When her sight cleared, Saanvi gasped, staring in wonder at the richly appointed sitting room she and Bethany had been transported to. Her wonder soon turned to shock, and then relief, as Chika and Hope came running to greet her, exclaiming in relief as they embraced her and Bethany. It was enough to soothe Saanvi's shattered nerves, but she did have to deliver the news of her biological grandmother's death, which saddened the two women. "I'm glad she went out all guns blazing," Chika said, as she gently took her foster daughter by the arm and guided her to a chair, while Hope did the same for Bethany. Saanvi was glad to see there was no animosity between the two women, despite Hope's horrendous treatment at Bethany's hands when she'd been pregant with Scarlett. She supposed the mysterious woman in the ghost city had been keeping Hope up to date on those matters.
"Defiant to the end," Bethany agreed with a grim smile. "But it hasn't made our situation any easier. Arjun's probably been outed as a traitor by now, and God knows what Scarlett is going through."
Hope went pale. "If anyone harms a hair on her head, I'll go there myself and rip their heads off, consequences be damned," she said heatedly. The last seventeen years had not treated her kindly; there were crow's-feet around her eyes, and her hair was now more silver than the dark brown Saanvi remembered from their brief interview more than seventeen years ago, and Saanvi felt her heart break.
"Scarlett won't appreciate you getting killed, or worse, being made into a brood mare," Bethany said bluntly. "You're safer here; your daughter is a fighter, and no matter what they made her promise, she's got the smarts to do as she's told and hide her real feelings on the matter."
"I know," Hope said with a sigh as she stared at her hands. "But even though I know that I'm safer here, I've been living on edge ever since I arrived, and it hasn't made things any better with Jorel appraising me of the situation. But I'd rather know than not know, even though I can't sleep at night worrying about what fresh hell Scarlett is going to be put through."
Bethany gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "One day we'll get her out of there," she promised.
"You're not thinking of going back, are you?" Saanvi demanded, horrified.
The older woman faced her with a calm dignity that eased some of the sting from her words. "I have to," she said bluntly. "I can do more from the inside than I can do here, and I'm very good at spinning enough bullshit to out-bullshit the best bullshitter on their best day. I did my duty getting you and Winter here safely, but my place is with your daughter, and I can easily convince the council I'm ready to go back to my old ways as a bitchy harridan who eats children for breakfast and picks my teeth with the bones of small animals."
Bethany probably would be able to out-bullshit the best bullshittter on their best day, Saanvi reflected to herself. A faint smile on Hope's lips suggested she was thinking the same thing.
"Don't hold back," she advised. "If you can let Scarlett know that you're on her side up to the hilt, it will probably make her life a bit easier."
"Jorel can see to that," Chika said confidently. "In fact, I'm sure if we asked her very nicely, she'll probably go above and beyond to spin an even better line of bullshit."
Hope laughed. "That is her specialty," she agreed. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkIGBZfJGOO
Jorel was perforce called back, and once she'd heard the plan Bethany had come up with, her smile was very reminiscent of the creepy smile her clones had unleashed in Pripyat. "I am very good at my trade," she said. "If Bethany is willing to allow me directly into her mind, I can set up sigils that will defeat even the most powerful mage among the sun elves. I know I said our Queen's magic wasn't powerful enough, but I am far more deadly, and I don't have the restraining bolt of good manners. That's not a bad thing, according to Her Grace, but she's told me on more than one occasion she's happy to let me unleash my special brand of suffering on those who carry evil in their hearts, just as long as she doesn't have to hear about the grisly details." Her smile at the end still had too many teeth for it to be genuine, but now it was a comforting sight to Saanvi, rather than a terrifying one.
"I'm glad you're on our side," Chika muttered, but her eyes glinted too merrily for her words to have any real sting.
"Me too," Bethany agreed. "Very well, I accept. Just leave my mind the same way you found it when all this is over."
Jorel nodded. "I will guard your mind like it is the greatest treasure known to man," she promised, takingj Bethany's hand and pulling her gently to her feet. The pair vanished, and Saanvi took a deep breath as she turned to Chika and Hope. "Meet your grandson," she told them, and the two older women shared a look before Hope came forward to gently take Winter from his legal grandmother's arms. Tears filled her eyes as she took in his features, gently stroking his hair as she rocked him back and forth. From the look on her face, this was probably the first time in more than seventeen years since she'd held a newborn in her arms, and Saanvi felt her heart twist in a tight, painful knot as she rose, gesturing to her foster mother. "We'd better leave them alone," she whispered, and Chika nodded in agreement. 87Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoWu06ICv5t
They left the room none too soon; as the door closed behind them, they heard Hope start to cry, and foster-mother and daughter shared a sad look. "She's never gotten over being forced to leave Scarlett behind," Chika whispered as they hurried to the feline woman's rooms. "Seeing Winter is both a blessing and curse for her; she's finally able to meet her grandson, but it's opened up old wounds."
"Will she be okay?" Saanvi asked, worried.
Chika lifted her shoulders. "Only time will tell," she said. "I think it's best if we don't mention whatever you and Bethany were told on your way here for the time being."
"My lips are sealed," Saanvi promised. "I don't want to put her through any more grief in any case. But she's going to have to face the truth eventually, isn't she?"
"God only knows," Chika said. "I hope she will, but her grief is still very raw, and right now, I don't think she's in the space to hear about potentially losing her grandson after being forced to confront her daughter's loss all over again."
Saanvi sighed. I hate you, Arjun, she thought resentfully to her (probably now) late husband. Honestly, your schemes and plots are doing nothing but causing more harm than good!
Though she supposed it wasn't entirely his fault. He'd done the best he could under extenuating cirumstances, all the while with a death sentence hanging over his head. Saanvi did hope, however, that her late husband's plans would not cause permanent damage to the woman who was now crying alone, holding on to her grandson with a fierce desperation that spoke of mindless terror.
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