Page 10

Lily Baker and the Lady of the Lake

There was only one time in Lily’s life she remembered walking for an entire day without stopping. It had been pouring rain, and she’d gotten a terrible cold trying to escape her sixth foster home with nothing more than a backpack of soggy homework and half a bottle of juice. When she’d finally stopped to rest on a park bench, she discovered her heels had bled right through her shoes. She was so hungry that the blinding red and blue lights didn’t make her spring off the bench and keep running when they showed up against the playset in her view. She waited. Because she knew that if the cops picked her up, at least they’d feed her.

Now, as Lily walked for hours on end until dusk rolled over the skies, she was far more determined than she’d been back in her youth. Her stomach growled, but she didn’t peep one word of complaint, even though all she wanted to do was fall flat on her face in the grass and sleep.

Luc, on the other hand, complained the whole way since, “Walking was for less gifted fairies than him,” and “It’s criminal to make a Shadow Fairy walk so much,” and “You’re all fools for not realizing who you’re messing with.”

If Lily was reminded one more time that Luc was a great, powerful fox of legend, she would lose it.

She craved a bath, a hot tea, and a soft bed. She tilted her head from side to side to stretch, moaning at the ache in her shoulders. She’d never fought for her life like she did back on the hill. She could still see the bullets whizzing, landing, the fairies falling…

A shiver moved down her spine, and she swallowed. When her breathing became thin, she stuffed her hands in her pockets in case they were shaking. No one else seemed affected by how they’d had to face off with such vicious creatures in a valley-wide death match earlier in the day.

Luc fell into a stride beside her. He had a strange, terrifying smile.

“What?” Lily asked. She took a step away from him as she walked.

“How are you feeling, dear Lily?” he asked anyway, closing the gap just as quickly as she’d made it.

She looked at him like he was crazy. “Seriously? Why do you even care?”

“Oh, I don’t know, really.” He was still smiling. “I suppose it’s the natural therapist within me.” He sighed. “I can’t help but notice when a human’s psychological trauma is flirting with the surface of their brain.”

Lily burst out laughing.

It made Shayne and Dranian slow down up ahead. Shayne’s gaze darted between Lily and Luc. “Stop making her laugh,” he warned Luc. “You’re not that funny.”

Lily bit her lower lip to holster her chuckles. “Actually, what he just said was very funny,” she corrected, shaking her head.

As if Luc had even a bead of empathy inside him.

Luc twisted his lips. “Fine. I won’t therapist you, dear Lily. Your loss.” He walked a little faster. A second later, he glanced over his shoulder as if checking to see if she was chasing after him—as if he actually thought she might come and beg him to change his mind.

Lily had never rolled her eyes so hard.

“Are you sure this is the way back to the human realm?” she called ahead. “We’ve been walking all day. This is totally not the way Dranian and I came.”

Shayne’s shoulders tightened a little. “Have some patience, ugly Human. I have a plan.”

“What plan?” Dranian asked. “You never said anything about a plan.”

“Well, no one asked where we were going until this moment,” Shayne said.

“I did,” Luc pointed out. He pulled a breadcrumb out of his pocket and tossed it on the ground like he was bored. “I asked several times—”

“Anyway, I have one last trick up my sleeve. A chance to make this right,” Shayne stated. Lily caught Mycra staring at Shayne’s back with a wary expression. It was all strange, and Lily slowed her walk. “And if this doesn’t work…” Shayne’s throat bobbed even though he was smiling. “I have a plan for that, too.”

“You’re all going to die,” Luc stated. He waved a hand through the air when Shayne’s gaze rolled up to the sky and thumped down upon him. “Not me though. I’ll be long gone before I let myself get ruined by your issues, North Fairy. I’m not selfless like that. Ask anyone.”

“No need. The evidence on that is pretty clear,” Lily assured.

