72. Two sides, same coin

[Mercy]

"Bast said they're at Sinclair's house, and the kids are making a fuss about leaving," I said, reading the text message I'd just received from Bast before responding, telling her that we'd spend the night at their house so we could welcome Octavia and Kerr back. After sending the message so Alaric could read the thread, showing her what I'd sent back. He nodded his understanding and handed my phone back.

"I can't say I blame them. Sinclair is a curious man, and I can only imagine the treasures he's hidden away." Alaric chuckled, kissing the top of my head before looking out of the jet's window, sighing softly.

"You think he has hidden treasures in his house?"

"I am willing to bet that Sinclair's house rivals the Smithsonian, yes. Do you not think the same? He's the oldest man we know, other than your father, that is. But, your father wasted his age in his endless pursuit of power, while Sinclair used it to better himself." He responded, then smiled when he saw the look of curious amusement on my face. "That man has more wealth than both Bartholomew, Lucifer, and I, combined. Of course, I know that wealth does not make him a better man, but it is a prime example that he did not simply lie down and hide in the shadows when he was being hunted. I cannot say with certainty, as the number may have gone up, but he speaks thirty-four languages fluently."

"Thirty-four? Is that even possible? How is his brain not mush?" I gasped, then scoffed softly, shaking my head. "Thirty-four, not including Hebrew," I added with a snort, then narrowed my eyes in thought for a few moments before looking back up at Alaric. "You said more than you, Damien, and Bartholomew combined? It's that even possible?"

*'With a man that had the patience and willpower to learn thirty-four languages, I guess his annoyance about not being able to read Nia's book makes sense. I was curious why he was so agitated about not being able to read it, but now I see.'*

"He's a recreant whos had a lot of spare time. I'm willing to bet that he will be learning it very soon. And yes, it is very possible. Damien and I are considered billionaires, Bartholomew a millionaire, and Sinclair a trillionaire."

"Okay, I'm going to just ignore that because my brain cannot process a single person actually having that amount of money because it's insanity. I've always been curious what Sinclair's house looked like, and I have the feeling that it's something none of us would have expected." I said, then readjusted how I was sitting to put my head on Alaric's lap, watching out of the window as I thought. "Based on the way he dresses, I want to say a house in the suburbs where he's the mysterious guy at the end of the block."

"What does this mysterious man at the end of the block entail?" Alaric asked with a chuckle, running his fingers through my hair as he watched me. "What is wrong with the way he dresses?"

"Nothing's wrong with it. You, Damien, Bartholomew, and William are always in suits, and Sinclair just doesn't wear the suit jacket, but he always wears the shirt with the vest and tie. I don't know, on him, it's so formal, but at the same time, it's so informal." I responded with a shrug and then giggled as I pictured Sinclair as the mysterious man at the end of the block. "Without knowing who and what Sinclair is, you have to admit, he's pretty mysterious. A man who never has a speck of dirt on his clothes and still uses a pocket watch, living in a community with bored housewives?"

"Yes, I have to admit, picturing that is quite an amusing thing to do. They'd think he was simply an old soul, without knowing just how old he really is. Not to mention he comes and goes as he pleases, doesn't have a job to use as an alibi, doesn't keep human hours. Those housewives would love him." Alaric paused with a chuckle, shaking his head as he looked down at me with a grin. "He is many things, but a patient man is not one of them. He doesn't want to take the time to have a tailor fit a jacket for him."

"You think that's why he doesn't wear a suit jacket? Because his arms are the size of both of my thighs?"

"That's not saying much, kitten. You are a petite woman." Alaric responded, running his hand up my thigh, watching me as he slipped his hand up my skirt, grinning when he met my bare butt. "Don't make that face at me. You know what you did, not wearing panties." He growled just loud enough for me to hear, making sure Nancy couldn't hear him as she was lying on a seat at the back of the jet, as far away from us as possible, asleep. Well, knocked unconscious and under the influence of a heavy sedative but asleep nonetheless. *'If the bitch ever learned to shut up, I wouldn't have sedated her. Then again, I probably would have sedated her anyways so that I wouldn't have to hear her relentless babbling.'*

I pushed my face into his chest, trying to hide my blush as he kneaded and squeezed my butt, then slowly moved his hand up until he met the wetness between my thighs, chuckling as I bit tried to bite his stomach, but instead got nothing but a shirt. "Please?" I whispered, shaking my head.

