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Fang licked my face, his whine bleeding through the crashing memories inside me. He howled again as my mind struggled in darker places, returning to Fables, slipping back into the dorm, remembering things I’d worked through, let go of, and willingly put to rest.
“I want them to die. All of them.”
“They will,” I vowed. “I’ll do it myself. You’ll see.”
“And then we’ll be free?”
“Free as the birds, little Quell. We’ll grow wings and fly away from here.”
Quell buried herself into my arms, aging me, cursing me.
We were just two kids, hiding in terror.
“Silly, Kas, always trying to volunteer,” Storymaker hissed. “The day is coming when you’ll no longer be here to put up your hand, and then...all your little siblings will know exactly what they’ve been missing.”
Rage crashed through me.
Horror splashed acid on my tongue.
I wanted to kill them all over again.
I want them to motherfucking bleed.
Fang headbutted my side, interrupting the fury burning my every thought. He whined and nuzzled my neck—giving me softness when I’d gone cold, love when all I felt was emptiness.
His muzzle wedged between Quell and me, claiming me as his own, hauling me back from the blackness and ensuring I didn’t slip any further.
My racing heart rate paused.
I blinked and raised my head, recentering on our lawn, our wedding, and the house where Gem and I found such happiness. Everything was bathed in sunshine, freedom, and safety.
I sucked in a tattered breath.
I wasn’t a kid covered in wounds and bruises anymore.
I wasn’t a terrified brother doing his best to protect his family.
I was a married man who’d triumphed over physical and mental trauma. I was strong enough not to relapse. Brave enough to say, enough. Enough of the flashbacks, enough of the nightmares.
This was no longer about me.
I’d found my place with the woman I was meant to marry. Now...it was Quell’s turn. I would do whatever I could to ensure she found the same bliss I had. To understand that she deserved it. That we weren’t dirty or fucked up or any of the things Storymaker had made us believe. We were worthy. So, so fucking worthy.
I hugged her close, saner now. Back in focus and ready to be whatever she needed. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I’m so sorry, Kas.” Her voice was older than I’d last heard it, huskier and layered with nightmares that I was well acquainted with. “I’m so, so sorry.”
Fang whined and sniffed the girl who wasn’t my wife, curled into a ball in my hold.
I ripped away, my eyes wide with disbelief. “Sorry? Why the hell are you sorry?”
“For staying away from you for so long.” She looked up, sniffing back her sadness. “I wanted to see you the moment Jareth took me to that hospital. You were the only one I wanted to see, but...then I saw my dad again.” She looked up to Tony, who had his arm around Gemma, both of them crying and standing vigil around us. “And I knew that if I saw you before I accepted I was free...before I could learn how to be myself instead of what they made me...then I might never have had the courage to work through it on my own.” She sighed heavily, her eyes delving into mine. “I had to heal on my own...do you see? I let you keep me safe so many times in my youth, but this time...I had to do it on my own. I couldn’t put that pressure on you. We put so much pressure on you. All of us. All the time.” Her voice cracked. “What you did for us—”
I cupped her cheeks. “It’s me who should apologize. I wasn’t there for you for so many years. I gave you to a worser fate. I should never have—”
“It was that fate that showed me just how much you sheltered us. It taught me the level of pain you took for me.”
“A lesson you should never have had to learn.”
“Why? Because you deserved what they did to you?”
“No...but I knew what they wanted. It was already too late for me—”
“You sacrificed—”
“Just like you.”
She shook her head, her face twisting with disagreement. “I’ll never forgive myself for all those nights that I lay in bed—unsummoned and untouched—all because you took my place. So many nights, Kas—” Her fresh tears made mine react.
Fang whined again as I croaked. “But I failed, in so many ways. I let you get taken. I wasn’t there for all those years.”
“And I’m glad about that. If you’d been with us, you would’ve died. I know that. You would’ve kept sacrificing yourself until you couldn’t anymore.” Her eyes flew to Gem’s. “And you would never have found this.”
I shook my head, cursing her for her martyrdom. Didn’t she see? Her captivity the past decade was my fault. In our case, the devil we knew was better than the devil we didn’t. It was my fault. She was guilty of sleeping safely while I served on her behalf? Fuck me, I was guilty of falling in love and being happy, all while she still rotted in some monster’s hellhole.
“I’m so sorry, Quell.”
She shuddered, resting her forehead on mine. “No one knew what would happen that day. Or any day for that matter.”
“I thought Jareth said you ran. That you were the only one who got away that night.”
