Remember Me *Book 3 Of The Remember the Rules Series*

The Place Where You Belong

(Whoa, shit's about to hit the fan, there's only three more chapters and an epilogue after this. Here, have a hella long chapter and Peter being himself with a vengeance)

      

We let Tommy go home after taking a few magical precautions that would prevent him from running away. It took us a while to decide whether or not he should be allowed to go home, but none of us were going to be able to watch him. Peter said that he still had one other thing to do tonight, and he wanted me to be free to move when the time came. He'd let Felix and I go back to the party with simple instructions to "act accordingly."

I mingled with people as best as I could, while also keeping an eye on the excitement level of the room. Diana had mentioned that when it started to lull a bit, we would get called up to play our respective instruments. It didn't look like that would be happening anytime soon, so I braced myself for the call to happen at any time. If things weren't going according to a normal schedule, that meant that they would start to get unpredictable. I danced with a few more people to keep up the charade, even managing to rope Henry in at one point.

"Hey, is Felix okay?" He asked, spinning me. "He looked pretty upset."

"He is upset," I said, keeping my smile on for the sake of the act. "He'll be fine, though. Felix is a lot stronger than most people think." 

When the dance ended, I headed back toward Diana and Jo. Guinevere was nowhere to be seen, so I assumed that she was mingling somewhere else. The girls watched me cautiously, still apparently not sure how to act around me. I wasn't surprised, and it didn't particularly matter to me what they thought; they weren't grownups, but they weren't good candidates for Lost Ones, either. Diana was to changeable (as an assassin, it would make sense that she didn't really have loyalty; she was only here because she was being paid), and Joanna was too... much. Too proper, too literal, and most importantly, too sure of herself. She knew exactly who she was, and nobody who knew that had ever been a good candidate for the Lost Ones. 

"Oh, Lily. There you are." Guinevere appeared seemingly out of nowhere, looking relieved. "I managed to keep Arthur busy enough that he didn't notice your absence, but it's nearly time for you girls to do your performances. Arthur seems to have taken a liking to you, Lily, so he wants you to go first."

Well, I guess she deserves some warning, I thought. Something tells me that what Peter is going to do tonight is going to put the game in our favor in a big way. 

I shrugged. "I'm good to go whenever. But I should warn you. We're making a move tonight, so you'll want to brace yourselves. I'm not sure you two will be able to have your turn in the spotlight."

"Good," Diana and Jo said at the same time. 

"We loathe performing," Jo said, glaring at the floor discretely. "Besides, she's tone deaf."

I looked at Diana, half expecting her to be offended, but she just shrugged, unashamed. "In my line of work, it's better to know how not to make noise. I just memorize where to put my fingers on the flute and hope it works."

"That sounds like you," I laughed, then looked at Guinevere. "Do you think you could get a piano in here? I was going to play the flute, but I'm thinking that something else might be better."

Gwen hesitated. "Piano is a pretty complicated instrument, Lily. Are you sure?"

"I've played before. Besides, Felix and I are part mermaid," I reminded her. "We can handle any instrument you throw at us."

"He always did have a knack for music," she murmured, sounding contemplative as she the girls and I alone to get the piano. Actually, she was probably going to get someone to get the piano. Sure enough, she stopped to talk to several of the knights, who immediately followed her out of the room.