“Even if any of that is true, you know you can’t tell him, right?”

  I frowned at him. “What? Why not?”

  “Okay, let’s play this out. Say you leave this room right now, and you find him, and you tell him what you know. First, he’s going to tell you to mind your own business. Then he’s going to ask you how you know about his condition… because you’d have to tell him, right? The murder, Vito’s suicide, we already knew about those; you need new information to justify this little outburst of concern. So, how do you answer his question?”

  “I… I don’t know.”

  “Because you can’t tell him you were spying on him. That would go down really well.”

  “I guess…” I trailed off.

  “You also can’t tell him you know his cure was stolen, because again, he’ll know you were eavesdropping, and he’d never trust you.”

  “I have to do something, Rell. I can’t just sit here.”

  “You can, and you probably should. You’re supposed to be taking part in the Favoring. Tell me what the Viscount is likely to do to you if he finds out you were spying on him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “He’ll probably incarcerate you.”

  “Maybe I should just follow him, help him from a distance.”

  “Well, allow me to predict what will happen if you go after the Viscount. You die. Period.”

  “And how can you be so sure?”

  “We’ve already gone over the fact that you’re human, so how about I take it one step further? I know about Darkwood Forest. I know what people say about it.”

  I frowned. “What do you know about it?”

  “Every sprite worth their cold iron knows about the forest. They know how dangerous it is to the Fae, they know the magic that traps them there, and they know about the things that live inside it. My mother would tell me the stories as a means of keeping me out of it, because she knew just how powerful the lure to go there is. Thinking about it, that lure could be affecting you right now, same as the Viscount.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, the forest itself isn’t just magic, it’s alive. It thinks, it craves, and it kills. There’s no good to be found in there.”

  “You’re just giving me more reasons to warn the Viscount against going.”

  Rell pinched the space between his amber eyes and shut them hard. “Trust you to take entirely the wrong message from what I’m trying to tell you.” He shook his head. “Let me put this in terms you can understand, okay?”

  “Okay?”

  “Forest, bad. You die. He die. Everybody die, so, forest? No go. Don’t.”

  I gate Rell a bemused look. “Is that supposed to be funny?”

  “No, it’s meant to stress a point. He doesn’t really want to go to that cursed place, and if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll come to his senses soon, but there’s nothing you can do about it. That place is designed to deal with the Fae. It’s a maze of dark trees, monsters, and near-total insanity. It won’t work out well for him.”

  “How do you know so much about it?”

  “Because the sprites built it.”

  I paused, for a moment caught a little off guard. “What?”

  “We built it. My people. My mother was one of them.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  Rell lowered his head. “To protect themselves from the Fae. You saw how they treated me. You heard what the Viscount’s first few words were to me. We’re second-class citizens to them. Not even citizens. They hate us almost as much as they hate humans; the only difference us, they used to hunt us.”

  “Rell…”

  “It was before my time…” Rell trailed off. “My mother would tell me stories of all the different kinds of sprites that existed… hundreds of sub-species, from dryads to elementals of all shapes and colors. The forests were ours; they knew they couldn’t enter. But there was a war, a great war, and the Fae started turning to the forests for materials and supplies so they could fight each other. When we tried to fight back, they killed us. Those they thought would be useful, they enslaved. When the war was over, the slavery didn’t end. They just repurposed their captives instead of letting them go.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Have you ever seen the fireplace downstairs?”

  “I… think so. The one with the chains?”

  “Why would a fireplace need chains?”

  “Shit… you mean to tell me that’s one of your people in the fireplace?”

  Rell nodded. “And that’s the only one you’ve seen. There are others, captives in this place, serving as decorations. Look at what they tried to do to Thea. If they’d turn their own people into ornaments, what do you think they’d do to my people?”

  I sat on the bed. “I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “What was the point? There’s nothing you can do. But do you see, now, why I could care less about the life of one Fae?”

  I took a deep breath and arched my shoulders. The juice was working; the pain I was in was starting to subside, and my strength was coming back. I couldn’t deny that Rell was making good points, though. I had no idea what I was doing here. Everything wanted to kill me, and probably could kill me. Why did I want to put myself in even more danger than I was in?

  Because it’s him.

  I shook my head. “You’re right,” I said.

  Rell threw his hands up. “Thank the fates! She sees reason.”

  “Look, you’re right. I know you’re right. But I still can’t shake the feeling that it’s my responsibility to help him. I can’t believe I’m saying that. I don’t even like humans, let alone the Fae. Especially that Fae. The thought of leaving him out to dry, though… when I know that he’s in danger? It doesn’t sit right, Rell. I can’t.”

  “Listen to me, okay? I’m going to say this one more time. Don’t get involved, here. Play your role in the Favoring, deal with Invidia, get us our tickets out of this place. It’s the best bet.”

  “If you know me, then you know I can’t trust her. Even if I go through with the Favoring, there’s no guarantee she’ll help me get home.”

  “And the Viscount will?”

  “If I save his life, he’ll owe me, right? He won’t have a choice.”

  “Sounds like you’re trying to trap him, not save him.”