“If you all practiced studying people a little harder, you might realize that Shayne Lyro has been lying to us since back at that hill,” Luc added. Then he said, “Fools. If you wish to walk to your death, you all go ahead. I’ll happily disappear and leave you to it.”

“ Please ,” Shayne said, extending a hand to the air, “be my guest.”

Luc turned his attention to Dranian. “Ask him,” he advised. “Ask him what his plan is. See if I’m wrong.”

Dranian’s solemn face tilted from Luc to Shayne. Then he looked at the ground. “I don’t want to,” he murmured.

Lily huffed. “ I’ll ask him. What’s your mysterious plan, Shayne?” she demanded with ample sarcasm. “It can’t possibly be worse than charging into a hoard of death-bringing fairies like we just did.”

Luc raised a finger. “Actually, that plan was excellent. We survived. You’re welcome.”

Wind tossed Lily’s hair and she dragged a hand up to smooth it down. “Shayne?” she asked when he didn’t say anything. Shayne didn’t even meet her eyes—he looked past the treeline at something in the distance.

“Let’s stop for the night,” Mycra cut in. She swooped around the others to Dranian’s side. “We all need sleep. I’ll guard everyone’s dreams so we have strength for tomorrow.”

“If you think I’m letting you into my dreams, you’re mad,” Luc stated. “I’ll guard my own dreams tonight, thank you very much.”

“There’s a House at odds with the House of Lyro,” Shayne stated, making everyone quiet down. “That’s my plan. I mean to pay a rival House a visit,” he finished.

Mycra’s brows tilted in. Her hand rested idly on Dranian’s arm. “Which House? Who are you speaking of?” She asked it like she didn’t actually want to know.

Shayne flashed her a smile. “Oh, no one too fancy. The House of Riothin is technically the enemy of Lyro, but—”

“The House of Riothin?!” Dranian shouted, startling Lily more than it should have.

“Yes,” Shayne said back. “I’ve always wanted to see the great House of my enemies. Weren’t you ever a teensy bit curious about it, Dranian? You must have wondered about it at least once.”

Mycra shook her head. “Shayne, we can’t go there. You’ll be sacrificed on the spot because of your last name.”

“Not necessarily. Not if I can convince them to join hands with me against my brothers and father. I am rather charming, you know. They might go for it.” Shayne flashed a smile that turned something in Lily’s chest. “Maybe one of their daughters will wish to wed me and we can form an alliance through marriage.”

Luc laughed and batted his lashes. “Oh dear. I think I might actually like this idea.”

A pulse beat against Lily’s neck. She realized her hands were balled into fists, and she unclasped them slowly. She wasn’t sure why she felt like she couldn’t speak all of a sudden, like the conversation had gotten away from her too fast and she no longer had any control.

“Let’s just sleep on it for now,” Mycra said. “We’ll discuss this in the morning when we’re not all exhausted.” Then, to Dranian, she said, “Let’s get a fire going. Can you summon flame?”

Luc snorted. “Prince Cressica can only influence weather patterns. He’s not a sky deity.” He turned for the trees. “I’ll gather wood, you useless fairies of the North.” He vanished.

“Do you know how to make a fire?” Mycra asked Shayne next.

“Absolutely not. You know I grew up rich.” He folded his arms. “And in the human realm, we have these magical sticks with buttons called ‘ lighters’ . I had no need for learning this sort of thing.”

Lily swallowed and finally pulled her stare off Shayne. Everyone had moved on so quickly.

“You guys are unreal,” she said. It came out quieter than she meant it to. She grabbed a sharp-edged stone and headed to a flat patch of dirt. “Hand me your dagger,” she said to Myrca. And then, “How can I possibly be the only one here who knows how to do this?” She brushed dry leaves into a pile, stacked a few sticks, and began slapping the spine of the dagger against the rock the way she’d read about in basic survival guides.

All the fairies leaned in to watch her.

