Page 14

Luckily—or perhaps in my case, unluckily—we didn’t have to wait long.

Two huge brutes dropped from the second story balcony, landing easily on their feet.

They both had the same pale white skin as me and piercing eyes.

Unlike me, they had black hair like our father.

The one on the left kept his hair long, almost to his waist, with the sides shaved.

His eyes were a copy of mine, hazel with orange streaks.

The one on the right had always preferred to keep his hair short, only a dark stubble was present, and deep blue eyes flecked with orange stared at me with an intensity that made me want to shift on my feet.

Instead, I raised my chin and gave them both a look of disdain.

Taivan, the long-haired one, broke first. “ Our favorite sibling has returned !” His voice boomed across the courtyard.

Alaric and Kieran jumped. Even Emil and the other two Harker rangers were surprised, which was probably why they did nothing to help me as my two older brothers charged and swept me up in a crushing hug.

“Gross!” I shrieked. “You’re both sweaty and disgusting!” My feet kicked out from where they dangled several feet off the ground. Why did my brothers have to be so freaking tall?

“We missed you, Rothie Bear,” Desmond grumbled in a deep, raspy voice. His throat had been mangled in a fight with some wraiths years ago, and while the scar had mostly faded, his voice had been irrevocably damaged.

“Should we . . .” Alaric trailed off. I couldn’t see him or the others, thanks to being trapped between the two mountains who were my brothers, but I imagined he had no idea what to do in this situation. Alaric was an only child—something I was very jealous of at this moment.

“No,” all three rangers said at once.

“Taivan. Desmond,” a clear voice rang out. “Put down your sibling. You know Roth doesn’t like hugs.”

My feet hit the ground a second later, and a big meaty hand landed on my shoulder to steady me when I stumbled a bit. “Sorry, little sib,” Desmond said, looking slightly chagrined.

“I’m not.” Taivan ruffled my hair, and I slapped his hand away with a glower. He just laughed at me, the sound threatening to burst my eardrums. Had he seriously gotten louder? “You haven’t visited us once since sneaking off in the night. That means you owe me a backlog of hugs.”

“That’s not how that works!” I snapped. “And you could have visited me!” A small amount of hurt crept into my voice before I could squash it.

Nobody in my family had sent me so much as a message since I’d left.

I’d always been the odd one out here. They’d likely all sighed a breath of relief when I’d gone to Drudonia—if they’d noticed at all.

I wouldn’t have been surprised if my parents hadn’t realized I’d left for months.

Suddenly, the happy grins on my brothers’ faces slid off, and they looked unsure . . . and sad. “We didn’t know if you’d want to see us,” Desmond said quietly, his eyes on the ground.

What?

Guilt slammed into me. It had never occurred to me that they had stayed away because they’d thought that was what I’d wanted.

I mean, it kind of was what I’d wanted at first, but that was just because I’d desperately needed space.

But when they’d never come looking for me, I’d just assumed it had been because they had easily wiped me out of their lives.

The air tightened in my lungs. I didn’t?—

How did I fix this? What was I supposed to say? Fuck! Suddenly, the breaths I hadn’t been able to take started coming faster. Oh my gods, I was going to have a panic attack right fucking here in front of everyone.

“It’s so wonderful to meet both of you!” Kieran said cheerfully.

“I wish we were here under better circumstances, but I am glad that we got Roth here. They’ve been kind enough to help us with some urgent research over the last couple of months—something they were undertaking at Drudonia—but they’ve spoken of you often. ”

Desmond’s gaze snapped up to meet mine again, surprise and happiness brimming in them. “You have?”

I hadn’t. Kieran was lying his ass off. Sure, I’d talked about my brothers a little bit to Samara, but that was it.

“Of course.” I did my best to smile. Both Taivan and Desmond grinned back at me, and the panic I’d been feeling faded. Tension replaced it as I finally looked past my brothers to the woman who had spoken.

In front of the main doors that led inside stood a tall, broad-shouldered woman with the same blue eyes as Desmond.

She looked nothing like me—except the hair.

We both had the exact shade of deep crimson red.

Beside her stood a man who towered over even my brothers.

A little surprise ran through me at seeing a few streaks of grey in his black hair. Eyes identical to mine bored into me.

“Hey, Mom.” I sighed. “Hi, Dad.”

Unlike my brothers—who had always been on the emotional side—my parents gave me nothing in response. Had they missed me? Did they hate me? Were they thinking about what to grab for lunch? Who the fuck knew.

“Astaroth.”

My head snapped to the left, towards the woman striding out of the side entrance.

Compared to her brother—my father—Thessalia was so dainty.

Her hair was almost completely grey, only a few strands of black remaining, but she walked with strength and confidence.

All the rangers dipped their heads out of respect and loyalty.

The Head of House Devereux was beloved by her people. And by me.

“Thessalia.” Like the rangers, I also nodded deeply in greeting. My aunt was the reason I had stayed sane growing up as I’d tried to devour books while my parents kept trying to shove a sword into my hand. They’d never understood me, but she had, and I had left her behind along with everyone else.

Hazel eyes with burnt orange streaks just like mine and my father’s slid to Alaric and Kieran, who had moved a little closer to stand on either side of me. Thessalia’s lips curved up ever so slightly at the sight. “Interesting company you’re keeping these days.”

“They’re my . . .” I floundered, searching for the right word to describe what Kieran and Alaric were to me exactly.

“We are theirs,” Alaric cut in. “And Roth is ours.”

A smile bloomed across Thessalia’s face as she looked at me. “My precious child, you finally found your home.”

“I did.” My voice cracked as heat built behind my eyes. I took a steadying breath as I looked around at the rangers gathered, my thickheaded brothers, my stoic parents, and finally, the woman who had always seen the truth of me. “And I need your help to save it.”