“Lily!” Elle called from downstairs.
I pulled back, breathless and wearing a huge grin.
Liam grasped both sides of my face gently. “Look, I’m sorry for the way I left things. My brothers were sick after going days without the crystal, my mom had taken a turn for the worse—”
I put my finger to his lips. “I forgive you. Next time, you can trust me enough to tell me the truth.”
He nodded and pulled his hands away from my face.
There was a creaking on the wooden stairs. “All right, lovebirds,” Cam’s voice drawled. “It’s time to jet. Daddy of Winter don’t fuck around.”
Daddy of Winter?
Shaking my head, I started for the stairs. “So, we’ll get the crystal, drop it off at the Tree of Life, and then go right from there to get the healing water for your mom.”
Liam smiled. “Sounds like a great plan.”
Five minutes later, we were at the blue door, walking into Mara’s office. Two garden fae had seen us, but when they’d noticed the boys with me, they’d simply lowered their heads. I was hoping that meant they wouldn’t be telling the Elders.
“Hello, children.” Mara looked bored, poring over one of her outdated magazines. “What trouble shall we get up to today?”
“Idaho, please,” Liam said. “Closest door you have to Coeur d’Alene.”
Mara looked at me, no doubt wondering why he was doing the talking. But he was the only one who knew where this crystal was, and if we were all going to work together, she needed to respect his word as much as mine.
“What he said,” I confirmed.
Mara sighed, her bracelets clanking as she slid the magazine into a drawer. “Buckle in.”
A few minutes later, we were at Mara’s door, heading out into a lush backyard.
Mara grabbed my arm. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”
I nodded, indicating that the others should wait for me outside, and gave Liam my VW pen. Once they’d left, I faced the keeper of the blue doors. “What’s up?”
Mara chewed her lip. “Rose came to see me. Said Indra was creating a new pair of cuffs. Cuffs for you, if you got out of control.”
I frowned. “Yeah. Clearly, I misjudged the Elders, but I think it’s just a scare tactic.”
Mara sighed, looking at her wrists, and for the first time, I noticed that the skin around the bracelets had been rubbed raw. “Does this look like a scare tactic?” She held the cuffs closer to my face.
I frowned.
“Look,” she said, “the Dark War was a horrible time, and I’m lucky they didn’t hang me.”
My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “Hang you? For falling in love?”
Mara shook her head. “Hang me for letting the Winter King escape with our crystals. I didn’t know he had them, of course, but…I was the one who ferried him to Earth.”
Oh. She’d failed to mention that when she’d told Elle and me the story. Mara had let the Winter King escape with all our crystals and nearly ended all of Faerie?
Yikes.
But I knew she had just been a grief-stricken mother back then, trying to find a way to make Halfling children survive.
“So what?” I asked. “The Dark War is history, and you’ve done nothing but spend your life trying to get the crystals back. No one deserves to be chained like an animal,” I added in a growl.
Mara nodded. “I agree, and I don’t want that for you. Whatever you’re doing to piss off Indra stops now, you understand? You need to mind your words around her, and no more sneaking Halflings through the middle of town.”
I gulped. “Cam was hurt. These guys are on our side.”
Mara nodded. “I can see that now, but that doesn’t mean Indra will.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m going to be back in about forty-five minutes. I have an idea.”
I nodded, synching my watch. “See you then.”
We’d find where these new crystals were stashed, grab them, and be done with this whole fucking nightmare.
For a second, I allowed myself to dream of getting all three crystals now, dropping them in Faerie, and grabbing healing water for Liam’s mom. We could bring his brothers and the final crystal to Faerie, where we would all live together, happily ever after.
But unfortunately, I didn’t think it was going to be that easy.
I stepped off the porch of the two-story red house and slipped into the passenger side of the teal VW, looking back at the door just as Mara closed it. I couldn’t imagine the guilt she must have felt for letting the Winter King leave with all those crystals. Even if she hadn’t known, it had to weigh on her.
Liam took off down the road, with Cam and Elle in the back seat and me riding shotgun. I found myself entranced with the beauty of this countryside. Hundred-foot-tall trees and rolling hills overlooked a beautiful lake.
Taking a deep breath, I activated my Seeker power. It was weird knowing that Liam could do the same thing, and most likely was doing the same thing right beside me. There was a weak pull straight ahead as Liam coasted the car down the highway, but as we got closer to the lake, the power kicked stronger.
“Feel that?” Liam asked.
I nodded.
We hadn’t really talked about a plan, but considering that Liam had crazy ice-throwing powers and Cam was a fucking wolf, I figured we were in good shape.
The pull got stronger as Liam twisted and turned down the road, closer and closer to the lake, until he finally pulled over.
“Okay, let’s walk from here.” He pointed to the edge of the lake, where a beautiful house was perched at the edge of the water. Around the home was some kind of shimmery…
My heart picked up its pace. “What’s that?”
It
