Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen

Sunlight snuck in through my bedroom window, but another hour afterward I stayed warm in Lily’s embrace. We’d shifted a little through the night, traded positions once or twice but eventually returned to me in her arms before dawn. 

I’m not sure who awoke first, but one of us stretched. Pretty sure it was Lily, and then I stretched my legs, yawning. 

Turning to face her, I popped my knees and just stared into her soft azure eyes. Her short hair was bunched up and a little frizzy, and I’m sure mine looked twice as messy. We just sat there looking at each other for a few moments. There was no initial need for words. We were comfortable. 

But eventually, I did have a question. I spoke softly, my words dancing up the pillow to her pointed ears. 

“How did you do it?” I asked. 

Lily smiled in a way that said she knew what I was asking. But apparently, my bestie was a tad playful this morning because she asked, “How did I do what?”

I frowned. But as I stared at her smile, I couldn’t stay angry. Huffing and blowing my bangs out of my eyes, I gave her a moment to consider answering my question without me needing to specify. 

In her consideration, she’d decided to continue playing the teasing game, waiting for me to say more words. 

These goddamn fae, I thought. Little shits, every one of them. 

Sighing, I said, “Make yourself so trustworthy. Make me feel safe being vulnerable in your presence. Make me share my fucking bed with you, sleeping in the nude like a couple of wild animals. I’ve known you for a couple of days at most, and yet, you just waltzed in here and convinced me to hand you everything on a silver platter.” 

By the end, I realized I wasn’t whispering anymore. Not that I sounded angry. I just didn’t understand how all this had happened. 

“Let’s address the nudity first. Do you want me to put on clothes?”

I shook my head. 

“Do you want to put on clothes?”

Another head shake. 

“Would you be naked in a bed with anyone else but the Raven Queen or myself?”

“No!” 

Lily softened her voice and said, “Then stop overcomplicating this. You’re comfortable. You’re happy. You’re secure. I’ll be by your side every night that we’re here in the palace. That’s that.” 

And, suddenly, that was that. Once again, Lily took something I’d made an issue and rendered it powerless. 

“As for how quickly you grew comfortable with me, that’s thanks to two things. First, my glamour, though weaker than a full-blooded fae, is constantly moving through and around you to keep you calm and relaxed. Those feelings of security are partially due to my magic. Second, and don’t take this the wrong way, you’re a bit of a love-starved puppy. You latch onto anyone who shows you a moderate level of affection.” 

Oh. That was some brutal honesty, though certainly far from false. 

“Satisfied?” Lily asked. 

I nodded and laid my head on her chest, squeezing her tight. She laughed and ran her hands over the top of my hair until it was probably thrice as messy. I giggled, but the sound was muffled by my face buried in her bosom. 

“Okay, Sierra. I gotta get up and take care of a few things before we leave today,” she said, moving out of reach to my disappointment. 

“We?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. 

She nodded. 

“I’ve got a surprise for you. So get ready, and we’ll leave in about an hour.” 

“Where to?” I asked. 

There was that grin again. That damn smile signaled the surfacing of coy Lily, a smug bitch that I supposedly trusted with all my heart. 

“See you in an hour,” she said, putting on some clothes and sliding out of the room. I’d barely gotten some pants on when the door opened again, and Barsilla flew in. She hovered there, looking at the bed, then at me, then back out into the hallway. 

Writing something down on that damn tiny clipboard of hers, Varella’s left-hand lady muttered something. 

“You smell like Lily,” she said, still writing without looking up at me. 

I stammered for a moment, trying to find words. 

“We didn’t do anything,” I said, realizing there was probably a more intelligent response to be had. I thought about kicking myself, but I didn’t want to give Barsilla any more ammo to tease me. She was getting too good at it. Hell, she’d started good at it the moment I arrived in Featherstone. 

“I didn’t accuse you of fucking her, Sierra. I just said you smell like her,” Barsilla said, still not looking up from her notes. 

I realized that my tits were out and quickly pulled on a tank top. 

“I imagine we smell like each other since we shared a bed all night. Don’t you think she probably smells like me, too?” I asked. 

The piskie shook her head, sending her braid swishing back and forth. 

“You carry Lily’s scent, not the other way around,” she said. 

Frowning, I crossed my arms and cocked my head a little. Sounded like some bullshit to me. What game was Barsilla playing?

“How do you figure?” 

