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My dad flinches and his voice is sharp, “Don’tsnap her neck, Archie.”

“Yes, Sir Jimmy. She’s not much of an adversary at the moment.”

Her weeping continues, her trembling, her inner landscape collapsing into dust, it seems. Pity attempts to sprout in me, but I’ve got a weed wacker at the ready. That clock is still ticking and Nico isstillfighting, so my empathy is on standby pending the outcome of this little parley.

Softly, I say, “She’sthe answer to everything.”

Dad blows out a breath, his hands clenching and releasing, his posture stiff. Then, after inwardly steeling himself, he spins and looks at the queen for the first time. Only, it’s apparentlynotthe first time.

“Jilly?” His voice is a stranger’s—deeper, like from the depths of his past.

Her entire quivering form seems to nod.

“You’re thequeenof a monster realm?”

She nods again, more tears falling, a bloom of shame worn openly now.

“Jilly, I need you to bring Nico back soourdaughter is safe, and then we need to talk… abouteverything.”

I thought I was prepared, but hearing those words—our daughter—causes me to tighten my hold on Bastien, to reach for Pennie’s warmth that still remains, to listen for Nico’s drums, and to look at Archie, whose eyes are wide as he stares at mymotherlike she’s a grenade with the pin already pulled. Archie gets points for not just dropping her to escape the awkward situation.

“James, I can’t… Ican’t.”

My dad raises his hands as though he’s the one surrendering and takes a step closer to her. “Tell me why.”

“I can’t just open the portal for one being. If I do, ifI—as the ruler—break the law I instituted, then the law that keeps this realm safe isbroken. I don’t have the strength to rebuild it. What I did to secure enough power to create the laws of this land… I can’t do that again.” Subconsciously or not, she raises her hand to her neck and I think I understand the origin of her heavy horns.

“To save Nico…” She chokes back a sob. “To save my only surviving daughter, I must sacrifice my realm. What kind of ruler would I be if…?”

“Jilly,please,” my dad soothes, “let’s think this through. There are never just two options.”

Some shared memory flashes in her eyes and she responds with an epic, medal-winning eye roll. “Thereisanother option, James—ourdaughterlets Nico go, and life in this realm continues.”

My dad chuckles bleakly. “Honey, she won’t do that, likeever. The girl can’t abandon a friend in need or a pretty tree that’s too messy for her uptight planned community. She’s loyal. When she finally loves, it’s forever.” He sighs what seems like a million years of pain. “She gets that from me.”

He shakes his head, his arms crossed as though he’s protecting himself. “You have no idea how many well-meaning people told me that you left me, that you didn’t love me, that you were dead, that I should move on. I never did, never even considered it. I loved you and that was forever.”

His voice breaks as he says, “Idiedback on our old world—before Nico came to save me from that suffocating end—and from the moment you vanished to the moment I breathed my last breath, I never kissed another woman, never flirted with another woman, never dishonored my vows to you.Please, don’t punish our daughter for being just like her father.”

The queenmotheris speechless and then pats Archie’s hand, inspiring him to release her. She reaches for my dad, her hand unsteady until he steadies it, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close.

To the monsters in the room, she calls, “Light the signal fires. Let everyone know that danger is about to be unleashed, but not only that, spread the word that many families are about to be reunited, just like mine.”

Chapter61

Nico

I’m battling a dozen of them. But that’s perfectly fine because I’ve battled a dozen ofthemmy entire life. I’ve battled so many, and worse, I’ve battled myself.

Maybe life is just a war in the end, but the thing about a war isn’t just its beginning, its middle, or its end—the reason for fighting is what matters.

I have a reason.

I have a mate.

That’s why I can feel her even now. This treacherous place couldn’t steal a single memory of her. Not the sound of her voice. Not this song that’s alive inside me, reminding me every second why I must return to her. Her song is… it’s delicate and sweet, while fiery and self-possessed.

It’s alsosexy.