I battle my way through pain and tangled dreams for what feels like days before restful sleep finally takes me. When I eventually open my eyes and find a world that isn’t spinning dizzily, my first thought is that I’ve been here before, in this moment. Waking from a long, injury-healing sleep. Lying on Ryn’s couch with him kneeling beside me. The memory is so strong that when I turn my head to the side, I expect to see him.
It isn’t Ryn sitting in a chair beside my bed, though. It’s Tora. And this is the bedroom that used to be mine when I lived with her.
“Hey,” she says, looking up from a collection of papers in her hand. She places them on the bedside table and leans forward in her chair. “Ready to face the world again?”
I look down and see a narrow scar encircling my wrist where the metal band was. My gaze shifts to the top of my arm; the skin is perfectly healed. “I think so. Did Flint take the band off?”
“Yes. I couldn’t find anyone else who knows how to, although there must be others at the Guild who’ve come across this metal before.”
I sit up and attempt to run my hands through my hair, but the dried mud matting the strands together makes it difficult. At least I’m no longer wearing the torn, skimpy cocktail dress. The clothes I’m dressed in look like Tora’s.
“Sorry, I thought it would be a little difficult to wash your hair while you were unconscious,” Tora says. “You’ll have to take care of that yourself.”
“Sure. How long have I been asleep?”
“About a day.”
“Oh. It felt a lot longer than that.” I swallow as I prepare to ask the question that plagued most of my nightmares before I eventually fell into a dreamless sleep. “Did Ryn and I get back before the assignment cut-off time?”
Tora smiles and says, “Yes.”
I close my eyes and let out a relieved sigh.
“Ryn did the verbal report with Bran and me yesterday after Flint got the bands off both of you,” Tora continues. “Technically, you should have been there too, but you weren’t exactly in a state to be talking. Or standing.”
I groan, feeling heat rise in my cheeks as I remember just how pathetic my arrival at the Guild was. “Sorry about the passing out thing. So embarrassing. It won’t happen again.” I swing my legs over the side of the bed and stretch my arms.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Tora’s eyes are wide with concern.
“Yes, I’m more than okay. I feel completely fine. I knew Ryn was overreacting when we got to the Guild yesterday.”
“Overreacting?”
“Yeah, he said something to Basil about me dying.”
“Well, I hesitate to tell you this because I know how you feel about Ryn being right—” she gives me a knowing look, and I pretend to have no idea what she’s talking about “—but he wasn’t overreacting. There was an infection in your wound that was spreading quickly through your blood. If you’d been out there on your own, I don’t think you would have made it back to the Guild in time.”
“Oh.” Great, so I owe Ryn my life again?
“And I was expecting you to be back days ago—I mean, it wasn’t exactly a complicated assignment—so I was very worried when we got to Friday afternoon and you still hadn’t shown up. I know I wasn’t supposed to contact you, but I was getting ready to break that rule. And then to hear that you were battling the Unseelie Queen herself—”
“It really wasn’t such a big deal.”
“—who is enormously powerful. She could have done any number of unspeakable things to you.”
“But she didn’t.”
“And you were hallucinating and feverish, and I kept thinking what if she used some magic on you that meant you’d never heal—”
“But I did.”
“—I’d never forgive myself for simply sitting here waiting for you to come back.”
“But that’s what you were supposed to do.”
Tora shakes her head, sniffs, and dabs beneath her eyes. “You know I’ve never exactly been fond of Ryn, but I will forever be grateful that he got you back here alive.”
“Okay, don’t get all weepy, Tora. I’m fine, see?” I climb off the bed, do a few star jumps, then wrap my arms around her neck.
She laughs into my hair as she folds her arms around me and squeezes tight. “You’ll always be my favorite trainee. Even after I’ve mentored loads of other kick-ass trainees, you’ll still be my favorite.”
“Well, your favorite trainee needs to go and write a kick-ass report so she can score lots of points and get that top graduating position she’s always wanted. Oh, and what happened with the freaky, magical storm?” I listen carefully and notice an absence of thunder, rain and howling wind. “Is it finally finished?”
