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Madden A. Veneris,

I missed you - I still miss you, I hope that when you get this letter it is 'missed' instead of 'miss', or maybe if I'm gone, it'll still be 'miss'. Can I miss someone from the grave? I think I would. So if I don't make it, I hope you know I'm thinking about you anyway. That's kind of hard to process, that I could be dead by the time you read this. I try not to overthink about it, but it's getting overwhelming. I just want to find you all. I hope I'm not dead.

I need a hug.

I always thought you gave great hugs, you know? I don't think I ever mentioned that, but I've thought about it a lot recently. Sometimes you don't know how nice something is until it's gone – like that old saying goes. So If I do manage to rescue you, I'd like a hug. And if I don't, just let me pretend you would have given me if I'd made it, even if you wouldn't. I never really doubted you wanted me there, in Club Lore, I mean. You were my friend.

You are my friend

I really shouldn't say you were.

I saw Tenaloch. It's really lovely. Chase and Siobhan seem nice, they both miss you. They told me to tell you that when I saw you again. Chase told me he believed in me too, that I'd be able to find you all. Most of the otherworldly creatures I've met seem to think that. Other than Adelaide's parents, although I think they just don't like me because I'm human. I bet they like you though- I'm sure Adelaide will come around too, in time. You're a great guy, it'll work out. I'm sure of it. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be loved.

I don't mean to get all sappy on you, so I'll finish the letter with the presents that I left. You can just skip ahead if you aren't interested in that part, or you're upset with me for some reason – I'm sure I did something stupid. The plan wasn't very well thought out in my defense. I didn't have a lot of time. Well, no, I had plenty of time here. I have very little in the Fae realm if I can even manage to get there tonight.

I finished my second-semester project for color theory, we did a painting using all one 'color' but various shades. I picked blue- and I painted Tenaloch. Bryne loved it. He thought it was a unique interpretation of Atlantis, and he appreciated the name. Very fanatical, he said. I got a great grade, and my painting back, and all I could think of was how hard it must have been for you to leave home. So I want you to have it. I know it can't possibly live up to the real thing, but you can keep it in your room for the rest of school as a reminder that Tenaloch misses you just as much as you miss it.

I was thinking about what sea creatures you reminded me of, just earlier today. And I think if I had to pick one it'd be a manta ray. They mostly hang out in warmer waters, and I think you mentioned disliking cold water. Do you feel cold in water? I can imagine you might have some different regulation systems as a merman, but I digress. Manta Rays, like stingrays, are large and intimidating, but they aren't venomous. Your popularity to me was always intimidating, but it never made you any less of a friend to me. So I got you this obnoxiously large Manta-Ray plush. I tried to wrap it, but it didn't go well, so I just stuck a bow on it and called it good. Sorry about that.

The last thing is wrapped - there was this music box I found while antique shopping for Cassie. Some kind of seashell music box – it doesn't play music, it sounds like the ocean – but when you open it, the pearl glows, kinda like a night light would. I know you don't like the dark. I don't either. I like it even less now that you're all gone. I hope it can bring you some comfort when you're alone, now that you're home again.

I love you. I miss you. And sorry that I broke into your car. I promise I put it back, and I cleaned out the fur from Erlik in the back. It should still be parked in front of my apartment if you want to get it. My apartment keys are in there too, in case you need anything.

– Sulli Chevalier

⋯

Orion had handled it all right.

They'd decided to travel through the portal closest to the Kwons' house, rather than risk anyone on the campus grounds seeing the lot of them come out of the forest with a mutilated human body in their company. It wouldn't be good for anyone, especially them. The atmosphere was heavy with dread and sorrow, dragging the weight of realization behind the party as they walked. Although the darkness was still heavy, the beginnings of sunrise had started to peek through, sending soft blues to the edge of the horizon. Exhaustion dwindled among the traveling party, the only thing driving them was the promise of safety and peace.

The Kwon estate wasn't far from the portal, the top of the building kissing the sky as silence sang the cold night to ease. The chill ate at injuries and old wounds, sending stinging strings of agony up and down Madden's legs. He was just so tired. Everything ached now that he could actually have enough space to think about it.

The estate was dark for the most part, although upon approach, the door flew open, and out darted Aunt Mebh. As fast as she could move that is. Kelsey let go of Orion in favor of hugging her, and although Madden didn't hear any sobs, he was sure they were there.

There was no sign of the Kwons at all.

Not so much as a car present. No other presence seemed to exist there but Aunt Mebh.

Beside him, Orion sighed, folding his hands behind his back, and Madden's eyes wandered towards him. "You handled it, huh?"

