20 Plans

Sergei pulled me into the living room and kept his promise that things would not be awkward. Thankfully, our connection was deep enough, even though I'd known him only hours, that we were able to slip right back into the easy manner we'd had all day.

"I can't stay here forever, though it is a bit like a dream in this cottage," I told Sergei pleasantly.

"Yes, I've been thinking about that all morning, but I need to make sure your safe. Not just because the future of our world rests upon your head but because I care about you, Erin. Your willingness to understand everything you've experienced over the last days shows how special you are," Sergei said gently to me.

"Yeah, let's put that whole 'world on your shoulders' thing on the backburner for now. Right now I don't even know if I can get back to my 'real life' without accidentally stumbling into some alternate dimension," I told him with a concerned tone to my voice.

"Well, your safety in both worlds is important, we cannot forget about one while we worry about the other," Sergei said firmly, "I think the best thing to do is to get you back to your apartment. You trust the roommates you have, yes?"

"Of course, they're wonderful," I responded with no hesitation.

"I trust your judgement, because of who you are you have the ability to read people's true nature inherintely. Your mother's gifts are very strong within you, and I know if they were up to anything nefarious, you'd sense that immediately. We must tell them that you are endgangered but we must feel them out to know if they can be trusted with all of the information and the details that we know," he spoke softly but assuredly.

"It's settled then. I have to get back to my apartment in Galway so I can begin my school year in a few days. You'll help me, right?" I implored him to say yes while gazing at him.

"Of course, I will help you. I will also be reaching out to the council and some of the Fae folk that I know are trustworthy. I will have them meet with us at your apartment. I know they will be able to place wards and keep you safer, and hopefully no one at the market realized who you were, but there are council members who specialize in memory-alteration and they can deal with those that did. I think I got you out of there fast enough that few could have known who you were unless they were very sharp," Sergei relayed.

I sighed and stretched myself out on the couch. "I just wish my study abroad year was going to be normal, like I'd always dreamed about."

"Well, Erin, it won't be normal, but I think it will far exceed even your wildest dreams. At that, we began to prepare their plan to get back to Galway. We decided that I'd spend the night at the cabin just to give me more time to process and for Sergei to get contacts to set up wards at my apartment and to deal with any fallout from my impromptu market reappearance. With everything settled they planned to set off first thing in the morning. Sergei suggested she let Olivier and Charlotte know she'd be away for the night by text and she did just that. Olivier razzed me a bit but I quickly dampened his jokes by letting him know she'd gone away because she was figuring out everything about them getting lost. With all of that settled, I took a wonderfully refreshing shower.

I hefted the book from the living room to the bedroom Sergei told me to rest in. Laying down on the bed, I scoured the book for information and fell asleep absorbing everything I could from the pages about my mother and this mysterious world to which I now belonged.