It took a few tries, but eventually a spark shot out and hit the leaves. Lily lowered herself to blow on the flame until it caught. Luc returned with an armful of dry sticks, so Lily added them to the fire. Minutes later, one human and four fairies sat around the lapping flames.

Everyone chatted about this and that. Mostly, Shayne, Luc, and Dranian took turns asking Mycra specific questions about her past. Lily couldn’t follow the conversations. Every time she tried, her gaze wandered back to the blue-eyed, white-haired fairy in the long red coat. Though she hated the thought of agreeing with Luc, she had to admit Luc was right. On the hill, Shayne had changed. It was right when he’d read the note on the paper bird. One second, he’d wanted to run. The next, he’d wanted to fight.

And now… now he wanted to stay in the Ever Corners and visit a rival House instead of going home? Was he out of his mind? Lily hugged her knees to herself as she thought about it.

Dranian fell asleep first, his snoring echoing through the forest. Then Luc drifted off, sitting with his back against a log. Mycra yawned and lowered onto a patch of grass, so Lily unzipped her hoodie and shrugged it off. She arranged it flat on the dirt and laid back, but her gun dug in, so she unclipped her holster and set it beside her.

Stars twinkled through the leaves overhead. She wondered if Kate was looking at the stars too, wondering why Lily had never returned from that ‘work trip out of town’. Connor was going to start flipping out with her not responding to calls and emails. She released a quiet sound when she thought about how embarrassing it would be if she ended up on the Missing Persons list.

“Ugh.”

She had to get home. But how could she leave Shayne here after everything she’d seen of this place? After the horrible things his own brothers had done—were still doing—to him?

Lily tilted her head to spy on Shayne across the fire. The flames blocked most of her view. She lifted a little to try and see better, but she couldn’t make out his silhouette anywhere on the other side. She jumped when his voice appeared beside her.

“You didn’t destroy it.”

Lily’s gaze snapped over and there Shayne was, lying in the dirt. Her gun was in his hands. He turned it over, studying it.

She moved to retrieve it, but he yanked it away to where she couldn’t reach. “I should toss this into a river,” he said. “Before you use it, ugly Human. Before you get bold and make enemies with the wrong High Lord or kill the wrong fairy and land yourself before the wrong court, or worse.”

Lily sighed and gave up trying to steal it back. “I’ve already used my gun. And it was a good thing I had it on me. In case you didn’t notice, that fairy-killing weapon saved my life today.”

“Hmm. It looked to me like you ran out of ammo and almost died,” he said.

“I didn’t run out of ammo. I just didn’t have time to dig into my stash.” She lifted her leg and tapped her ankle where she’d stuffed her spare cartridges in her sock. It looked ridiculous but it kept them close. “I only keep a few in my sweater pockets because it’s easier to move around. Would you rather I have walked into that fight with nothing and been pummelled by antlered monsters?”

Shayne stared at her for a moment. Then he bit his lip over his smile. “Sometimes when you talk, I want to tell you to stop talking. Especially when you get sassy like that.”

She tsked and raised a brow. “Why?”

He tapped the end of the gun against his chin, and Lily’s stomach tightened. She fought the impulse to bat the weapon away from his head before he shot his own face off.

“Because your mouth keeps moving. And when your mouth moves and says things I like… I’m not sure. I suppose I want to kiss it.” He shrugged. “You should be careful what you say to me, ugly Human.”

Heat blossomed in Lily’s neck and cheeks. She dragged her wide eyes back to the sky above. She would never understand why he said things like that—why he thought aloud. Why he would blab a bunch of nonsense about liking her mouth minutes after having a great idea to marry some fairy woman from the House of his enemies to solidify a peace deal.

“You just called me ugly twice in under thirty seconds,” she pointed out. “I don’t care if you hate my look, but even the fox knows it’s rude to keep saying it.” She rolled onto her side to sleep, facing away from him. Knowing she probably wouldn’t actually sleep at all after everything she’d seen today.

