Vague echoes float through my mind. Luci holding my hand. Luci wiping my brow. Luci whispering soothing words.

Are those memories or more hallucinations? Could I really be home?

Only one way to find out.

I claw my way to full consciousness and tentatively open one eye. My bedroom window swims into view. So far, so good. It even looks like a nice sunny day. I open both eyes. It’s still my bedroom.

I’m really here. I’m no longer in that dank basement getting the shit kicked out of me. It’s over and done and I’m safe. And that can only mean one thing.

Luci saved me.

My consort can kick-ass.

The bedroom door opens and I whip my head over to face it. Luci is walking in with a tray holding what looks like a bowl of soup. He looks gorgeous in his dress with daisies on it. But there are dark circles under his eyes.

He is staring at me with a strange expression. Almost as if he is both utterly delighted to see me awake and also utterly terrified.

“How do you feel?” he asks softly.

“Like I’ve been hit by a bus,” I say truthfully.

He winces in sympathy. I watch as he carefully puts the tray on the dresser. He helps me sit up and stuffs a ton of pillows behind me. Then he places the tray over my lap and perches on the edge of the bed.

He hands me a glass of water with a straw in it. I open my mouth to say something about the straw, but actually, my jaw does hurt like hell. So I sip on the water complacently instead.

Luci’s green eyes are on me like a hawk.

As soon as I’m finished drinking, he lifts a spoonful of soup to my mouth. I’m being fed like a baby, but strangely, I don’t hate it.

Being nurtured and cared for by Luci is actually quite lovely. I bask in it for a little while. But questions are crowding my mind.

“How did you get me out of there?” I ask.

A dark shadow fills Luci’s eyes. He puts down the spoon and carefully dabs around my mouth with a napkin.

His touch is wonderful. It is so good to see him. To be near him. I thought I was going to die and leave him behind. I was so scared. And the pain was awful.

I’m such a wimp. Luci endured being beaten by his own father. Several times, by the sounds of it. When he was only a child. Gods. Luci is a million times stronger than I will ever be.

But he still hasn’t answered my question.

“Luci?”

His gaze is fixed firmly down on the bedspread. “I gave them what they wanted.”

A cold wave of unease and dread is clawing at my gut. My skin is prickling with it, but my mind is balking. It’s refusing to think. It’s gone blank in protest.

“What did they want?” I ask, and my voice sounds strained. Hoarse.

Luci shrinks in on himself. “They wanted the portal opened.”

The words bounce around and around. They rattle. They don’t make any sense. They are just words. Mere sounds that humans gave meaning to long ago. In reality, words are as nonsensical as the twittering of birds.

Luci is trembling. His head is down. It’s like the first days of our marriage and I can’t have that. He can’t be scared of me. I need to reassure him and that means making sense of what he just said.

The Revivalists wanted the portal open. Luci wanted me.

Here I am.

Therefore, he must have given them what they wanted.

Luci opened the portal and let the fey back into our world. He had a choice between the world, or me. He chose me. My Luci chose me.

“It worked? The portal worked?” I babble.

Luci nods.

And then scurries out of the way with the tray as I throw the covers back. I hobble to the window and lean heavily on the sill.

“Everything looks the same,” I say after a few long moments.

Luci clears his throat. “The fey were calm. Regal even. They’ve simply walked into places of government and announced they are in charge now. It’s been relatively peaceful.”

“Fucking hell!” I gasp.

It’s too much to take in. I’m floundering. Even though it’s much better than the bloodshed and massacre and forever altered sky I was imagining.

“Please get back into bed.”

My body throbs in agreement with my consort’s request. Dazedly, I let Luci help me over to the bed. He tucks me in and my body sighs in relief.

“How long?” I ask.

“Two days,” says Luci, but he still won’t look at me. “The fey offered to heal you, but I didn’t think you’d want their magic knitting your bones.”

I shake my head but it does nothing to clear my mind, it just awakens a thousand physical hurts and makes me wince. The idea of alien magic working on my flesh and bones is nauseating. Luci definitely made the right call. I’d rather suffer for a few weeks while I heal naturally.

So I’m fine, but what about everybody else?

“Katy. The staff. Is everyone okay?”

Luci nods. “They are fine.” His hands twist in his dress. “But they are not here. They left. All apart from George.”

I blink up at my consort. “They didn’t like your decision?”

He shakes his head and a tear plops down onto his dress. My Luci. My sweet, crazy Luci who thinks I am worth the world.

“The fey have warded the house and grounds. Nobody can get in to mete out retribution,” he says softly.