Simone looked out from the study window and pulled back the curtain. She still got so nervous when Everett and Alshaya went out to play by themselves. It was just a part of them growing up she reassured herself.

Stop worrying so much, they’ll be fine. They do this every day. Lewis’s voice filled her head and she smiled a bit.

I can’t help it… I get antsy but thank you. It made her feel better and she let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding.

She let the curtain fall and the last thing she saw was Everett showing Alshaya a frog. Alshaya had reached out and pet it. She got scared when the frog managed to slip away and fell on her butt. Everett had run after it. It was a funny sight and Simone shared it with Lewis.

It wasn’t the same with Fiori who had been so independent almost right off. Everett and Alshaya still tried to get in bed with them, they still wanted them both, and this was them getting more adventurous. Simone started to work on some of her children’s books and got half a page when something felt… wrong. Her eyes looked up. I can’t help it Lewis. I have to check on them. It was almost… instinctual.

She pulled the curtain back and her eyes got wide as she saw Alshaya… crying and on the ground. That was all it took for her to get up and run down the stairs right to her daughter. “Shaya?! SHAYA,” she yelled as she got closer. Alshaya looked at her and couldn’t get out what was wrong. She was only pointing.

“COME GET ALSHAYA NOW EZILI,” Simone’s voice boomed over to the pond gazebo where Lucas and Ezili were. It took no time for the two to come to get her. “Take her inside.”

“Yes, Mama.”

Lewis. Simone ran through the island towards where Alshaya had been pointing.

Lewis. There was no sign of Everett and she felt a tinge of something… horrifyingly familiar.

LEWIS GET THE FUCK HOME NOW. She could barely get it out herself as she fell on the grass where the magic ended. The portal was too small and it closed quickly. She was in tears. Her crying sounds were even drowning into the resonance that the two of them kept.

Where was Everett?

By the time Lewis had gotten back to the island, everyone at the Talon residence had already been alerted. Rhenakos was there, looking grim as he tried his best to track the magical signature that was left. The assassin marched up to him, a wild look in his eyes as he stepped in front of the hunter.

“Answers. Now.”

“I’m sorry, Lewis,” Rhenakos said, shaking his head. “This magical signature…it’s barely traceable. The only reason this worked last time was because there was a bond. This time, there isn’t one.” The hunter crossed his arms. “Only thing I can think of is to…” He closed his eyes, racking his brain. “Maybe Angela?” He furrowed his brow. “Last I heard, she was away on business. And Xeik wouldn’t know how to…”

Lewis ran his hands through his hair, taking a few rushed breaths. “You said bond, right?” he asked. “That’s how you tracked it. Cause Simone had a bond with the fae lord?” He looked over to Simone. “What about us, and our bond with Everett?”

Rhenakos thought for a moment. “It’s not a magical nature. That bond was the curse, and it was almost physical, but…maybe Leilah knows something that can work? Or at least know someone who can help?”

The assassin made his way over to Simone, who he was already communicating with using their resonance. “Are you…” No. Stupid question. He gave her a quick, awkward hug, and then stood back up. “Leilah…” The woman had been left in the castle with the other children. Lucas, Ezili, and Rex knew very well what was happening, but the younger kids were left in the dark.

Simone was almost not responsive. He had disappeared on her watch of all things. She hadn’t been away. She hadn’t even been that far. She took her eyes off of them because the island was supposed to be safe. How could they overlook fey magic? How could she think the fey would just leave her family alone when they had already taken so much from her.

She didn’t have to breathe to Lewis she thought it was all her fault as he hugged her. He knew she thought that because she was yelling it in her head. Her baby was missing and she couldn’t find him. Her hands gripped Lewis’s as her tears ran out. She rarely cried and this time she had been crying for so long her face hurt. She sniffled up at him as Lewis helped her up. Hopefully, Leilah would have answers.

Leilah was in the family room with Alshaya who was crying still. She was scared and while she didn’t know what happened she did understand that Everett was in trouble. Finally, Leilah put Alshaya to sleep using a small vial. “Poor thing,” the redhead frowned up to her husband while Nyssa and Piper cuddled up to her.

She knew better than to ask Simone if she was okay. Anyone looking at her could figure out that Simone had a broken heart at the moment. She looked so empty and she could barely stand. “Lei-Leilah?” Simone finally spoke but she was exhausted and she could barely get her words out. “Can you find Everett?”

