Book 19: She's the Key

Ian

Fennec turns my hand over to inspect the blistering on my palms, but I’m watching Juliette tend to Oakley a few yards away, against the far side of the sunny, but smoke scented, clearing. Both women are kneeling, and Julie is taking extra care while braiding Oakley’s hair. 

“That’s her, then?” Fennec asks, his silver eyes searching mine until I finally meet his gaze. 

I nod, at a loss for words. 

My three cousins arrived less than twenty minutes ago, and Naomi immediately took control. I can say with certainty this was the first time I wasn’t happy to see her. 

It’s not that we didn’t need her. We did. Badly. But her arrival was during a moment when things finally felt somewhat right. 

“Do the clothes fit?” Fennec says, tug