Liza paced the hospital waiting room. She was restless and afraid, both for her friend and herself. She had so many questions but didn’t feel like talking to anyone at the moment. Marcas and Tobias sat against the far wall, speaking little. Liza got the feeling that there was some kind of divide between the two men. At the moment, she had no desire to try to tear down such a barrier, though she had a strong feeling it would need to be done. They needed all the allies they could get.

Have I really tied myself to this family?

The thought did not set well in her mind. She was still the stranger here, the outlier who no one understood. If nothing else had convinced her to run screaming back to her civilized world, the events of that day should have. What was with Conall calling her his princess in one breath and telling her she had to die in the next? Things were only getting stranger—and deadlier.

Fallon had only been in the ER for a little over a half hour, but it seemed much longer. It had taken so long for the ambulance to arrive that Liza had almost given up hope. She’d thought things slow in the city; out here, they moved at a snail’s pace. Then it turned out that Halden’s Mill didn’t even have a hospital, and Fallon had to be taken to another town twenty miles north.

Ruth had been torn between going with Fallon and staying with Cullen and Ana, but in the end had chosen to stay. Her place was to watch over them, and if they somehow managed to get back, they would need to be told what had happened.

Fortunately, the ambulance had beat Chief Murphy to the farm, but Liza knew it was only a matter of time before the cop showed up asking questions. Marcas had moved the dead body out of the way before the ambulance had arrived—something else they would have to explain to the police.

Liza rubbed her temples. Exhaustion hit her like a wall. She could not remember the last time she’d slept more than a few hours. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep this up.

Approaching footsteps drew Liza’s attention down the hallway where Jacob Yoder was striding toward her.

“I couldn’t just sit around the house, though I hated leaving Mom alone.” He grabbed her in a tight hug. “How are you holding up?” Liza sagged against him as tears began flowing down her cheeks. She didn’t want to cry in front of this man. She’d always considered herself strong, a loner who could take care of herself, but having this kind man show such caring for her was more than her shattered emotions could handle. He must have felt her sobs because he continued to hold her in his embrace. After a moment, she managed to pull herself together and push away.

Jacob gazed down at her. “How’s Fallon?”

Liza shook her head. “We haven’t heard anything yet. She hit that tree so hard. I’ve never seen anything like it.” The tears began to flow again at the memory of the attack. “It was horrible, Jacob. Whatever Conall has become, he’s not human anymore.”

“Shouldn’t you be at the farm with your mom, Jacob?” Neither of them had heard Marcas approach.

“She suggested I come here to see about Fallon.”

“Don’t you mean to see about Liza?” Marcas’s face was a mask of anger. “You’ve taken every opportunity to be with her since she came to town.”

Liza felt her own anger rise. “At least he’s given me attention. You’ve done everything you could to avoid me. I thought we cared about each other.”

“I do care about you, Liza. That’s why I left. That’s why I don’t want you here now. There’s too much going on that you don’t understand. None of us do. You should go back to your life and forget any of this ever happened.”

Liza wanted to laugh. “If I remember right, it was before I knew any of this existed that two men broke into my house and tried to kill me. Is that the life you would have me go back to?”

Marcas glared at her but gave no response. Liza wished she knew what he was thinking. It was obvious he didn’t want her there. He also didn’t like the attention Jacob was giving her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about either man at this point. Her anger at Marcas for leaving her felt rather silly now that she knew the truth about his life. He was much more than she’d thought he was. She had a feeling there was much she still did not know.

The door leading from the ER hissed open, and a man dressed in green scrubs lumbered out. He was middle-aged and tired looking, but his face wore a smile and his eyes were bright. He headed straight for the small group and extended a hand toward Marcas.

“Marcas, I wish I could say it was good to see you.”

Marcas shook the proffered hand. “Doctor Gallavan. How is she?”

“She’s still unconscious. We didn’t find any internal damage, which is surprising considering the blow her head took and the bruises on her body. Right now, I’m calling it a concussion. We’ll need to keep an eye on her for a couple days at least. Can you tell me what happened? She looks like a train hit her.”

Marcas and the doctor moved to one side and spoke quietly. Liza saw Jacob and his grandfather eyeing one another, each waiting for the other to break the silence. Liza decided not to wait for them to do it themselves. She walked to the bearded man and held out her hand.

“We have not been properly introduced, sir. I’m Liza McCarthy.” Oh, that sounded way too formal.

The old man sat there for a moment before taking her hand and giving it a quick shake. His hand was rough and strong. “I know who y’are.” His tone was more resolute than rude. It was obvious that he didn’t want her there, either.

“You don’t have to be rude, Grandfather,” Jacob said. “Liza’s been through a lot these past few days.”

“Wasn’t being rude, just cutting through formalities.” He looked up at Liza from his seat. “Sorry if I offended. Didn’t mean to.” He stood, as though not comfortable with his grandson and a strange woman hovering over him. He was shaky on his feet and swayed a bit.

“Mr. Yoder, are you okay?” Liza reached out a hand to steady him, but he shook it off.

“I’m fine. You wouldn’t understand. Nothing to worry about.”

“Grandfather, should you even be here? What about the shield around the Mill? Can the other three Old Ones keep it up?”

“No, they can’t. Nor can four of us. Don’t worry, I won’t stay long, and I left part of me back there in the circle.”

Left part of him back there? He’s right, I don’t understand. Liza hadn’t thought she could still be surprised.

There were few other people in the waiting room, but Tobias kept his voice low. “Hard to believe that was Conall that done this. Such a thing goes beyond my imaginings.”

“He looked much worse than he did when we saw him yesterday,” Liza said.

“Does he speak? What’s he saying?”

Jacob looked at Liza.

“Well, he talks about a prince, and he says that I’m a princess or that I have to die. It seems to depend on his mood.”

Tobias’s face paled. “He speaks of a prince, or the Prince?”

Liza thought back. “He says the prince. Always the prince.”

“Lord Jesus help us,” Tobias muttered.

“What’s it mean, Grandfather?”

“If you’d a’ paid more attention to your lessons and less to what was going on in the world, you’d know.”

Jacob looked annoyed. “Know what?”

“The fae, boy. The Prince of the fae. He’s found a way out.” He turned his glare on Liza. “And found his Princess as well.”