with a mouthwatering array of food, including an impressive selection of human-world vegetables from Meera's garden.

"The first thing you should know is that we've moved you out of Elverston House," Ophelia said apologetically, sitting at the head of the table next to the king. "I'm sorry that it had to happen without consulting you first, but we had ten terrified Hunters show up and we had to put them somewhere."

"I've moved out too," Meera added. "I packed up your room."

"Thank you. Where are you staying?"

"Here." Meera gestured vaguely at the palace.

"We set aside the room next to Meera's for you," Ophelia said slowly, her eyes dropping to my neck.

"I'll be moving in with Evrin." I shot him a quick, reassuring smile, and he rested a warm, comforting hand on my thigh.

"To Carneath," Evrin grunted for the benefit of the curious Shades in the room. Selene nodded in approval before leaning over to give Austin a whispered explanation.

"So, they'll be staying here?" I asked, as we all began piling up our plates. "Those Hunters?"

Allerick grimaced. "No decision has been made yet. When given the option to immediately return—most of the portals are active again—they all wished to stay rather than risk the wrath of…"

"Our grandfather," Austin supplied, giving me a knowing look. "It sounds like he's gone rogue. It could be an interesting time for the Hunters Council if he pulls his funding. You might find them a lot more willing to cooperate," he added, raising his cup to the king, who looked thoughtful.

"What of Aither?" Evrin asked darkly.

"Still in the Pit," Captain Soren replied.

"Legally, his situation is somewhat murky," the king muttered. "At least in the eyes of the Council of Shades. Since you're both alive and well—"

"No thanks to him," Austin snarked.

"—he's arguing that he shouldn't be punished, and should in fact be rewarded as there are now ten more Hunters in the shadow realm. Obviously, that won't be happening, but the Council of Shades will likely go back and forth on semantics for months. That he stole the caspite orb is undeniable, and he will certainly spend a lot of time in the Pit for that alone." Allerick looked across at Evrin. "Roan was offered the junior position, but he denied it."

"He did?" Evrin's hand tightened a little around my thigh.

"He requested a redo of his challenge with Caius."

"And lost," Evrin surmised, though he sounded relieved. We'd discussed our families a little over the past couple of days, and I knew that there were years of unresolved tension between his brothers. It sounded like progress was finally being made.

For a while, we ate, and the conversation was light as everyone attempted to give Evrin and me time to adjust to all the information that had just been dropped on us. There was clearly more to come, though. I could feel it in the air.

I had my own news to share at some point. While Meera, Austin, and Selene all already knew, it seemed as though they hadn't told anyone else.

Allerick cleared his throat. "There is something else you should be aware of. A delegation from the Hunters Council came through yesterday to personally apologize for Lochan's actions, and to insist that their intentions when sending a negotiating party through had been good. Sebastian and Cora have reiterated the same, though of course we're aware that they could all be lying."

"Lochan also said that," I put in. "For what it's worth."

Allerick nodded once. "Nonetheless, if talks are to resume, then we need to have a lot more control over the process. For now, Sebastian remains as the Hunters Council's representative, but we would like him to collaborate with one of our own ex-Hunters, in order to form a more balanced party, able to have more nuanced discussions—both with the Hunters Council and the Council of Shades."

"That sounds smart." And then Sebastian's words back to the Hunters Council could be more directly supervised, which seemed wise.

"We'd like that ex-Hunter to be you, Tallulah," Ophelia said gently, giving me a hopeful smile before wincing. "I swear this won't be like the last time I asked you for a favor."

I laughed out loud at that. "No more dates. I'm taken."

"No more dates," Ophelia promised. "And I'm sorry for how all of that panned out—especially with Aither. I swear we vetted them. I didn't see that coming."

"He would have been fine with it if Tallulah hadn't chosen me. That hurt his pride," Evrin cut in smoothly, his thumb stroking gentle circles over my leg. "How can we be assured of Tallulah's safety if she accepts this role?"

I melted a little at the concern in his voice.

"Everything will take place here in the shadow realm—there will be no negotiations taking place in the human realm," Allerick assured us. "But aside from that, we'd like you to participate in the discussions too, Evrin."

Evrin's fingers twitched slightly, but he seemed too stunned to speak.

"You have the most knowledge about how movement between both realms could best be facilitated," Captain Soren added. "The in-between is both a problem we haven't been able to solve, and potential we haven't yet explored. There's no one better equipped than you to work on this."

"I couldn't agree more," I murmured, smiling up at him. Evrin nodded stiffly, though I could tell he was overwhelmed by the offer more than anything. He wanted to be more involved in things, he'd just never been given the opportunity before. "Evrin is perfect for this. In contrast, I am vastly underqualified. I don't have any relevant experience to draw on."

"Who else could do this better than you?" Meera asked with a gentle, encouraging smile. "You're compassionate, you can talk to anyone, you stand up for what you believe in, and you're not afraid to dream big. Really, Tallulah, you're perfect for this."

I rested my hand on top of Evrin's, gripping it tightly. "This means a lot, you guys. If you're sure about this… We won't let you down."

"We know you won't," Ophelia replied confidently.

"Does the job come with maternity leave, though? I'm going to need to take some time off in a few months—"

I was sure they could hear the shrieks of excitement from the human realm.