Lily Baker and the Switcheroo
The early morning hours in the Ever Corners had a different feel than the ones in Toronto. On her bed, Lily hugged her knees to herself as she stared out the window of the worn-down cottage and watched silvery ‘fluffs’ lift from the woods. They did a shiny dance of nature, dusting against a backdrop of the richest green leaves she’d ever seen. The scene was accented by gold sunlight spearing through the branches overhead.
When she was young, mornings had been something like this. She’d often woken up in a room alone and hugged her knees as she stared out the window at the long laneway of the children’s ‘in-between’ safehouse building, wondering if a family might come driving down that lane and decide to take her home. Before she’d died, Tanya Baker had been so certain one of her friends would take Lily in once she was gone. She’d assured Lily it would all be okay as she’d laid on a crisp white hospital bed. But when the day came, the friends she’d mentioned never reached out—in fact, it was the opposite. Lily overheard the repeated disappointment in the child service worker’s voice after several phone calls were made, and the people who’d made Lily’s mother a promise suddenly didn’t want to be contacted.
In the summers growing up, Lily would spot milkweed fluff in the air and think of her mom. Her mom had once told her that milkweed fluffs were really fairies in disguise, and if you could catch one, you could make a wish. She’d said the same thing about snowflakes in the winter.
But Lily had caught dozens of milkweed fluffs. She’d captured hundreds of snowflakes from the air with her mittens. They never granted her wishes. They never brought her mother back or brought her a family who wanted to keep her past a couple of months.
That was, until she met the Lewis family. But by that time, Lily no longer believed in fairies or wishes. She believed in working hard to be a good person as a way of being grateful to the only people who’d chosen to love her. She believed in returning kindness by protecting the Lewis family.
It was why she didn’t care about anything as much as protecting Kate and Greyson from the cruel world she’d known.
As an adult, mornings in the city came with droplets of dew, a crisp chill, and the warm scent of brewing coffee. It came with eating a quick breakfast, putting on makeup, finding her badge, checking in with her siblings, and heading out to save the city from criminals. Or, more likely, saving cats stuck in trees, following up on neighbour disputes, and writing up reports.
Still. Mornings in the city were perfect. There was nothing that should have messed with them. Nothing that should have drawn her away from those moments where the troubles of the past seemed like a distant memory.
Except that something did. Someone did.
Up until the second Luc had shown up with Shayne in his arms, Lily was sure she’d made the biggest mistake of her life in coming here.
Lily slid off the bed and reached her arm through a gaping hole in the window. She splayed her fingers as the silent silver dust balls swept by. One grazed her finger, and she slowly clasped her hand around it, pulling it into the room to study it. It looked like a tiny milkweed fluff, but it shimmered in the light and left a buzzing feeling on her palm.
Still. She thought about making a wish.
“The girl who can survive anything… can she survive us?”
Lily’s gaze darted back to the window. She peered into the woods, taking in the darkest parts of the trees. The music drifted in and out, like someone was turning their phone volume up and down, but one thing was certain; the gentle woodwind instrument was louder and clearer than it had been last time. Whatever this music was, it was getting closer.
“ Your friend? Ha!” Shayne’s voice lifted from the cottage’s living space. Lily’s stomach tightened at the sound of that voice, the one she hadn’t heard in months. The one belonging to the person she came into this horrid, magical world to find. And now, by some miracle, he was here.
He’d been sleeping for a full day and night, barely even moving.
But now he was awake. And yelling.
Lily shoved the fluff out the window and headed for the bedroom door.
“Believe whatever you like, North Fairy. Dranian and I even have a dog together.” Luc sounded like he’d rather be doing anything in the world than having this conversation.
“Don’t speak for Dranian, you flappy-lipped fox. Dranian Evelry is a mighty fae warrior who singlehandedly assassinated the Low King of the Third Region’s Shade Forest with nothing but a handful of mud! He can speak for himself.”
“It was poisoned mud.” Dranian’s murmur reached Lily as she came into the living area. The bedroom door squeaked closed behind her. “So it wasn’t that difficult—”
“Quiet Dranian, I’m telling off this fox for you…” Shayne’s words fell away when he glanced toward the squeaking sound and his blue gaze landed on Lily standing there.
