Need to catch up?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHold on,” Marcaeus warned before he launched into a gallop. She lurched on his back, already in danger of falling, and threw her arms around him as they sped across the waving purple grasses of Elyssia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A sight few living mortals had ever seen. Now, she’d walked in the astral twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chiron’s villa gleamed in the twilight just ahead of them. She tucked her face against Marcaeus’s back to shield herself from the wind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“There’s a storm coming,” Marcaeus said. “We’ll stay here for the night.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stay the night? In the Astral? Where her brother couldn\u2019t reach her? Where the demon couldn’t?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She almost asked if they could stay forever, then remembered the trouble she\u2019d already caused everyone she\u2019d met there. How presumptuous it would be to ask them to protect her again. How human<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it was human to panic in the face of mortality and pain, and she couldn\u2019t shake the feeling of her bone crackling, the marrow sizzling under Scratch’s hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Chiron!” Marcaeus shouted as he pulled up short in the courtyard. “Chiron, it’s urgent!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I should hope it is.” Chiron emerged from beneath a portico. “Since this is the second time you’ve come to my home shouting.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Have you heard from the council?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n How would he have heard?<\/em> Fiona thought. In a sickening instant, she realized that Marcaeus wasn’t asking Chiron because he thought he would have already received news from the gala, but because he wanted to know that his mentor had nothing to do with the council folding to her brother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She kept her head down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “”The Council. Have you heard?” Marcaeus repeated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You’re the first visitor I’ve had tonight. Though judging from how you’ve arrived, you won’t be the last.” Chiron had barely finished the words when a sliver opened in the air and another centaur stepped out. He looked them over with his ice-blue eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Galerius,” Chiron greeted the centaur, whose face remained still and expressionless. “I assume you’re here for the same reason.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ginger-haired centaur barely shifted his head to nod. “Were you aware that the council was meeting?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was not.\u201d Chiron\u2019s brow furrowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Galerius\u2019s already grim expression grew harder. \u201cNeither was Arcaeon. We don’t even know what the meeting was about, though something is afoot in the mortal realm tonight.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Infernals,” Marcaeus said. “They’ve made an alliance with the council.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “An alliance to do what?” Chiron asked, before waving it off with a hand and moving o. \u201cDo you think this is a coup?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf not a coup, at the very least, an attempt to keep us in the dark,\u201d Marcaeus said. \u201cThe elves knew, that much was clear when they announced it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf the elves knew, the fae knew.\u201d Chiron paced. \u201cHow quickly can we convene the gods?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Galerius and Marcaeus both made noises that roughly translated to, whoa, wait up.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c<\/em>I know what you both think about the gods and their leadership in this matter. But they will want to know if the Infernals are making a play for the mortal world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow long do we have? The gods don\u2019t respond to summons promptly, and I have this mortal to protect.\u201d Marcaeus\u2019s hand tightened around her wrist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can\u2019t protect me<\/em>, she thought, and suppressed the sob in her chest until it ached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ll keep the mortal here, for now.\u201d Chiron looked toward the building. \u201cYou\u2019ll stay with her. Be responsible for her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe isn\u2019t a pet, Chiron,\u201d Marcaeus replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Galerius scraped a hoof impatiently on the stones. \u201cI\u2019ll go to the temple of Hermes. If I can get there before the storm, I’ll be back in the morning, hopefully with news.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd I\u2019ll recall our brethren from Earth,\u201d Chiron said. \u201cI don\u2019t believe any of them would have cooperated with council in these circumstances, but I wouldn\u2019t have believed the elves would attempt to alter the pact, either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Galerius opened a portal and gave Chiron and Marcaeus grim nods. \u201cBe well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Galerius was gone, Chiron said, gentle but still gruff somehow, \u201cMarcaeus. Tend to your wife. There\u2019s something wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcaeus helped her down, and though she wanted to cling to him, she forced herself to let go. He studied her a moment. \u201cAre you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n No. I\u2019m not.<\/em> \u201cYes. Just tired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcaeus\u2019s dark brows pulled down. \u201cYou\u2019re upset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s not important right now.\u201d And it wasn\u2019t. \u201cI just need…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll take you to a room.\u201d Marcaeus looked to Chiron. \u201cI\u2019ll be in my own quarters. In case I\u2019m needed before dawn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t leave me alone.<\/em> She couldn\u2019t ask that of him, when the planet and humankind hung in the balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the pain. The awful, haunting pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey can\u2019t come here, can they?\u201d she whispered, and her voice sounded very far away to her own ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an instant, Marcaeus stood beside her in his human form. He still had to look down to meet her eyes. \u201cFiona?