I let out an angry cry and threw my phone across the living room. Thankfully, Tate caught it before it hit the wall. I was pissed, but having to buy a new phone wouldn't improve things.

"That sounded like it went well," Tate gave me a tense smile as he dropped it on the couch next to me.

I couldn't answer him; my throat was tight, and my eyes burned. I pressed my hands into my face, took a deep breath, and refused to cry. Ash pulled me against his side and kissed my temple.

"I'm glad you talked to her. I don't know how Lochlan got under her skin so fast, but I don't think I can handle listening to her defend him again." Mark's arms were crossed, and his scowl from last night was still in place.

"What did she say when you told her all the terrible things he said about humans," Tate asked as he sat next to Mark.

I let out a loud sigh, "If he hates humans so much, why is he here now? Why would he want to be with me?" The voice and hair flip I use to imitate her would usually make us laugh. Especially Clara, but Clara wasn't there, and Mark and I weren't in a laughing mood.

"Why is he with her?" Tate looked at Ash, "Why couldn't you feel his emotions last night? I didn't know he could block you."

"He couldn't before," Ash shook his head. "Only the Queen has ever been able to block me with any consistency."

"Maybe she's helping him then," Mark leaned forward, "but what would the Queen want with Clara?"

"Maybe to be close to us? To watch us?" I asked.

Tate shook his head, "That doesn't sound like her. If she was going to send someone, it would be to bring us back or kill us, not date our friend."

Ash nodded, "I agree. I don't know why she would involve more humans."

My stomach turned sour. "What could they do to her? Crystal won't hurt her, will she?"

"I don't see what she could gain," Mark looked from Tate to Ash as though they'd have the answers.

Ash looked down and sighed, "If this is Queen Crystal's doing, she could hurt her just to hurt us."

"Or for entertainment, you've seen how she is," Tate shrugged.

My mind was flooded with terrible thoughts of Clara in a cage, scared and alone. Clara's a lot tougher than she seems, but I wasn't sure how she would handle something like that. My worries were interrupted by a knock at the front door.

I turned to Ash with alarm. He kissed the top of my head as he stood. "It's alright, love. The emotions are friendly and I think I recognize them."

He opened the door and Fawn stood there smiling. "Good morning! I thought I might find you here."

"Hello, Fawn. It's so nice to see you," he stepped back, welcoming her into the house.

She stepped inside and smiled at the group. "Hi, everyone! I hope I'm not interrupting?"

"Of course not, we're always happy to see you," Tate stood to greet her and offer her his seat.

She shook her head, "I wish I could stay, but I'm on my way to open the library. Can't be late. Actually, I was looking for you."

She smiled and held a rolled-up piece of paper out to Tate. It was sealed shut with a glob of red wax. Dread washed over me; letters from faeries couldn't be good. Ash must have agreed. He sat next to me and took my hand. Mark glanced at all of us with a worried look.

Tate smiled and took the paper. Only giving it a quick glance, he slid it into his back pocket. "Thank you for bringing it to me."

"It's no problem. I hope you weren't waiting for it. I found it in the kitchen a few days ago. Someone must have dropped it off while I was sleeping," she crinkled her nose, "and, I'm sorry to say I forgot about it."

"That's alright. I'm sure it's nothing. It's my own fault for not visiting more," he smiled and she waved him off.

"I do enjoy your visits, but I know you're busy. I'm thrilled to see everything working out so well for the two of you here." She grinned at all of us and I did my best to return the smile. "Anyway, off to work! Have a beautiful day."

"You too, Fawn. It was nice to see you," Ash stood to walk with her and Tate to the door.

Mark stared at me with wide eyes as we waited for the door to close. As soon as Fawn was gone, he said, "What is that? What does it say?"

"Who sent it?" I added.

Tate sighed and pulled it from his pocket. "I don't know. I didn't want to read it in front of Fawn."

He carefully picked at the edge of the wax and I resisted the urge to grab it and open it for him. It was like watching someone slowly open a gift without tearing the wrapping. Just get it open! I wanted to scream but managed to hold it in.