A flutter moved through Lily’s stomach when he didn’t say anything. When he just stared.
Two large bruises covered the side of Shayne’s pale face, and one of his eyes was set in a purple ring, but even so, Lily wanted to smile. To grab him into a hug that would be completely out of character for her. She even had one fleeting, bizarre thought to kiss him right on his busted mouth to thank him for being alive. But she cleared her throat, keeping her whole face in check.
Shayne wore a fastened, red, imperial coat-like garment she didn’t recognize. The midsection had a tear and the collar was stretched. She hadn’t been able to stand looking at him before while he was in such terrible shape, but now that he was awake, and alert, and hollering at everyone, she took in every bloody notch in his skin, every bump on his face, and especially his frown.
His frown.
Shayne never frowned…
There was a moment where everything in the room was so quiet, Lily thought she’d gone deaf.
“That…” The word was coarse when Shayne finally spoke. He blinked. He squinted. He blinked again. “…better not be what I think it is.”
The front door of the cottage opened, and Mycra—the psycho woman—walked in with a basket of gold-coloured grapes.
“Don’t you mean whom you think it is?” Luc sighed. “If you’re going to talk so much, you should at least learn how to speak.”
Shayne reached up and pinched his own arm. He made a face, and as if realizing this wasn’t a dream, his expression turned wild. All of a sudden, louder than a thousand police sirens shrieking in the dead of night, he shouted , “You’re not angel-Lily from human heaven?!!”
“What?” Mycra murmured by the door. She looked around like she was trying to figure out what she’d walked into.
Lily went over Shayne’s words twice in her head before she decided she had no idea what he was talking about. “Did you fall face first into an alternate reality, Shayne?” she asked. Shayne hadn’t blinked in way too long, and—why hadn’t he smiled yet?
But then…
“I’m going to kill you,” Shayne whispered.
Lily’s mouth parted. She slid back a step until Shayne’s stare fired over to Dranian instead and she realized he wasn’t talking to her. “You’re dead.”
A second ago, Dranian’s lips had been quirking upward like he was enjoying watching Shayne and Luc fight over him. But now, his eyes grew big. He sprang back when Shayne reached for him.
Mycra appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Shayne’s hand and twisting it at an awkward angle, halting Shayne’s assault attempt. She edged her way in between the two, her bright eyes pinning Shayne more securely than whatever pain she caused his body from her limb wrangling.
Shayne’s lashes fluttered for a moment. He teetered slightly.
Luc stared at it all with a completely uninterested expression. Yet, still, he said to Dranian, “Hit him back, you fool.”
Dranian looked from Shayne to Luc. To Mycra. Back to Shayne.
His mouth quirked up at the corners again.
“Unreal,” Lily said. “Put an end to this like a normal person, Dranian. They’re not all fighting over you .” Though she actually wasn’t sure.
“Nope.” Shayne’s arm flew up; he held a finger before Lily’s face, but he didn’t look at her. “No, you can’t talk, ugly Human. You aren’t here, and therefore, you can’t speak.”
Lily shoved his finger out of her face. “I’m here, Shayne. Deal with it.”
Shayne dragged his thin-lipped face around to look at her once and for all. “Do you know the kinds of horrible things fairies like to do to humans, Human ?” he asked. He took a fast step toward her, tugging himself from Mycra’s grip. “Do you have any idea what will happen to you if you’re caught here?” The purpling ring around his eye looked worse close up.
“I can take care of myself,” Lily promised.
Shayne threw his head back and laughed. He laughed until he nearly lost his balance. Then he winced and inhaled sharply, grabbing the wall for support and clutching his midsection.
“There’s a pool of healing water a few feet into the woods,” Mycra said. “Go toss him in there for a while,” she said to no one in particular. But then she glanced over her shoulder at Luc.
Luc raised a scarlet brow. “ I’m not doing it.” He looked at Dranian after he said it, his glance falling to Dranian’s arm. His gaze fired over to Lily next, and his nose wrinkled. Finally, he looked Mycra up and down, eyeing her slender frame. He released a heavy, annoyed sigh and marched across the space.
