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ARRIVAL

RAE

Nausea and anxiety.

One threatened to evict my dinner all over the ground, while the other tightened my chest.

The ringing in my ears faded when my ears popped, giving way to new sounds as the magic from our teleportation settled. Birdsong from the surrounding forest filled the air, but it did nothing to settle my nerves.

I stepped forward, gravel crunching beneath my feet as I tested my legs.

If the guards showed up to take me away again, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t entirely defenseless.

“How do you feel?” Zeke’s hesitant voice came from behind me.

I closed my eyes and breathed in both foreign and familiar scents. When I didn’t get a second taste of dinner, I opened my eyes and turned toward him. “Better than last time.”

Ash stepped forward, his brow drawn tight. “What’s wrong?”

“Huh?”

“You’re afraid.”

I opened my mouth to tell him he was mistaken, but paused when I realized he wasn’t wrong. He recognized the underlying anxiety as fear before I did.

I glanced over my shoulder down the long driveway flanked by unfamiliar trees and shrubs mixed with familiar vegetation, then scanned the treeline around the gravel clearing. I didn’t see another entrance, so if the council and guards were coming, they’d have to come that way.

“They won’t come back here,” Ezra said, pale eyes locked on mine as if he knew who I was searching for. “This is our home. No one comes here without our permission. You’ll be safe here.”

I hadn’t expected Ezra to be the one to reassure me, but I’d take it.

I blew out a long breath, and my muscles relaxed.

I expected the guys to live in a mansion, but if they hated the palace, a mini-mansion in the woods made sense.

Ash cupped my cheek. “We should go inside and get you settled.”

“You’re going to love it here,” Zeke said, grabbing my hand and pulling me away from Ash toward the large, two-story home of wood and stone with floor-to-ceiling windows on both levels.

“Slow down,” Ash said as I stumbled up the steps to the porch that ran along the front of the house. “She’s not going anywhere.”

Cyn climbed the stairs and entered the house without a word.

At least he wasn’t trying to pick a fight with me.

As much as what he’d done hurt me, the council expected us to live together, so I needed to keep it civil. It didn’t mean I trusted him—and he sure didn’t trust me.

“I’ll have someone bring your things in,” Ezra said. “I need to report to Father.”

Zeke squeezed my hand. “Cornaith doesn’t come back here as long as we keep up with our reports.”

Ash turned on the steps. “Need me to come with you?”

“No.” Ezra tucked his hands in his pockets. “Take her inside and show her to her room. This shouldn’t take long, and they’ll need to know where her stuff goes.”

Before we could say anything else, Ezra turned and crossed the gravel clearing toward the drive, passing the cluster of my belongings we’d brought through the teleportation.