Shayne’s chuckles lifted through the dark. “I told you I have my reasons,” he said. “What would you like me to call you then? Messy-Haired Scarecrow? Dagger-Eyed Demoness? Human-with-lips-that-like-to-lie?”

She flipped onto her back to glare at him. “What did I lie about, Shayne?” She wasn’t sure at what point in this conversation she’d gotten angry or why every one of her emotions stood on end. Even for the walk, her eyes had been darting between the trees, and her heart had leapt from her chest every time someone stepped on a branch and made a sound.

“Oh, I don’t know, Messy-Haired Scarecrow. You lied about this, for starters.” He held up the gun. “We both know your fun little activities this year had nothing to do with working overtime.”

Lily released an exasperated sound. “This again? You’re really not going to let that go?”

“Probably not,” he admitted. “I suppose I’m still curious why you thought you had to defend yourself against us.”

“Not against you , Shayne.” She saw an opportunity and grabbed the gun back. Then she tucked it into her sweater on the opposite side. “It’s all the other fairies I’m worried about. I told you that.”

“Why, Scarecrow, why? Why were you so worried all this time? You didn’t think we’d protect you?” he asked. “Because as I recall, the one who stepped into this dungeon of fairy terror by choice was you.” He waved a finger around at the forest. “You. Are. A. Hazard . To. Yourself.”

Lily closed her eyes in disbelief. “Maybe, but I can also take care of myself, Shayne,” she said for the hundredth time. “I’ve been doing it my whole life. I never had money, or a home, or real guardians before I met Kate, so I learned how to survive without a family.” She pointed at him. “You’re not my family! And I’m not a damsel in distress who needs saving. I’m perfectly capable of doing what I need to in order to survive on my own!”

Shayne dragged his round eyes to hers. He looked at her so intensely, she swallowed and tried to think of something else to say. She wasn’t sure apologizing for raising her voice was the right thing…

He suddenly rolled on top of her, and she gasped. “When did I ever say I would take care of you, Lily Baker? Hmm?” he asked while his body pinned her down. She tried poking at his eyes to make him get off, but he grappled both her hands and restrained them above her head with one of his. “Do you really think I’m obsessive about guarding you—for you ?” He used his free hand to shake a finger in her face. “No, no, no. I’m loyal to my master, Kate . Imagine the devastation she’d feel if something happened to you here.”

Lily’s body relaxed against the ground, her hands going slack in his grip. Anything sensible she might have replied with lost their value as Shayne leaned a little closer, leaving his mouth hanging an inch above hers. His lips parted, and Lily’s gaze flickered down to them.

“You seem ever so determined to remind everyone that you can take care of yourself. But no one is invincible. Especially humans, and especially here. You know that full well after fighting those fairies on the hill. Your hands are still shaking. So what exactly did you go through in your human life that made you need to put on this facade—even when you feel this way?” he asked.

The quiet squeaks of nighttime bugs lifted through the woods. A gust of wind sailed in, making the flames dance and the gold light flicker on Shayne’s cheeks.

He didn’t move. Neither did she.

“Let me go, Shayne.” She whispered it this time. Her eyes grew warm, and only the chilly wind brought them relief.

Shayne studied her, his deep blue gaze roaming over her face, his white hair fluttering in the breeze. Then he rolled off.

The coolness of the night rushed in like a wave the moment his body left.

The same bugs whistled from their hiding places among the trees. A mocking audience.

After a moment, Shayne spoke again. “To grow up without parents is a difficult feat. But there are several fairies around this fire who will tell you that sometimes growing up with parents can be worse.”

Lily’s throat felt thick when she swallowed. The stars blurred above. She blinked until they became sharp again. She hadn’t meant to complain, but she was sure that was how it must have sounded to someone like Shayne who was currently running from a family that had done so many vile things to him. He’d been unable to walk by the time Luc found him. Lily had never experienced a physical altercation that had left her anywhere near that condition.