Shayne still stared at Lily, even when Luc reached for his arm.
“No.” Shayne swatted Luc’s fingers off the second they touched him. “I need to punish this human first for doing something as foolish as coming here.”
Shayne looked ridiculous with his bruised face, wild white hair, teetering body, and eyes full of accusation. Lily fought an unexpected smirk. The second it appeared, Shayne’s eyes widened and his hand smooshed over her mouth.
“There’s no smiling allowed either,” he said. “You’re not really here, and therefore, you can’t smile.”
Luc huffed. “Whatever,” he said, reaching for Shayne. Lily didn’t realize he was reaching for her too until the fox had her wrist. She was sucked into a tunnel of whipping wind and smeared colours. A second later…
Her body splashed into a pool of water. She gasped as she caught her balance and glanced down at her drenched police hoodie. The water came up to her belly, but she could hardly see it past Shayne’s hand still over her mouth. He remained staring at her through the droplets running down his face, and she realized his other arm was wound around her waist, holding her.
“Let me go, Shayne,” she said through his fingers.
“Absolutely not. I’ll never let you go, Lily Baker. You can’t leave my side now—and don’t blame me for it; you signed up for this the moment you decided to pitch your human brain into oblivion and set foot in the Ever Corners.” Shayne released her mouth and reached around to clasp both hands behind her back instead. He hoisted her against him tightly. “Foolish human.”
Lily didn’t realize Luc was there, hunched forward on the grassy area around the pool with his hands on his knees, until his panting filled her ears. He stood tall and gazed down his nose at the two of them. “You’re all insufferable to watch. What a gong show,” he said. “And don’t you know how difficult it is to carry two people through the air at the same time?” With that, he turned and headed back through the trees toward the cottage, patting off his sleeves as he went.
“Let me go,” Lily tried again, pushing against Shayne’s chest this time, but he tightened his arms and shook his head.
“Nope.”
“How are you even—” She gritted her teeth and attempted to use her weight against him. She even smacked his shoulder, but he wouldn’t budge. “—doing this?” she finished in one exasperated breath. A minute ago, he’d seemed too injured to stand on his own two feet. Now it was like his arms had turned to tungsten.
“These waters work quickly—that’s something I know because I’m from the Ever Corners and you’re not —and I’m suddenly feeling as if I possess the strength of a thousand elven bulls. Which is rather convenient since I plan to hold onto you like this until I get you back to the human realm where you belong.”
“Get me back? The reason we came here was to bring you back with us,” Lily objected.
Shayne released a raspy sound. “Though I do love to whack a wasp’s nest and then leave, I’m not going back…” He paused, then said, “unless you beg.”
There it was. He smiled.
Lily caught herself staring at it; the easy curl of his closed-mouth grin. That infectious smile that sent a tiny ripple through her abdomen. It had been easy to ignore his smiles back in the city, back when she was around him more and saw his grins every day. It felt different seeing one now; like she’d become addicted to them at some point and didn’t know how much she’d craved the sight of one until it was happening right in front of her.
She realized she was standing way too close to Shayne’s face to be staring at his mouth, of all things.
It was too late though. He noticed. And when his grin grew, she blushed.
“It’s alright, ugly Human. I have that effect on females,” he bragged. “Sometimes it’s a burden to be gorgeous all the time without even trying.”
Lily made a noise in the back of her throat. “You should shove your face into these healing waters a little longer before you say things like that,” she advised, eyeing his busted chin.
“Hmm.”
He let her go—no, he pushed her.
Lily fell back into the pool, and warm liquid rushed in. She splashed until she regained her footing and stood with the new weight of water saturating her hair and whatever parts of her sweater that had stayed dry up until now.
Shayne laid back on the slanted poolside, the hem of his red coat floating around him. He closed his eyes.
“Seriously?!” Lily folded her arms.
“Shhhh. I’m healing.”
Lily shook her head as she waded toward a stone ledge beside him. She grabbed the grass above to keep balance as she lifted herself onto it. She almost took a step out of the pool, almost escaped to the forest, when a hand wrapped around her ankle. She shrieked as she was yanked.