"I will allow it, only because of who is on the jet with us." He said with a nod, taking his hand out of my skirt and setting it on my hip, watching me with a slight grin. "I couldn't help but picture you as a bored housewife, not wearing panties. Don't worry, I have no thoughts on you being one, as I do not want a housewife. I want a partner. I know you want the same thing."

"It's okay, I know. There's nothing wrong with an active imagination. I recall yours being used earlier when we were packing your office." I said with a smile as I sat up and leaned against him, kissing him softly.

"Do not tempt me to take back what I've said, kitten, as you are already seconds away from doing it." He warned, raising an eyebrow. We both looked behind us as we heard Nancy mumbling as she started to come out of her sedation. "Perhaps we should resume our previous conversation, take our minds off of it. But you as a pantyless housewife is all I can think of."

"Okay, yeah, let's change the subject before you change your mind. What's something that will turn you off? Oh, me talking about other men." I said, then gasped as Alaric grabbed my throat, his gray eyes boring into me as if he could see down into my soul.

"No, kitten, hearing you talk about another man makes me want to make sure you never forget who you belong to." He growled softly, smiling as I moaned, then leaned down, nibbling softly at my throat. "We've got another syringe of that sedative and another three hours on his flight."

"It feels like it would be wrong, babe," I said but couldn't get myself to mean it, as I wanted nothing more than to stop fighting him about it.

"You're right. What is the last thing we were saying? Sinclair is getting a job, and what his house will look like." He said, leaning back against the seat, clearing his throat as he checked on Nancy.

"I both can and can't for the life of me picture Sinclair getting a job. What do you think he's going to, now that he's rejoined society?" I asked, grinning when I felt the jet beginning to descend, telling me we were getting ready to land soon. "Wait, I thought we still had a few hours?"

"Hold on," He said, furrowing his brows as he walked towards the front, stepping in to talk to the pilot. He returned a few moments later, shaking his head. "We are landing, need fuel. We aren't that far from Damien's house in any way. This airfield is actually closer. As for Sinclair, I doubt it very much. We have jobs as something to fill our time with and to hide our day to day responsibilities as elders. Though he could run the recreants through a business, so I suppose he could." Alaric responded with a shrug, sending a message to someone before tossing his phone down, wrapping an arm around my waist to hold me close as if he expected we would crash and he'd lose me.

"You realize if we crash, we'll probably both die, right? Also, why do we go to an airfield further away?" I asked, wrapping my arms around his waist, resting my forehead against his chest. Although I mocked him, I didn't mind it in the slightest. I loved that he was so protective over me, even when we both knew if I were to die, he would too.

"When I die, I wish to do so while holding you." He responded, kissing the top of my head before pulling his phone out of his pocket as it rang. He talked for a moment in a language I couldn't understand, then ended the phone just as the jet touched down on the runway. "We will be seeing Sinclair's house for ourselves in the morning, it seems. We go to an airfield further away because Lucifer owns it."

"Yeah? What was that?" I asked as we stood and carried our bags to the car that was left in the hangar, setting them in the trunk. *'I don't know how I should feel, knowing that I'm up and moving my life to another country and only have two suitcases to show for it.'* I thought as I sat in the passenger seat, watching as Alaric walked back to the jet and led Nancy to the car, opening the door for her to sit in the backseat before getting in the driver's seat. *'It's insane that he can send a text and have a car waiting in less than ten minutes. What, do the vampires put the car on their shoulder and run it here?'*

"Because tomorrow is Sunday, they wish to try and give Maeve a taste of home. They will be attempting to make an Irish stew as she used to do every Sunday in Ireland, so they are inviting her new family to join her." Alaric said as we drove forward, smiling softly when he saw my nod.

"That's nice. I hope we don't completely fuck it up," I said, then gasped when I realized how it sounded. "I didn't mean it that way. I just mean I don't know how hard it is to make Irish stew, and sometimes trying to live up to a family tradition might make her more homesick."

"I know what you meant, don't worry. I will consider it successful if we aren't met with a barrage of words we can't understand." Alaric said, making us both start chuckling as we both knew all too well how thick Maeve's already thick accent could get when she wasn't actively trying to lessen it. "That is not all I was informed of, as before dinner, Bastet and Lucifer will be having Sinclair marry them."

"Holy shit, really?" I gasped out, grinning when I heard his words. "That's awesome! Wait, Sinclair can marry people? When did that happen?"