She flinched and tried to hide behind her hair—an old habit that twisted my heart. “I did run. I still hate myself for leaving everyone, but...they were screaming, and men were shouting, and I just bolted. I ran through the night. I ran until I was lost, and then panic filled me.” She licked her lips. “I started leaving a trail of ribbons.” Her face hardened. “You know that awful Mr. Jovie liked to dress me up like a doll...well, I used those ribbons from the pigtails he gave me and left a trail, tying them to branches, fully intending to make my way back to Fables and find you. I wanted to tell you what’d happened. I wanted to go save our family. Together.” Fresh tears fell from her dull hazel eyes. “But then...dawn broke, and they found me. I didn’t know what happened to the rest until Jareth came for me.”
Gem suddenly dropped to her knees, joining us in our protective huddle. “You said you left ribbons?” Her skin had gone white, her eyes wide and dilated. “What...what color was the satin, do you remember?”
Quell nodded, her nostrils flaring. If she was like me, she’d remember every detail. Panic tended to do that to a person. It was a curse, imprinting every little thing into permanent reminders on your psyche. “They were yellow.”
“Oh, God.” Gem fell onto her ass, shaking her head. “The ribbons tied in the trees were yours. It wasn’t the guy in the climbing forum who left them. I thought they were old. One was so brittle it disintegrated when I touched it.”
Quell locked eyes with my wife, an unfamiliar ope
And that filled me with fucking gratefulness.
The horror of Fables and our past faded a little as Fang licked my cheek, still keeping a careful eye on me with my emotions swinging from dark to light.
“You found them?” Quell...Isabella...whispered.
“They were what led me to Kas.” Gem rubbed at a tear as it rolled past her chin. “Without them, I would never have found Fables.”
“And you found Kas still there, right?” Quell dipped her head. “Jareth told me that Kas had found someone. That if he...” She threw me a shy look. “If he managed to move on that he would probably marry you.”
Gem gave her a wobbly smile, lifting up her hand and showing off her new ring. “He did. Only an hour or so ago. I’m so sorry you missed it. We did send an invite—”
“That’s my fault,” Tony interrupted. “I only gave it to her this morning. I didn’t know how she’d take it...and I wasn’t prepared to undo all the great healing she’s undergone the past few months. But then I felt guilty for not trusting her health, so I gave her the choice.” His eyes linked with mine. “You’re family, Kas, after all. What sort of man would I be if I kept your sister from your wedding day?”
My chest hurt as I accepted what he said. It wasn’t just the words he’d used but the passion behind them. He accepted that a small part of Quell would always belong to me—just like a small part of me would always belong to her. I might have been the boy who’d accepted so much pain on behalf of his daughter, but I was also the man who constantly reminded him of what his little girl had endured.
That shit wasn’t easy.
For anyone.
Standing slowly, I patted Fang on his head as the poor dog continued to whine. Grabbing Gem’s hand in my left and Quell’s in my right, I pulled both women to their feet.
I waited for Quell to flinch away from my touch—to have issues with a man being so close regardless that we knew things about each other that no one else would understand, but either she’d healed faster than I had or our bond was still intact, because she squeezed me back. That sibling co
We stood awkwardly, silence cloaking us.
I couldn’t take my eyes off my wife and my sister.
My heart fisted all over again at the thought of the others. Where were Sarez, Elise, and Nyx? Had Jareth found them yet? Would they all have happy endings like me and Quell or had some of them died? By their own hands to escape or by those who played with their lives for sick pleasure?
I removed my grip from Quell and Gem, raking my fingers through my hair. I was shaking and wrung out. I couldn’t stop the avalanche of history and hurt even though I still burned with joy from marrying my soul mate.
My past had revisited me on the best day of my life, and I didn’t know how to feel when that panic faded beneath the past years worth of healing. The therapy sessions, the many walks with Fang, and the occasional pill when the nightmares grew too bad.
Thanks to Gem and our steady, safe life, I had improved.
I just hadn’t understood how much until I could stand here, staring at my lost sister, and not drown beneath absolute bloodlust. Not to go ru
“Kas...” Quell—Isabella, you idiot—murmured.
My attention snapped to her. “Yeah?”
She shifted on the spot, glancing at Gem and then her dad. “I, eh...I came today because I didn’t want to miss you anymore. I want...I want to be close again. I’m ready to be close again. I know it will be hard...for both of us. But I think I’m healed enough that our relationship can be a good thing instead of bad. I...I’ve missed you, Kas. Every day. I’ve missed my big brother—”