Leilah shook her head, “I might have someone in the family who can though. Toya specializes in these sorts of things for defense. I’m sure she would come if we asked. It might take a litt–”

“WE DON’T HAVE A LITTLE BIT,” Simone’s feelings were so vast that the fire in the fireplace almost exploded.

“SIMONE,” Leilah screamed. “You need to have self-control. I know it’s hard and I know you are hurting bu–” Simone fell again and started to cry.

“It’s all my fault. I should have just watched them.”

“I don’t think you would have gotten to him in time Simone,” Leilah knelt by her. “It took only a few seconds for a portal to open up. I don’t think that this was done on purpose but it did happen. I have a sister in Feeorin, I can ask her to start looking too. It was fey magic so Feeorin is a good place to start. Alright?”

Simone could only nod.

“Good, I’ll get in touch with both of them who can spread the word that Everett is missing alright? In the meantime, Lewis please try and make sure she stays stable. It won't be good if you are losing your shit together.”

The fact that Leilah had a game plan was better than nothing. Simone’s little outburst was to be expected, though it did not help matters, but even Lewis’ calm was being overloaded by Simone’s grief at the situation. Their resonance was two ways, and right now, Simone’s emotions were in full control. It was painful to see her like this, but for Lewis, it was worse. He felt every ache that she felt, and every bit of guilt. It was taking everything he had to keep himself from losing his mind, let alone trying to keep her calm.

Still, he dare not sever the resonance, even for a moment. The loss of feeling him would make matters worse, and then they’d really have issues.

Rhenakos was already preparing his gear to head to Feeorin, and communicating with Osiria to meet him there. The two of them were familiar with the area, and knew a few of the more hidden areas. “I promise, Lewis…we’ll do our best. I’ll let you know if we pick anything up…”

This isn’t your fault. He knew the words would barely reach her. We’re going to find him. I’ll burn this whole world down to find him… There was absolute determination in his words. Lewis made his way over to Simone, sitting down next to her. He pulled her into his lap, and stroked her hair, trying his best to soothe her. We’ve got to be ready…okay?

Simone curled into Lewis easily enough. Her head was burrowed into his neck and she was practically hiding herself on him. She was only nodding and while it looked weird, everyone knew they were communicating in their own way. She closed her eyes and she tried to center herself but it was hard. So many centuries of pain. She had promised to keep her kids safe this time and she felt like a failure.

“I know…” The words were audible but quiet as she tried to hush her crying. “I’m going to hurt anyone who tries to hurt or keep him.” That was a promise she was going to keep. “I’m not going to lose my kids this time. Not this time. I can’t.”

She couldn’t do it again. Within the hour a dragon was circling the island and landing in a good spot. Lewis helped her up and they went out to meet this Toya. She was young-looking but the similarities to Angela could be seen in her face. The dragon rider got off and dusted herself off, “I’m sorry. It won’t fix things but for what it’s worth Lei told me a bit about the situation. Losing children the way you have is hard and this has to be killing you on the inside. I’ve been there.” Her words were oddly soft for her personality. “My name is Toya Wintercrest, I’m the Queen of the White court and in charge of the military and protection of Sularia. I’m Angela’s youngest sister and what Lei told you is true. We specialize in hunting people down.”

“Can you find our son?” Simone was petting Lewis’s hands as he held her steady. It was a way of keeping her grounded enough to speak to the queen.

“I’m going to fucking try my best. Can you bring me things that belong to Everett and would have his smell?”

Simone looked up at Lewis and nodded, “I’ll be fine for a minute… Can you go get his blankets and toys? Please?”

Once Toya had them she whistled and a few more dragons that were much smaller came down. There had to be thirty of them. “Come here,” she laid the toys out. “Find the owner.” They were small like cats and there were more as they all took turns sniffing the objects. “Go.” They took off like a herd of birds going off in different directions. Some went into portals while others flew around Onnen. “It might not be instant… It might take a while. I’m not going to give you that false hope. If we could get Angela… We would be able to find him but this picked a hell of a time to happen.”

When Toya arrived, the pair made their way to greet her. Although Lewis had heard a great deal about her, he had never met her in person. This was the woman who was in charge of taking care of Izori, the hellspawn of Rhenakos and Osiria. When she introduced herself, Lewis nodded.