Sighing, Varella’s left-hand lady finally looked up at me and explained what should have been basic fae biology, if I’d grown up in the land of Faerie. 

“Fae scents are more powerful than human smells. It’s why when you returned from the Worm Court after flying with the queen for hours, you smelled like raven. She didn’t smell like wolf. Ergo, when you spent the night with Lily, you picked up her scent,” Barsilla said. 

I guess I’d gone nose blind to her scent, but if I closed my eyes and focused, I could pick up her aroma on my arms, my hair, and my abdomen. That coconut soap she used, along with subtle hints of chamomile. Barsilla was right. I did smell like the spy. 

“See?” she said, going back to her clipboard. 

So what I’ve learned today is that even my natural odor is submissive to that of the fae around me. Gods almighty, I thought, rolling my eyes. Just put me out of my embarrassing misery. 

“Anyway, I just stopped by to deliver a message from our ruler. Queen Varella permitted you to leave Featherstone with Lily for the day and said to have lots of fun. She’ll be busy in town today at several events,” Barsilla said. 

Okay, so today I’d learned my scent is as much of a fucking bottom as I am. And I apparently need my mistress’ permission to leave the palace. Something told me I should have been more upset about this, but what the fuck did I care? I’m sure if I went to Varella and said I wanted to go for a hike or a swim or whatever, she’d wave me off to have a good time. 

And deep down, there was a part of me that liked knowing she was paying attention to me. Therapists would probably raise a few red flags there and point out my situation as a textbook case of Stockholm syndrome, but again, this was Faerie. I couldn’t be diagnosed with human psychological conditions when I wasn’t in the human world. Checkmate, Freud. Or whoever the fuck invented that Stockholm thing. 

When my mistress kept tabs on me, it went beyond just a blanket “keep the mortal safe in the dangerous land of Faerie.” It felt more like I mattered to her, and she was invested in my well-being. That left me feeling wanted at the very least. 

Of course, a new paranoid thought spawned from our conversation about smells. And my heart started to pick up the pace. I looked at Barsilla and asked, “Do you think she’ll be angry?” 

“Who?” 

“My mistress. Would it make her angry that I smell like Lily and asked her to share a bed with me? I do seem to recall a memory from my inner wolf about her threatening to remove the hands of anyone that touched me,” I said, rubbing my forehead. 

Barsilla stopped writing and again looked at me. This time, she didn’t appear annoyed or smug. That tiny touch of softness had returned, like when I almost cried at seeing my wardrobe for the first time. 

“Sierra, I don’t think you have to worry about our queen flying off the handle because of Lily’s touch or scent upon you. Especially not when the Raven Queen asked Lily to stick close to you in the first place. And besides, Ceras touched you at court, pulling you off the body, remember? They still have both of their hands,” Barsilla said. 

I thought on this for a moment and sighed. It’s true. Some people, my friends, I guess, did seem to get an exception from the queen’s decree regarding touching me. 

“Anyway, I just came to deliver that message. I hope you have fun today with Lily,” she said and turned to go. 

“Wait, Barsilla. Can I ask you one more question?”

She turned back to me and flew a few inches closer, waiting. 

“Did my mistress truly ask Lily to stick close to me?” 

The piskie nodded and tucked her tiny pencil into the clipboard before saying anything more. Taking a breath, Barsilla said, “Our grace worried about loneliness being a factor while you adjusted to your new home. And there were obvious social needs you had she wasn’t right to fill. Enter: Lily, a fantastic feather and one of the queen’s most trusted intelligence officers.” 

I rubbed my forehead again and cleared my throat. 

“Do you think Lily will ever get bored of her assignment?” I asked, looking back at the bed we’d just been in minutes ago. 

Raising an eyebrow, Barsilla’s voice lowered. 

“No, Sierra. I don’t think that’s the case. Don’t think for a second that you’re the only one benefiting from your relationship with Lily. It’s not a one-way path, what you two share.” 

“How so?” I asked. “What does she get out of spending so much time with me?”

Silence filled the room for a moment, but it wasn’t due to hesitation on Lily’s part. She just wanted to make sure our eyes were locked when she spoke again to deliver the seriousness of her message. 

“A friend. She gets a friend, Sierra. Being a feather means Lily spends every second of the day wearing a mask. She stays quiet, moves freely about here and there, and risks her life spying on mortals and competing courts, all in the name of our queen. But you offer her a sanctuary where Lily doesn’t have to wear that mask. For a little while, she can discard it and just be herself, not perpetually worrying about her defenses.” 

