“Where’s Faye this morning?” he said.
I reached out into the Ether for her signature and sighed. “She’s at the selkie village again.”
“Maybe it’s helping her.”
“Maybe.”
A click, click, click of heels against the parquet floor echoed up to us. Poppy ran in. She snapped her hands up, covering her mouth. “Oh, Alec.”
Alec clicked his tongue, his shoulders dropping, his voice coming out as a coo. “Poppy.”
He finished walking down the stairs, and she threw herself into his arms, her fingers sinking into his jacket, dimpling it. She had pulled her curls back loosely, so unlike the tight, elegant chignons she favored. A gray wrap dress and her stacked bracelets made up the rest of her outfit. I had never seen her so casually attired.
Her voice came out as a sob. “I flew over as soon as I got your letter.”
“Poppy,” Alec murmured. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but I wanted you to know.”
She stretched back from him, her hands resting on his arms. “As I should. But I wouldn’t tell Mama and Papa if I were you.”
Alec widened his eyes and cocked his head to the side. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
Poppy wiped her cheeks with the back of her fingers. “Pull something like that again and I will kill you myself.”
Alec looked over his shoulder to me. “Do you see how she threatens me? No comfort to be given, and after all I’ve been through.”
“I swear,” she smacked him playfully, “you will be joking on your deathbed.”
“The alternative would be one of those sad, dull affairs, would it not?”
She laughed, her dimples showing. Her voice dropped lower, though. “I couldn’t stand it if something were to happen to you, Alec.”
I sucked in a breath. What if something happened to him? It would devastate me. But it wasn’t just about me. Alec had a family, a large, closely connected one that would be devastated as well. I had thought for the longest time that his skills would be enough to see him through. But that hadn’t been enough at the last battle. Because of me. Because he had let down his guard for my sake. I was the reason he had almost died. My throat tightened.
“I know, Poppet. I’m sorry,” Alec said, bending down and kissing the top of her head.
Poppy sighed and flicked her eyes to me, a smile warming her features. “Good to see you, Daron. I’m happy I can finally greet you as my brother.”
Brother. I smiled. “Finally?”
Poppy rolled her eyes. “Alec has been mooning over you for years and years. It grows old,” she said, side-eying him.
A smile stretched across Alec’s face. I may have almost caused his death, but I caused that kind of joy too. And no matter how deeply he felt for me, it couldn’t come close to the depth of feeling I had for him.
“I fear I have no defense,” Alec said.
“Do you wish to join us for breakfast?” I said.
Poppy leaned around her brother, her lips pursing. “Oh, I’d love to.” She trailed her eyes over the room. “Will Faye be joining us? Didn’t you say she was here?”
“Not this morning,” Alec said. He looked over his shoulder and met my gaze, a heaviness hovering over the warmth of the browns of his eyes, and I held back a sigh.
“Your brother wishes to eat outside,” I said. “Does that suit you?”
Poppy flipped around, tucking her arm into Alec’s. “Oh, that’s perfect. Why stay inside on a day like today?”
We walked out and followed the path around the house. The gardens had always been my favorite part of our home growing up. Flowers fluttered in the ocean breeze, a fountain trickled and splashed. We sat at an iron table that still rested in morning shadows. I pulled breakfast for us and scooped up hashed potatoes off of my plate, taking a bite. They melted in my mouth, creamy and salty.
“Hello,” Poppy exclaimed as Faye trailed up the garden path. Her smile dropped as Faye drew closer. Dark circles rimmed her eyes. She hunched down, her cloak swallowing her up, her skin pale and wan. The garden blooming around her felt indelicate in contrast.
Faye flicked her eyes up to Poppy and then dropped them back to the path. “Hello, Poppy.”
Poppy looked back to Alec and me, her eyebrows high, her mouth parting with a gasp. My lips pressed into a hard line. She walked over to Faye, tucking an arm around her and speaking in soothing whispers.
How could I help her? Alec squeezed my hand. The look in his eyes didn’t offer any answers, but it was a comfort, anyway. I squeezed his hand back and sighed.
Alec’s eyes followed a car that drove by on the road in front of the gray and blue colonial houses that made up Faye’s neighborhood. He sucked in a breath. An airplane whooshed above, and he craned his neck to watch it. He shook his head, his curls dancing and catching the afternoon light.
“What a transition Faye must have had between our two worlds.”
“Hmm,” I agreed.
Two humans jogged by in colorful running shorts, their hair pulled back in ponytails, the neon soles of their tennis shoes flashing as their feet smack, smack, smacked against the sidewalk we stood on.
“Is every human an artist?” Alec said.
“Why do you say that?”
“They all wear so many colors. I’ve never seen so much variety in my life, even in the artists’ district.”
I ran my thumb over his fingers. “Humans are good at a few things that Ether beings are not. Individuality and change top the list.”
Alec smiled with one side of his mouth. “I can appreciate that.”
“I thought you might.” A smile floated to my lips.
Alec’s eyes flicked over all the strange things in the human world. Mailboxes in the shape of tractors. Squirrels zig-zagging between trees. A plastic wrapper that skittered down the road.
“Depending on how long Faye wishes to be here, we’ll have to part ways for a time,” I said, regret twining into my voice.
Alec squeezed my hand. “I understand.”
“I did already tell Telanes to restart the group at the end of the two weeks, whether or not I’m there.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that at least. You know I would be stuck on patrol duty if the group didn’t recommence.”
I laughed. “Yes, and they’d probably place you in the most remote location they could find.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You know they would, Daron. Don’t heckle me.”
I kissed his cheek. “Your hatred for patrol is unparalleled.”
“Hmm. I won't argue. How long do you think you all might stay?”
“I can’t say. It depends on Faye. If it’s longer than a week, I’ll make sure a message gets to you.”
He nodded and squeezed my hand like he might anchor us together. I tightened my grip, as if I could do the same.
4
Faye
How many times had I entered my house without even thinking about it? I never noticed how the mirror by the jacket rack had a hairline crack in a corner, how the tile near the door lay uneven, how grating the ticking of the grandfather clock echoed through the space.