CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

 

THE TWINS BOTH woke at the same time, their piercing cries pulling me immediately from sleep. I raced to the crib, uncertain whether there was a major issue. Motherhood wasn’t natural for me—I had no idea how I’d ever learn their different cries.

By the time I reached the crib, Clay was there beside me.

“Hi,” I said awkwardly as I reached for David who was screaming the loudest.

His lip twitched upward. “Hi.”

“About earlier. I really am sorry about what I said.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I overreacted. I should be appreciative for what you’re doing for me and for the fact that you didn’t kill me when you had the chance.”

“I couldn’t. Not even to save my own life.” I glanced over to the photo of us together the day before we went into the Rain headquarters. “I guess that makes me weak.”

“No.” He shuffled Ava in his arms to free one hand, which he placed on my arm. “I think it makes you strong.”

A small smile crept across my features. “I might need the sofa for a while. If you like, you can take the bed until I’m done.”

“I might stay up with Ava for a while. Keep her entertained while you feed David.”

 

 

THE TWINS woke up a few more times during the night. They were feeding every few hours at the most. Each time the babies cried out, Clay was awake and right beside me by the time I got to them. When they’d been settled again, he climbed back into his ridiculous curled position on the too-small two-seater.

“Clay?” I called out quietly after the third time we’d all woken. I could see the sun starting to rise behind the opaque walls, but I also knew we all needed a little more sleep than we’d had.

“Yeah?”

“The bed is big enough for both of us.”

“I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”

“We can make a wall out of the sofa cushions if it would make you feel better. I just can’t sleep knowing how uncomfortable you must be.”

Only the sound of our breathing filled the room.

“Please?”

He huffed out a breath. “Fine.”

“Thank you.”

“Why does it matter so much to you?” he asked as he moved across the room.

“Because you might be the poor man’s Clay, but you’re still Clay. Besides, we might need to move some furniture around tomorrow at home to make room for two of everything and you can’t do that if you’ve got a cricked neck, which means it’ll be on me, and I really don’t want to do that.”

“So it’s purely a selfish request.” I could hear a creeping smile enter in his voice.

“Absolutely.”

“So long as that’s all it is.”

I offered a quiet chuckle. “Clay?” I asked again when the other side of the bed dip as he climbed in.

“Yeah?”

“Good night.”

“Night, Evie.”

 

THE NEXT time I woke, I was alone, draped across Clay’s side of the bed. My face was buried in a pillow that held a faint trace of the scent that had always comforted me. The only conclusion I could come to was that I’d migrated toward him in my sleep and driven him away. I lifted my head to see if he’d found his way back to the sofa, but it was empty too.

The door to the bathroom was ajar and the light was on. I could hear a mumbled voice coming from the room and my curiosity grew. I pushed the covers aside and padded toward the open door.

“No, not yet.” Clay’s voice was little more than a quiet whisper.

I almost turned away to give him his privacy, but the question of whom he could be talking to burned in my mind.

“I found a better solution.”

Standing as still as I could, I listened to the one-sided conversation.

“Yeah. I found them.”

I began to suspect who he might have been talking to, but I refused to accept it.

“I think I can. They trust me.”

The implication in his words sent my heart galloping in my chest.

“I just need a little more time.” Clay’s voice grew quieter, as if he’d turned away from the open door.

I stepped forward a little to hear him better and accidentally pushed the door open.

Clay swung around instantly and stared straight at me. He didn’t hesitate or try to hide. He met my gaze without any remorse as he continued. “She doesn’t suspect anything.” He pressed his finger against his lips to signal that I shouldn’t call out.

The blood rushing around my body sped faster still. Only a handful of people could be on the other end of the call. There was one person in particular I was worried he was in contact with: his dad. I tried to swallow, but I couldn’t because my heart filled my throat.

He’s not on our side at all.

I backed away from Clay, my fingertips searching for the door so that I could force it between us and aid my escape. Before I could get very far, Clay leapt forward and yanked the door shut behind me. A squeak slipped past my lips, and he pressed his hand over my mouth to silence me.

He tilted his head to the side. His eyes pleaded with me, begging me to understand something unspoken. “It’s all going perfectly according to plan.”

I wasn’t sure whether his words were meant for me or his father.

“I think it’ll be a few more weeks, but I can already tell they’ll both put their family first and see my side.”

Despite having his hand over my mouth, Clay’s palm barely grazed my lips. It wasn’t a threatening hold. Between the gentle touch and the pleading look in his gaze, I was willing to keep still and silent while I worked out what the hell was going on.

More than that, the handful of steps he’d taken to close the door left him so close to me. Combined with the feeling of his fingertips on my cheek, it was intoxicating. Willing to wait before I made a hasty decision, I closed my eyes and tried to still my panic.