While I processed that, Barsilla continued. 

“Besides, as a half-fae, Lily’s always had a little extra trouble connecting with others here in Featherstone. The humanity in her heart has been lonely for years, but because of her duty, she kept it tucked away. Now she has a human friend to express that part of her heart with. You mean much more to her than a mere assignment, royal pet. Don’t dishonor her affection by questioning her sincerity.” 

I looked down at the floor. What else could I do? There are just so many games and twists here in Faerie. I guess I let paranoia get the better of me. 

“Thanks, Barsilla,” I muttered. 

She nodded and left me to get ready for the day. 

I bathed and selected a nice gown for the day, not knowing what to expect. Picturing a picnic or something by the lake, I also picked out a sunhat and pulled my hair into pigtails. 

But when Lily returned, she was wearing jeans and a blue hoodie with a duck on it. 

“Oh, sweetie. No. We’re going casual today. I figured this might happen, so I brought you some stuff,” she said, putting a pile of clothes down on the bed. 

I eyed the pile and noticed these weren’t all that dissimilar to what I wore back in the human world. There was a pair of black jeans with the knees torn out, a pair of black Converse, and a plaid button-down shirt. 

“Where are you taking me that I’m dressing like a normal girl?” I asked. 

“Just get dressed quick. I’m hungry and want breakfast,” Lily said, patting my back and pushing me toward the bed. 

I dressed with her present, and everything fit fine. Later, I’d ask how she’d gotten my sizes just right. 

Probably a spy skill or something, I thought. 

Remarkably, it felt strange to be in jeans again after being dressed for palace life for the last several days. And again, it left me wondering what plans Lily had for me today. 

“Come on,” she said, taking my hand and leading me out of the room. 

We descended to the basement of the palace round and round a stone staircase that smelled damper the further we walked. The walls were lit by torchlight, and the air grew clammy. I suddenly realized we were under the lake level at this point. 

“Basement’s a weird place for a picnic,” I said, looking around. Even with the torches, it was pretty dark down here. My inner wolf gives me better night vision than most, but it took a little bit to kick in. 

“I’m not taking you on a picnic, Si.” 

At last, we entered a small chamber with a white-painted door covered in feathers separating us from our destination. A long brown rug extended from that door to the stairs we exited. 

In front of the door stood two talons in full armor, a man and a woman. They watched us carefully until my bestie reached into her pocket and pulled out a small folded paper with a wax seal intact. She handed it to the woman, who opened the document. 

“Permission from the queen to exit through the Intrinsic Pathways, granted to the feather and royal pet,” she read. 

You could just call me Sierra, I thought, rolling my eyes. 

“Very well. By the will of our queen, you’re hereby granted permission to enter the room,” the guard said, summoning a small ball of fire to her hand and dissolving the parchment instantly. 

She opened the door outward toward us, and Lily, still holding my hand, pulled me inside a large room basking in a purple glow. 

No carpet greeted our feet as the door closed behind us. 

Before Lily and I stood a large purple crystal, about the size of a small car standing on its bumper. The damn thing looked like a large chunk of quartz, but I knew it had to be something different. It smelled of Varella’s magic, but also, older things. She was not the first Raven Queen to use magic within this room. The ruler before her, perhaps? And maybe the one before them? It was hard for me to say. 

Thick golden lines painted onto the brick floor connected the crystal to seven full-body mirrors encased in silver and surrounded by precious stones in their bodies. None of the mirrors reflected anything. Their shiny surfaces were blank. 

Next to a wall sat a large concrete fountain with a ladle hanging from a hook in the center. It was filled with several inches of water and wide enough that I couldn’t wrap my arms entirely around it. 

“What is this place, Lily?” I asked, still staring at the contraption before me. It took up almost the entire room. 

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“Welcome to the Intrinsic Pathways, Si. Quick traveling lesson because I use this several times a week. The pathways are meant for traveling between worlds,” Lily said. “There are two types of paths between worlds, naturally-occurring ones. And artificial ones constructed by powerful fae, typically monarchs. Sometimes witches or demigods. This is an artificial gateway we’ll use. Here, go stand by the crystal, but don’t touch it yet.” 

Traveling between worlds? That doesn’t sound dangerous at all. I’d have been a little more freaked out if Lily hadn’t told me she uses this each week. But even considering that, I was a bit unnerved! My shoulders bunched up, and I forced myself to stay calm as I walked over to the Buick-sized crystal. 