"From what Lucifer told me, he was ordained after their wedding was crashed because he knew they'd be putting it off because of Edward. He didn't want them to have any reason to continue to put it off after he was taken care of."

"Taken care of? Like, you killed him?" Nancy shrieked from the backseat, making me wince when the sound of her high-pitched voice hit my eardrums like a punch to the side of the head. *'Jesus, how did I never hear this before? It's like her voice was made specifically to burst a vampire's eardrums!'*

"No, he's not dead, but he's powerless now." Alaric snapped over his shoulder, casting Nancy a warning glare before turning his attention back to the road. "Sinclair walked Bastet down the aisle in their first wedding, and now he will be the one marrying them. It seems pretty fitting to me."

"I wonder if she's told Octavia already? No, what am I talking about? Octavia is in wolf form, so it's not like she can pick up a phone."

"She's been gone for several hours now, even longer than we have. Do you think she's been in her mimic this entire time?"

"Well, it's about three hours on four feet to get to the pack town, and three hours back, not to mention stopping to hunt cause of the baby. If she shows up in the next hour or so, I'd say yes."

"I hadn't considered that. You might be right," Alaric said with a nod as we pulled into Damien's driveway, looking to our right where two wolves were waiting in the yard. "Looks like they were waiting for us." He said, opening the back door for Nancy, rolling his eyes when she crossed her arms over her chest, pursing her lips, refusing to move.

"Kerr, would you mind?" I asked him, opening the other door so he could jump into the backseat, successfully scaring Nancy into jumping out, trying to hide behind Alaric.

"Don't touch me, you vile snake!" He snarled and waved her away, side-stepping before she could so much as touch his jacket. "What are we doing with her? I thought you were going to kill her in Europe, so I don't understand why we brought her back with us."

"I was thinking about what she did, and I was also thinking that there was someone else we still need to do something with," I said with a shrug, closing the back doors once Kerr jumped out, barking out in laughter when he saw how terrified Nancy was. "Why not give her some face to face with Edward?"

"What? NO! You can't. He'll kill me!" Nancy gasped as she started to look around, no doubt trying to find a way to escape, but thought better of it when she saw the two wolves walking on either side of her. "Please, Mercy, I'm the woman who raised you as my own."

"Is that what you did, Nancy? You raised me as your own daughter?" I asked as I stopped walking to glare at her, shaking my head in disbelief. "You're full of shit. You were there when they forced my mother into having me, killing her because she was nothing more than an experiment. How many people died at the hands of your experiments, huh?" I asked as I walked towards her, jabbing my finger into her chest as I enunciated my words, making sure she knew just how pissed I was. "I'm doing the world a favor, taking you out of it."

"I see now. Killing her would have been a mercy compared to what throwing her in with Edward will do." Alaric commented with a snicker as he grabbed Nancy's arm and yanked her until we'd reached the basement, pausing in front of the cage to watch as Edward sat up on the cot, looking around curiously.

"Nancy?" He asked, trying to blink away the sudden brightness in the room as we'd flipped on the lights before coming down. It seemed to take him a minute to remember who she was and what she'd done, but I could tell I'd made the right choice when he tried to lunge through the bars in the cage, howling obscenities when he realized he couldn't get to her. "I'll tear you to shreds, you backstabbing bitch! You're the reason I'm in this mess! If it weren't for you, I would have known who the third child was, and I could have killed them before they knew what hit them!"

"Well, now I'm second-guessing myself. On the one hand, this is the worst possible death for Nancy, but we're giving Edward what he wants-" I said, then cut myself off with a grin as I looked around the room, a sinister but ingenious idea popping into my head. *'Oh, this is great! I know just what to do to torment them both until the end of times.'*

"Oh, I like that look. Do it." Alaric chuckled when he saw the look on my face, nodding his approval, despite not knowing what I was thinking. "I don't know what it is, but I like it already."

"I bet you do. Good news, Nancy, I'm not going to kill you, and neither is he. He may think he wants to now, but he'll want to even more after what I have in store." I giggled as I created a cage of dirt, making it as stable as I could, knowing that Edward would fight like hell to get into it. "Put her in the cage."

"Keeping her just out of arms reach," Alaric said with a nod as he tossed Nancy into the cage, then crossed his arms as we watched Edward try to beat it down, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to.

"Oh, that's not all kids!" I gasped out as I walked to Edward's cage, pulling the key out of my pocket to unlock it.

"You're letting him out?" Nancy and Alaric asked in unison, gaping at me in awe, horror, and confusion.