“I can only imagine what your parents are like if your brothers want you dead,” she rasped.

Shayne released a quiet laugh. “I have no mother, and my brothers don’t want me dead.” He fiddled with a loose thread on his coat.

The way he said it stirred something in Lily’s chest. It was the sort of gut feeling that came over her when a crook had something to hide during questioning.

She asked, “You’re coming home with me, right?”

Shayne’s fingers stilled on the thread.

Dranian murmured in his sleep on the other side of the fire. It was the only response Lily got in the first three seconds.

“I know you made comments about staying here, but you were only joking like always, right, Shayne? You were just trying to get me to beg or whatever?” she tried again. “You wouldn’t actually let me and Dranian go home without you?”

Shayne rolled onto his side and propped his head up with his hand. His smile was dazzling, the sort of heart-melting expression he always walked into the station with when he was trying to convince the whole police force that he was the world’s best boyfriend.

He looked her dead in the eyes, and he said, “I’m coming with you, of course.” His grin turned tantalizing. “You can’t get away from me, Lily Baker. Soon we’ll go home, we’ll make coffee, I’ll force you to give me hugs in front of your coworkers, and we’ll never think of this place again.”

He didn’t break eye contact or let his smile slip for a second.

Lily’s shoulders relaxed. She nodded. A second later, she stretched, feeling for the first time like she might be able to sleep. She closed her eyes and shivered as the night grew cool.

Dranian’s murmuring only got worse for the next hour until Luc stirred awake and kicked him.

“The girl who can survive anything… can she survive us?”

When Lily opened her eyes, she saw an ocean. She sat up quickly, blinking against the salty air, her mouth parting as she took in the emerald waters all around, splashing against the small island of black rock she was stranded upon. Clouds formed in the distance, and a great, blue sea storm rushed in.

She blinked.

And it was gone.

Lily looked around the forest. Early sunlight glowed against the bright leaves overhead, and a tiny horned creature skittered up a tree trunk.

Luc was gone.

Everyone else slept soundly around the dwindled fire.

Lily climbed to her feet and brushed the dirt off her jeans. She’d just picked up her sweater when it returned:

“The girl who can survive anything… can she survive us?”

She whirled.

The song trickled into the forest in waves: a high flute, soft like a whisper. A laugh followed, sweet and feminine. Then low, like a man’s.

“You may wish to save him, but we will never let him go.”

Her gaze darted down to Shayne. His red coat was unbuttoned and splayed, his head was tilted to the side, his eyes were closed, and his chest rose and fell peacefully. He looked young this way, without his worries on his face or his shoulders tense. It was sad Shayne only looked free when he slept.

“Who won’t let you go, Shayne?” she whispered.

The song rose again, seeping in along the wind and coiling around her ears.

A shadow moved through the trees, and Lily squinted her eyes. It looked like a person was hiding there, and when the laugh returned, she knew.

She grabbed her gun and marched for the woods, kicking dirt and stones out of her way as she slid past trunks, trying to catch the stalker before he might escape. She scurried over a large rock and tiptoed over a short patch of yellowing moss. She couldn’t see the person, but she could see their shadow rippling over a pile of dry leaves. They hid behind a tree thirty feet ahead.

Two hands grabbed her before she could raise her gun. She moved to strike as she was whirled around, until she saw Shayne’s messy white hair. His hands were over her ears. She didn’t even notice until he tried to say something and she couldn’t hear it.

She watched his lips move, but she still had no idea what he was telling her. His coat was wrinkled, his hair fell in his eyes, and his eyelids hung half open like he’d been startled awake.

“Seriously. If you want me to listen, you’re going to have to take your hands off my ears,” she said. “Otherwise, I’m just going to assume you don’t know how human ears work.”

His lips slowly spread into a smile. This time she could read his word when he said, “Stop.” And then something along the lines of, “You’re killing me, ugly Human.” His gaze darted down to her mouth.

