Thirty-Five
I return to the mountain in the early hours of the morning to find Ana and Kobe pacing the living room while Gaius sits with his head clasped in his hands. I stop in the doorway. They look at me, the same question of each of their faces. My voice is dull as I say, “He’s gone. Seelie guards took him. Angelica gave him up in exchange for her freedom.”
Ana’s hands rise to cover her mouth. Gaius seems frozen in place. Kobe shakes his head and says, “I knew something was off. I knew the moment we got down to the bottom river and there wasn’t a single merperson to be found. Then Angelica’s people showed up, hours earlier than planned and far more of them than expected. We knew instantly that she’d set us up.”
Ana’s hands turn to fists, clenching tightly against her chin as she loo