“Nope.” Shayne dragged her back into the pool, then grabbed a handful of her sweater and tugged her over. “Nice try.” He tucked her in nicely beside him, then he laid his head back and closed his eyes again.
Lily took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She stared up at the sky beginning to glow and interlace with prismed colours. Even if she wasn’t too tired to fight back against Shayne’s rapidly rejuvenating strength, she had to admit the serene woods were relaxing. The water was warm, and the view was remarkable, too. She glanced over at Shayne when she heard the slow, steady rhythm of his breathing. His lips peeled apart and his head rolled gently to the side, shifting his white hair. She wondered how long it had been since he’d gotten any real sleep. How many nights he’d been forcefully kept awake to end up in this kind of condition. But most of all, she wondered how she’d been lucky enough to get him back. To have him right beside her, alive and breathing, and sleeping peacefully.
“You lunatic,” she whispered.
What if he’d never woken up after Luc arrived with him? What if she’d really lost him? For over a day they’d been waiting for Shayne to wake up so they could go home. Dranian had practically turned into a nurse.
Lily raised a hand to cover her mouth when her eyes grew hot with tears. A sob threatened to slip out, but she stifled it, taking another deep breath and blowing it out quietly. She’d die before she let someone see her crying over Shayne, of all people.
She’d come to this terrifying place on a search and rescue mission. Shayne had been rescued. Now all she had to do was get him out of here, and everything could go back to normal.
Lily found Dranian sitting on an open hillside before a view of rolling hills, golden vineyards, and distant blue mountains. Luc laid flat on his back with his eyes closed beside him like he was napping. Dranian said nothing, but he stared particularly hard at the hills as if waiting for something to pop out of them.
Lily still wasn’t comfortable leaving Dranian alone with Luc, regardless of whatever heroic act Luc had found within his warped, serial-kidnapping personality to do. But Dranian didn’t seem afraid. In fact, his body language had only improved since Luc had shown up. It had gotten better when Mycra had first shown up too, though neither the bright-eyed, goddess-faced girl or the savage, secret-stealing sociopath had provided Lily with enough details about themselves or their motives to leave her completely relaxed in their presence. She was also still pretty stumped about how Dranian and Mycra knew each other, and why they understood each other without saying anything at all.
When Lily reached the duo on the hill, she wedged her way in between them, nudging Luc over so she could fit. Luc snorted and peeked one eye open. When he saw Lily, he rolled his one eye and closed it again.
Lily studied the nine tailed fox for suspicious tells. Not everything she’d read about creatures like him fit Luc’s description. Some people considered nine tailed foxes to be gods. But apart from having a god-complex, Luc was far from that. Only now did Lily notice he wore a long black coat that looked like a combination of something an English prince might wear and Count Dracula’s go-to hunting outfit.
“What happened to your hands?” she asked Luc when she spotted lacerations over his knuckles and wrists. The cuts were thin like whatever had caused them was sharp, although bruising above his left thumb told her he’d also had a collision with a blunt object.
Luc’s mouth pinched a little. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his Dracula coat and didn’t answer.
“Has Shayne awakened?” Dranian asked.
Lily shook her head. She’d watched for nearly an hour as the bruises on Shayne’s face disappeared and his cuts closed up before she’d crawled out of the water. During that time, she’d made a short study of the crystal-clear turquoise pool. A pool of water that healed people could have changed the whole human realm.
The human realm.
Kate.
Lily suddenly sat straight. “What day is it back home?” she asked Dranian. She patted her sweater down for her phone before remembering she didn’t have it. Then she lifted her hands and began counting back the days.
“November must be almost over by now,” Dranian murmured in reply. “I don’t know the day, exactly.”
“It’s December first,” Lily realized, dropping her hands to her knees. “I should be home. There’s only fourteen days left.” She pulled out her elastic and refastened her ponytail.
“Why? What happens in fourteen days?” Dranian asked.
Lily smoothed her hair down and flicked dirt off her sweater as she sorted through how she was going to explain herself to Kate and Greyson once they got back.
“It’s the anniversary of Grandma Lewis’s death,” Luc piped up from the grass.
Lily and Dranian both turned toward him, Dranian leaning to look over Lily’s shoulder. Luc’s eyes were still closed. He yawned.
