"We wanted to see what we've missed." Tate offered Citrine a cookie, and I almost laughed out loud. I couldn't picture this hardened warrior doing something as normal as eating a cookie.

But, she took it and nodded thanks. "There's a kill on site order for all of you, except Ash. He's to be taken to the Queen, by force if necessary."

Jolie stepped in front of Ash as though she was going to protect him. Ash smiled as he took her hand and stepped up beside her. He didn't seem concerned; Citrine's emotions must have been peaceful.

She smirked, "Don't worry, I have no plans to follow that order."

"Why not?" Jo definitely didn't trust her as much as they seemed to.

"I took my place on the guard to protect my people." She looked at Ash, "Do you intend to harm them?"

"No," he shook his head.

"That's why." She turned to Tate, "You should know, Lochlan brought a human through the mist last night, a female. They went directly to his home away from court, but the Queen was notified."

My chest tightened. "Did you see her? What did she look like?"

"I didn't see her myself. I heard gossip. It was a young blond girl. She came willingly." She studied our faces, "A friend of yours, I'm guessing?"

"Yes," Jo's voice was barely a whisper.

"Umm. Be careful." She put her hand on Tate's shoulder, "I've told you all I can. Please don't come back. I can't afford problems with the Queen."

"I understand. Thank you, Citrine." He nodded, and she disappeared through the trees.

"Clara!" I grabbed Tate's arm, "We have to help her."

Tate looked at me sadly, "I'm sure it's her, but we can't rush to Lochlan's home. It could be a trap. We need to find the resistance first."

"Ember's Flame could be a trap too! We can't just leave her there."

"Tate's right."

I turned to Jolie with surprise. " You think we should leave her with him? At some point, she's going to realize she made a mistake."

She nodded. "I'm sure she will, but she was fine with him yesterday. She came here willingly. I don't know what he's planning, but it doesn't seem like she's in danger right now."

Tate's hand slid down my back. "We don't know what Lochaln has planned, and I won't put you in danger."

"I don't want Clara in danger."

"Lochlan seemed to like her well enough to be kind to her. I know he doesn't feel the same about us. If you want me to, I'll go there alone. It'll be faster. I can look from a distance and make sure she's-"

"No. Absolutely not." My jaw clenched as I saw the worry in his eyes. I tried to tell myself he was right. We should look for the resistance. If they were real, maybe they would help us.

Beside me, I heard Ash whispering to Jolie, calming her worries. She was upset and conflicted too.

Tate hooked his finger in my belt loop and pulled me against him. "If they're not where they told us to look, we won't waste time waiting. We'll head to Lochlan's, the four of us. Is that acceptable?"

"Fine. But we look for them now. If they're not there, we move on."

"Agreed."

"And we stay together, no matter what. No running off on your own. Promise me."

"I promise I won't go alone. We'll stay together."

"Thank you." My hand curved around the back of his neck, and he leaned into my kiss. My stomach tightened as his arms went around me. His lips moved to my neck and up to my ear.

He whispered, "I love you, Mark."

I grinned. "I love you too." Stepping back, I took his hand, "Let's go."

Tate led us through the darkening woods. "How are we going to find these flowers if we can't see them?"

He lifted my hand and kissed it. "Don't worry. We're almost there."

A few minutes later, he pulled me to a stop beside him. Jolie bumped into me, and Ash stepped over so they could both see where Tate was looking.

We stood at the edge of the trees, looking into a field. The moonlight shone on the thick grass, illuminating the brightest flowers I'd ever seen. They were orange and yellow, with some red glowing through. It was stunning.

"Oh," Jolie sighed, "that's why they're called fire flowers."

"That's incredible," I glanced at Tate and saw him watching me.

He smirked and ran his thumb over my jaw, tilting his head toward the flowers, "Wait for it."

A second later a breeze blew through the trees and across the field. The flowers seemed to come to life as they danced like flames. I heard Jolie gasp and saw Ash lean forward to wrap his arms around her.

For a second it felt like we really were on a vacation. We were there to see amazing things and spend time together. I leaned against Tate and he bent to kiss my neck.

"I wish I could show you more," his breath tickled my ear and I smiled.

The breeze stopped, and the flowers stilled. "Me too. Maybe after all of this is over."

