‘Nyla?’ I asked.
Steph nodded sadly. ‘Rainer won’t let her go. She says she’ll know when the time is right and when all hope is gone. She says she’ll feel it.’
I nodded, my hand slipping away.
Another wave of guilt crashed over me. I’d meant to visit Nyla when I’d last been here but I’d put it off constantly. And then it had all been too late.
I knew that before I left New York this time, I would return to this room. Even standing on the other side of the door I could feel an odd pull.
But right now, I needed to focus on Spence.
‘Let’s see Chloe,’ I said, dropping my hand.
Steph showed me into Chloe’s room, where Salvatore and Zoe were waiting.
‘Holy shit, is it really you?’ Zoe blurted the moment I stepped into the room.
I lowered my hood. ‘I guess so.’
Salvatore came straight at me, encasing me in a warm hug. ‘Welcome home,’ he said.
I moved stiffly out of his teddy-bear arms. ‘Thank you, but this isn’t my home.’
He nodded sombrely, putting a protective arm around Steph. ‘That may be the case. But it is your family.’
I didn’t know how to respond, so I took a sip of my coffee and placed the paper cup on the table where a few vases of flowers and get-well cards were displayed, and turned to Zoe. ‘Long time,’ I hedged.
Silence met me.
I braced. Zoe wasn’t the type to just forgive and forget and whatever she was about to dish out, I knew she was well within her rights.
Finally, she put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. ‘Well, it’s about damn time you showed up,’ she said, her expression blank for a few seconds before it morphed into an easy grin. ‘God, if Lincoln had known all he had to do to get you here was put Spence in mortal danger he would’ve had him hog-tied and locked in a dungeon two years ago.’
My mouth fell open. I had no idea why everyone – well, almost everyone – was being so kind and understanding.
I don’t deserve this.
The corners of my mouth lifted and I tried my best not to flinch when she pulled me into a tight hug. Apart from when I was fighting, I hadn’t had so much physical contact in a long time. It felt foreign. Confusing.
And nice.
‘I’m just here until we get Spence back,’ I said, looking at them all.
Steph was the first to speak. ‘And that’s what we’re all going to focus on,’ she reinforced as I nodded.
Chloe lay unconscious in the bed. She was pretty in a traditional way. Neat blonde hair that, though currently dull, naturally fell in soft waves around her face. Even covered in bruises fading to green and yellow her gentle features were recognisable and her clear complexion shone through. But the amount of bruising still present highlighted how badly she’d been beaten.
‘Was she really in the convent?’ I asked, picking up on one of the things Onyx had mentioned on the plane.
Zoe snorted. ‘Yep. Crazy, right? She would’ve ended up being a no-violence, life-of-chastity nun if Spence hadn’t knocked on her door.’
‘It must have been a hard decision for her to make,’ I said quietly, knowing just how hard it had been for me to face a life of violence, and I certainly hadn’t had the same life planned out as she had.
‘Actually, she didn’t hesitate,’ Zoe said.
I glanced at her expectantly.
Zoe shrugged. ‘Spence showed up, told her the way of things and she believed him straight away, didn’t even ask for proof. It was enough to make Spence suspicious that she didn’t have all her marbles, but when he asked she explained that she’d seen exiles before. A group of them had taken over her local church one day and held her captive as they murdered the priests in front of her.’
My eyes widened. ‘Really?’
Zoe nodded. ‘They would’ve killed her too, but one exile pulled her out of the church. She thought he was going to kill her, but then he just let her go.’
My face screwed up in confusion. Exiles do not take pity. Or value human life. ‘That doesn’t sound …’ I glanced back at Chloe, confused.
‘And you know the exile who did it, too,’ Zoe added, leaning back against the wall and pulling out a packet of M&M’s.
When I just stared at her perplexed, she simply said, ‘It was Onyx.’
‘What? When?’
‘Before he became human. He’s really cagey about it and won’t say much but we figure it was around the time he made the first alliance with Joel and the exiles of light.’
I glanced around the room to see Steph and Salvatore nodding in agreement.
‘Wow,’ I mumbled. ‘So, she embraced, just like that?’
‘Pretty much,’ Zoe said.
‘She’s taken a while to get her head around some aspects, and her faith is an issue at times since Spence isn’t exactly reverent, in any way,’ Salvatore added.
I snorted. Reverent was the last thing Spence was.
‘No shenanigans?’ I asked, smirking.
‘Unfortunately, no. But they seem to have found some kind of middle ground. They’re good partners,’ Zoe explained.