"No, silly gooses, I'm letting him in," I said, winking at Alaric, motioning my head towards Edwards cage.

"Why- Oh, wow, you are a genius!" Alaric grinned, pausing at the cage entrance to kiss me before walking in, pushing the door closed behind him. "I'm not sure if the evil inside of her comes from her recreant half, or you, but boy... You really pissed off the wrong girl. You know that?"

"What the fuck are you doing? Get away from-" Edward started to say but was cut off by his own blood-curdling scream as Alaric grabbed him by the throat, slamming his head into the bars of the cage, then sank his fangs into his throat.

I was curious why he'd slammed his head into the cage, but that question was answered as Alaric bit into his own wrist, opening a wound, and pried Edward's mouth open, forcing him to drink. *'Ah, daze him so he can't try and keep his mouth closed. I'll need to remember that.'* I thought, unable to stop myself from smiling as I watched the life slowly leaving Edward, the more Alaric drank. *'I was always curious how it works, turning a vampire. Now I get to see it in action. If this cage was enough to hold back Sinclair, it's more than enough to hold back a newborn... right?'* I thought, then stepped to the side, watching as Alaric pulled back, then dug his nails into Edwards's arm, injecting him with his venom.

"How long will it take?" I asked as Alaric stepped out of the cage, holding his hand out for the key.

"Depends on the person, but I took almost every drop he had, giving him barely enough of my own for him to turn," Alaric responded as he locked the cage door. He took his pocket square to clean the blood off of his lips, standing beside me as we watched Edward screaming out in pain as the venom made its way through his body. "It's enough, but barely. He'll turn, but he'll have a hell of a time doing it."

"Thank you for doing that," I said, taking his hand to lead him back to the staircase where I paused to put up a few barriers made of dirt, making sure if Edward did get out and somehow got into Nancy's cage, he'd still have weeks of trying to get anywhere near the basement door.

"Thank you for suggesting it." He said with a grin as he pulled the basement door closed, successfully silencing Edward's roars of pain. "Wow, this is a good fucking door!" He gasped as he opened it, listened to the sound of Edward's cries for a few moments, then closed it once again, chuckling as we could hear not a sound from the basement.

"I was wondering how Bast never knew that Sinclair was down there, but Damien made damn sure nothing could be heard," I said with a shrug, looking up as Octavia and Kerr were jogging down the stairs after getting dressed.

"That was Edward screaming? I thought we would hear Nancy screaming?" Octavia asked as she walked past us to open the door, flooding the house with the sounds of his anguish, then closed it, giving an indifferent shrug as she slid the lock into place. "Were those earth borders?"

"Yeah, shit, I probably should have cleared it with you and Bast before doing it!" I gasped, shaking my head as I remembered that I wasn't the only one who had a right to do it. *'Bast and Octavia are his daughters too, and you wouldn't know about him if they hadn't found you. Kinda rude taking over like that without asking.'* I thought, scolding myself for getting lost in the moment. "I put Nancy in a cage in front of his and had Alaric turn him. He's not an elemental anymore, and he seems to seriously hate vampires."

"He loathes vampires with every fiber of his being. Turning him into one? Genius!" Octavia gasped, draping an arm over my shoulder with a laugh as we walked into the kitchen, her laughter being cut short when she saw what was left of the kitchen table. "Um, call me crazy, but that used to be a whole table, right?"

"That definitely was a full table when we left," Kerr agreed as he crouched down to inspect where the other half of it used to be.

"Oh, right, you weren't here! Yeah, Maeve isn't a light fae anymore." I said with a nod, watching as a variety of emotions flashed through their faces. "I guess they all went to Sinclair's house to try and find answers in his library, but Bast didn't tell me if they found any."

"Shit, I told Bast I'd call when we got back," Octavia said, holding her hand out for my phone, then dialing Bast's number. "Hey, I'm back, with Mercy and Alaric."

"Well, no shit, Sherlock, you're calling on Mercy's phone. Where's yours?" Bast responded with a giggle.

"I forgot to take it out of my pocket before mimicking, kind of snapped it into a million pieces. You know, the usual." Octavia responded with a nonchalant shrug, then gasped as she looked down at the table, seemingly remembering what she wanted to ask. "Hey, so, did you find any answers about Maeve?"

"I forgot you weren't here for that. I'm guessing you're looking at what's left of the kitchen table? Yeah, Maeve's an anodyne, or that's the only word we could find for it." Bast said, then gasped as it sounded like she was falling, growling into the receiver. "We're exploring Sinclair's death-trap of a house."

