“Why the hell should we go to Faerie?” one yelled. “Why doesn’t she bring the crystals here?”
Liam looked at me.
It was my turn.
Stepping off the milk crate, he helped hoist me up, and everyone quieted. I cleared my throat, then projected my voice through the barn. “I think we’ve all been lied to. You were taught to hate me; I was taught to hate you. The Dark War left my world in tatters and your lives at risk. I see the error of those ways now.”
They simply glared at me, and so I went on.
“The crystals power our Tree of Life. It’s a tree in the middle of the Spring Court that gives all of Faerie life.”
A few of the men whispered something, but no one screamed at me, so I decided to keep going.
“The tree needs all twelve crystals to restore Faerie. When I have them and Faerie is alive again, you can live there and visit your human families whenever you want!”
A few more grumbles. “How will you restore Faerie?” one of them asked. He was older, Liam’s age.
I had to make a choice right now…how much did I trust these men? How badly did I need them to follow me into war?
I had to be honest. I was desperate. “I won’t restore Faerie, but the Queen of Spring will.”
Gasps rang out throughout the barn, including Elle’s. She hadn’t been expecting me to let that slip, but I was done with secrets. Secrets were what had gotten us into this mess in the first place.
“The Queen of Spring lives! Once we place the crystals and she awakens, Faerie can be whole again. And she will welcome you,” I told them fiercely.
Liam nodded. “I’ve been there. The air is full of regenerative crystal magic, and the people are kind. We won’t have to struggle anymore.”
The men gathered in a huddle and talked among themselves while I waited nervously for their answer. Liam stayed out of it; he was clearly a leader, but not a dictator.
Finally, a guy about Liam’s age with black horns approached me. “We will agree under one condition.”
Oh, gods. I hoped it was within my power to grant.
“We heard you have a healer. If you want us to fight for you, then you need to heal us. We want your healer here on Earth with our group.”
Bring Kira out of Faerie? Away from the queen? I didn’t think Kira had ever been to Earth, and with the queen in danger near Indra, it would be risky. But I had Trissa watching over the queen now, and I couldn’t expect these men to risk their lives with no promise of support.
“Granted. You may have Faerie’s only healer at your disposal.” I placed a fist over my heart and bowed.
He frowned. “Only one healer?”
I nodded. “When the Winter King stole our crystals, a darkness encompassed Faerie and killed a billion of our brethren. We’re all that’s left.”
Every single Halfling’s eyes widened, and a few lowered their heads in reverence. Clearly, they hadn’t been told that in their history of the conflict.
“The Dark War hurt both sides,” Liam said. “And our parents pitted us against each other. It’s time we bring in a change with a new generation.”
The rallying cries made my heart soar.
We were doing this. It was going to be okay.
A flurry of activity followed the barn meeting. I sent Cam and Elle to get Kira by any means necessary, to sneak her out if they had to. I was explicit that Trissa must stay by the queen’s side the entire time the healer was gone.
And then we waited.
Two hours later, Kira arrived, wide-eyed and looking around Liam’s farm like she was on an alien planet.
I hugged her. “Thank you for coming.”
She nodded, glancing fearfully at all of the Halflings.
We didn’t have time to ease into anything, so I just had diarrhea of the mouth and told her everything that was going to happen, all about the crystals we needed to get back and the war that might ensue. How Liam’s army needed a healer in case they were hurt fighting for our side, and how they would then come live with us once we got the remaining crystals.
She nodded, adjusting her pack. “The Elders were livid. Even more so when Trissa stationed herself at the queen’s side and refused to leave. The queen’s been…twitching. I think she’s…” Kira leaned in closely, lowering her voice. “Waking up.”
Holy shit. My stomach dropped. “Do you think the sleeping medicine has kept her down this whole time, and now that we’ve barred Indra from seeing her alone, she’ll naturally wake?” My brain couldn’t even fathom that. I immediately wanted to kill Indra if that was the case.
Kira shrugged. “It’s a possibility at this point.”
Motherfu—
“Ready?” Liam called out, breaking me from my thoughts.
I had to push this from my mind and focus on one task at a time. These crystals needed to be returned to Faerie.
I turned to Liam and nodded. “Will your brothers and mom be okay?”
He pointed to a small group of half a dozen guys. “I’ll leave them behind to look over my family and the crystal. Once we place all three at the tree, we can come back for this one and bring my brothers to Faerie.”
It was perfect. I really hoped it worked without any issues. “And your mom?”
A shadow crossed his face. “I’ll give her the next two drops, and hopefully, she’ll heal further.”
I nodded. “She will heal, and then I’ll find someplace brilliant she can live so that you can see her every day.” Maybe we could buy her a house near the enchanted shell on Earth. That way, Liam and his brothers could use the shell to easily visit her. Mara wouldn’t be involved, so the Elders wouldn’t care…
Liam reached out and brushed his finger across my lower lip,