The prince cleared his throat. "The estate walls are riddled with asbestos. Very severe." he nodded "They all succumbed just yesterday morning. I'd come to visit them, unexpectedly, and found both parents deceased." Orion shook his head in mock sadness. "They suspect if there was foul play, either of their children are to blame..but mysteriously, both of them seem to have vanished."

Adelaide.

Madden didn't want to think about it. He swallowed the pieces of his heart that formed the lump in his throat, looking back to the estate instead. "So, what about the estate?"

"Willed to a dear family friend." Orion clicked his tongue "It's perfectly believable that the Kwon's would give it to Kelsey and his children in their passing. They loved those girls so very much." Distaste and resentment sunk through the words, the chill of venom sinking into the earth below them. "Their funerals will be held in a few days. I don't expect many to attend after their crimes have been spread through the Feywild."

"They were working for Sedna?"

"Working with Sedna. Their goals didn't quite match up, but by feeding Sedna whatever the Kwon's claimed were faulty Faefolk or varying other races, they could eliminate imperfection. Some kind of shifter supremacists would be the best way to describe them."

Guilt and disgust twisted its way into Madden's shattered chest. How could he like someone like that- love someone like that? It was such an awful thought. She had to have known- she knew Madden liked her, and used it to the advantage of her sick goals. "...What about Rowan?"

"Who?"

"Rowan. Callaghan - Magnus killed him on Samhain, Adelaide hated him, she- he died." Madden could now feel the slow shift of Magnus' eyes towards their conversation, but he didn't particularly care.

Orion grimaced, and Madden's stomach sunk lower. "Rowan was an...ally of hers. We found evidence of his involvement in the supremacist organization. I assume he was collateral to the Kwons. He acted recklessly."

Madden felt sick. "So she was just trying to scare Sulli off?"

"Well-"

"Did she lie to make me upset?" 

The thought was so miserable dreadful - that someone, that Adelaide, would lie about something like that. Orion didn't seem to have a response, but the question hung in the air, unanswered - and yet, answered all the same. The weight pressed down on his lungs, so much so that Madden barely managed to suppress the emotion that had risen with every step farther away from that godforsaken place where Sedna had kept them.

She had been part of his people. Part of Tenaloch.

There are no real words for how betrayal feels. There's not a true, honest way to describe it. It's as if something had stolen the air from your lungs; the air that was yours. You had it. There's plenty of it. Why would they have to take the breath that belongs to you? Betrayed isn't a strong enough word for how Madden was feeling. Maybe it would never be – he doubts it. 

It doesn't feel right to cry here, even if he wants to. Orion has looked away from him now. No one is looking at him, they're all turned to each other, conversing and talking and trying desperately to find comfort with each other. Kelsey with Orion, Julian – still holding Sulli – with Cassie, and even Magnus and Yaşru seem to be finding a silent solace in standing next to each other. Dominicus and Cassiar aren't here either - they'd left to speak to the vampire coven they'd left. To give them a proper update. It's good of them to do – that and Orion told them to do it.

Madden feels so very...alone.

The ache in his chest is building, it feels heavy and weighted and such a fucking burden that all he wants to do is scream until his voice is raw with grief and misery – that's all he feels. There is no kernel of happiness, of relief that he keeps searching for. There is nothing. Adelaide betrayed them. Sulli is dead. And he is so ridiculously, horrendously injured – because he gave up his scales for her. He thought he was saving her, but all he did was sentence himself to a life of eternal heartbreak. She never loved him, she didn't even like him.

Something. He needs to do something with himself before he drives himself insane. It's like he can't breathe, he can't move, he can't do anything-

"Archer!"

The sound of his name being called snaps him back from these thoughts, sending them careening away as he turns his head and body just in time to be embraced in a tight hug.

"Bloody Hell- I knew they'd find you." Chase. It's Chase, his cousin- the current crown of Tenaloch, and someone he honestly didn't expect to see here. Madden's reaction feels delayed, paused by the amount of heaving emotion pouring through him. Chase pulls back after a second, gripping Madden's arms, "God- I- me and Siobhan, Sulli told us they'd find you- I just- I missed you-"

Before Chase can finish the thought, Madden is hugging him this time, with as much strength as he can manage. Not a sound is muttered as a sob pours out of him, brokenhearted and honest. Brutal betrayal is painted on his face, and Madden doesn't have the emotional strength to be anything but devastated right now. No sense of shame; no sense of embarrassment. Maybe later. He doesn't have the capacity right now; doesn't have the strength. It doesn't matter- because Chase holds him tighter.

