“You fainted in the Ionyc Sea and you’ve been asleep ever since. We decided to follow through with the plans we had in the first place, and Shade and I transformed into our dragon selves and went back for Trillian and Roz, taking the monks with us so they could lead the horses up to the monastery. When you still weren’t awake by the time we got back, we decided just to fly down to Svartalfheim. We came through the portal there last night and when we got home, we called Mallen. He examined you and said you were just exhausted. That your body was adjusting to the energy of wearing the diamond and was pretty seriously confused.”
Mallen was the head of the medic unit at the FH-CSI. If he thought I was all right, I trusted his judgment. “What’s today?”
“The seventeenth. You’ve been asleep about thirty-six hours.” Delilah handed me a glass of water, which I eagerly downed. She paused, then said, “Chase told us what happened. I’m not sure what to say.”
I handed the glass back to her. “Remember how we always felt there was something slightly different about Chase? And then when he drank the Nectar of Life, he started to change, and we found out about his heritage? I think…this was meant to be all along.”
Touching the pendant around my neck, I could sense the gentle pulse of energy. It had aligned to me and I had aligned to it. I could never give it away, or remove it. “I understand now, a lot that I didn’t. I can’t put it in words, but there’s this sense I have that destiny has been playing into all of our lives since the day we were born. We know it has with you—with the Autumn Lord claiming you from birth. But I think all of us—we all have parts to play in this world. Menolly does with Blood Wyne and the Vampire Nation. We’re being drawn apart not because we shouldn’t be together, but so we can fulfill our fates.”
For the first time in a long while, I felt at ease with the thought of moving to Talamh Lonrach Oll. It was what was meant to be. I couldn’t stay here and run the Court from our house. I couldn’t lead the Keraastar Knights to whatever fate they might have from around the kitchen table. I still ached to think of moving away from my sisters, but the ache was muted by the realization that we would still be close, and we’d be growing into the women we were meant to be.
“So…what now?” Delilah glanced up at Smoky, a look of resignation on her face.
“We ask Vishana to bring Luke, Amber, and the seals to the coronation. I finish packing. And then…come Summer Solstice…I walk into the twilight.”
And with that, I pushed back the covers to step into my coming life.
Chapter 17
ON THE AFTERNOON of June 19, I stood in my bedroom, staring at the pile of boxes. Menolly’s lair was pretty much in the same condition. Tomorrow, our rooms would be cleared as she and Nerissa moved into Roman’s house, and Smoky, Trillian, Morio, and I left for my Barrow. And then, tomorrow night I would go through an all-night ritual that would culminate at just past midnight with my coronation. We would greet the sun on Litha with a party like none I’d ever attended before. I folded my arms across my chest as I walked over to the bed and sat down, silently assaying the room. So much had happened in this house, but it was time to let go and walk away.
Delilah peeked into the room. “Are you ready? Iris and Hanna are finishing the baskets for tonight.”
We were going on a walk, Delilah and I, down to Birchwater Pond. I nodded, still conscious of the weight of the diamond around my neck. The energy had muted itself—or rather, I was used to it—and I no longer was acutely conscious of the thrum and sizzle of it, but the fact that I was wearing a gem worth probably at least four million dollars was taking me awhile to adjust to. The one thing I had discovered, for which I was incredibly grateful, was that I could mute the visibility of it. To the outer world, unless I chose for them to see through the glamour, I could shift the stone to look like fancy costume jewelry.
I was wearing a leaf-green skirt and a plum-colored bustier, and I had slipped into my granny boots. Draping a black shawl embroidered with gold and silver metallic threads around my shoulders, I joined Delilah and we clambered down the steps and into the kitchen.
Iris and Hanna were cooking up a storm and I hugged both of them, kissing them soundly on the cheek before Kitten and I headed out the back door. The back porch smelled like freshly turned soil. Hanna had been taking clippings from my witch’s garden for me and potting them on the long plank table that we used for gardening. They, too, would travel to Talamh Lonrach Oll.
Once we were free of the porch, I dropped my head back, enjoying the feel of the summer sun on my face. Summers in Seattle were generally pleasant, with only a handful of days climbing into the nineties. It was about seventy-five degrees with a light breeze, and the fresh air did me good.