Wynn shrugged. “I’m . . . I’m well. I had a hurt, but they are fixed now. Want to go home?” She was ready to go back to the fairies.
Axis looked at her even as she took her brother’s hand and squeezed it. Lexi put Mildred down on the floor and the hen ran to her. Wynn picked her up and hugged her. Her feathers tickled Wynn’s nose. The Headmind came forward while scratching the back of his head. “Is it true you taught this singing magic to Lexi?”
Wynn nodded happily. Lexi was very good at singing.
“Why?” he asked.
She didn’t think that was a very good question. “Lexi needed help. She is my friend. Singing can help.”
“And you wanted nothing for yourself?” he asked.
“I already know how to sing,” she said. “I am a very good singer.”
Elric snorted beside her and squeezed her hand. “Yes, you are, and you are very kind.”
Elric stared up at the Headmind. Her brother looked angry. Wynn could tell. It was Elric’s quiet sort of angry, though. That was the most dangerous kind. “Kindness doesn’t seem to matter much here. After all, these are people who would keep a child from her heartbroken mother in the name of revenge.”
Everyone in the room went very still. Even Mildred stopped clucking. Wynn stroked her and pressed closer to Elric’s side. Now that she had her brother, she didn’t want to be away from him one inch.
The elf boy on the bed pushed himself up. Everyone in the room turned away from Elric and looked at the boy. They still didn’t seem to breathe.
“Father?” he said in a weak voice that sounded very scratchy. “Where is Lexi? Did the reaper capture her?”
Lexi rushed to her brother’s side. “No. I’m here,” she said. “I’m here and I’m well.” She sat on the edge of the bed, and her brother wrapped her in a tight hug. “And I saved you, with some help.” Both of them looked up at their father.
Axis let out a heavy breath, shook his head, then turned to Elric. “You are brave, if foolish, to challenge me.”
The Headmind looked at Wynn with his owl-like eyes. “But it seems I owe a debt, and therefore must forgive you. Thank you,” he said. “For the life of my son. You, and those who matter to you, will always have the protection of the elves, even in the dark days to come. Now it is time to let the healers do their work. Guards, lock them back in the room.”
Lexi jumped off the bed and grabbed her father’s arm. “Father, no.”
“I will not risk their escape. They are the most valuable thing in this entire wood. With them here, we have a chance to break the shield and take our crystal back.”
“What?” Lexi shouted. “But that means war with the fairies!”
The Headmind patted his daughter on the shoulder. “We have been at war a long time. Don’t worry for the humans. Humans and elves have always worked together. We will keep them safe. They can stay together. They can even keep the chicken. We will do what we can to save the gravely injured one, as is our way. Mortal lives must be protected. Now we must look forward.”
“No!” Elric shouted as the guards grabbed him. One of them pulled his sword from his scabbard. “Give me that back. Let go of me.”
The smiling guard grabbed Wynn’s arms. Now his teeth looked sharp, and his grin terrifying.
Wynn didn’t resist as they led her back to her room. They tossed her inside, followed by Elric, and Mildred.
Mildred squawked and flapped her wings in protest as she retreated to the corner. Elric went back after the guards, but they closed the door in his face. They heard the rough scrape of wood as the latch fell into place.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURWynn
“HOW ARE WE GOING TO get out of here?” Elric pounded on the door with a heavy thump, thump, thump. It wouldn’t do any good. Wynn already tried that the day before.
Wynn sat down on the bed. “We just have to wait.”
Elric crossed over to her, holding up his hand to shade his eyes from the slants of light shining through the boards of the wall. Wynn could tell he really didn’t want to sit. He was pacing. He wanted to break down the door, by the way he was pounding on it. He flopped beside her, then leaned in so that his shoulder touched hers. She liked that. “Why did you go into the woods, Wynn? You were safe in the gardens. I asked you to wait for me.”
Wynn didn’t say anything for a bit. Sometimes it took her a long time, but Elric waited for her words. She was glad he gave her a chance to speak.
“I saw Mildred,” she said. “But it wasn’t Mildred.”
“What do you mean?” Elric asked. Mildred clucked sleepily as she settled down at the foot of the bed. She fluffed up the feathers at her belly and wriggled down over her white feet. Then her eyes drooped closed.
“It was a snake, but it looked like Mildred first,” Wynn said. “It pretended to be sick. I tried to catch her, but she ran to the woods. It was the snake.” Wynn didn’t know how to make Elric see how desperate she was. She would have waited for him. But she was tricked.
“I was alone in the woods. Then my Mildred came. She pecked the bad snake in the eye. I hit it with a stick. Then I ran away. I got lost.” Elric would never believe her. It sounded strange even to her.
Elric rubbed his chin. He looked like he was thinking hard. “So, the snake was magic,” he said.
Wynn nodded. That was exactly
