“You’re serious? He thought escaping through the wilds of the fae realm was a good thing?” I asked. “Where is he now?”
“Why isn’t anyone answering? Where is Zander?”
“We don’t know. Elon, Lochlan, and I went after him. He managed to cover an incredible amount of distance in a short period of time,” said Sterling.
“Once we realized that he was missing, we searched around the immediate area. When it became clear that we’d need to search further out for him, Jennica and Callie were sent to the safe room. The rest of us went after Zander,” said Lochlan.
“Even in my bear form, I couldn’t find him,” said Sterling.
“How is that possible? He managed to get far enough away that you couldn’t catch up with him even in your bear form?” I asked.
“Because there was no trail.”
“Do you think my father got to him?”
“We’re not sure.”
“He’s been unhappy for a long time,” said Jennica.
“What?” I asked.
Jennica blushed at suddenly being the center of attention.
“He and I talk. He said that until Lochlan and now me, no one treated him like an adult. Even though he’s stuck as a child, he doesn’t want to stay that way. He wants to break the curse,” she said.
“And he thought running away accomplished that? We always said we’d help if he chose to undo the curse,” I said.
“He said that the seer said he’d have to go alone to break the curse,” she said. “He made me swear not to tell.”
“I didn’t say we didn’t know where he was at. I just said that my bear couldn’t follow his scent.”
“Sterling, Elon, and I found his trail led us to the Waterless Sea, but we weren’t able to go any further.
“What is the Waterless Sea?” I asked.
“You probably know it as the Djinn’s Domain.”
“Of all the places to go, he picked one of the most dangerous ones. Why? Jennica did he say anything about going there?” I asked.
“No, he never said when or where he was going.”
“How do we get him back?” I asked.
“We need to request permission from King Kazar to enter the Djinn’s Domain,” said Lochlan.
“How is it he could go into that domain, but you three couldn’t?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Marty. It makes no sense. He shouldn’t have been allowed through,” said Lochlan.
“Now what? We can’t leave him there. He’s defenseless.” I said.
“No one is saying to leave him,” said Sterling.
“We have to go after him,” I said.
“Marty, it’s not that easy. I have to appeal to their ruling body for any of us to enter their domain. Without it we’ll be seen as trespassing, which is punishable by imprisonment or death. How severe we are penalized depends on whether or not they are feeling benevolent,” said Lochlan.
“I know you’re upset. If they let him in, then it’s for a reason. Once a person is granted access to Djinn’s Domain, they aren’t bothered,” said Elon.
“This is my fault,” said Jennica.
I started to correct her, but she wouldn’t hear it.
“No, don’t try to tell me it’s not. He told me how unhappy he was and that he wanted to leave. I should have told one of you. I just didn’t think he’d really leave.”
Jennica naturally took the blame. She didn’t know Zander like the rest of us. If anything, we should have noticed that his unhappiness ran so deep. But we never really gave it much thought.
Shame hit me with the subtlety of a punch to the gut. Zander had become a burden over the past few years. It took someone outside of our group to pick up on his feelings.
“Jennica, the fault is ours,” I said.
“No, don’t even start, Marty. I can go into the Djinn’s Domain,” she said.
“It’s not safe,” said Lochlan.
“It’s because you don’t think I can do it, isn’t it? Is it because I don’t have magic? You all think I can’t do anything and am helpless, don’t you?”
“No one said that,” I said.
“You didn’t have to. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the pitying looks and how you’ve avoided me, Marty. I’m not some broken toy that can be left in a corner. I have nothing else. My life has no purpose any more. Why shouldn’t I go?”
“I think we all need to settle down. It’s been a long day. I’ll send a message to the rulers at Djinn’s Domain and ask for permission to enter,” said Lochlan. “Try to be patient and don’t do anything rash.”
“I’m not sure why I expected to hear anything different,” said Jennica. “I’m just here on your charity. I don’t even have a job and you won’t let me help.”
She fled from the table and stormed up the stairs. The door to her room slammed shut, shaking the house. That is quite an arm she has on her.
“That went well,” said Elon.
“That was a colossal failure,” said Sterling.
“There’s been a lot of change in a short period of time. I’ll work on getting access to go after Zander. As long as he’s granted access to the Djinn’s Domain, he’s safe,” said Lochlan. “In the meantime, Marty, it’s your turn to make dinner.”
I groaned. It was going to be a salad night then. I could barely cook things in a microwave and even managed to burn boiling eggs. I was completely useless in the kitchen and I’m not sure why they trusted me to cook for them. And here in fae, the stoves were all lit by spells and used open flames.
“Am I allowed to hunt?” asked Sterling.
“You don’t trust my cooking?” I asked in a syrupy sweet voice.
“I’m not sure anyone should. And if I know you, whatever you make will be something that could double as cardboard,” he said.
“I’d prefer you didn’t hunt until I can show you some neutral locations. Elon and I can take you out tomorrow to scout some areas,”