“I think so. It’s been off and on since last Friday—longest storm I’ve ever experienced—but it looks like it’s finally cleared for good now. We still have no idea where or who it came from, though, or if it was connected to the murder last Friday night.”
Perhaps now would be a good time to tell Tora all about Nate and how he might be the one responsible for the storm. Or not. I need to think about it properly, plan what I’m going to say.
“Oh, before I forget,” Tora says, “you have a meeting with Councilor Starkweather as soon as you’re ready.”
“What? Am I in trouble?”
“Not at all. She’s extremely pleased with you and Ryn. But the item you retrieved is still hiding inside your necklace.” She points to the chunky jewelry lying beside my stylus on the bedside table. “You and Ryn need to give it in to her and answer any questions she might have for you.”
“Oh, okay.” I’d forgotten about the eternity necklace and the rest of my miniature belongings. “Well, I’d better get to the Guild right away, then.” I grab the necklace and my stylus and head for the door.
“Wait, one more thing.” Tora points to the other door leading off the bedroom. “Bathing pool. Now.”
Ryn is already waiting outside Councilor Starkweather’s office when I get there.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
Well, this isn’t awkward at all. “Um, thanks for getting me back here yesterday.”
“Sure. The conversations you had with your hallucinations were entertaining to listen to.”
Oh hell, I was talking the whole time I was out there?
“Kidding,” he says, one side of his mouth turning up. “They were actually pretty boring.”
Fantastic, now I have no idea if I was talking or not.
“Shall we go in?” Ryn asks.
“Yes. Unless you’d like to embarrass me further?”
He pretends to think about it. “Maybe later.” He raises his fist and knocks on the door. After several seconds of silence, we’re told to come in.
Councilor Starkweather, her grey- and white-streaked hair pulled tightly into a bun at the back of her head, comes toward the door to greet us. I know she’s several centuries old, but, like every other adult faerie, her face is flawless and wrinkle-free.
She ushers us in, then shakes my hand, followed by Ryn’s. “I’d like to congratulate you both on a very successful assignment.”
“Successful?” I say before I can stop myself. “At least two humans died. I wouldn’t exactly call that successful.”
She arches an eyebrow. “Only two humans died,” she corrects. “We sent guardians there yesterday to assess the situation. It would appear that no one witnessed any magical activity, which is fortunate. The human authorities are assuming the fire was an accident and that it caused the death of Mr. Hart and his son.”
“And what did they think of the basement full of magical objects?”
“They didn’t find any magical objects. We’re assuming someone from the Unseelie Court removed them.” She steps back and leans against the edge of her desk. Ryn and I remain standing. “It was in no way your fault that two people died. No one knew the Unseelie Queen would show up. She has power beyond anything either of you have faced in your training, and it’s a miracle you managed to survive a fight against both her and her two sons.”
A miracle? I frown, wondering if I should be offended by that comment.
“The two of you were simply asked to find out what was going on at the Hart household and bring back the item that was given to Mr. Hart last week,” Councilor Starkweather continues. “Since you managed both of these tasks, I expect you’ll receive high points for this assignment.”
“Well, that’s great, but it doesn’t exactly feel right to get lots of points when two people died.” Okay, why am I arguing with the head of the Guild Council?
“Violet,” Ryn says quietly. “I thought you wanted to do well.”
“I do, but only when I deserve it.”
“You do deserve it,” Councilor Starkweather says. “But if you feel so strongly about this, I’d be happy to ask that your points be reduced.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Ryn says, placing a hand on my arm and flashing me a look that clearly says, Shut the hell up RIGHT NOW.
“Excellent. Then all that remains is for you to hand over the item. Bran said something to me about a special necklace?”
“Yes.” I notice Councilor Starkweather tapping her shoe as I retrieve the necklace from my pocket; we’re obviously taking up too much of her time. “They called it an eternity necklace, and the Unseelie Prince said he’d never give it back to his mother because she doesn’t deserve to be immortal. I assume, then, that whoever wears this necklace is granted immortality.”
