Laughing, I clinked glasses with everyone.
Between eating sandwiches and cakes and toasting to the birthday girl, the poker began and Rose told us about the first fae party she’d attended—in a haunted house, no less. Ella grilled her about everything she’d seen.
Eventually, she sat back. “Toes? Really? I don’t believe it’s possible.”
Rose chuckled. “I suppose it depends how long his toes are.”
A pink cast to her amber-toned cheeks, Ari placed a bet. “Do you think those two are talking about this stuff, too?”
“I can’t picture Faolán talking about sex.” I raised an eyebrow at Rose.
She huffed out of her nose as she matched Ella’s bet. “There’s a little tension between them at the moment, so I hope they’re talking about that. Knowing them, though, they’re probably drinking and complaining about work.”
“Tension?” Perry cocked her head, cards forgotten.
Rose shot me a quick, stiff glance. “Oh, you know how it is. They’re just—”
“It’s all right.” I shrugged. “You can say it. Faolán’s grumpy—well, grumpier than usual—because of what happened in Lunden between Bastian and me and the fact I’m married.”
Ari’s eyes went wide. “Oh.”
“Bastian told me when you woke, and… I may have deliberately not mentioned it to Faolán.” Rose winced. “I knew he’d react that way. It’s a strange hangup—treating marriage as sacred.”
“Hmph.” Ella glared at her cards. “If only human men did the same.”
She’d mentioned her marriage only in the most general terms. I got the impression she was sadder about her husband’s death than I would be about Robin’s.
I eyed her as the conversation went on.
“It applies to engagement, too.” Ari nodded, closing her fan of cards. “I managed to capitalise on that to get Ly out of some trouble.” Her gaze skipped to one side as she gave a small smile.
“Where do they stand on divorce?” A frown scored its way between Perry’s eyebrows. Her eyes were on her cards, but didn’t rove across them, as though she didn’t really see them.
“Kat’s already tried for a divorce.” Ella huffed. “Are you sure we can’t just kill him off?”
“I didn’t mean Kat’s,” Perry murmured.
Every pair of eyes turned to her.
I lowered my cards. “Are you married?”
“I was once. Not anymore.” She chewed her lip, and Ella pulled the cards from her hands and placed them on the table. “Who’s been topping up my drink?” She frowned at the half-emptied glass of shocking orange punch.
“You’ve already started spilling.” Ella shrugged. “No sense in stopping now.”
Perry snorted and drained her drink, then held out the glass. “Well, I’m going to need more of this.”
Rose obliged while Ari fetched a cake stand and placed it before Perry. I clasped my hands, conscious that I wasn’t wearing my gloves, since they’d stopped me from shuffling the deck.
“My mother was from Noreg, and after my father died, she moved back there. I would visit from time to time—this was long before I sailed with Vice.”
Ari murmured at the mention of Avice. As far as she was concerned, the Pirate Queen was a living legend, even if, to me, she was the little sister whose snot I’d wiped away.
“You can guess the next part…” Perry arched an eyebrow.
“Don’t tell us”—Ella cocked her head—“you met a dashing Northman who treated you like the queen you are?”
Perry scoffed. “Something like that. We married. We were happy. We had a child. We were even more happy.”
I swallowed, my half-finished drink forgotten as I waited for the but.
“There was an attack.” Perry’s brow pulled low, and my heart squeezed for her. “Our girl… I say ‘girl’—she was fully grown by then. A young woman. Some were killed. Some were taken. We couldn’t find any sign of her.”
Eyes burning, I thrust my hands in my lap so I didn’t reach out to her.
“She was gone. We searched, but…” Perry shook her head. “It took a long while, but eventually I accepted it. My husband, though…”
Ari scooted to the edge of her chair and slid her arm around Perry’s shoulder. Ella stroked her hair, while Rose reached across the table and squeezed her hand. I sat on mine, the need to comfort her scouring my heart.
“He sank and sank and sank… I tried to pull him out. I knew it would take time, but… he never accepted it. He raged and drank and raged, and one day I realised I hadn’t seen my husband for years. Instead, I was married to someone bitter and vicious, and despite every attempt, I couldn’t bring him back.”
With a sad smile, she squeezed Rose’s hand and tilted her head into Ella’s touch. “And finally, I understood—if he didn’t want to come back, I couldn’t make him. I wasn’t making him any happier—if anything, I just reminded him of our daughter, since she looked so much like me. And he certainly wasn’t making me happy. We were locked in misery. Thankfully, divorce is a lot easier in Noreg than Albion.” She shot me an apologetic smile. “We parted ways, and I set sail, met a pirate named Vice, found Ser Francis Drake’s treasure, etcetera, etcetera, and wound up here.”
A heavy quiet filled the room, punctuated only by Ari sniffing.
“Not the best adventure story, I know.” Perry gave us a half-hearted smile. “But there is a lesson to be learned from my misfortune. Things outside our control can rob your happiness in an instant. You can’t stop it. But don’t let the things that are in your control do the same.” She gave me a long look that made me gulp down the last of my drink.
Memento mori. Death comes for our lives… but also for our happiness.
“There’s something you’re leaving out of this tale.” Ella topped up all our glasses and narrowed her eyes at Perry. “Why would you be concerned about fae caring that you’re divorced?”
Perry chuckled. “I’m sure you can guess.”
“I did hear certain sounds on our journey from Albion. Late at night when we were all meant to be sleeping. And that innkeeper commented on your bed not being used that time…”
“Nothing gets past you, does it?” Shaking her head, Perry scooped up her freshly filled glass. “You’re going to have to get me a lot more drunk before I tell you more.”
Ella took that as a challenge, and for the next couple of hours the room filled with laughter and secrets and the warmth of friendships forged in shitty circumstances.
“It made me so happy to see you laugh today.” Eyes bright, Ella stood in the antechamber, hands clasped while Rose yanked coats down from the hooks.
“You do know I’m coming with you, right?” I chuckled as Ella stood there like she was saying goodbye. “We have a play to get to.”
“This one’s yours,” Rose slurred as she held my coat out to Ariadne.
“Oh, gods.” Ari tiptoed, replacing my coat. “No, no, no. Let me do that.”
Oblivious, Ella shook her head and studied me. “You looked so tired last week.”
Perry turned from smoothing her hair in the mirror and nodded. “We were worried about you.”
“I’m fine.” I shrugged. “I—”