"Archer!" Another call comes as Siobhan comes barreling towards him, her voice brimmed with emotion and relief. Chase barely manages to let go before she's there, wrapping her arms around Madden instead "I'm so glad you're home." her voice trembles, and Madden finds himself suddenly comforted by the fact that someone missed him. Someone was looking for him - someone wanted him to come home.

Maybe Madden doesn't need Adelaide. Maybe he never did- love like this, to be held and missed and known. Hell, Sulli had chased them into the Feywild - that was love. Isn't it enough? To be loved by your family and friends so desperately that they would travel to different planes for you?

"I'm home." It doesn't come off as steady as he likes it to, but who the hell cares? Siobhan and Chase certainly don't, and Siobhan's arms tighten for a second before she pulls back, smiling at him despite the tears that trek down her cheeks.

"I missed you so much. Chase is a fucking pain in the ass without you around."

"Hey-"

Madden can't help but laugh tremblingly, the sound soft and muted, but such a lovely contrast to the somber air that had surrounded them on their journey back to Cork. Rubbing his arm over his face to disguise the tears, he nods. "Sorry Siobhan - it won't happen again. I didn't mean for you to deal with that all by yourself."

Siobhan laughed, rubbing Madden's arm reassuringly, and Chase crossed his arms over his chest. He clearly was hiding a smile, even if he scoffed and mumbled something about treating royalty that way. It was nice; reassuring. And it made him feel much, much less alone.

His companion's eyes shifted from him though, towards the body in Julian's arms, and their features shifted, turning somber and worried. Siobhan's eyes widened, "Is that-"

"Alive." Madden shook his head, "They're alive uh- now."

"What do you mean now?"

Madden waved it off. He'd have to explain it later. Or ask Cassie or Magnus to explain it later, he was still reeling from what had happened if he was being honest. They'd know more about the process anyway, probably. They'd both seemed so unsure that it would even work- Julian had seemed unsure, so Madden doubts he'd be able to explain it even if he wanted to

Julian sighed, shifting the body in his arms, and Madden watched as Cassie momentarily put a hand on his arm in comfort, before drawing it away. "Should we take Sulli back to their apartment? We can get them set up there and all."

"Wait a second-" Magnus frowned, "How exactly are we supposed to explain our sudden reappearance?"

Madden mirrored the expression. "...We escaped?"

"From where?"

"Hold on-" Julian shook his head, "The Devil of Dublin is dead, right?"

"How did we get Sulli's blood then?"

"Jesus Christ – this is convoluted-"

"Maybe we should get Sulli somewhere warm and safe before we discuss this? My arms are getting tired." Julian grimaced, and Yaşru scowled at him.

"Sulli not only traveled planes but actively looked to find us for months - and then walked to Sedna's from the portal and you're complaining about carrying their unconscious body??"

"I'm not complaining- I'm just-"

"Can you two quit it??" Magnus scowled at them both, rubbing his head "We have better things to do than argue with each other-"

"That's real fucking rich coming from you of all people-"

"Yaşru." Madden snapped the word, and Yaşru scowled, crossing his arms over his chest, but looked away in silence. He sighed, running a hand through his hair "Let's just- go to Sulli's apartment, okay?"

No one put up much of an argument, so Madden took their silence as an approval.

⋯

Madden forgot how much he'd missed campus.

Snow frosted the buildings, setting a wintery glow against the rising sun. The chill was sharp in contrast to the warmth that the Feywild had promised, but Madden felt it a welcome change. He didn't want the reminder of that miserable place – in any sense. So at least for a while, he'd be grateful for the colder weather of Cork.

The club had decided they'd rather not discuss (see: argue) about how to handle things. Although they'd come to a loose agreement that escape would be the most believable, Orion had proposed they blame it on Adelaide, who'd kidnapped them once they'd discovered her plot to murder her parents and brother. There was still some debate on who they escaped from, but it'd be settled in their old meeting room on campus.

Thankfully, Orion had offered to watch over Sulli at the apartment while the club thought of a good enough cover story to explain why they were back and how they got back. They'd go to the police station once it was later in the day to officially return, but for now, creeping across campus in the bitter winter air in the early hours of the morning seemed simple enough. Rarely anyone was out and about, and the darkened campus looked virtually abandoned other than the scattered vehicles here and there of the students who stayed during the break.

"What- Erlik, slow down."

Madden's head snapped to the side again, as a figure rounded the corner. A girl, doing her best to haul back a bounding Irish Wolfhound. However, she stopped trying so hard when her eyes raised, meeting the thankfully disguised members of Club Lore. Her grip on the leash loosened enough to send Erlik barrelling towards them, straight for Yaşru, who looked momentarily emotional himself as he knelt down to greet his dog with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

Líadan's eyes are wide and bright as she stares at them, stock-still for a moment. "Madden." The word comes out of her like a breath, barely heard - it probably wouldn't have been had the silence not been so heavy. Her features shift, and before he knows it she's booking it towards him.