"It's only a death-trap for you, mommy, cause you're the clumsiest vampire alive." Ciaran giggled, then laughed and ran away.

"Sorry, what's an anodyne? I thought she was a fae?" Kerr asked, furrowing his brows as he looked down at my phone in Octavia's hands, shaking his head in confusion.

"You're going to be the death of her. Do you think Bastet can walk and talk at the same time? Message them the address, hang up the phone, and pay attention to where you're walking." Sinclair laughed, then growled as Bast tossed the phone to him. "An anodyne is a fae, one who is both light and dark. That is what Maeve turned into after helping us. I will send you the address."

"Alright, thanks," I said, then hung up the phone as the text message came through. I showed it to Alaric, who nodded and motioned for us to walk back out to the car. "We're leaving them be in the basement?"

"I thought that was the entire point? We can't very well let them torture each other if we keep going to check on them? There is no way in hell that Edward is going to get out of a cage that held Sinclair, and if he does, the first thing he is going to do is work on getting to Nancy, then the six walls you put up between the basement and the door." Alaric said, shaking his head as we jumped in the car and drove towards Sinclair's house.

"He's right. Edward is not getting anywhere near that door. If by some miracle he does, that door is not going to be easy to get through. A door that soundproof with a lock that fucking heavy? Hell to the no." Octavia laughed, shaking her head as she leaned back in her seat, watching out of the window as we drove forward.

"So, just to make sure I have this right, about Maeve. She enhanced us and gave us invincibility, then stole Edwards's power and died, or as close to getting as a woman like her can die. She came back, and is something else?" Kerr asked after a few minutes of silence, furrowing his brows in confusion as he looked around the car. "I've got to applaud her because I would be fucking pissed."

"Well, he said it's a mixture of light and dark, so she's still a light fae, but now she's a dark fae too," I said, watching him curiously. Though I was confused by what he said, some part of me understood and agreed.

"I read the binder about fae, and you know how we said Maeve is kind and trusting because that's who she is?" Kerr said, waiting for our agreement before continuing. "I don't think you guys or any of us can fully realize what she gave up for people she doesn't know. Yes, she knew and didn't tell us that she would die, but you know what else she didn't tell us? That she was giving up who she is for us. The difference between light and dark fae is that their lives revolve around their nature. If they are light fae, they give everything they have to bring light and healing to everyone around them. As dark fae, they love to bring death and misfortune. Their lives revolve around, bringing darkness and pain to others, the complete opposite of the light fae. It's not just because they want to. It's because it's who they are."

"It's sort of like a recreant, in a sense. Becoming a recreant gives the vampire a power-hungry and vicious nature, even if that isn't who they were before. Becoming a recreant changes them at their core, so he's saying that Maeve gave up more than her power. She gave up her nature, her personality, her entire being for us." Octavia said, then gasped out, shaking her head in disbelief. "Holy shit. She gave up everything she is, was, or ever would be, for us."

"You're right. I didn't think about any of that. I thought because she was a mixture of both, she has the best of both worlds. Do you think there's a way to try and bring her back to being a light fae?" I asked, trying to force my heart back down into my chest, as Kerr and Octavia's words made it jump into my throat. "I wonder if it's anything like what I went through, with my recreant and elemental halves fighting to gain control?"

"I mean no offense, Mercy, but I think what you went through is likely nothing compared to the internal war she will face. Recreants and elementals are the two most physically powerful beings in our world, yes. But fae are quite literally the forces of life and death, love and hate, good and bad." Alaric said, taking my hand in his with a sigh, trying to smile at me, but failing as it was clear he was having issues with coming to terms with what Maeve had done, just as much as the rest of us were.

"Talk about an internal holy war." Kerr snorted from the backseat.

"None of us can know, and we all know she isn't going to tell us, but that is going to be hell. Probably for the rest of her life, unless there's a way to return her to a full light fae. One half is wanting nothing more in the world than to help, heal, love. One half is wanting nothing more than to destroy, hate, and kill. I mean, fuck. There's a reason that light fae is terrified of dark fae, and there's a reason they are called destroyers. Look at what she did to the table. Imagine what will happen if she wants to hurt someone." Octavia added, bringing about an agonizing silence in the car as none of us wanted to have the silence, but none of us wanted to speak either, as we were all lost in our thoughts, trying to come to terms with just how much Maeve had given up in a matter of hours.