“Are you going to take your hands off my ears now?” she asked.

He chewed on the inside of his cheek as if pretending to think. And he mouthed, “No.”

She sighed. “Someone’s watching us. I was about to find out who.” His smile vanished. “If you let me, I might still be able to catch them before they get away…”

Shayne dropped her ears. His brows furrowed. “How long have you been hearing music?” he asked.

She blinked. Then she folded her arms. “How do you know I’m hearing anything?”

“Since you got here?” he guessed. “And is it music the rest of us can’t hear? A tune that makes you think of a deep jade ocean?”

Lily blinked. Her expression must have told him enough.

Shayne nodded. “It’s a Lady of the Lake. A siren’s voice that’s been trapped in a flute. Tell me whenever you hear it so I can keep an eye on you, and never follow the music.” He took her hand and began leading her back to the campfire. “I need to get you home,” he muttered under his breath like he was talking more to himself now.

“But…” Lily pointed back toward the woods with her gun. “The stalker…”

“There is no stalker, Lily.” He used her real name for once. “There are just my brothers waiting for you at the other end of that song. Don’t listen to it.”

Lily looked back at the forest. She didn’t see the shadow anymore. She didn’t hear the music, either. “Would that be so bad? Seeing your brothers?” She thought about how she wanted to look them in the eyes after all they’d done. Obviously, she wasn’t stupid enough to go pick a fight, but it might have been nice to see them, just once.

She realized Shayne had stopped walking. And he was glaring.

“What?” She folded her arms. “I was just joking.”

“I’m not sure you were.” He took a loose hold of her chin and lifted her face so their eyes met. “Let me make one thing clear, Human . If you ever go see my brothers by choice, I won’t go after you. I won’t help you. I’ll leave, and you’ll never see me again,” he stated.

She raised an eyebrow. She actually couldn’t tell if he was bluffing. “Why?” She nudged his hand off her chin—he let go.

A shadow came over his face. “Because that would mean you did something so unthinkably stupid. And I don’t have it in me to reverse someone’s stupidity at that level.”

Lily made a sound of disbelief. She couldn’t believe this was the same person who’d been making flirtatious advances on her for the last six months. Who tricked customers into eating fresh butter tarts at the café on a regular basis so they’d keep coming back. “You know, you used to talk a lot nicer to me. Even if you were being a turd, you were at least joking around. Right now, you’re ice cold.”

Shayne smiled a little, but it wasn’t sweet or caring. It was the closest thing to a snarl Lily had ever seen on him. “I’m not joking around about this.”

“Wow. Fine. I get your message loud and clear, Shayne. If I get snatched, I’m on my own.” She brushed past him.

“Just don’t get snatched in the first place,” he called after her. “That’s my point.”

She ignored him and kept walking.

As if she’d willingly get taken. Did he think she was stupid?

She stuffed her gun away when she reached the campfire, and she shook out her hoodie. There was no getting the worst dirt stains out, but it was wearable at least. She slid it on and tried to do something about her hair.

Dranian and Mycra were awake now. Mycra restarted the fire as snowflakes spiralled around them, bringing in a gust of bitter cold that bit at Lily’s nose. She shivered and sniffed.

Luc appeared beside her out of thin air, and she jumped back in surprise, balling her hands into fists and raising one. “Seriously?!” she scolded when she realized. “I almost clocked you!” His scarlet hair looked windblown and his cheeks were slightly flushed. She lowered her fists. “We should get you a horn to announce your arrival or something. You’re going to give someone a heart attack.”

Luc looked her up and down. He sighed and shucked off his Dracula coat. He extended it toward her.

She glared at him like he was crazy.

When she didn’t take it, Luc shook it a little. A sweet fragrance wafted off the material, tickling Lily’s nose. “It’s in pristine condition,” Luc told her. “It’s not dirty like your sweater. It won’t do you any harm to wear it.”