"Oh, Lía - don't slip-"

Thankfully, she doesn't, but her arms go around his neck in a hug, almost jumping a little. She's on the tips of her feet when she hugs him, taking a deep, solemn breath. Madden's arms go back around her waist without thinking, and she shakes her head into his shoulder, staying there for a moment. "Fuckin' hell, where have ya been??" She pulled back, and her hands slid back, almost brushing his face. "What- where- how are you back- Sulls been so worried- they- you've called 'em right? They're back 'n America, they haven't answered me at all. M'worried about them a bit- but you- what the hell - what happened-"

"Woah, hey, Líadan, slow down-"

"My mind's goin a mile a minute, the fuck ya mean slow down, you all vanished. Like gone-gone, me and Sulls we thought- maybe, we thought you were dead." Madden can hear the emotion building in her voice, and he firmly hugs her again, nearly lifting her off the ground in the tight embrace.

"Lía listen, I don't have much time to explain the whole story- we just got back, it's been a lot. We're all pretty tired and the whole thing- it..." Madden doesn't want to lie, but he will for believability. "We've already had to recount it this morning, and relive the whole thing.." He shakes his head but pulls away slowly, and her arms retract all the way, even if Madden's hands find them, rubbing them subconsciously. "Later. Can I tell you later?"

Even if her eyes narrow, she nods, and behind him, Julian clears his throat. "Uh- care to introduce us to your friend, Madden?"

"Oh." He spun around, looking at the now staring group of his friends, and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Right, this is Líadan. She's a tattoo artist - uh, she's in some of my classes, and Sulli worked with her."

Líadan frowned, "Works. Sulli works with me, they said they're comin' back after they feel all healed up from the gunshot."

Madden's blood runs cold, snapping back to face her. Before he can question it, Yaşru asks, "Sulli was shot?"

"By who?" Magnus seems equally shocked and infuriated, his tone almost accusatory.

"The Devil of Dublin- Oh God, guys- it was a whole thing. Sulli killed them 'n everything! With a fuckin' sword or somethin' - but not before he shot them in the leg. Sulli says it's alright, but I didn't really believe 'em" Her tone shifted, turning nervous, "So..you guys haven't heard from them yet? I texted them about Erlik yesterday and didn't get a response at all. Figured they were just busy but- I dunno, makes me anxious"

Lie.

"I think they lost their phone." Madden shakes his head, ignoring the stares of his friends now on him. "They misplaced it all the time when we hung out, I'm sure they'll get back to you soon Lía - I- thanks for taking care of Erlik."

She frowned a little, rubbing her own arms as she shifted. Not nervous, not quite uncomfortable, but she seemed uneasy about the situation. "Well, Sulli really took care of him. I've only had him for the past while. When Sulli didn't text me back I decided to come and see if they were still here- but they've already left." She shook her head "I didn't see your car Madden- Sullis' been driving it while you've been gone."

"...Things will make sense later, really." he set a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "I'll call you okay- just, you get back safe. We'll take Erlik."

"..You better call me."

"I will. I swear." Madden manages a smile, nodding to her before reluctantly pulling away. Motioning his friends to just continue on, he begins their designated walk back to Club Lore. His friends follow suit, a different kind of suspense and silence as reality sets in. They've been gone. Sulli vanished just like they did to find them - there were too many things to figure out now, to deal with upon their return.

Just one thing at a time.

That was the thought in his head as they at last reached the old door, decorated with glittering tinsel and ivy – no doubt from Sulli. Madden couldn't stop the nostalgic smile on his face. It was very on-brand for them to do that, wasn't it? Without another thought, Madden opened the door, and what a sight to see indeed.

───────────────

WYN

twenty-sixth chapter

Sulli is still unconscious, unfortunately - but Líadan is back !! Love her 

Also, just as a note at the end, the end of this chapter with them opening the door to the club room alludes to them finding all the presents and letters btw!  I've been including the letters in each individual chapter, just cause it's easier and gives it more of an opening, but the club would actually be finding them now!

I've been so busy lately - I apologize for any inactivity again, and I finally got to have a break today where I could just do some writing. Still, sorry for any non-responses to things! You know who you are <3

I love you all very much, have a great week! And if you're interested in applying to another one of my fics, Bar-Hopper is open until November 30th!

drink some water, get some rest.