"Well, now I really hope we don't fuck up with the Irish stew."

________

[Maeve]

"They are coming up the driveway," Sinclair said, turning his head in the direction of the front of the house, taking my hand as we walked around to meet them.

"Holy- Woah!" Mercy gasped as she stepped out of the car. Her golden eyes widened as she tried to take in everything around her. "This house is fucking terrifying. And awesome. It's terrifyingly awesome!"

"Are we ready to go inside? Perhaps you could show us the passages you found?" Sinclair asked the kids, grinning as they seemed to love the idea, and ran inside without a second of hesitation.

"Oh, thank god, I thought I was going to die out here." Bast gasped, pausing to pull Mercy and Octavia into a hug before walking into the house.

"Bastet, my house is not as bad as you make it seem." Sinclair sighed, shaking his hand as we followed the group in, standing back as Mercy, Alaric, Kerr, and Octavia were taking in the sight of the foyer. "Are you alright?" Sinclair whispered in my ear, making me realize he was watching me curiously.

"Aye, I'm all lured. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked him, smiling before standing on the tips of my toes to kiss him, giving him a quick peck on the lips before pulling away. I didn't fully understand what happened earlier, but I didn't want to risk it happening again and maybe to be worse than the first time. *'Well, it's not like I would mind it happening again, but I don't want to be one of those people who attacks her boyfriend while surrounded by people.'*

"Just curious, you've been awful quiet since we got here, is all." He responded, caressing my cheek with his thumb, his golden eyes soft like liquid gold as he watched me.

"I'm enjoying seeing their reactions to your house. Is this what I looked like the first time I was here?"

"Hmm? Oh, no. You were like this, but times ten, and running on an energy drink." Sinclair said with a soft laugh, then nodded to the twins as they told him they would show the passages they'd found.

"Let's skip this one, Azzie. It's too small," Ciaran said, shaking his head as Azeneth tried to lead us to the passage they'd found under the stairs. Though she didn't seem too happy about it, she agreed and instead directed the group upstairs where they'd found a false wall in one of the closets in one of the spare bedrooms.

"Your house even has real-life hidden doors and passages. Of course, it does." Alaric said with a snort of amusement, smiling kindly to me before he shook his head at Sinclair.

"Sinclair, can we stay here?" Ciaran asked, pouting when both Bast and Damien told him no.

"Forever? No, I'm sorry, but you can't. You'll need to return home at some point in time." Sinclair said, shaking his head with an understanding smile. "I do not plan on moving or selling this house. It will be here more than just this once."

"We didn't mean forever. We just meant for the night. Since mommy and daddy are getting married here tomorrow, we might as well, right?" Azeneth argued, shrugging as she looked from Bast and Damien to Sinclair, waiting for a valid argument, her smug grin getting wider the longer it took for her to receive one.

"I cannot argue with that logic, but you may still need to return home. Will you be wearing those dirty jeans?" Sinclair finally said, motioning to the pants Azeneth and Ciaran were wearing.

"Well, no, but we can go home in the morning to get changes of clothes, right?" Ciaran asked, giving the most innocent smile I'd ever seen.

*'They're playin you lot like a trio of bloody fiddles.'* I thought with a snort when I saw him, shaking my head as I walked out of the room and headed down to the kitchen where I looked through the cabinets, mostly out of boredom, but when I saw cocoa powder, peppermint, and sugar, I decided to make a pot hot chocolate instead.

"What are you making?" Octavia asked as she walked into the kitchen, watching me as I chopped up chocolate on the cutting board.

"Hot chocolate," I responded with a smile as I walked to the fridge to grab the milk and set it on the counter, measuring in the cocoa powder before pouring the milk.

"We haven't really gotten more information about it yet, but how are you doing with the anodyne news?" Octavia asked, watching me curiously as if she was confused by what I was doing, chuckling when she noticed that I watched her reactions. "I've never had or seen someone make hot chocolate that doesn't come out of a packet."

"That's rotten," I said, shaking my head with a groan as I set the pot on the stove, washing my hands, leaning against the sink as I tried my hands, forgetting for a moment that I hadn't answered Octavia's question until I realized she was still waiting. "Oh, I'm grand. It's better news than being a dark fae altogether, aye?" I said with a snort, shrugging before hanging the towel so I could stir the mixture.

"I guess, yeah, but learning that you're a mixture of the two can't be easy." She responded as she took a piece of chocolate from the cutting board before handing it to me.