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She shook her head silently, numb. They hadn\u2019t spoken since the gala, which felt like a lifetime ago. She\u2019d wanted to tell him everything the moment he\u2019d come to her rescue, felt like she\u2019d burst if she didn\u2019t. Somehow, she\u2019d held it all in. But now that she could speak freely\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n She couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What would she say? Please help me, even though I\u2019ve deceived and betrayed you?<\/em> Fucked up your life?<\/em> Should she ask him to move all the realms to protect her?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcaeus nodded to Chiron, who left them to the courtyard and their privacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat happened in the gallery?\u201d Marcaeus asked quietly and without enough tone to indicate what he really asked her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did he think she\u2019d gone with Scratch willingly? That she\u2019d been conspiring with her brother all along? Scratch had been standing so close to her. Of course, it would have looked like she\u2019d been\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n She didn\u2019t know what she would say when she opened her mouth, but what came out was, \u201cHe hurt me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcaeus\u2019s brow grew heavier. \u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy arm.\u201d She lifted the trembling limb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing there.\u201d So calm, it was impossible to tell what conversation he was having with her. Did he doubt her story? Or was he reassuring her? <\/p>\n\n\n\n She rubbed the spot where Scratch had grabbed her. \u201cIt burned. When he touched me, it… I thought he\u2019d burned my arm down to the bone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tears she\u2019d been fighting back since the gallery won then, spilling down her cheeks, the way the trauma and fear poured from her lips. \u201cMy brother sold me. Blayde sold me to Damon Scratch. He\u2019s the one who put the mark on me. When my brother gets what he wants, Scratch gets me. He\u2019s going to torture me. He promised there\u2019s going to be pain. An eternity of pain, just because he can. And then he grabbed me and let me feel…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcaeus said nothing. He might as well have been his portrait, he was so vacant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was exhausted. Terrified. She couldn\u2019t keep waiting to be shouted at. \u201cDo you believe me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The words seemed to jolt him from a place she hadn\u2019t even noticed he\u2019d gone, and she realized that the anger on his face wasn\u2019t for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course I do.\u201d He reached out and she moved into his arms, keenly aware that this moment was a fulcrum. If he believed her, they would tip one way. If he didn\u2019t believe her, they would tip back into animosity. She supposed he could have been faking his concern, but it felt real. She let it be so. One large hand cupped her skull and held her cheek against his beating heart. \u201cYes, I believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The relief she felt scared her almost as much as Scratch\u2019s depraved promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDamon Scratch will never touch you again. And he\u2019s not going to hurt you. I give you my vow.\u201d Marcaeus\u2019s comforting words only increased her heartache and guilt over the way she’d deceived him before. She sobbed against him, let him take all of her weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFiona.\u201d He lifted her chin and caught her gaze. \u201cHe won\u2019t hurt you. And he can\u2019t take you. We\u2019ve been sealed by Hera herself. You belong to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The words came out hoarse, as if scorched by the flame that slithered to life in the space between them. They meant nothing; their union was built on falsehoods. But they meant everything as he held her and promised to keep her safe from the monsters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Safe.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n She\u2019d only ever felt that near Marcaeus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re mine,\u201d he whispered again, and the flame grew hotter, bolder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen make me yours,\u201d she whispered, swaying in his arms. His gaze dropped to her lips, parted in anticipation. His arm tightened around her waist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He straightened. Gently let her go. Stepped away\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Distance smothered the flame. Awareness stamped out the embers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou need to rest,\u201d he said, and put a hand on her back to prompt her toward the house. He walked her to the room she\u2019d stayed in last time, as overwhelming now as it was then, and didn\u2019t stray across the threshold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t give anything Scratch said another thought, tonight. You\u2019re safe. I’ll be in the next room, if you need me. Will you be all right on your own?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n No, I won\u2019t. I need you.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course. Good night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They stood for another awkward second, then gave another \u201cgood night\u201d in strained unison before he walked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reeling, she stayed frozen in place. It felt like Damon Scratch could pounce from any corner, and the feeling intensified the longer Marcaeus was gone. He\u2019d done enough, though. He\u2019d provided her with safety. He had less of an obligation to her than her brother did. Less reason to honor any vow. Yet, he did, as if it were nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her own family couldn\u2019t go to the effort of not<\/em> selling her to a demon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She went to the bed and sat down on the crisp sheets. She knew she should wipe off her makeup, but she couldn\u2019t face the mirrored vanity. She couldn\u2019t stand seeing another woman\u2019s face in the place of her own. She wondered what it might be like to live Flicka Star\u2019s charmed life. To be the woman Marcaeus proudly displayed on his arm. To be envied because she, Flicka Star, a woman who didn\u2019t exist, had ensnared an Astral so beautiful and so powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It would be a shallow life. Boring. But easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The breeze stirred the curtains at the corner of her eye and she startled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She couldn\u2019t be alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Her gown swished against her legs as she walked, then sprinted, outside and down the portico to the next room. Heart braced for rejection, she pushed the curtains aside and stepped in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcaeus was in his true form, towering bare-chested in the doorway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat do you need?