I frowned at my Fae husband. “Is there a reason he’s not locked up? He literally tried to kidnap our son. Rhys is afraid of him.”
“I’m not afraid of him.” Rhys sighed as he entered from the kitchen, Lee right behind him. “I apologize for eavesdropping. But my uncle’s probably right that I should make an appearance in the sitheins. If Papa would be willing to come with me, I would consider it.”
Rhys seemed more relaxed after expending all that magic, and it made me wonder how long he’d kept it bottled up. It also made me worry that he would now want the other things that went with being a fertility god. Would he feel more comfortable about sex now that he had control of his magic? Would he need it more than he had before?
Shy still housed my father’s soul, and from what I understood about how they worked, it wasn’t like she could shut him out. They experienced things together. If Rhys kissed her and followed the path that would lead to, my father would be there, too.
It wasn’t something I thought a relationship could survive, and it was so obvious to me that Rhys was crazy about Shy and she had a thing for him. I worried he might take the Lee route rather than wait, and that could hurt him forever.
I needed to find another home for my father’s soul.
“You know I’ll be by your side,” Dev said. “We all will, but this is not about pleasing your uncle or grandmother anymore.”
“No, it’s about power and responsibility,” Rhys said in that sober way of his. “If the Seelie and the Unseelie destabilize, a war could bleed over to the Earth plane. The earthly Fae are my biggest concern. I will do everything I need to do in order to protect them. And we already have interesting allies.”
“Yeah, the Hidden Folk are pretty cool.” Lee slung his big body down on the sofa. “I still don’t know if they’re going to be able to see the bag of holding, though.”
“I don’t see why not. A pocket universe is out of phase with this one, and they can see those. They’ve always known where Frelsi was and how to get in. I count it as a good thing that despite being able to spy on us, it seems they’ve honored our city by staying out of it until now.” Rhys leaned in, his eyes lit with the same excitement he used to get when he was playing a game and winning. He looked my way because in this he knew I was the boss. “Mom, I talked to Magnus and Asta, and they’re willing to go to the Council building to make sure the bag is still where it’s supposed to be. If it isn’t, they’ll look for it. I don’t want you going in without being absolutely sure as to where the bag is.”
“It’s there. No one could move it.” Of that I was sure. “Only Grandad and I can physically touch it.”
“But we know Sarah did something that day,” Rhys said gravely. “We know she told Neil she had something to do before she went missing.”
“She had to get her family.” At least that was what I thought she’d meant.
“That shouldn’t have taken her long.” Daniel seemed to think about the situation. “She knew about the bag, knew what it held. She knew it was in the closet, and she had to know that if Myrddin was taking over, he would likely end up in the penthouse.”
“But he can’t touch it.” I didn’t like the thought that Sarah might have lost her life trying to save that bag. “She knew that.”
“She also knew that Myrddin is the greatest magical power the planes have ever seen,” Dev mused. “It might have been one thing to leave it there when she thought you were coming back, but if she had even an inkling that things could go wrong, would she try to move it?”
I didn’t know. I couldn’t possibly know what had gone through her head that day. I only knew that she was missing and if she’d had any chance, she would have found my kids and watched over them.
“Rhys, I like this plan.” Dev sat back down.
“Yes, I do, too,” Danny agreed. “If they can touch the bag and move it, please tell them to walk out with it, and then your brother and mother never need to go in.”
“I never get to have any fun,” Lee groaned.
I shook my head. “They won’t be able to. I know that spell, and I’m the only one walking the Earth plane now who can physically move the bag. Once I touch it, the Hidden can take it, but I have to be there.”
“They’re willing to go in?” Danny looked to Rhys.