“Lewis Terrowin,” he replied. “Thank you for coming so quickly.” Despite the situation, he knew better than to test the waters with courtesy, and erred on the side of caution. “Give me a few minutes,” Lewis said as he made his way into the castle to gather some of Everett’s things.

Rex took this time to slip away from the rest of the group, and found himself staring at Toya. “So you’re the one taking care of my sister?” he asked. It wasn’t really the best time for it, but this was the first time he had seen Toya. “Is Izzy doing okay? I haven’t seen her in some time…” Despite his rough look, there was genuine concern in his voice. He knew she didn’t deserve what she was getting…but Rhenakos and Osiria just couldn’t keep up with her…

The assassin came back outside with various toys that Everett loved to play with. “This enough?’ As Toya had her dragons sniff them, he watched in amazement as the creatures took the scent, and immediately started to track.

“That’s all we can do, then…” Lewis said as he clenched his fist. “Is there anything else?” He frowned. “Do you…want to come in? I’m sure we have tea or something to your fancy…” It was an odd thing for Lewis to say, since normally it was Simone who offered. But he was trying. “Probably have brandy or something stronger if you want that too…”

Toya nodded, “My husband is in Sularia working on it too as we give information. I’ll have one of the dragons take something back to him to start looking. Like you, he’s a trained assassin but he’s been out of the business for years now. We hate to see this sort of thing happen to folks.” Once Toya’s eyes landed on Rex she rubbed the back of her neck, “She’s nothing like my kids. My kids are assholes. She just needs instruction and discipline. My kids are wild monsters… Throwing boulders through houses… You know lycanthrope things. My kids are almost all half lycanthrope thanks to my husband so Izzy isn’t too much of a problem. I did have to hang her upside down for an hour until she respected me though. She follows me around now and goes to drill with me.” She wasn’t going to lie to the kid. “In short, she’ll live.”

Reaching into her boot Toya already had a flask ready once Lewis offered, “Nah, I don’t drink that pussy shit.” She put the flask back and put her hands in her pockets and followed them back to the house. “I lost my son a long time ago now during my first marriage.”

It caught Simone’s attention, “How?”

“Vampire hunters. They were after a family friend and he took the attack for her. It killed him instantly. We lost his wife not too long after because of a broken heart. My daughter Rose was born with her cord around her neck… We lost her too but in Sularia has ways of bringing children who die like that back… Still, we had to live through it. Blaine and I promise–”

“Promised to never let it happen again?” Simone could understand that.

“That doesn’t mean that things outside your control won’t happen though. You can’t control everything even if it is your instinct to try. Gods know I try. I would be losing my shit burning stuff down if it was my kid. They would probably knock me out… So I get it. They don’t. They can sympathize with you but that’s it.”

“Thank you…” Simone felt a bit more calm now talking to Toya. She understood what Simone and Lewis were going through. “How… many kids do you have?”

“Seven, we’re raising our grandkids too. Costel had two young daughters when he passed away and when Estrella died we took them in. Blaine and I were pregnant with Jay when she died. My husband and I couldn’t stand looking at each other after Costel passed and we got drunk off our asses until we separated. Story of Blaine… is a story for another day. We don’t have the most conventional of love stories.” Simone actually chuckled and looked at Lewis for just a moment sharing what Toya said.

Toya was good at empathizing with people like Simone and maybe that had been more of Leilah’s goal. “You just have the two?”

“Hell no, every time we turn around someone else is getting pregnant. I think Blaine is going to lock the girls away. He almost killed Jordas a few times for trying to bed Rose. Threw his ass through a window. ‘MY GIRLSSSS’. Men and their daughters… Our daughter Keira got pregnant and her husband up and left right after they were born. Sooooo, we are also raising her twins. You might know them… Kite and Tempest. Or Kite and Toya Number three if you listen to my husband.”

Toya took out the flask and got three glasses, “This shit is strong but… It will help a little. It might also knock you on your ass. It’s called Dragonfire Whiskey. Angela brews it for me because I’m a raging alcoholic with anger issues.” At least she could make fun of herself as she poured them all a shot. “Take a drink.”

The story that Toya was telling Simone was keeping her calm, and for that Lewis was thankful. It took a bit of the edge off of his senses, and let him think just a bit more clearly. With his worry for Simone taking a back seat, he closed his eyes and thought back to the clues he had from Simone’s memories…the portal and where it was. It was impossible to tell where it came from, but according to Rhenakos it was unique, so there was no way the Fae Lord was back.