“Yes, I’ve heard of this,” Councilor Starkweather says, taking it carefully, almost reverently. She holds it up to the light. The teardrop shaped pendant of white stone gleams with a pearlescent sheen. “No one knows how it was made or who its creator was, but it has been in the possession of the Unseelie Court for centuries.” She places it on her desk and looks at us. “I shall send it to the Seelie Queen immediately; she will be pleased to have it. That is all. You may leave now.”
Okay, that was abrupt. Ryn and I turn toward the door and, in an uncharacteristic show of gentlemanliness, he opens it for me. “That was a little weird,” I whisper after he closes the door behind us.
“She’s lying,” he says quietly.
“About what?” We head down the corridor and away from the councilors’ offices.
“I’m not sure exactly, but she wasn’t being truthful. If I had to guess, I’d say she’s not planning to give that necklace to the Seelie Queen.”
“Ryn, you can’t possibly know whether she was lying or not.”
“Yes, I can. I’m good at reading people, remember? And you also got a weird vibe from her.”
“Yes, but I don’t know what that vibe means. And what can we do about it anyway?” We reach the main stairway and start walking down. “It’s out of our hands now, so we just have to trust that she’ll do whatever she’s supposed to do with it.”
Filigree is over his miniature pig phase. He’s also managed to eat through almost every jar of roasted nixles in the kitchen. The jar of green bugs is all that remains; they’re clearly his least favorite color. And clearly I’ll have to go shopping this weekend.
I lean back in the kitchen chair and look through the notes I’ve made so far. I absently scratch Filigree—cat formed, curled up on my lap—behind the ears as I try to remember everything that happened during our assignment. I should probably check a few details with Ryn before I write up the entire thing in full.
Filigree stretches and jumps gracefully off my lap. I take advantage of my freedom by heading to one of the cupboards and fetching a teaspoon and a jar labeled Chocolate and Ladyfair Blossom Sauce. It’s supposed to be drizzled over desserts, but I prefer to eat it straight from the jar. I sit down, dip the spoon into the jar, and lick the chocolaty sweetness off it. This happens a number of times while I go through my notes again and mark all the places where I need to check facts with Ryn.
When I start to feel sick, I screw the lid back on, gather my papers, and run upstairs to find my boots. After spending several days barefoot in a torn dress, I’m enjoying wearing my regular clothes once again. Before opening a doorway to the faerie paths, I glance at my appearance in the mirror in my bedroom. Then I shake my head and turn around. Who cares what I look like? It’s just Ryn I’m going to see.
With my Guild bag slung over my shoulder, I hurry through the paths and exit in front of Ryn’s tree. I knock, then wait several minutes.
I knock again.
I’m about to pull out my amber to ask him where he is when the bark melts away. Zinnia stands in the open doorway, her eyes heavy and her skin creased.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I say. “Did I wake you?” It’s early evening, but guardians keep strange hours sometimes.
“No, don’t worry, I was waking up anyway.” Zinnia smiles as she crosses her arms over her chest. “I assume you’re looking for Ryn?”
“Yes, is he here?”
“I’m afraid not, and I don’t know where he is or when he’ll be back.”
“Oh, okay.” I take a step back. “Well, thanks anyway.”
“Wait, Vi.” She tucks a few curls behind her ear. “I’m actually a little concerned about him. He arrived home this afternoon with his hair ruffled, a bruise on his chin, and a bleeding lip. And it’s Sunday, so he had no training or assignments. It isn’t the first time this has happened, either. He says everything’s fine, of course, but I’m still worried.”
“Oh.” I remember Ryn’s bruised eye from earlier this week. I probably shouldn’t tell Zinnia about that; it’ll only add to her anxiety. “Well, I’ll ask him about it. Maybe he’ll tell me.”
She nods and smiles, then wipes her hand across the space between us to close up the doorway. I shut my eyes, breathe deeply, and do something I haven’t done in years: I search for Ryn.