Hold Tight

He walked backward, hands held low at his hips, and vanished.

My eyes grew wide. It worked! Reed had taken the bait. Ignoring the dizziness, I ran upstairs. Damn, I really needed to learn to teleport objects from one place to another. From my mirror, I grabbed the dried corsage I had saved after sophomore year’s homecoming dance and sprinted back downstairs, skidding to a halt when the front door swung open. Isaac, Josh, and Kaylee burst inside.

“He won’t be gone long,” I said and ran to the kitchen. The others followed.

I slammed the plastic bowl I’d used during the original spell onto the table and hastily emptied a bottle of water into it. “I need three acorns. There’s some in the backyard.”

Isaac held out his hand, and the acorns appeared.

I snatched them from him and added them to the bowl with three dried rose petals. “Did you bring the book?”

Josh handed it to me, opened to the reversal spell. Kaylee crossed her fingers.

From nowhere neverwhere and there to here

Through Come ethereal and space and time

I thank thee majestic for my Sight

A low eerrr echoed through the kitchen. A perfume of orchids mixed with the scent of dried leaves. The acorns and petals swirled around in the bowl. I read on.

Reedsnap, [Dellis, Rhoswen]

I beckon thee stay home and seal the door!

The smell of the seasons vanished, leaving only the faint scent of last night’s cheeseburgers lingering in the air.

“Did it work?” Kaylee whispered.

I glanced around. “I think so.”

Clapping came from behind me. I turned to look at Isaac, thinking he was being sarcastic, but his hands hung limp at his side.

Reed appeared in the hallway leading into the kitchen with Brea and Natalie at his side. Brea’s light skirt and tank top had been replaced with long flowing pants and a snow-white sweater that reached past her knees. Her feet were clad in fuzzy boots. Natalie wore a deep crimson sweater and a dark skirt.

“Natalie!” I lunged forward and gave her a hug, then stepped back to get a good look at her. She appeared healthy, and I was glad to see her, but my spell should have locked her in Sanctus along with Reed and Brea. She started to say something, but I cut her off. “How were you able to return?”

“Madison, you shouldn’t have…” Her voice trailed off, and her wide-eyed stare turned to Reed.

“Tried to deceive me,” Reed said, finishing her sentence. “And to answer your question, as long as we’re here and still Fae, the door between realms can’t be closed.”

“Still Fae?” I repeated, then realized he probably meant they hadn’t eaten any of our food, which must change their cellular structure too if it trapped them here. But faerie food apparently hadn’t stripped Natalie of all her human memory—at least not yet. For now, though, the question remained, “You never left?”

The corner of Reed’s mouth rose into a lopsided smile that was anything but friendly. “There was no need for me to cross realms when my sister was already there.”

Brea gave her brother a sidelong glance and explained, “I only returned home to eat and borrow some clothes from the girls of the Winter Court. I was on my way back here when Dellis contacted me to ask if I could bring Natalie with me. You—having the Sight—might have seen me arrive had you not been reading from the book.”

“But Reed saw everything,” I murmured with a shake of my head.

“Yes, and as soon as you finished the spell, you relinquished your ability to see me until I chose to reveal myself.” Her tone cooed pity.

Reed turned to his sister. “Take Natalie home. Leave her with the Winter Court.”

“Dellis,” she said. “Some battles are best unsought.”

“Rhoswen, do as I ask.”

“Let it go, for me,” she said in a voice so low I almost didn’t hear her.

“Go!”

She took Natalie’s hand in hers and inclined her head. “As you wish.”

The two females disappeared from our sight as a flicker of betrayal passed through Reed’s pale blue eyes. I didn’t dare look away from him for fear of what he might do. In my peripheral vision I could see Kaylee take a step back. Isaac and Josh hadn’t moved from where they’d stood near the table.

Reed’s frosty stare fixed on Isaac. “Do not for a moment think I’ve forgotten your promise, and do not for an instant think I will not go through with mine.”

“What promise is that?” Josh asked before I could.

Isaac held Reed’s glare when he answered, “I can’t touch a member of his court.”

“His court being the Winter Court or the entire Seelie Court?” I asked, unsure what difference it really made.

“Seelie,” he snarled. “But I never promised I wouldn’t kick his ass if he showed up again.”

With a shake of his hands, Isaac held two fireballs at his side.

Reed vanished from our sight, but we heard him speak. “You got to keep the last girl we fought over in your realm. It’s only fair I get Madison.” His voice bounced off the walls, making it impossible to tell where he was.

Until his cold breath skimmed the back of my neck. I spun around.

“I am not an object up for auction to the highest bidder,” I spat either to his face or to thin air. It was impossible to tell.

“You don’t want to upset me further than I am, or you won’t be the only Riley I claim as my own.”

Fear paralyzed me. “You wouldn’t.”

Long fingers wrapped around my biceps, pinning my arms to my side. Reed materialized, tugging me upward so that I was on my toes, my ear inches from his mouth. “A better question would be, have I already? Stop fighting and come with me.” He inhaled but instantly choked.

As he gagged out a cough, his nails dug into my flesh, and I yelped in pain—moments before feeling weightless. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kaylee’s body likewise become ethereal. Then we were both standing behind Isaac, with Josh at our backs. I went to attack Reed, but Isaac held his arm out.

Reed vanished again. His cough seemed to reverberate around the room.

“If you lay one finger on my brother or father, so help me, I’ll kill you myself. That’s a—”

I was about to say promise, but my lips sealed, and I knew that was Isaac’s doing.

“You found a way to guard her essence,” Reed said when the coughing ceased. Awe dripped from his words. He even had the gall to clap. “Bravo. Does the spell ground her to the here and now too or just protect her from being fuel?” A pause. “She tastes like fresh strawberries. Did you know that?”

“You bastard!” I yelled, relieved to be able to speak again. I lunged toward Reed, but between Isaac’s arm still blocking my path and Josh and Kaylee holding me back, I didn’t get far. Isaac’s powers sizzled visibly from his entire body, and his usual spearmint and vanilla had a heavy metallic tang to it. I was pretty sure he was as raving mad as I was to find out Reed had been feeding off my essence.

“Be very careful what you do next,” Reed warned telepathically, and then the room grew a few degrees warmer. His piney scent vanished, and the knot in my stomach loosened just enough to