  “Maybe it’s a little of both.” I stood upright and stretched my neck, my bones making satisfying crunching sounds. “I know this is crazy, but if I just let him walk out of here, I may as well kill him myself, and I’m not a murderer.”

  Rell rolled his eyes. “Even after all this, you’re still going after him?”

  “I am,” I said, walking over to his perch. “And I know you’re going to hate me for this,” I added, taking his hand, “But you’re coming with me.”

  “Wait, what?!” Rell screeched.

  I pulled the little dragon off his perch, turned around, and marched toward my bedroom door.

  CHAPTER 13

  “I don’t like this,” Rell said, as I hurried through Emerald Hall’s corridors. “I really, really don’t like this.”

  “You can go and hide once we’ve found him if you want,” I said, “I’d just feel a lot better having you nearby in case something happens.”

  “Something happens? Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Something.”

  “If he gets physical, there’s not a whole lot I can do. I just think you should know that.”

  “Stop worrying, okay? Geez.”

  “Worrying is what has kept me alive this whole time. That, and avoiding the Fae at all costs.”

  “How’s that working for you now?”

  “Well, it’s been downhill ever since I met you, if we’re sharing.”

  “My life isn’t all sunshine and roses either, but I’m making the most of what I can.”

  I hurried down the stairs, this time moving a lot faster than I had as I made my way up them earlier. The Viscount, however, was a lot quicker on his feet than I was. It was totally possible he’d already left the estate, which was going to make finding him difficult. I had to hope that he was still here; that there was still time.

  Hurrying toward the front door, I found myself already rehearsing what I’d say to the Viscount when I caught up to him. I had to try and tell him what I knew without overplaying my hand and letting him know I’d been spying on him. I needed to keep that trick in the bag for a rainy day.

  I also didn’t want to risk him doing to me what he did to that butterfly.

  No matter what I said to him, I knew I was taking a risk, but it was the right thing to do. The only thing to do. Sitting in my room, playing the role of the happy little Fae Lady of the house, that wasn’t for me. I was the kind of woman who got her hands dirty, the one who took risks, the one who got in trouble.

  I wasn’t afraid of trouble, though out here, in Arcadia, that was probably going to get me killed one day.

  “Kadeera!” someone called out just as I reached Emerald Hall’s front door. Turning around, I spotted Thea standing at the top of the grand staircase I’d just descended a moment ago. She looked a little confused. “Are you leaving?”

  “Oh, uh,” I stammered, “I’m just going outside,” I said, “For some air.”

  Thea started coming down the stairs. “Mind if I join you? I feel like I’ve been stuck indoors all day.”

  “This isn’t a good idea,” Rell said, telepathically.

  “I know,” I thought, “I can’t just blow her off, though.”

  “Every second you waste he gets further away.”

  “I know that. Make yourself useful and see if you can find him.”

  I opened the front door and let Rell roll off my shoulder. He didn’t, at first, but after a moment or so, he decided to do it, grumbling as he exited the house. I shut the door just as Thea arrived, her violet eyes gleaming. She shook her hair out with her hands, and it turned a deep blue in front of my eyes, like something out of a hair-care commercial.

  “Woah,” I said, “That’s amazing, how did you do that?”

  “It’s a glamor,” she said, smiling, “My new au pair taught me how to do it. I could probably teach you.”

  “I think magic is a little out of my reach, but thanks for the offer.” I paused, watching her, my hand on the door handle.

  “Do you want to step outside, then?”

  “Actually, I’m kind of in the middle of something… can I take a rain check?”

  “What’s a rain check?”

  I shook my head. “Sorry, it means, can we do it some other time?”

  Thea’s inquisitive eyes narrowed. She moved in a little closer and lowered her voice. “Avery,” she whispered, “Is something wrong?”

  I looked around the foyer. There were some people here and then fluttering through. Staff, mostly; no one who looked important. “Kind of. And I’m in a hurry.”

  “Wait, what’s going on?”

  “Nothing, nothing. Really. I just really need to get outside—someone’s, uh, waiting for me.”

  Thea’s eyebrow cocked, and she grinned. “Someone? Or someone?”

  “Sure, as if I would—” I stopped myself in my tracks, “As a matter of fact, yes. Someone.”

  “Get out of here. Are you serious?”

  “I am. We are, I mean. Totally serious.”

  “I didn’t know you were into the Fae.”

  “Psh, I mean, what’s not to like? You guys are beautiful. What’s not to like?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I assumed you despised most of them the way they despise you.”

  “Oh, I do. It’s kind of a hate-like situation, you know? Very volatile, and raw, and… physical.”

  Thea’s eyes widened. “Physical?” she gasped.

  “Who is it?”

  Oh God. Why do I keep picturing the Viscount?

  I couldn’t get him out of my head now that I’d started down this road. Me, and the Viscount? No way. I had a serious dislike for him, his ethics, his people, and his stupid face. Although, now that I was entertaining the idea in my mind, hate sex was probably the exact kind of relationship the two of us would have had, in another lifetime.

  Pull it together, Avery. Listen to me, thinking about hate sex with the Viscount. Who are you?