A flit of guilt moved through Lily’s chest at the thought of her grandmother. She’d been so busy with work and the café this year that she’d hardly had time to think about the old woman. How had a whole year passed already?
Lily cleared her throat. “How do you know who Grandma Lewis is?” she asked Luc.
“Her name and death anniversary were written on the calendar in Fae Café,” he said back as if it was obvious.
“Ah.” Dranian nodded like that made sense, but he stopped. He looked back at Luc again. “When were you in Fae Café while I wasn’t there?”
Luc opened his eyes and lifted his head to steal a look at Dranian. “That’s an excellent question.” A broad, admittedly attractive but notoriously creepy smile took over his mouth. He laid his head back and resumed his nap without explaining anything.
A shout came through the forest. The first words were muffled, but something along the lines of, “ugly Human” was among them. Then came, “Where are you?!” It was called like a warning, and Lily shifted uncomfortably on the hill. “Dranian??” came next.
“I guess he’s ‘awakened’,” Lily said.
Luc stretched, his scarlet hair glittering in the sun with the movement. “You two go deal with him.” He flicked a hand at Lily and Dranian. “I’ve already dealt with him enough.”
Shayne came bursting from the trees, swatting a branch out of the way and sending four leaves spiralling through the air. Lily thought he’d be normal and sit down beside Dranian where there was space, but she should have known Shayne did nothing normally. His hands appeared beneath her arms and she was lifted from the grass, plunked onto her feet, and turned around. He was smiling, but it was too wide and a little wild.
“I made you a bracelet,” he said, and Lily raised a brow. “You’re going to love it.” He reached behind him and pulled out a short stem of green vine. “Allow me to put this on you.” As soon as Shayne took Lily’s hand, Luc grabbed her wrist and shoved Shayne back a step. Lily hadn’t even seen Luc climb to his feet. She glared at the fox and yanked her wrist away from him.
“Don’t put that on, dear Lily,” Luc warned. “Not unless you want to be tethered to this lunatic by an enchanted vine.” He bristled. “Trust me, it’s astoundingly frustrating.”
Lily’s gaze fired back to Shayne. “You tried to cuff me? With a weird fairy plant? Seriously?”
Shayne was too busy glaring at Luc to hear. He took a step toward the fox, bringing out Luc’s broad, intimidating smile. “Don’t touch my things, Foxy,” Shayne warned. “These two things,” he pointed between Lily and Dranian, “are mine.”
“How about you pick one to keep, and I’ll have the other? You decide which one you want most.” Luc’s voice turned sweet and alluring, like the promise of sugar and dreams coming true. Lily found herself leaning in to hear him better. She’d never noticed his lips were heart-shaped or that his skin was so smooth. She shook the strange thought from her mind, sure she was sleep deprived until Luc said, “I’m sure I can win Lily Baker over since she’s already being lured in by my fox charm. Can’t you feel it?”
Shayne tilted his head, his smile turning thin. “Remember how I killed you once?” he asked.
“Remember how I haven’t gotten revenge for that yet?” Luc’s silver-brown eyes narrowed, and Lily snapped out of her daze.
She stepped in and pushed Shayne and Luc away from each other, holding tight to a handful of each of their coats to keep them apart and cutting Dranian a look as if to say, “Stop enjoying this and help a little, would you?” Dranian only shrugged in response, but his almost-smile was back.
“Oh dear. I think she likes touching me, too,” Luc said. He placed his pale hand over where Lily held his coat at his chest. It wasn’t warm like it should be—Luc’s skin was ice cold.
“Gross,” Lily said, dropping his coat. But she kept a hold on Shayne’s, and Shayne flashed Luc a gloating grin.
“Uh oh,” Shayne said. “You’d better not ask them to choose between us, Zelsor. I think they’ll both choose me.”
Luc’s smile turned to a scowl. He rolled his eyes and said, “Anyway, we should move from this defenseless cottage before the rest of your household shows up in their gaudy red coats.” His gaze flickered down to Shayne’s outfit as he said it.