This was something entirely different. That was concerning, even for Lewis. Just what kind of luck do we have? He scoffed, and opened his eyes. When he opened them, he noticed Simone take a swig from a flask that Toya had handed her. Wait, Simone do-

It was almost instant. Lewis rarely had a drink, and when he did it was in serious moderation. This, though, felt as though he downed half of the wine cellar in a single sitting. The world was swaying, and the connection between Simone and Lewis was burning harder. Without their inhibitions, it was hard to keep the connection in check, and he felt more of Simone than he had in a long time, not since they had the second dream dive.

This…is so much… He fell over where he was next to the bannister, and groaned.

“Uh…you okay, Lewis?” Lucas asked as he made his way from one of the family rooms.

“No.” The assassin grabbed the bannister and pulled himself up, willing the world to stop spinning. “Go help….go help Simone…”

Simone was told a bit too late not to drink the whiskey. It hit her like a ton of bricks as she about dropped the flask. Toya noticed Lewis was reacting the same time. “The fuck?” That was when she realized the magic connection. “Oh fuck, I’m sorry.” She blinked a bit. “You guys are bit of fucking light weights too…” She took the flask and downed the entire thing in one go. She didn’t even stagger as she got up and took out some pills. “Here.” She offered them to Lewis. “Angela made them. They are herbal pills for things like this. I have to take them when she sedates the shit out of me. They should stabilize you.”

Her eyes were watching Lewis’s. “You are thinking way too hard on this Lewis. Do what you can that’s in your control. The Rose family has known loss for centuries. If anyone can find them… It’s us or people in our care. We take care of our own and Angela considers you both her children so we’ll take care of you too. Since the time before the great fall we as a race have struggled but once we were invaded… Our family taken, the Rose family shut themselves off from the rest of the world to protect our own. My own father and mother died to save all of us, I never knew them. They followed a prophecy told by the spirits of the desert. Five daughters become five queens. Five unique circumstances they had to be conceived under. I was the last. I was conceived on the night of the dragon star. I am told I was the hardest one for them to have since the comet only passes by so many centuries.”

She rubbed her neck, “Then our one sister went off the deep end and killed almost all of her kids. Possession they said. So I understand greatly what has happened to Simone. I’ll do my best to take care of Simone and by extension you too. I didn’t see it before but now I do. The magic you two have is something special. I’ve been married almost forty years now… It doesn’t really get any easier no matter how much older they get. Jayden is almost forty and I swear to god every time he gets a cold I’m breathing down his neck to go to the healers. Take care of each other and in turn, it will take care of your kids. We’ll find Everett come hell or high water. It’s what we do for family.”

She reached out and pat his head. "While not all of us look it… Every single one of us are fighters. Even little Tristine. It takes great loss to protect your family… because once you have great loss you understand everything you have to lose…"

As the Divine Sands in Elysia reacted to Alshaya’s wish, the gates to the Fae Realm were opened, revealing Everett for Xeik. At once, the healer marched through into the other realm. He pulled the sands back, and gazed through the portal to Alshaya as it started to close. “Go home, Alshaya…I promise I’ll be there soon. With Everett…” With a heartfelt smile, the portal closed, leaving Alshaya in Elysia.

The little girl had the utmost faith in Xeik. She ran back to the gate that connected Elysia with her home, and soon she was running back to her father and mother, whom were both still recovering from Toya’s drink of choice.

“Momma! Daddy! It okay now! Xeik is gonna save Everett!” She practically jumped into Lewis’ arms as he picked her up.

“Xeik? Wait, did you go to the Temple?” His eyes were wide with shock.

“Of course! Momma and Daddy were sad!” Alshaya was simply beaming. “Xeik said he bring Everett!”

—

Xeik stood in front of the table that was littered with sweets. It was meant to tempt any and all to the fae, and trap them in the world forever. But there were rules, and Simone had been smart to teach them the rules. With a smile, he looked to Everett.

“Good job, Ev. Now, stay there while I take care of this. We’ll be home soon,” the healer said as his attention went to the fae. “Good day. My name is Xeik Eraphim. I am here as a representative and Champion of the Goddess of Life and Love.” There was a sly smile across his face. “I do believe that you’ve got something here that does not belong to you. I demand his return at once…”