\u201d he asked, his brow furrowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2014\u201d I need to be near you constantly. You\u2019re my safety. I\u2019ve never been safe before, and now I crave it. I\u2019m addicted to it. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, she said, \u201cI need you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n * * * *<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcaeus had never seen Fiona so diminished. So helpless. Not even when she lay limp in his arms after her fall. He lifted her up, just like he had then, and she melted against him. Despite the panic she radiated, she tilted her face up in anticipation, as she had in the courtyard. There was no passion in her. Just fear, so deep and terrible it threatened to invade his senses, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen make me yours.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t what she needed. And it wasn\u2019t the way he wanted to take her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The way you <\/em>want to?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n He lifted his head. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to make a trade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She blinked at him. \u201cI don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou think you need to give me something to seek comfort from me.\u201d The tears that filled her eyes told him the truth. \u201cI don\u2019t take advantage of the helpless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m not\u2014\u201d she began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s all you know. I don\u2019t fault you. But my care and friendship don\u2019t come at a price.\u201d He swallowed a lump in his throat. \u201cWe are bound. And my care for you, whatever form it may come in, is given freely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d Tears flowed down her cheeks. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have nothing to apologize for.\u201d He set her on her feet and used his human guise to bring himself down to her level and hoped his nudity wouldn’t offend her. \u201cI hope that in time, you will learn that the world is much kinder than it has been to you thus far.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She shook her head and a tiny sob escaped her. \u201cIt has been kind to me. I\u2019ve never wanted for anything. Never struggled. I\u2019ve always had food and shelter and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaterial comforts aren\u2019t safeguards from trauma. Your family has used and neglected you your entire life. You can\u2019t accept kindness that isn\u2019t transactional.\u201d He cupped her jaw in his palm and brushed his thumb over the tear-streaked makeup beneath her eye. \u201cLet me be kind to you now. As your husband. With no cost or expectation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She nodded and whispered, \u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though he was cognizant of human shyness, she still wore the tight dress from the gala, and shoes that didn\u2019t appear terribly comfortable. Her body had felt like stone in his arms, she was so tense. All of that, he could fix, though he couldn\u2019t erase the terror of whatever it was that Damon Scratch had done to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCome with me,\u201d he said, and led her by the hand into the room, past the bed, through another door and outside again. A high, curved wall surrounded the bubbling cauldron of a hot spring for bathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ll feel better, once you\u2019ve soaked in this,\u201d he promised, but she stiffened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t a bargain,\u201d he reminded her. \u201cI don\u2019t expect you pay me. Let me care for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She wriggled her bare toes on the grass, and he stepped behind her, saw her shoulders shudder as he reached for the zipper of her dress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His human glamour had the unfortunate effect of putting his body\u2014most notably, a crucial part of it\u2014in close proximity to hers, and his hands trembled as the emerald velvet of her grown opened and fell away, baring her back to the waist. There were two dimples at the base of her spine. His thumbs longed to press into them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His intentions to tend to her were pure. His thoughts, however, could not be dissuaded from the carnal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She glanced over her shoulder at him. \u201cCan you remove the glamour?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMine? Or yours?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBoth,\u201d she whispered, and his entire being lurched. What did it mean, that she wanted to stand here with him, in their true forms, naked and vulnerable? If she still had it in her mind that she needed to seduce him, he wouldn\u2019t hear of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlease,\u201d said softly. \u201cI’m tired of looking like someone I’m not. I want us to see each other as we truly are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He found the edges of their magic and slowly peeled them away, as she peeled away her gown. The copper tumble of her hair darkened to mahogany silk, and when she turned to face him, lifted her eyes to meet his far above her, the icy blue penetrated his spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And though he knew it was wrong to, though he feared she would misinterpret it, he couldn\u2019t stop himself from drinking in her long legs, her thick thighs, the roundness of her belly and the fullness of her breasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He looked away to bring himself under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know,\u201d she said with a said, self-deprecating laugh. \u201cI don’t look quite as good without the glamour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He reached down, bent his forelegs to bring them eye-to-eye, and tilted her chin up. \u201cI didn\u2019t look away because you\u2019re not beautiful. I looked away because you\u2019re too beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gentle steam rose from the surface of the water. He held her hand as she stepped over the rock ledge and into the pool, sinking down without hesitation into a temperature he usually needed time to adjust to. Slipping in up to her shoulders, she tipped her head back and let out a soft moan of relief as her hair turned to a deep black curtain down her back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The relentless taunting of the Fates forced him to imagine that sound falling from her lips as he sank into the wet heat of her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you not understand?