“They’ll never find us out here,” Dranian stated. He raised his chin. “This cottage is riddled with North rash weeds that will mask our scent and keep unwanted guests away.”
Luc’s face blanched.
“They’ve found us!” A shrill voice lifted in the distance.
Lily spotted Mycra racing over the hills, her dark hair lapping behind her. Her strides were impressive, even with a short spear in her hand. “The House of Lyro is coming!”
“What?!” Dranian growled.
“Did you say rash weeds ?” Luc shouted. He yanked the hem of his coat around as if checking it.
Lily’s flesh pulled tight as she gazed over the hills. She couldn’t see anyone coming yet, but she wanted to look into the faces of the people who’d put Shayne into such a battered state. Who’d cast him out of their home when he was younger. She wanted to see what his heartless family looked like, but even more than that…
She wanted him to escape from them.
“Let’s airslip back to the café!” Lily turned to Luc. “Hurry!” she added.
Luc nearly choked. “Do you really think I can carry all of you through the wind, dear Lily?”
Her spare hand drifted to the pocket of her hoodie where she usually kept her phone. “Carry one of us at a time,” she returned, and Luc’s heart-shaped lips twisted.
“I don’t think you know how things work among fairies,” he said. “We can’t just leave when they’re this close or whatever Shadow Fairies they’re working with will follow us through the gate—as my own past has proven. Either we fight until they’re dead or we’re dead, or we make a bargain for our lives, or we find a way to fool them into thinking we’re dead. But we don’t just ‘slip away’ without consequences.” He nodded toward Shayne. “Did this fool never tell you that?”
“Why do they care so much? Why can’t they just let us go?” Lily finally dropped Shayne’s coat and folded her arms, squeezing them tight. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
Luc sighed. “It does, actually. I killed the heir to the House of Lyro the other day.”
Shayne released a deep moan. “I was hoping I’d dreamt that part. Couldn’t you have just messed Kahn-Der up a little? Broken his legs and smashed a few ribs? Did you really have to toss him off the top of a pillar like a bag of spoiled potatoes?” he asked Luc.
Luc examined his nails. “I enjoyed it.”
Shayne thought about that. Then he admitted, “So did I.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said?” Mycra shouted when she reached them. She scooted to a stop, kicking up dirt. “The House of Lyro is coming. They’ll be here in minutes. We should run before it’s too late!”
“That won’t solve anything,” Luc said, more to himself.
“Sure it will. Let’s get out of here and sneak back to the human realm while they’re not looking,” Shayne said. He extended a hand to Lily, but she cast him a look to remind him she could walk on her own.
“Jethwire is leading the army,” Mycra added, and Shayne’s mouth twisted.
“So my father isn’t with them?” he asked.
“I doubt he’s back yet,” Mycra said. “But it doesn’t matter; it’s the hunting army. They’ll have already been promised rewards. Anyone spotted in your company will be black marked, and they’ll shoot to capture, not to kill.”
Shayne dragged a hand through his white hair, making it stand on end.
“Isn’t that better?” Lily asked.
“No,” Mycra, Dranian, and Shayne all said at the same time.
Shayne nudged Lily toward Dranian. “We should split up then,” he decided. “Lily, stay with Dranian. Why don’t you two head home first?”
“That is a terrible idea,” Luc said. He cast Shayne a sidelong glance. “You should be quiet if you only have bad ideas.”
“We don’t have time for this!” Mycra objected.
“Exactly,” Luc said. “They’ll catch us if we run, and they’ll corner us if we split up, which means we must fight.”
“What?! You want me to… fight fairies? Here in the Ever Corners?” Lily asked. Her chest tightened—she couldn’t seem to take in a full breath anymore.
“Yes. And in order to do that, we need a little more power, don’t you think?” Luc tapped a finger against his chin. “Oh dear. I think that means it’s time for my backup plan.”
Flickering shadows rippled over the hill, and Lily looked up. Her jaw dropped as thousands of flapping birds filled the sky. Only they didn’t appear quite normal; they looked… flat and bright red.
“They’ve spotted us,” Mycra warned. She gazed at the sky warily. “We should run, Shayne. I can’t… I don’t want to go back there.” Dranian’s attention snapped to her and stayed there, even as one of the birds fell from the sky and spiralled down, landing at Shayne’s feet.