*'I'm wide she's trying to get something out of me, but I've no idea what it is. She expects me to act a bloody maggot?'* I thought, but decided there was no harm in keeping it to myself, so I asked her exactly that.

"Uh, sorry, but what does 'wide' mean, and 'act a bloody maggot' seems pretty self-explanatory?" She asked me, making me sigh with a nod.

"Wide's, like, aware. I'm aware that you're trying to watch me for some reason, and I'm curious if you expect me to act a chancer now that I'm part dark fae?"

"Chancer, meaning? Sorry, but that could mean quite a few different things."

"Like, dodgy," I responded, shaking my head. *'I really need to learn American slang cause this is getting annoying. I can't speak more than three words without them not understanding what I'm trying to say.'*

"No, I didn't expect you to be acting like a chancer. I just wanted to see how you're doing with everything. With everyone else, we have someone that understands it. When Bast learned of her elemental abilities, I could teach her how to use them. When Mercy found out she was half recreant, she had Sinclair there to help her. We don't have anyone that has even heard of the fae, let alone anyone that can help you. None of us can even begin to imagine what abilities like yours are like, and now you're learning that you're something new only a few weeks after finding out about the first ones. Especially now that-" She started to ramble but stopped herself just as she was about to say something she knew I wouldn't like to hear.

"Aye, you can say it. Now that I lost the faeverse to go to for help, aye?" I said with a shrug, shaking my head as I pulled mugs out of the cupboard, setting them on the counter. *'Is this what it's going to be like, now that they know I'm not able to go into the faeverse? Are they going to walk on eggshells around me? Well, now that their fight is over, they'll be going back home and not being together on a daily basis, right? Shite, I hope they aren't going to be around daily. Oi, what the feck are you thinking? What's wrong with them being around?'*

"Well, yes. You just learned about it and only spent a few hours there. I imagine there's a lot left that you wanted to ask." Octavia said with a nod, biting her lip as she watched me ladling the hot chocolate into the cups, setting marshmallows and peppermint sprinkles over the tops after I'd finished.

"There's no saying that there isn't a dark faeverse to help. Most of the questions I have revolve around them anyway." I said, smiling as the rest of the group came walking into the kitchen as if on cue. "Smelled it, did ya?"

"Hot chocolate!" The twins gasped as they grabbed two of the mugs, taking in deep breaths as they smelled it.

"Thank you, you didn't have to," Sinclair said, taking the mug I handed to him with a grin.

"Aye, I'm aware, but who doesn't love hot chocolate?" I responded with a shrug as I sipped mine, smiling when I saw the looks on the kid's faces as they tried it. *'It's good to see them so happy. Those wee ones are always serious. Too serious for children.'*

"So, getting married tomorrow, huh?" Octavia asked Bast and Damien, raising an eyebrow at them.

"I was going to tell you when you called me that you got back, but then I figured I could tell you when you got here," Bast said with a grin, pulling Octavia into a half hug so as not to spill their mugs.

"Either way, congratulations, I'm thrilled that you're finally doing it. I was hoping you wouldn't put it off forever."

"I wouldn't have allowed it," Sinclair snorted, shaking his head. "The way the first wedding ended, they couldn't let that be their wedding story."

"Let's not jinx it, now. We don't need anything happening tomorrow." Damien said, clapping Sinclair on the back with a shake of his head.

"Oh, god, no," Bast said, her eyes going wide as she shook her head.

I wanted to ask what happened at their last wedding but decided not to, as it didn't seem to be much of my business, and I didn't want to dredge up any bad feelings about it the night before their new wedding. *'Doesn't matter, nothing is going to happen at their wedding tomorrow. Even if someone does manage to find Sinclair's house, which I highly doubt, whoever it is will be met with a big surprise if they come busting through that door.'* I thought with a snort, letting my thoughts wander until I realized Sinclair was watching me, waiting for something.

"Zone out again?" He asked me with a chuckle as he set down his mug, wrapping an arm around my waist as he leaned against the counter, pulling me against him. "They were asking if you found anything more on anodyne in the library?"

"No, I didn't. I found a few more stories about fae, but I don't know how truthful everything is, as it is stories." I said with a shake of my head, then shrugged softly.

"Well, I should probably tell everyone that I made a decision about Edward, without giving it much thought or telling anyone else beforehand. It was a spur of the moment type thing, and I'm sorry." Mercy said, looking around the kitchen to gauge everyone's reactions, smiling apologetically.