Lily walked over to the fountain and scooped out some water in the ladle. She came back to me and slowly poured the water onto the crystal. It lit brighter, and a wave of Varella’s magic pulsed out toward the mirrors, which rattled in response. She returned the ladle to the fountain and then placed a hand on the crystal, closing her eyes. 

“Take my other hand,” she said. 

I did, and static hopped between us, causing me to recoil briefly. Lily didn’t seem to notice, keeping her eyes closed. 

When I did grab Lily’s hand, I felt my mistress’ magic respond inside of me, stirring around on the prowl waiting to be activated as if she stood nearby. Every hair on the back of my neck stood up. 

“In the name of the Raven Queen, we bid you here today,” Lily spoke as if in a trance. “Carry us to our destination, a land otherwise tucked away.” 

After she spoke these words, the crystal pulsed again, twice as strong. Our hair blew around from the energy, and Lily started leading me along one of the golden lines, which glowed bright yellow, leading us to one of the many mirrors. 

Inside the mirror, an image took form and started to clear, like a microscope being focused on a miniature lifeform. What came into view was an abandoned room with garbage bags and busted furniture scattered around. Daylight poured in through nearby windows. 

From beyond the glass, I could smell dust and mildew in that room. And I heard an ambulance or a fire truck racing by, but only just barely. My heart skipped a beat in response. 

Lily moved us closely, and I watched her step through the glass as though it wasn’t there. She pulled me through, and while I expected it to feel like passing through water, it was much airier. It felt like when you cross over from the passenger boarding bridge onto the airplane at the jetport. 

Within a second, I was through and standing in the messy room that appeared to be an old antique store in a strip mall. When I turned back around, I found the mirror reflected our store around us. The path had closed. 

“Um, you can get us back to Featherstone, right?”

Lily winked at me. 

“Of course. But the Intrinsic Pathways are one-way only as a security measure. Wouldn’t want someone using them to sneak into the palace, right? To get back, we’ll just use a naturally-occurring path to Faerie. But until then, welcome back to the human world,” Lily said, waving her arms around at the scattered junk around us, old shoeboxes, broken wood, abandoned greeting cards, and more. 

It felt. . . both good and bad to be back in the human world. On the one hand, I sighed in relief knowing this world operated according to a set of rules and logic I understood. On the other hand, the lack of magic around me in the air was instantly depressing. Walking around in a room without magic after being surrounded by it constantly in Featherstone felt like going to school the next day after finding out Santa isn’t real. 

“Wait, we’re back in the world of humans again?” I asked as a motorcycle drove by outside, revving its engine and causing me to cover my ears. Fucking hated those things. 

“That’s right,” Lily said. “Welcome to Dinah’s Collection, in scenic Bangor.” 

A new thought occurred to me, and I started to panic. My heart took off like a shot from a gun, and I spun to look my bestie right in the eyes. 

“Lily! I can’t be back in Maine! Surely I have a warrant out for my arrest by now. That fucking sheriff will have put out the word and—” 

The spy grabbed my face with both hands and interrupted me. 

“Hey! Hey, hey. You’re fine. You’ll never have trouble from that stupid man or his deputies ever again. No warrant. No arrest. No nothing. Just a fun day ahead,” Lily said in a soothing tone. Her glamour washed over me and started to do that calming trick again. I hadn’t realized how tight my shoulders were. The left one popped as I unwound. 

“I’m safe?” I asked. 

“You’re safe. The last time I left you, I said I was traveling to the human world, right? It was a short assignment, and on the way back, I saw to it those men wouldn’t remember you any more courtesy of some thorough spellwork. They don’t even know who Sierra is. . . like you never existed in their minds,” Lily said. 

Well, that. . . that was some damn fine news. Lily let go of my face, and I took a couple deep breaths. 

“Thank you,” I said. 

“What are friends for?” she asked, grinning. 

I suddenly recalled Barsilla’s words from earlier. 

“Do not dishonor her affection by questioning her sincerity,” she’d said. And I realized now just how far Lily would go to protect me. So I stepped close and wrapped her in the tightest hug I could. 

We stood like that for a minute or two until my stomach growled, ruining the moment and embarrassing me to no end. I cursed and shook my head. 

“Is the wittle woof hungwy?” Lily asked, poking my belly and laughing. 

I scowled at her, cheeks burning. 