“I beg to differ. You’re clearly keeping snacks in there.” She thought of the breadcrumbs he kept finding in his pockets.

Luc smirked.

Shayne was the one who finally took the coat. He slapped it back against Luc’s chest. “She doesn’t need this. She hates being taken care of.”

Luc’s pale fingers curled around it as he made a study of Lily. “Could have fooled me.”

Shayne looked back at Lily then. She stifled a shiver, and his mouth twisted.

“This isn’t because I think you need it, ugly Human,” Shayne clarified as he tugged his arms out of his own coat. “It’s because I don’t want it.” He didn’t try to hand it to her—he opened it and wrapped it around her without giving her a choice.

Shayne’s leftover warmth seeped into Lily’s shoulders. The material inside was silky and soft and she snuggled into it before realizing what she was doing. Shayne’s mouth twitched up a fraction, but he otherwise seemed like he didn’t notice.

The buttons down the coat looked like real gold; Lily tilted one up to see it better. Something turned in her stomach when she realized it actually was real gold. When it dawned on her how much this lavish red coat must be worth.

Luc snorted a scoff and turned to Dranian. “Do you want the good news or the bad news?” he called over the firepit, though it seemed like he was shouting it to everyone.

Dranian glanced around at the others. When no one offered their preference, he decided, “Bad news?”

A loud crack rang through the forest, sending small birds squawking and racing from the leaves. Everyone’s attention shot to an entire tree snapping off its base. It soared down to the mossy floor, nearly swatting Dranian—he sprang back a step before it could smack him like a flyswatter.

“Ah. It looks like the bad news has just arrived,” Luc said.

Two fairies stood where that tree had just been. Lily started at the sight of Mor in his familiar jean jacket and a perturbed frown. And Dranian was with him—no…

Cress.

In Dranian’s body.

Lily’s hand came over her mouth. “What are you two doing here?” she asked through her fingers.

“Ah.” Luc snapped. Then he pointed at Cress and Mor. “Interestingly enough, this is also the good news. Funny, isn’t it?”

Lily couldn’t decide if she was more worried about their reaction or relieved they were here. She got the strangest urge to cry, which made her think she felt mostly relieved. But when she turned to the others, she realized Shayne was pale and frozen in place. He stared at Cress and Mor with his mouth open like he was sure he was imagining them. It wasn’t exactly an “I’m happy to see you after all this time” sort of reaction. Lily dropped her hand.

A twinkle lit Luc’s eyes. “You look terrible, Trisencor. Almost like you’ve been walking in circles all night,” he said. Mor ignored him and took in the firepit along with the people he knew standing around it.

“You!” Cress in Dranian’s body said to Dranian in Cress’s body before any other questions could be asked. “Come here so I can cut out your tongue!” he shouted. Cress took three full strides toward Dranian. “And…” Cress’s gasp was so sharp, Lily almost covered her ears. “IS THAT MY SUIT?!”

Dranian scrambled backward, releasing an unnatural shrieking sound. He turned and leapt over the firepit, keeping just out of Cress’s reach. When Cress sprang after him, Dranian shot into the sky.

Cress growled. “Get back down here, you fool! This horrid treachery is outrageous! You are in for a royal beating!” he shouted. “And that’s not how you use my talents! They’re meant to be used with the elegance of a prince! You’re ripping around like a wild, blind hogbeast!” He raced into the woods in the direction Dranian had disappeared.

Through all of Cress’s shouting, Mor found it within himself to finally pay attention to Luc. He glared. He took a break only to glare at Shayne next. At Lily—he studied her rich red coat. Then he glared at…

“Who are you?” he asked Mycra.

She didn’t answer. No one else did, either.

Mor sniffed as though he smelled something unusual, and his brows tugged together as he eyed her pale skin and bright features. “You’re dangerous—”

“I’m Dranian’s fairy guard,” she said, cutting him off.

Mor’s expression turned doubtful.

