Page 530 of Once Upon a Fable

She shook her head, her face twisting with disagreement. “I’ll never forgive myself for all those nights that I lay in bed—unsummoned and untouched—all because you took my place. So many nights, Kas—” Her fresh tears made mine react.

Fang whined again as I croaked. “But I failed, in so many ways. I let you get taken. I wasn’t there for all those years.”

“And I’mgladabout that. If you’d been with us, you would’ve died. I know that. You would’ve kept sacrificing yourself until you couldn’t anymore.” Her eyes flew to Gem’s. “And you would never have found this.”

I shook my head, cursing her for her martyrdom. Didn’t she see? Her captivity the past decade wasmyfault. In our case, the devil we knewwasbetter than the devil we didn’t.It was my fault.She was guilty of sleeping safely while I served on her behalf? Fuck me, I was guilty of falling in love and being happy, all while she still rotted in some monster’s hellhole.

“I’m so sorry, Quell.”

She shuddered, resting her forehead on mine. “No one knew what would happen that day. Or any day for that matter.”

“I thought Jareth said you ran. That you were the only one who got away that night.”

She flinched and tried to hide behind her hair—an old habit that twisted my heart. “I did run. I still hate myself for leaving everyone, but...they were screaming, and men were shouting, and I just bolted. I ran through the night. I ran until I was lost, and then panic filled me.” She licked her lips. “I started leaving a trail of ribbons.” Her face hardened. “You know that awful Mr. Jovie liked to dress me up like a doll...well, I used those ribbons from the pigtails he gave me and left a trail, tying them to branches, fully intending to make my way back to Fables and find you. I wanted to tell you what’d happened. I wanted to go save our family. Together.” Fresh tears fell from her dull hazel eyes. “But then...dawn broke, and they found me. I didn’t know what happened to the rest until Jareth came for me.”

Gem suddenly dropped to her knees, joining us in our protective huddle. “You said you left ribbons?” Her skin had gone white, her eyes wide and dilated. “What...what color was the satin, do you remember?”

Quell nodded, her nostrils flaring. If she was like me, she’d remember every detail. Panic tended to do that to a person. It was a curse, imprinting every little thing into permanent reminders on your psyche. “They were yellow.”

“Oh, God.” Gem fell onto her ass, shaking her head. “The ribbons tied in the trees wereyours. It wasn’t the guy in the climbing forum who left them. I thought they were old. One was so brittle it disintegrated when I touched it.”

Quell locked eyes with my wife, an unfamiliar openness filling her face. Unlike me when meeting new people, she didn’t keep them at bay. She looked at Gem like an instant friend instead of a wary enemy.

And that filled me with fucking gratefulness.

The horror of Fables and our past faded a little as Fang licked my cheek, still keeping a careful eye on me with my emotions swinging from dark to light.

“You found them?” Quell...Isabella...whispered.

“They were what led me to Kas.” Gem rubbed at a tear as it rolled past her chin. “Without them, I would never have found Fables.”

“And you found Kas still there, right?” Quell dipped her head. “Jareth told me that Kas had found someone. That if he...” She threw me a shy look. “If he managed to move on that he would probably marry you.”

Gem gave her a wobbly smile, lifting up her hand and showing off her new ring. “He did. Only an hour or so ago. I’m so sorry you missed it. We did send an invite—”

“That’s my fault,” Tony interrupted. “I only gave it to her this morning. I didn’t know how she’d take it...and I wasn’t prepared to undo all the great healing she’s undergone the past few months. But then I felt guilty for not trusting her health, so I gave her the choice.” His eyes linked with mine. “You’re family, Kas, after all. What sort of man would I be if I kept your sister from your wedding day?”

My chest hurt as I accepted what he said. It wasn’t just the words he’d used but the passion behind them. He accepted that a small part of Quell would always belong to me—just like a small part of me would always belong to her. I might have been the boy who’d accepted so much pain on behalf of his daughter, but I was also the man who constantly reminded him of what his little girl had endured.

That shit wasn’t easy.

For anyone.

Standing slowly, I patted Fang on his head as the poor dog continued to whine. Grabbing Gem’s hand in my left and Quell’s in my right, I pulled both women to their feet.

I waited for Quell to flinch away from my touch—to have issues with a man being so close regardless that we knew things about each other that no one else would understand, but either she’d healed faster than I had or our bond was still intact, because she squeezed me back. That sibling connection we’d all accepted and cultivated while huddled in our dorm, gravitating to one another and loving each other because that’s all we had, was just as strong now as it was back then.

We stood awkwardly, silence cloaking us.

I couldn’t take my eyes off my wife and my sister.

My heart fisted all over again at the thought of the others. Where were Sarez, Elise, and Nyx? Had Jareth found them yet? Would they all havehappy endings like me and Quell or had some of them died? By their own hands to escape or by those who played with their lives for sick pleasure?

I removed my grip from Quell and Gem, raking my fingers through my hair. I was shaking and wrung out. I couldn’t stop the avalanche of history and hurt even though I still burned with joy from marrying my soul mate.

My past had revisited me on the best day of my life, and I didn’t know how to feel when that panic faded beneath the past years worth of healing. The therapy sessions, the many walks with Fang, and the occasional pill when the nightmares grew too bad.

Thanks to Gem and our steady, safe life, I had improved.