<\/em> he cursed the crones silently. If they meant for Fiona to be his destiny, he would move with caution. He refused to treat her as she had been treated thus far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He took up a cake of soap and kneeled at the edge of the basin, cognizant that his hooves were muted by the grass. \u201cI\u2019m behind you,\u201d he said, but she still startled slightly when he placed his hand on her shoulders. She relaxed into his touch, though, and it seemed safe enough to slide his soaped fingers into her hair. He touched her with cautious gentleness, working the lather into her scalp, and she made another one of her tantalizing noises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How many times in her life had she been cared for? Had anyone ever met more than her basic needs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The thought turned his arousal to concern, and that concern to a deep, sexless need to provide her comfort, even just one second to let her guard down and feel peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He collected water in his cupped hands and sluiced it over her head and down her back. He\u2019d had his doubts before, but he could no longer see her as someone dangerous, a betrayer. She was a true victim of her brother\u2019s scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was so easy to trust her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was impossible to believe it would be a mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He soaped her back and her shoulders and passed her the bar to finish, turning away. \u201cI\u2019m going to get you some towels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he returned with a fluffy white stack of them, she was already stepping out of the spring. She looked at him, water dripping from the ends of her hair to cascade down her body, and seemed to wear the face of someone else, no glamour required. It was, he realized, that she had been anxious and fearful the entire time he\u2019d known her, and for the first time, he\u2019d seen her without a cautiously arranged expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mark on his arm fizzled with energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?\u201d She asked, moving to cover herself. And her own mark shimmered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re beautiful.\u201d It wasn\u2019t flattery, but fact. \u201cYou\u2019ve always been beautiful, but you\u2019re more so right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She hugged herself, arms arranged over her breasts, and shivered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause you\u2019re not frightened,\u201d he went on. \u201cAre you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She thought for a moment, while he shook out one of the towels and wrapped it around her shoulders. But the entire time, she kept her gaze trained on his face, until their eyes finally met again and she answered, \u201cNo. For the first time I can remember… I\u2019m not afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He kneeled to gently dry her, and she held onto his arms to steady herself. When her body was dry and her hair wrapped up, he lifted her in his arms and brought her to his bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can sleep here. Every night, if you need to.\u201d He set her on her feet. \u201cWhat would make it more comfortable for you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA blanket?\u201d she suggested. \u201cBut you don’t have to. I can manage without it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re my wife\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStop.\u201d She clutched her towel closed at her ches. All of the peace and ease she\u2019d displayed just a few seconds before tightened and hardened into the distrust and sadness he\u2019d hoped he\u2019d washed away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve offended you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can\u2019t keep saying that I\u2019m your wife,\u201d she snapped. \u201cYou married me because of my brother\u2019s scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t make you less of a wife to me, in the mind of the Fates.\u201d His arm burned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her hand strayed to her own mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He swallowed thickly. \u201cYou feel it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHera and the Fates work closely some times,\u201d he said, the corner of his mouth twitching with a bemused smile. \u201cMaybe she\u2019s teaching me a lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe shouldn\u2019t use me as her instrument of revenge.\u201d Fiona rubbed her arm stubbornly, as though she could erase the goddess\u2019s rope binding them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat may be,\u201d he said with a wry chuckle. \u201cIn the meantime, can you just let me care for you? You came to me tonight because you said you needed me. You were afraid. And now, it seems you\u2019re afraid of needing me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t forget how this began,\u201d he went on, an ache slowly building in his chest. \u201cYou wanted to protect your friend. You were willing to go to great lengths to do so. Allow someone else to go to very simple lengths to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She looked down, wriggled her toes on the sheets. \u201cA blanket would be nice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA blanket. I can do that,\u201d he said, and without a second thought about it, kissed her forehead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Need to catch up?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13755"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13755"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13757,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13755\/revisions\/13757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}