Page 38 of Crown of Wings and Whispers

Surely.

* * *

Wickham expected Everlyto be peeved at being left behind. Instead, she was grateful. In the foyer, she kissed Urban goodbye and headed back to her room at a fast clip. From the sound of it, she didn’t make it far before she lost her breakfast.

Urban looked worried, but he didn’t go after her.

Ivy wasn't happy that he was headed for Moire's Embrace. "We don't even know what you'll be walking into." She glanced at the open doorway to the parlor, where Griffon waited for them. "Doesheeven know?"

"Honestly? I dinnae believe he does. The old man said it would take a daring Fae to take us there when he may well not be allowed out again.” He nodded toward the parlor. “Obviously, he loves her. The only way I would walk into Hell would be if I needed to save you.”

Ivy flung her arms around his neck and kissed him hard, like she always did when she thought she might never see him again—which, sadly, happened more often than he’d like to admit.

Griffon Carew was a good man—a good Fae—and for now, he could be part of the team. But good will wouldn’t give him a free pass forever. They would trust him today. That was all Wickham would promise. And hopefully, they'd all be back in the parlor soon, giving Lennon a hard time for fleeing.

Yes, Carew was a good man, an honorable one, even more honorable than he. Because Wickham had no intention of keeping his word. If they were able to save Lennon and bring her back to Hope House, she wouldn't be leaving with the Fae if he could help it.

Although, convincing her to stay might be easier said than done…

* * *

Wickham hatedto think of it as a hunting party, but that was precisely what the team was that morning as they began to take their positions in the circle. Persi fetched their Fae escort out of the parlor to join them. Kitch and Alwyn brought lengths of soft black rope and handed them around.

Kitch explained. "Griffon said we shouldn't rely on normal physics, so rope might be the only way to keep us together." He tied the end of one length to Persi's belt, then knotted the other end to his own. "He also said our daggers may not make it through."

Wickham looked to the Fae for verification. Griffon shrugged. "It's not as if the place is vacation ground for the High Fae. For obvious reasons, no one has ever returned from the Embrace to report what they’d seen. So I urge you not to include more of your friends than necessary."

Kitch whistled. "High Fae? Is that what ye are?"

Griffon rolled his eyes and ignored the question. "Anyone who has qualms should stay behind." He looked pointedly at Persi.

"I'll be stayin'," Brian said, as he tied a rope to his brother. "Flann and I decided, if this ends in disaster, one of us will be left to carry on."

Kitch grinned. "Did ye flip fer it?"

Brian shook his head. "Flann insists on goin'. Thinks Lennon will appreciate a friendly face."

Griffon grumbled. "I don't think you understand--"

"Aye," Wickham interrupted. "We do. But he's right. She and Flann...get on."

Flann grinned in the face of Griffon's sudden interest and offered him the other end of his rope, which Griffon took and attached to himself.

Alwyn stepped back. Essential personnel only. And though Wickham would have preferred Persi stay behind, there was no separating her and Kitch. They’d obviously come to a similar agreement to he and Ivy, that they would willingly leave this world together rather than spend the rest of their lives apart. So who was he to argue?

It was a risk to take Persi and her Naming Power where she might come face to face with Orion. But Wickham doubted she’d see reason when her friend needed rescuing.

Wickham tethered himself to Urban, who tied on to Persi, who was already attached to Kitch. Kitch attached his second line to Flann, who was now tied at the hip to Griffon. With their small party of six attached in a line, they gathered close and set hands to shoulders.

Griffon lifted a finger to the air before him. “Ready?"

"Ready," they said in unison.

"Remember not to panic,” he said. “If, as you say, there are those from Muirsglen there, and they can breathe normally, so can we all."

"Bloody hell," Kitch said, "I didnae think about oxygen."

"Avoid direct eye contact with any Fae. Don't allow yourselves to become mesmerized by the glamour. Most mortals are shocked when they see the true fairy world."

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