"What did you do?" I asked her.

"Well, I knew he hated vampires, so I had Alaric turn him, and I locked a human in a cage right next to his. He shouldn't be able to get to her, now that he's not an elemental, and can't break through a cage I made."

"What? You locked a random human down there with him? Why?" I gasped, looking up at Sinclair, then back at her, trying to understand why no one seemed bothered by this. *'That's gobshite! They just locked a bloody human up in a room with a vampire and said they hope he shouldn't be able to get to her?'*

"Oh, no, it's not a random human, it's Nancy." Mercy said, waving her hands back and forth with a shake of her head after setting down her mug. It took her a moment before she gasped, remembering that I had no fucking idea who Nancy is, and why she deserved what Mercy had done. "Okay, so, our dad captured recreants and forced them into taking potions to revert human, so he could get them pregnant. Most of the recreants and the babies died because every time they would revert to human, their venom would take back over. My mom was the only one who could survive it, long enough, having me. Nancy was one of the people who helped with all of that, and she's the woman who raised me."

I listened to Mercy's explanation but couldn't find a single word to say once she'd finished, so I decided just to nod and accept it. *'Perfect reminder of why I prefer to remain silent.'*

"You have no questions?" Kerr asked after a few moments of silence, watching me with confused amusement.

"I don't. Questions are not worth the headache I will most surely get from hearing the answer to any question I could possibly ask." I said with a shake of my head as I gathered everyone's cups, then rinsed them out before setting them in the dishwasher and starting it, shaking my head again when I looked back at Damien. "Too late, just thinking about asking a question gave me a headache."

"It is getting late. Perhaps it's time to turn in for the night?" Sinclair said after checking the time on his pocket watch.

"Can we sleep in that big bed, Sinclair?" the twins asked with big coy grins on their adorable faces.

"Aye, have at it. All of the bedrooms are made up, and there are functional cabins in the backyard so that everyone can have some peace, and you pick one to stay in for the night. Rest well." I said, cutting Sinclair off just as he began to speak. He cocked his head to the side as he watched me curiously, but didn't argue and nodded instead. I stood to the side as everyone was saying their goodnights and making their way upstairs, waiting until Sinclair came to stand next to me, the same look of confusion he'd been wearing since I'd spoken. "You know as well as I do that those wee ones aren't going to stop until they got their way. You'd tell them no, they'd debate you on the pros of sleeping in the aforementioned bed, you'd be so flabbergasted by their preciousness, and you wouldn't be able to argue." I said with a snort, giggling as he let out a sigh of defeat and disbelief.

"They always get their way, don't they?" He said with a scoff, then smiled as I took his hand and a flashlight, leading him out of the house and to the left, enjoying the cool breeze as we made our way to my favorite spot on his property, the cabin. Sinclair had about six different houses on his property, as he owned multiple hundreds of acres and had more than enough room. Still, there was one cabin in particular that I loved more than anything else on his property.

"Aye, they do. I bet you lot didn't notice that you didn't get the explanation you demanded this morning either, did you?" I said as I put my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes as we strolled slowly forward, not in any particular rush, as it was a nice night out.

"Damn it. I didn't realize it. I didn't think you'd give up the bed so easily, seeing as how much you adore sleeping in it."

"I don't adore sleeping in that bed, Sinclair. I adore being with you in it. There's a difference." I said, smacking him playfully in the arm, then glared up at him when I realized that he was mocking me. "You said adore because you like hearing the way I say it, didn't you?"

"I don't like hearing the way you say it. I adore it." He chuckled, laughing and holding his hands up in a show of defeat when I stopped walking to wind my hand back to smack him again. "I'm sorry, but I do very much like your accent. I love the way certain words sound coming from those lips." He added, watching me as I blushed and started walking towards the cabin again, shaking my head as if that would somehow force the blush out of my cheeks. *'He's so smooth, and some little part of me wants to ask what words in particular, but the rest of me is too shy to ask.'*

"Either way, this is my second favorite place to be in this whole wide world," I said, motioning to the cabin, looking back at him as I waited for him to ask the question I knew he'd ask.

"What's the first favorite? Ireland?"

*'No, but thanks for bringing that up.'* I thought, but shrugged it away as I ran up the bottom three steps, turning around, holding my arms out to him. I waited until he took me in his arms, wrapping my arms under his, nuzzling my face against his shirt. "My first favorite is in your arms, of course."