\u201cBut the war\u2014that didn\u2019t happen, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled sadly, glancing sidelong at Carolyn. \u201cIt did,\u201d I said softly. \u201cThough not the way they wanted or expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neve inclined her head. \u201cShe\u2019s right. The war did come. It was a terrible, bloody, brutal thing that ended in more of a stalemate for people like me and Leinth and Phelan than a victory for any side. It\u2019s part of what made most of us leave\u2014what made our elders come to that choice and drag the rest of us with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leinth shook her head, expression growing dark. \u201cThose of us who weren\u2019t killed or driven away, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
I might have reached out to her if I\u2019d thought that she would have appreciated the gesture. I met her eye and she stared back at me, shaking her head slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cDark times,\u201d she said. \u201cDark times then. Dark times again now. It\u2019s a cycle.\u201d Her eyes half-lidded. \u201cWar comes again. Perhaps this time, we\u2019ll win.\u201d<\/p>\n
A shiver worked its way down my spine. I hoped she was right\u2014I hoped we\u2019d win if war came.<\/p>\n
Of course, I hope that war never comes, but somehow I think we\u2019ve spent nearly our full measure of luck already.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey got him back, though, Carolyn,\u201d Phelan said, as if to reassure my longtime friend. \u201cIt just took time to do it. Even after he was given over to the Wild Hunt, Brigh\u00edd and Finn found a way to bring him back to them.\u201d He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. \u201cIt was before the end of the war, really, though nearer the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Carolyn nodded. \u201cYou told that story once, about when you almost died. I remember him being there with you, sitting vigil over you as you slept, right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSleeping, comatose, whatever I was.\u201d Phelan smiled faintly. \u201cI\u2019d done the same for him anyhow. I suppose he was just returning the favor.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cBut the war\u2014that didn\u2019t happen, right?\u201d I smiled sadly, glancing sidelong at Carolyn. \u201cIt did,\u201d I said softly. \u201cThough not the way they wanted or expected.\u201d Neve inclined her head. \u201cShe\u2019s right. The war did come. It was a terrible, … Continue reading