Score one for Helen.
I turn to Rys. “Your turn.”
Rys shakes his head. “I’ll wait outside.”
“By yourself? Why?”
“I’m sorry, Leannán, and believe me. I also mean your friend no harm. But Nine’s right. Whoever made these shadows is very powerful indeed. If I go any closer, it’ll be as if I walked the Iron at night.”
Hang on. I know this. If one of the Seelie crosses the veil into the Iron—into the human world—they can only survive during daylight, just like how the Unseelie rule the night. It has something to do with how actual iron amplifies the fae’s core traits. In Faerie, the Seelie draw their power from light: fire, sunshine, summer. Things like that. The Unseelie are the opposite, of course, thriving in the cold and the dark. An Unseelie, like Nine, would burn beneath the sun—literally—while Rys had to cross back into Faerie before night fell.
Now, Nine’s an anomaly. He lives in the human world because of Riley, and it took him a really freaking long time to get used to the iron and the light before he was comfortable existing there. For a fully charged Seelie like Rys, if he walked around the human world at night, he could die.
He’s telling me that the power coming off of Morgan’s barrier is strong enough to kill him.
Oh, hell no.
I back away. “Okay. Never mind. Forget it. Let’s just go.”
“Where are we going now?”
Shit. Jim.
He needs to rest. He needs to wash up. And, if I know Morgan as well as I thought I did, she’ll be more than willing to help a human in need.
This time, I have to choose Jim.
“Where? Come on. We’re going inside.”
13
I go first. Jim’s barely a step behind me, and he reaches for my hand right before we head straight into the shadows.
It still doesn’t feel… right. Like, the curve of his calloused hand is familiar, but it’s wrong. I can’t bring myself to shake him off, though. Especially after his last experience with such intimidating shadows, of course he’s looking for a little reassurance. I do my best to give it to him.
As soon as we break through, I slip my hand out of his. It’s not even on purpose. I’m so freaking relieved to see the dark-haired, pale beauty sitting peacefully on her porch, almost as if she’s been waiting for us.
Who knows? Maybe she is.
I can’t believe it. She’s… she’s okay. She really did make it out of the Faerie Market in one piece.
She’s okay.
Morgan climbs up from her seat. “Elle, is that you?”
“Morgan!”
“Elle!”
We meet in the middle of the walkway. I’m wearing a smile so wide, my cheeks can feel it. Can’t help it, though. I guess I didn’t realize how worried I was that something terrible happened to her until I finally set eyes on her again.
“I’m so glad to see you again! Once I made it back to the Shadow Realm, I just had to stop by.” I gesture behind me. “I hope it’s okay that I brought some friends.”
I’m just about to make introductions when Nine lets out an amused chuckle that has all of us looking back at him. In all the time I’ve known him, I think it’s the first time I’ve heard him laugh. Even Riley seems surprised at his sudden burst of humor.
“Morrigan. You’re Morrigan. I should’ve known when we heard the whispers in Samradh.” He shakes his head. “Morgan. Hiding in plain sight, aren’t you?”
For the first time that I’ve ever seen, Morgan loses some of her good humor. Her silvery Unseelie eyes sparkle angrily, a dark look flashing across her otherworldly beautiful features. “With an enemy like Melisandre, what else should I have done?”