Page 145 of A Taste of Bliss

“We can wait in there until the guys are back. They shouldn’t be out too much later.”

“Where are they?” Reese asks tentatively, and I’m reminded of some of their previous interactions.

He looks over his shoulder at her with a smile. “They heard about a freshly turned warlock and went to go find him. That’s kind of what we do sometimes. Well, not me, they won’t let me go with them, but they go out and find orphaned Made fae, bring them in, give them a place to live while they adjust to the change.”

My heart seems to grow in size. “Pisces helps with that?” I ask.

Simon nods. “Yeah. That’s originally how the guys found him.”

There’s still way too much I don’t know about Pisces. So many things I wish I could have the chance to find out about him. And I will, just once we get him free.

“When was he turned?” I ask curiously.

“A little over six years ago now, I think,” Simon says. He pulls a couple more armchairs over so we can all sit together. Reese and Amelia take a seat on a little couch and the rest of us take an armchair.

“So he’s not one of the Made fae that have been alive for hundreds of years?” Reese muses.

“Nah, he’s still a baby, I guess,” Simon replies with a laugh. He gets up, going to a wall with a few smaller framed pictures, plucking one off the wall and handing it to me. “This was taken a couple weeks after I found him again.”

“Found him again?” I ask, taking the framed photo and poring over every detail. Simon stands in the middle next to Pisces and the two are surrounded by Benny, Shaun, and Evan. All five of them wear the biggest smiles. I don’t think I’ve yetseen Pisces look this genuinely happy. What I would give to be the source of a smile like this on his face.

“Pisces and I kinda lost contact after he turned. He just up and left afterwards. We didn’t know what happened to him, until I finally tracked him down. And I’ve stayed here with them since.”

I nod. “You all look so young here,” I say, tears starting to well in my eyes.

Simon smiles softly at me, squeezing my shoulder. I hand the photo back to him and he replaces it on the wall. He comes back and sits across from me. “Shaun and Evan have been trying to get Pisces released. It’s not been going well. Evan hasn’t been able to convince his dad.”

“Yves Lyra can’t afford to look weak against wraiths,” Liz explains. “They’ll have a hard time convincing him that Pisces is innocent with the evidence against him.”

Simon nods, his earlier softness replaced by ire. “But they let Bliss out.” He looks to me, panic in his eyes. “Not that I’m not glad for that. It’s just?—”

“I know. It’s unjust, the double standard.”

Simon lets his head fall forwards. “I wish there was more I could do.”

There’s sound and motion towards the opening in the living room. I look and see Shaun letting a backpack drop onto the floor. He looks exhausted and his eyes narrow as they find mine. “What are the succubi doing here?” he mutters as he trudges further into the room. Evan follows him, going to the fire to warm his hands.

Benny smiles at us. “Hey, good to see you all again.”

“Bliss wants to talk about helping Pisces,” Simon explains, but Shaun cuts him off.

“We’ve already talked about it, and as we’ve already stated, we don’t need her help.” Shaun straightens a bit when he seesmy aunt there, looking at him with an arched brow. He lets out a sigh and mutters something, turning back to the window he’s placed himself at.

Evan sits on the floor in front of the fire and leans back, letting it practically toast his neck. He looks to Amelia once before finding the ceiling much more interesting.

I look around at the three of them. They didn’t seem to bring anyone back with them.

“Did you not find the warlock?” I ask.

“What?” Shaun replies, looking to Simon.

“I explained where you all were.”

I notice blood on Shaun’s shirt then. And more on Benny’s and Evan’s. My eyes go wide.

Benny sits down next to Evan, pulling his knees into his chest. “We were too late.”

“What do you mean?” Reese splutters, taking in the blood as well.