  The worst part was, I had meant to throw Thea off, but it wasn’t working. She was way more invested now than she had been when she first approached me.

  “I, you know,” I hesitated, “I really shouldn’t say. Just in case I screw something up, you know?”

  “But you have to tell me,” she pleaded, “Please, I’m begging you. It’s so boring here. There’s nothing to do except learn history, eat, and cloud-watch. Gossip is the only thing worth doing around here.”

  “And that’s exactly why I can’t say anything!” I hissed, “Do you think I want this getting out?”

  “No, but I can promise you I’m not going to tell anyone. I kept your other secret, didn’t I?”

  “I guess you did.”

  “And I’m going to take it to my grave because you saved my life. You’re the reason why I’m not someone’s art project right now.”

  I watched her wide, eager eyes, saw the way she looked at me. I could tell she wasn’t going to let this go; she was never going to let me leave until I told her, and I was running out of time. It was probably already too late to catch him.

  “You have to promise not to tell anyone,” I said.

  “I promise,” Thea said.

  “No, I mean it. This is the kind of thing that could get us both killed.”

  “Both of us? How?”

  “Because if you tell anyone, and I get murdered for it, I’m coming back as a ghost and I’m going to strangle you in your sleep.”

  “That’s… unnecessarily aggressive.”

  “It’s only because I mean business.” I paused. “The Viscount.”

  “What?!” Thea shrieked, the sharp note ricocheting off the foyer walls like a gunshot.

  I grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. “Are you insane?!” I hissed, “Keep your voice down.”

  “I’m sorry! It’s just, wow, that’s a juicy morsel right there. The Viscount and a human? It would be the scandal of the century.”

  “And that’s exactly why you can’t tell anyone. Understood?”

  “I promise.”

  “No, I mean it.”

  “I won’t tell anyone. I swear it. I’m really curious, though.”

  “Curious?”

  “Like, how does it even work? You know, with a Fae and a human?”

  I cringed, visibly. “Don’t be gross. Now, can I leave? I’m supposed to be meeting him.”

  “Oh, of course! Yes, my apologies.”

  I tugged on the door handle. “Remember, not a word to anyone.”

  Thea nodded. “I promise I won’t tell a soul.”

  I couldn’t help but feel like I had just made a huge mistake as I stepped through the doors and headed out into the cool, crisp, spring air. The sun was fading fast, casting long shadows all along the front courtyard, and bathing the sky in shades of pink, and blue, and green. The guard by the door glanced at me, then bowed their head as I stepped outside.

  I nodded in return, then I moved away from the door and headed toward the cobblestone road that led away from the mansion. “Rell?” I thought. “Rell, can you hear me?”

  “Over here,” Rell whispered into my head.

  “Why are you whispering your thoughts?”

  “I don’t know. Instinct.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m near the carriage house. You have to hurry.”

  Carriage house. I knew where that was. I’d seen it many times on my walks of the gardens. Elaith didn’t like to sit and talk history in a room. We’d go on these walks of the grounds, and we’d talk about the Fae, the Kingdom of Spring, it’s Houses; we even talked about the other Fae Kingdoms of Arcadia.

  Sometimes they’d throw pop-quizzes at me, to see if I was paying attention. Once, I couldn’t name the Queen of the Kingdom of Winter. I kept getting Dahlia mixed up with Delilah. Whenever I’d get one wrong, Elaith would force us back into the library, where they would make me write lines so I could memorize the information.

  It was strangely effective, probably because I didn’t want to be stuck in the library with Elaith every day.

  I heard voices up ahead, and immediately pressed my back against one of the nearby hedges. Peering around it, I saw the Viscount packing the trunk of one of the carriages in the lot. They were each stored in roofed cubicles that allowed them to be kept out of the rain. A member of the House staff was coming around with a horse, but the Viscount was talking to someone else.

  Shit, the Duchess

  She was trying to keep her voice down, but it wasn’t working. I could hear it. The servant could hear it. The guards at the front door of the manor probably heard it, too. She didn’t sound happy that the Viscount was getting ready to set off on a trip of some kind, and he didn’t seem too eager to tell her exactly what his plans were, either.

  “How the hell did she find out he was leaving?” I asked myself.

  “Good question,” Rell said in my head. “She’s mad as all hell, though.”

  “I need to get to him. I need to talk to him.”

  “Trust me, from what I’ve heard in the time I’ve been here, there’s nothing you can say to him that she hasn’t already told him. He’s leaving, kiddo.”

  “Leaving? Shit.”

  “Shit is right. He’s not staying here, not for her, and certainly not for you.”

  “He’s going to get himself killed out there.”

  “Probably, yes. So, how about we turn around and get back to our room before someone notices we’re gone?”

  I saw her, the Duchess, she was pacing around behind the Viscount as he packed the trunk of his carriage.

  “You have lost your mind,” she said. “As the Duchess of this house, I can order you to stay.”

  The Viscount slammed the trunk shut, turned around, and faced her. “Then, order me,” he said, squaring up to her.

  “You are going to die if you leave.”

  “I’m going to die whether I stay or I leave. I’m choosing to leave.”