"And for the rest of our lives." He pressed his cheek to mine.

That reminded me of a terrible truth. Our life expectancies weren't nearly the same. I was going to grow old while Tate barely changed, staying strong and beautiful. We hadn't talked about it yet, and I wasn't sure I wanted to.

"Where should we start looking for this group?" Jolie asked pulling me away from my depressing thoughts.

"We'll walk around the edge of the field and let the trees keep us hidden. Tell us if you feel anyone nearby." Tate looked at Ash.

"I'll try, but the emotions coming from..." he paused and glanced between me and Jolie. "I'll do my best."

I looked at her and rolled my eyes, she chuckled. "We'll try to calm down, Ash."

"No, love. You can't help it. I didn't mean-"

"I know," she pulled him down to peck his cheek. "Still, we'll try to chill."

Tate stepped into the trees until we couldn't see the flowers and the moonlight didn't reach us. We moved hidden by darkness as we looked for signs of Ember's Flame, or anyone else.

We spread out as we walked and searched. Was there going to be some kind of clubhouse? I had no idea what I was looking for, and after a while, the search for nothing specific felt ridiculous.

I looked behind me to see if anyone else seemed lost. Jolie wasn't too far behind me, but I couldn't see Ash. I glanced around, and he wasn't anywhere. I stopped to wait for Jo, but when I looked back she'd disappeared too.

Turning in a slow circle, I realized it was only Tate and me. He was far ahead and I started to call out to him when a hand covered my mouth, and someone grabbed me from behind. I was pulled roughly to the side, then falling through the dark. Finally, with a hard landing, we stopped.

She pulled me up and pushed me forward. I was shoved into a room and knocked to my knees. She rested her hand on my shoulder to tell me to stay put.

It was a small room lit by the blue glow of seelie stones. The walls were dirt. We were underground. Jolie and Ash were there, sitting on the floor being guarded.

"It's alright, Mark. They don't mean us any harm," Ash gave me a reassuring look, but Jo seemed nervous.

The exit was being guarded by three fae that didn't look especially friendly. "Are you sure about that?" I asked Ash.

He nodded. "They said they're waiting for the last guests to arrive, and then they'll explain." He turned to the fae behind him, "How many more are we waiting for?"

"Just one," he mumbled and kept his eyes on the door. He seemed almost afraid.

Before I could say anything else, my guard stepped forward and with a hand on my forehead pulled me back against her. A knife was held against my neck but she wasn't hurting me. Still, it was hard to believe they didn't mean any harm.

Jolie tried to stand, but Ash caught her hand and pulled her down next to him before the guard beside her could move. "Wait. Stay calm, she won't hurt you."

"I won't," she patted my head gently. "Just making sure no one does anything rash before we can talk."

Just then, a fae was thrown into the room. He landed in the middle of the floor. The knife against my throat shook. One of the men moved toward the injured guard as another faced the entrance, ready to fight.

"Stop!" The guard yelled, but his feet were already off the ground.

He landed next to his groaning friend as Tate entered the room, asked, "Who's next?" and grabbed the closest guard by the neck before he could react.

Ash said, "Tate wait! They don't mean us any harm."

Tate lifted the guard and scanned his surroundings. When his eyes met mine, he paused before tossing him across the room. As he moved toward us I almost felt sorry for the girl with the knife against my neck.

Someone spoke from the shadow of a doorway, "Wait. Please. He speaks the truth, we mean you no harm, my friend." Tate froze at the sound of her voice.

As he turned, shock took over his features and he fell to his knees. He bowed his head, "Your majesty."

Finally, the guards stepped back and we were all allowed to stand. Jo moved closer to me and took my hand as Ash watched in confusion.

"I'm sorry for the theatrics, but we needed to get you down here without being seen. Crystal's men are in the woods, searching." The woman spoke quietly, and her eyes never left Tate. "I was told you wouldn't believe unless you saw me."

"Queen Ember, how are you here? Alive?" Tate's voice was strained as though he was holding back tears.

Ash's body jerked with surprise. He quickly knelt and bowed his head, "Queen Ember."

She stepped into the light. Tate gasped, and Ash's mouth fell open. It took me a second to find the problem. Long white hair framed her delicate face, she was beautiful, but she had no wings.

"I am no longer fae," her voice was barely a whisper.