“There’s no time for introductions anyway,” Luc said. “I expected you to get here way sooner, Trisencor. What took you so long?”

Mycra stole the opportunity to leave. She jogged off in the direction Cress and Dranian had gone. Mor followed her with his gaze, his eyes narrowing when she pulled out a short spear. He still didn’t look happy when he settled his brown-silver stare back on Luc. “The breadcrumb trail you left didn’t exactly make a straight line,” he said in a low voice.

“Breadcrumb trail…?” Lily glanced over at the Dracula coat in Luc’s hands. She huffed a laugh as it dawned on her why Luc had been tossing bread around the last few days.

“What in the name of the sky deities is going on?” Mor asked. Lily, and everyone else, stole glances at Shayne.

Shayne closed his mouth, snapping out of his daze. His throat bobbed, and he shook his head. “You can’t be here,” he rasped. “Mor… you need to go back!” Shayne took a step toward Mor and grabbed his arm. “This… This is….”

Mor frowned. “This is what, Shayne? Unexpected? After you strutted around in flip flops to fool us?” he said. “You’d better explain to me what you’re doing here, or Cress isn’t the one who’s going to throw a fit this time.”

Shayne tugged both hands through his hair. He paced around in a circle, his eyes glazing over like he was in another place. His breathing shallowed, and his lashes fluttered like he was going to collapse. He almost stepped right in the fire without realizing it, until Lily cut him off and grabbed his shoulder.

“Shayne,” she stopped him. “What in the world has gotten into you?”

Shayne looked at her like he wasn’t really seeing her there. He didn’t blink. After a moment, he rasped, “I can explain.”

“No you can’t. You haven’t explained anything since the start,” Luc stated. He reached his slender fingers into one of his inner pockets and pulled out a red paper crane.

Shayne’s eyes widened at the sight of it. He spun back to Lily and padded his hands over his own coat pockets even though Lily still wore it. She squirmed away as his hands flattened against her hips.

Shayne pointed to the crane in Luc’s hand. “That isn’t…”

“Yours? Oh dear. It is yours, isn’t it? How ever did I get my hands on it?” Luc answered.

“What does it say?” Lily asked.

Luc yanked the crane back when Shayne stepped toward him. The two were the same height, their silvery and blue gazes level as a beat of silence moved over the campsite. Only Cress’s shouting could be heard through the trees.

Luc tilted his head, a broad smile creeping across his mouth. “Lucky for you, North Fairy, I rather enjoy secrets. When I find one, it only makes me hungry for more, did you know that?” Without warning, Luc tossed the paper crane into the fire. It withered to ash in seconds.

“Wait!” Lily tried to kick it out of the flames, sending the last remaining bits of red floating into the air. She sprang back when her shoe caught fire, and she dug her toes into the dirt until the flame went out.

“What’s he talking about, Shayne?” Mor asked in his low voice.

Shayne and Luc seemed telepathic, having a conversation in complete silence. Finally, Mor stepped to them. He paused. Then he shoved them both away from each other. Luc staggered back into a heap of moss, and Shayne nearly tripped into the fire.

It was almost funny, except that Shayne’s reaction to Cress’s and Mor’s arrival had been so strange. Lily couldn’t shake the feeling that had been curling her instincts for the last twenty-four hours: that the current problem wasn’t that Shayne didn’t want to come back home, it was that he couldn’t .

All it had taken was Luc waving around that red paper bird for Lily to know for sure.

It didn’t seem real. Lily looked back into the woods where she’d seen that shadow. Where something had been stalking them, and laughing at them, and singing.

Last night, Shayne had promised to her face that they would be home soon. That they would drink coffee together.

Suddenly it was so painfully obvious he was lying.

This wasn’t a manhunt. This was a hostage situation.

Shayne didn’t need to be found, he needed to be rescued.

Lily huffed at herself. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t figured it out until now. That the brothers Shayne had told her to avoid were holding him on a leash.