“That’s not funny,” I muttered. 

“It’s a little funny,” she corrected. 

That earned her a true deep growl from deep in my chest to let her know just how badly she’d fucked up with this latest teasing. She didn’t even flinch, and then my stomach growled again, undercutting my entire display of threats. 

Fucking hell, I thought, rolling my eyes. 

“Come on, there’s a Moonbucks across the street,” she said. 

My inner basic white girl came alive with that. I hadn’t been to a Moonbucks in a hot minute, and I was craving a frappuccino. 

Lily walked over to a busted dresser and opened the middle drawer. She pulled out a small black clutch purse with a wallet inside. Under the purse sat an old pre-paid Android phone. The spy turned it on, and after several seconds of waiting, it booted up. 

“Onward!” Lily said, pointing to the back door. 

We walked outside and across the street to where the Moonbucks sat almost empty. It was around 10:30 a.m., according to Lily’s phone display. 

The smell of coffee beans, whipped cream, milk, and pre-baked treats took me back to rare times when I could sneak into Moonbucks on a class field trip we’d take to Bangor or Lewiston. 

Breakfast at Featherstone was always grand. But sometimes my little trash panda heart just wanted its corn syrup and artificial sugary sweets. 

We walked inside, and our shoes squeaked on the freshly-mopped black tile floor. The baristas had been standing around talking in their black and green uniform aprons. The four of them smiled at us and moved back to their workstations. 

“Hello, what can we get for you?” the cashier asked. They were fairly androgynous with long blue hair tied back into a ponytail and a lip ring. A pin on their vest showed a rainbow with the pronouns “they/them.” 

We ordered, and I got my frappuccino, along with a couple of bacon, gouda, and egg sandwiches. Lily got a yogurt thing and a regular black coffee. 

A few more customers came in after us, but I didn’t pay them much mind. We ate our food, drank our coffee, and just spent the next hour shooting the shit. It was nice. 

More customers came in closer to lunchtime. One accidentally knocked over the display with all the coffee mugs for sale and made a huge ruckus and mess. I nearly jumped out of my skin at the noise. 

We took that as our cue to exit and caught a bus over to Bullseye, which earned yet another squeal from my inner basic white girl. Seeing that red circle logo with the dot in the middle brought a smile to my face. 

I had so many memories with my mother as a kid in Bullseye. She’d always let me get something from the dollar section up by the front. And I’d lose the little knickknack by the next week when we returned. So, I’d get something different. 

The little discount section always had the most random assortment of items, from small boxes of crayons to rubber stamps in various garden shapes to tubes of bubbles and coffee mugs with little cacti on them.  

So when we walked into the retail chain store, I found the discount section exactly where it was in every other store, first thing when you walked in. 

“Oh! Check out this cool watering can!” I said, pointing to a small red one in the shape of an elephant. We also found packs of Pokemon cards, picture frames with all kinds of the usual phrases like “home is where the heart is,” and colorful binders. 

In the end, Lily and I bought this little package with a couple of plastic eggs inside. The eggs were covered in weird fuzzy paper with wild patterns. But when you opened them, there’d be one of six collectible rings inside. I actually couldn’t wait to see which rings we’d find. 

Lily and I held hands, walking through the electronics section and looking at the Switch games before moving on to housewares. We tried to sit in some of the display chairs, but that earned us a dirty look from an older worker stocking blankets on a nearby shelf. So, we left and went to check out the clothing. 

When we passed the toy section, a small boy and his sister ran out, each clutching giant tiger Squishmallows and screaming about how they were the rulers of Wild Island. I snickered at their goofy energy and then thanked the gods I didn’t have any of my own to worry about. 

 In the clothing section, Lily and I took our time wandering through the flannels. I found a yellow and black pattern I liked, while she tried to find a red one in her size. 

“It’s ironic that as a kid, I’d be bored as hell waiting for my Mom to finish walking through the clothes section. And now this is my favorite part of the store, outside of the bargain section,” I said, scraping hangers by, looking at different shirts I had no intention of buying. 

Lily smiled and continued looking through a stack of jeans. 

“My Dad managed a Bullseye when we lived in the human world,” Lily said. 

I turned to face her. 

“Sometimes Dad would pick me up from school on his lunch break and bring me here while he finished up work. I’d hang out in his office and drive him nuts by punching all the little buttons on his calculator. You know the ones that print onto the little paper?” 