There were enough fae guards lingering around the outside of our room that one cry for help would have them charging into the room. Ultimately, I had the control in the situation. He may have no longer been the man I married, but Clay wasn’t stupid. He would know the risks. If he really wanted to be secretive, he would have ensured that the bathroom door was locked. The more thought I gave to it, the more likely it seemed that he had wanted me to overhear the conversation. The double—triple—cross in the Rain headquarters flittered into my mind. Although Clay wouldn’t remember that, his instincts and ingrained training could have suggested a similar plan in this situation.

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll call you when I get some time alone.” His gaze dropped away so that he could end the call, freeing me from the spell I’d been under.

“Well then, let’s have it,” he said before he’d even lifted his eyes back to my face.

“Have what?”

“How could you do this to us?” He forced his voice though his nose, causing it to be high-pitched and whiny. “I thought you were on our side.”

“Wow,” I whispered.

He sighed as he waited for the tirade.

“I cannot believe you think that’s how I sound.”

He stepped back in shock. “Wait, what? Aren’t you worried that I’m betraying you?”

I considered his words. “I was when I first realized you were on the phone. But the thing is, I learned a long time ago to have faith in you. And I know that technically you’re not you right now.” I flourished my hands in his direction, knowing that it was a very brief, and somewhat inaccurate, summary of events up to that point but hoping he’d let me continue uninterrupted. “But I know you well enough to know that you wouldn’t take an uncalculated risk. If you’d wanted a completely private conversation, you would have done everything you could do to make sure it stayed private. You, or part of you anyway, obviously wanted me to overhear you. And if you wanted me to hear, there’s obviously a bigger picture that you want to clue me in on because you and I both know that any sound of struggle or screaming from this room would bring a legion of guards flooding in here.

“Considering what that would mean for you, I know you wouldn’t want that. You must have been expecting that if I did overhear, I would at least stop to listen to you. Sure, you probably thought it’d require a little more coercion on your part, but as I said, I learned a long time ago to put my faith in you.”

Slack-jawed, he stared at me for a moment while he absorbed my words, then he narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

“Now, fill me in on whatever it is that you’re planning,” I continued before he could argue further.

“Dad texted me this morning wondering where I was.”

“Because I was supposed to be dead by now and you were supposed to be home already?”

“Exactly.”

“And you didn’t want to tell him what happened?”

He turned away from me. “I was thinking about what . . . my sister—”

“Louise,” I interrupted when I realized he was struggling to remember her name.

“About what Louise said about him.”

“And?”

“And between what he told me, her scars, and everything else, I think he has some explaining to do.”

I waited for him to elaborate.

“Once Ethan has recovered, I thought he, Louise, and I could meet with Dad and work it out.”

I was horrified. “Absolutely not.”

“Why not?”

“Because, whether you believe it or not, he was responsible for your memory loss. Even if it was a gamble for him before, he now knows for certain that the waters of the Lethe River can wipe your mind again. If he thought that you’d relapsed into being sympathetic toward me, he would probably find some way to force you to be exposed again. If you take Ethan and Louise, it could be two of the three of you wiped and ready for brainwashing, leaving Ethan outnumbered if he tried to fight—which he probably wouldn’t in case either of you two got hurt.”

“I have to do something. If he’s a threat like everyone seems to think, he won’t just leave you in peace, will he?”

I shook my head. “He didn’t before. He’s got no reason to now. If anything he’ll launch more attacks while I’m weakened. It’s me he blames for everything. It’s me he wants dead.”

“Then surely you agree we have to do something. If what you say is right, he’ll come after David and Ava once he knows about them, won’t he?”

“Yes.” There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.

“I won’t let him hurt them,” he assured me.

The corners of my lips turned up in response to his protective streak.

“But what if you’re wrong?” he asked.

“What if I’m not?”

“What if you were at the meeting too?”

I was surprised he’d suggested it. Mostly because it was something my Clay would never have willingly allowed. His protective streak obviously no longer extended to include me.

“That could work.” I nodded. “And maybe Aiden as well. Possibly Ben.”

“Ben?”

“He’s one of the Rain. He’s human. If something happens to the fae, if he uses enchantments or anti-fae charms, Ethan, Ben, and I will be able to help.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

My mind was already ticking over with possible issues and solutions, but I pushed away my worries for a moment. “Rather than stressing any more about it now, let’s go find some breakfast.”

“Okay.” He smiled, and it damn near broke my heart.

I had to turn away from him to stop my tears starting again.

“Oh, and Evie?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for sharing the bed last night. It was,” he cleared his throat with a quiet cough, “much more comfortable than the sofa.”

I could feel my cheek redden. “It was nothing. I just hope it wasn’t too uncomfortable sharing it with a stranger.”

“No—” His voice was pitchy and strained. He shifted from one foot to the other before clearing his throat again. “Not at all.”