Shayne stooped to pick it up, showing the birds were made of paper when he unfolded it and studied the sheet. A muscle feathered in his jaw.
A second later, a bird fell at Luc’s feet, too. Luc snarled at it a little, but he reluctantly snatched it and unfolded the paper. “For the offense of executing Lord Kahn-Der, son of Lord Hans-Der of the Silver Castle High Court, you have been established as an enemy of the House of Lyro and our allies. Surrender or die.” Luc grunted, then to Shayne, he said, “What does yours say?”
Shayne crumpled his and stuffed it in his coat pocket. “Nothing important. I agree with the obnoxious fox. Let’s fight.”
Lily couldn’t believe her ears. Only a second ago, Shayne had been determined to run. She watched his gaze flicker up to the crimson birds in the sky circling like a swarm overhead.
“I have a present for you, North Fairy,” Luc said to Dranian now. “I’ve been keeping it with me for insurance.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out something almost too small to see. He held up a nut—or half of one at least.
“What is it?” Dranian asked, brows furrowing.
“It’s something that will save us,” Luc returned.
Lily was a breath away from calling Luc crazy when Luc tossed the nut to Dranian. Dranian fumbled to catch it.
“Eat it fast,” Luc instructed.
“Wait—” Mycra reached for Dranian’s hand, but it was too late. Dranian popped the nut into his mouth and swallowed it like a pill.
“Do you really think that’s a good idea right now?” Shayne asked Luc with articulated words.
“You would think so if you knew who ate the other half.” Luc’s broad smile returned, and a twinkle lit his eyes.
Shayne blinked. He grasped Luc’s shoulder and shook it. “Who ate the other faeborn-cursed half, Foxy?”
Lily glanced at the darkening, bird-filled sky as she asked, “Am I seriously the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on?!” When she dropped her gaze back to Dranian, she found him shaking. Her eyes widened and she stepped toward him. “Dranian…?”
Luc seized her arm, holding her still. “Wait,” he instructed. In the same second, Shayne reached across and smacked his hand off.
“Keep your fox paws to yourself. She hates being grabbed!” he snapped.
Lily watched as Dranian shuddered. She brought a hand over her mouth, her mind racing with all the training she had to aid someone experiencing a panic attack. She realized Luc was smiling—like this was funny —and her hands balled into fists. “If we get out of this, I’m arresting you the second you step back into the human realm…” Her words caught when she looked back at Dranian.
No. Not Dranian.
Lily blinked. “Cress?”
For a second, she thought she woke up from a strange dream and was back home in the café.
Cress stood there, looking down at his clothes. His arms. His hands. He wore an expensive looking navy suit complete with a collared shirt, a jacket, dress pants, and a strangely familiar grouchy expression.
Shayne’s jaw dropped. He whirled on Luc. “Cress?! You fed the other half of the walnut to Cress ?”
“Yes,” Luc returned. “And without him knowing it, too. Poor Cressica. I wonder what he’ll do when he realizes he’s trapped inside the body of a three-legged guard dog at home.” He shrugged.
Cress—or, Dranian-in-Cress’s-body, if Lily was understanding—muttered, “He’ll make me eat rocks.”
Shayne suddenly laughed. He almost lost his balance as he tried to collect himself. “Queensbane, Cress is going to be furious,” he said.
“I hope so. He did kill me, after all. And I always get my revenge.” Luc sliced Shayne a look as if that was a promise. Then, to Dranian-in-Cress’s-body, he said, “Welcome to the fight, Dranian. Now you have the powers of flight, faestone, past peeping, icy weather, and whatever other magnificent gifts the mighty Prince of the North possesses. Let’s fight.” He pulled a ruby from his pocket and rolled it over his fingers. He lifted something else out of his pocket too; it looked like a crumb of bread. He stared at it for a moment, then he flicked it into the grass.
Red poured over the hills in the distance, and Lily’s mouth parted as she beheld the giant antlered beasts carrying fairies in red coats that looked like Shayne’s. They moved so fast; she realized Luc was right—they wouldn’t have made it far even if they’d tried to run.