Nodding, I caught Lily’s smile. The way she spoke about her father and sitting in his office was the most carefree I’d seen her. These were treasured memories she was sharing, and dammit, I was going to honor that with all my focus. 

“I just liked the little clicks and noises it made. None of the numbers I punched in made sense. I just liked pretending I was doing business, wearing his ballcap, which was too big for my head, and going through roll after roll of paper. He had to order extra for his store after I visited,” she said, and we laughed. 

“He sounds like a fun guy, letting you entertain yourself while he worked,” I said, smiling. 

“Yeah, sometimes he’d give me a couple of dollars and let me run up to the snack bar to get a soda. Other times I’d steal his badge and walk around the store, giving employees tasks to do like I was suddenly the manager. Most of them played along,” she said, putting down a pair of pants and smoothing them out. 

We each took a few shirts to the changing room but didn’t find any we liked enough to buy. Then we decided to call it quits and grab a couple of giant pretzels from the Auntie Anna’s mini shop at the front of the store. 

After we ate, the two of us caught another bus to downtown Bangor, about 10 minutes away. Lily and I walked down Main Street, checking out a few shops, with the one we spent the most time in being a comic book store. Turns out Lily had a soft spot for the X-Men, her favorite being Rogue. I was always more partial to Nightcrawler, and she thought that was cute because the two are basically siblings. 

Three and four-story brick buildings surrounded us as we continued our walk. A museum on the right displayed a curious arrangement of a frog, a paintbrush, and a violin. Across the street from that, we found a pizza place called Bangor Pie Company and had lunch. I didn’t re-enter the human world with any money, so I was glad Lily’s wallet had enough cash to pay for everything throughout the day. 

At lunch, we opened the toy eggs and found our rings. I got a fancy-looking one with a tiny yellow stone on top. Lily’s was a bit more basic but still had two sapphires on top. We ended up trading. I stared at the ring on my finger, smiling at the silly costume jewelry. 

When we finished eating, the two of us continued wandering around downtown. It didn’t take too long to explore everything. Bangor was a city compared to Allagash but still nothing like Boston or Quebec City. 

Eventually, I turned to Lily and asked, “So what made you want to surprise me with a girls' trip today?”

She shrugged. 

“I figured after heading into a conflict zone in the Worm Court, you could use a break. Remember what normal feels like,” she said. 

I stopped. The memories I pulled from my inner wolf weren’t exactly grand moments I looked back on fondly. 

“Lily. . . I killed another person,” I said. 

She turned to give me her full attention. 

“There was this guy in the group of soldiers that attacked us. He got a quick shot off with his bow and drew my mistress’ blood,” I said. “So, I killed him.” 

A man walked by with thick headphones on, muttering something about needing to pick up his dry cleaning. 

“How did you feel afterward?” Lily asked. 

The wind picked up, blowing our hair around, and I leaned against a brick building, looking up at the blue sky without a trace of clouds. 

“Like it was necessary. . . but it still sucked. I remember the soldier’s face, just like we talked about. I remember the way he tasted in my jaws. I remember what his dying breath sounded like,” I whispered. 

Lily came closer. 

“Good. Then it sounds like you’re carrying the weight of that death as you’re supposed to, just as I do when I take a life. It’s like I said, Si. That’s how you acknowledge the act of violence you undertook to protect our queen. You carry that memory,” she said, taking my hand. 

Sighing, I felt the pain radiate in my heart. I wasn’t pushing the memory or feeling away. That violent moment in the Worm Court was something I’d have to live with. . . but I didn’t have to live with it alone. 

“I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t waiting for me in my room last night,” I whispered. 

“Then I’m glad I was there. And I’m glad you asked me to continue being there. Anytime you need a day like today, just let me know, Si. I’ll arrange it. We’re humans, and it’s normal for us to spend at least some time here, doing regular life stuff,” she said, rubbing my hand. 

Smiling, I nodded. 

“Once again. . . .thank you,” I said. 

“That’s what friends are for. You ready to head home?” she asked. 

Home. Featherstone was home. The human world was the place we just came to visit once in a while. And I had a home in the land of Faerie. Just thinking that out felt weird. . . and also exciting. I actually couldn’t wait to get back. 

“All set. Where’s the natural path you mentioned?”

“Just another block away. You can swim, right?”

Those words took longer to process than they should have. 

“Yeah, I can swim,” I answered casually before the mental processing was done. And when my brain caught up, I yelled, “Wait, why?!”

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