Chapter 31

Bastian paced to the other side of the small room. He didn’t get it. Turning back, he looked at Aireese, “he’s remembering. He remembers the woman, why doesn’t he know what happened?”

“Grief.” That was all she said.

Trendan gave her a pained look. “He’ll remember the rest, though?”

Aireese looked at him, hands clasped in her lap. “In time. We need to find the woman, give him some hope.”

Bastian rubbed his hand over his hair and then left it on top of his head. Looking at the floor, he tried to find a way to say it without offending her. “I know we’ve been looking for them, but how are we supposed to knock on her door and be like, ‘hey I know where your baby daddy is.’”

The princess smiled at his dramatics. “I’ll leave the wording to you.” She glanced from one to the other. “May I suggest taking a woman with you?”

“We have to find her first.” Trendan looked at Bastian. “If she left our area, it’s going to get complicated.”

Bastian nodded.

“I don’t understand.”

Bastian looked to his brother. “With the huge population, we, a few centuries back?” Trendan nodded. “We had to designate areas or regions for our workers.” If he hadn’t been assigned the city, he never would have found Nova, he thought. Her soul had been all over the place a few centuries ago, he frowned—how was it the last dozen births were always in his area? Souls didn’t exactly have an assigned territory.

“Give him a moment,” he heard Trendan say, “he does this.” Bastian looked back to the fae princess. “Sorry, ah...” He motioned with his hand trying to remember what he was saying. “The human population exploded, and we found it easier to assign areas.”

“It helps if we know a specific area, rather than being dropped into a crowded one and not knowing the lay of the land, so to speak.” Trendan gave him that look that said, ‘pay attention.’

“That.” Bastian pointed to his brother, not wanting to try to outdo his explanation.

“Oh, I see. If she’s left the area, you’ll have to find someone else to help with this.”

Trendan nodded.

“Or...” Bastian almost grinned when his brother gave him a wary look. “We get dad to clear us going elsewhere.”

“That could alert whoever is behind all of this.” His brother motioned to the room Glen was in.

“That’s a problem.” Bastian pulled out his phone. “I’m going to loop in Troy and get them to start digging around to find her.”

Both his brother and the princess nodded.

He started typing and then paused. “What was her name?”

“Sonia Levars,” Glen said from the doorway.

Typing it quickly, he sent the message and then looked up at the chef. It was as if he’d aged ten years since the car ride from the compound.

Glen looked at him, bloodshot eyes holding his look. “Do you really think you’ll find her?”

Bastian nodded slowly. “I have very experienced people looking. Most are from the human realm.”

“I just remember thinking, how is this possible? How could my soul blend with this lovely human?” He glanced back at Bastian and the pain in his expression angered him. “I spent months going over on the premise I was learning human dishes to prepare, to wow the people.” He winced and clasped the sides of his head with both hands. “She was pregnant. I remember wanting to shout it to anyone I spoke to but was terrified to do so.” He closed his eyes and blew out a breath. The silence was tense until he opened them again. “I thought, this is some sort of anomaly, and I should keep it a secret until the child was born—” He cringed again.

Aireese got up. “Enough.” She went over to him. “You need to rest.” Her tone gentled. “Let your mind heal.”

Glen looked at her. “I won’t forget again?”

She shook her head. “Never again. I’ll help you sleep for a time, then we can try to unlock more.”

Glen nodded; his expression reluctant as he turned toward the door. He stopped and looked at Bastian. “I have a child out there, please find them. I need to know they’re well.”

Bastian could only nod, if he spoke, what was going to come out was a long string of curses.

“We will let you know as soon as we know anything,” Trendan told him.

“Go finish your tea, I’ll be in shortly, Glen.” The fae princess smiled at him.

Bastian couldn’t be sure, but her voice was different like it was laced with a magic compulsion.

When he closed the door, Aireese turned and looked at them. “I need to go home for a time. I will call my cousin Mystral to stay here with him while I’m away.”

“She can be trusted?” Trendan asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

Airesse nodded. “Yes, she’s been helping with the Arwan situation and helping me look for the traitors since we became aware what was happening.”

Trendan nodded and then looked at Bastian. “We need to get back, we’re both supposed to be on shift right now.”

Bastian sighed, “I’d much rather lurk about the human city than pace around my suite trying to figure out what now.”

“Do you think Troy will be able to find Sonia” Aireese hesitated by the door Glen had gone in.

Bastian nodded. “The princesses are very good at locating people.”

“I hope they do.”

Trendan put out his hand to stop her. “Will he be able to remember who took him? Where he was taken?”

Her gaze flicked to the door, then back to him. “Bring news of her and the child and it will go a lot better.” She looked annoyed. “I had hoped to unlock that part before the woman, but the mind is a tricky thing.”

Bastian was afraid the information would be lost forever. “Maybe help him rest a day or so before doing more?”

“It would be best.” She opened the door and went in.

When it closed, Bastian looked at his brother to see the same anger he was feeling was in his sibling’s expression. “This is complete fuckery.” He spat.

Trendan held his look for a second. “I don’t know what that means, but it is incredible what has been going on right in front of us.”

Bastian went to the door and stepped outside. He stood on the porch of the little house. He heard Trendan follow him and close the door. Looking out across the meadow, he barely saw what was in front of him, his mind was going a thousand miles an hour. “I have to keep Nova hidden.”

“If the lawless know she’s your other, the incentive to get her will be even stronger.”

Bastian nodded and then turned to look at him. “How the hell do I explain all of this to her?”

Trendan studied him like he was actually thinking about it. “I’d start with telling her that your souls are intended for one another.”

Bastian snorted. “Yeah, because that’s an easy conversation to have with a human.” He blew out a breath and then glared at his phone when it rang in his hand. Eyes wide, he glanced at his brother. “It’s Nova.”

“Answer it.”

He gave him an annoyed look, of course, he was going to answer it. He grinned. “Miss me already?”

“Bastian, I see two of them,” she whispered into the phone.

He didn’t need to ask two what. “What? How if you’re not outside.”

“They don’t see me, I’m not the roof.”

His heart jerked inside his chest. “You’re on a roof?” He looked to see Trendan giving him a ‘what?’ look.

“Yes, I was thinking if I could see them without them spotting me, I could call you to come and get them.”

“So, you’re on a roof?” In all the scenarios he could have imagined, this was no one of the conversations he’d ever pictured having with her.

“Not my roof. Well, I took my roof to another then another.” She paused. “I’m a block over from the alley we were in.”

A block too close to her home, or her fake home, he thought. He looked back at his brother. “Call Troy, get some giant warriors to the alley near the Gemini.”

Trendan didn’t ask questions, just pulled out his phone.

“Where are they?” He closed his eyes, trying not to freak out.

“They’re just sort of hanging out near the area where you saved me—from the bus.” She paused. “Do you think they’re hanging around watching for me?”

Opening his eyes, he clenched his jaw and breathed in through his nose. “Probably, which is why you were to stay inside.”

“I’m perfectly safe up here. No one walks around looking on rooftops.”

He heard Trendan say roof into the phone and then nodded. “Don’t move and for the love of the gods, stay away from the edge. We’re on our way. I’ll call you when we’re over there.”

“Okay, hurry.” She hung up.

Bastian glared at the phone and then turned to his brother. Trendan had an amused look on his face.

“I wish you all the luck in the worlds to contain your other.” He grinned and pushed up his sleeve to use his link to go to the human realm.

“On the fucking roof,” Bastian muttered and then followed his brother over.