Stay

“Why weren’t you?” I was too tired to soften my words. I hoped she understood.

“There’s more going on than you know. You’re only at the tip of the iceberg.”

“There’s more? More than a psycho with magic trying to take over The Society?”

She leaned in. “Can you handle more? With everything else, can I really add more to your plate?”

“Does this involve you?”

“Not directly.”

“Then tell me.”

“There’s talk of more than a takeover of the crown.”

“More than the crown?”

“Yes.”

“Taliana? Casey? You ready?” Daria called.

“We’ll finish this later,” Mom whispered. “We’re coming.”

I wanted to hear more, but I was sure my mother was shutting her mouth for a reason. Whatever she’d been about to confide in me, she didn’t want the twins knowing about.

“Are you ready?” Mom squeezed my hand slightly the way she used to do whenever I tried something new. The gesture reminded me that no matter what she kept from me, she was still my mother. If I couldn’t trust her, who could I trust?

A voice in the back of head that didn’t feel like my own voice answered. No one. “I think so.” I squeezed her hand back. “Are you?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

I smiled. She used that phrase a lot.

“Ready when you ladies are.” Maddock motioned for us to board the ferry boat.

I took a deep breath. I could do this. I could fly without fear, yet I was about to fall over with panic over getting into a boat? I stepped carefully onto the boat. I glanced back at Toby again. He waved and gave me an encouraging smile.

“Does Gareth know you’re coming?” Daria asked.

“No.” Mom shook her head. “I haven’t told anyone but you two yet.”

“Oh.” Daria and Maddock exchanged worried looks.

“It will be fine. As long as they can help Casey, it will all be worth it.”

“What exactly does Casey need help with?” Maddock looked me up and down. “She looks fine to me.”

“Don’t forget she’s related to you,” Mom wagged a finger at him.

“Not all that directly. I mean we’re talking third cousins.”

“Maddock.”

He untied us from the side and the boat lurched out into the lake. I glanced back to where Toby still waited. Leaving him was so hard. I’d gotten used to having his comfort. Maybe separating was a good thing. Maybe I needed to regain my confidence of being on my own. I needed to distract myself, so I glanced at the twins. “How old are you?”

“How old do you think we are?” Maddock grinned. Once we were on the boat his formal personality seemed to melt away. Was that all a show for Toby?

“You look like you’re my age, but you know my mom so well. She hasn’t been back since I was a baby…”

“We’re the same age as your mom.”

“Oh.” I looked between the twins. “You just age really well?”

Daria laughed. “It’s the nymph part that helps.”

“Nymph?” Toby seemed to know what that was, but I certainly didn’t unless it meant exactly what it sounded like.

“Yes, nymph. We shift into bears, but we’ve got some added extra appetites.”

Mom laughed. It was a light laugh I hadn’t heard come out of her in years. “Yes, some added appetites indeed. But you know what tree nymphs are, don’t you?”

Ugh. I didn’t need to listen to my mom discuss sexual appetites. “Yeah, vaguely.” I blocked them all out, but that just made it easier to concentrate on the fact that we were on water, and that wasn’t a good thing either.

I looked back at the shore. Toby looked tiny in the distance, but he was still there. Despite everything I’d really gotten lucky in that department.

Mom cleared her throat. “Casey, when we get across you need to follow instructions very closely.”

“Instructions?”

“We will likely be separated, but just do what they tell you to do. No one is going to hurt you. They’ll be able to tell you’re one of the family.”

“What if they can’t?” Panicking about that seemed easier than thinking about the boat. “What if they don’t believe us?”

“They will. Gareth will not hurt you.”

“Who’s Gareth?”I had a feeling I knew, but I asked anyway.

“My mate. Vera’s father.” Vera’s father. It was still so strange to think about us not having the same father. Accepting Robert in theory was one thing, but accepting all the other parts that came with it was even harder.

“Are you sure he won’t hurt me?” I was the evidence of why she left, although I still didn’t understand what happened.

“No. He won’t.”

“Will he hurt you?” I hated to ask in front of the twins, but it needed to be said. She was scared of something, and I was almost positive it was him.

“No!” The twins glared at me. “How could he hurt his mate?”

“Because she left after having someone else’s…” I stopped what did they know?

“You can finish. They know about that. They helped me leave.”

“Oh. Then wouldn’t he be angry?”

“More like heartbroken.” Daria pulled her knees up to her chin. “He’s never taken another mate.”

“It’s not as though I have either.” Mom looked off into the distance.

“You mean you and Dad…”

“Never. He’s a good friend.”

“A good friend who shared the same bed with you for eighteen years?” How was that even possible? Wasn’t it awkward? Did they have any feelings for each other?

“Exactly. I don’t expect you to understand.”

I didn’t. I didn’t understand anything about my life, but that didn’t mean I had to make a big deal about it. “I guess I’ll understand eventually.”

Mom smiled. “There’s that positive attitude again.”

I looked back at the shore. I couldn’t even see Toby anymore. That meant that we were getting close to the other shore. I glanced over my shoulder and regretted it. We were almost there, and there were people waiting for us—or not people. Bear shifters.

“Casey?” Mom put a hand on my arm. “Are you okay, hun?”