"Calm down, love," Ash patted my leg. "We're here, together and safe."

"Clara's not here," Mark whispered and my heart stopped for a second.

Then I realized that was crazy. "I was just talking to her. She's fine."

"She said the note was left days ago. We'd know if someone had been taken by now," Ash whispered as he focused on Tate.

He finally had the note open and was reading it. Judging by the way Ash's hand was tightening on my knee, Tate's emotions didn't suggest it was a birthday party invitation.

"What does it say, Tate?" Mark leaned toward him to peek at the words.

"It says, 'Things need to change. Our people deserve better. We've seen you and know you agree. You and your friends come to the place the fire flowers bloom. The warrior humans are welcome with us. We'll find you there.' It's signed, Ember's Flame."

"Ember's Flame? Queen Ember? What does that mean?" Ash leaned forward and reached for the note.

"Warrior humans," I couldn't stop the nervous chuckle that escaped me.

A grin spread slowly across Tate's face. "I think we found the resistance Queen Crystal's afraid of. Or, they've found us."

"Resistance?" Mark shook his head. "Have you ever heard of them?"

"No." Tate looked at Ash, "What do you think?"

He took a minute to answer. "I think if they wanted to harm us, they knew where to find us, or at least they knew they could get to us through Fawn. They know about Jolie and Mark. They must have seen our escape from the trials."

"They want us to help them," Mark whispered as though he was talking to himself.

"I'd like to help with that," I smiled.

"What if it's a trap?" Ash looked at each of us.

Tate shrugged, "As you said, they knew where to find us. It seems like they're trying to not make us feel threatened."

"What better way to lure us into a trap?" Ash pulled me onto his lap. "We need to think this through."

"I think we should go."

Mark stared at me for a second before nodding. "Me too. If someone's already working to take Crystal down, we should be with them."

Ash nodded, "When do we leave?"

"The letter doesn't say when to meet them?" I asked.

Tate shook his head, "No. It only says where."

"So what? They've just been sitting there waiting for us for days?" Mark looked as confused as I felt.

"This place is far from court. It's far from everything. No one lives there; it's too far from water." Tate pulled his hair back and sighed. "It would be a good place to stay hidden."

"I say we leave tomorrow. We tell everyone we're going, pack today, and leave in the morning." I looked at Ash waiting for him to object, but he surprised me with a nod.

Mom was sad to see us leaving so soon, but excited for our vacation. Bea was happy for us too. They were sure we were going to have an amazing time. Hedera was worried, but she worked to hide it from Mom and Bea.

We stood at the bookshelf in Bea's basement ready to go. Mom was giving us each one more hug. She squeezed me tight to whisper, "Have fun, but know your worth. Make good decisions."

While she and Bea were talking to Mark and me, I listened to Ash whispering to Hedera. "You have no reason to feel guilty. You have a family here, and you're not a fighter. We understand you not wanting to go."

"Thank you, but I feel like I'm leaving my people when they need help," she looked down at her new red converse.

"You're not leaving them. You're living for yourself now and you deserve to do that," he hugged her, and she looked relieved.

Tate and Ash stepped into the passage and took their true form. As I hugged Hedera goodbye, I whispered, "Take care of them for me."

She squeezed my shoulders, "Emily and Bea will be safe with me."

Tate led the way, with Mark and Ash following behind him. I was about to step through when Bea stopped me, "Wait! I almost forgot," she held out a bag of cookies and grinned.

"Thanks, Bea. Love you."

"Love you too, dear. Love you all! Have fun!" She called happily as she closed the door behind us.

Mark sighed as soon as the light was gone. "We should have brought a flashlight."

"We wouldn't use one anyway." Tate chuckled, "We don't want anyone to see us coming."

"Oh, right," Mark mumbled. "That makes sense."

"Don't worry, my favorite. Our sight is better than yours. I'll tell you if there's anything you need to know."

Thankfully, the trip went without incident. We were through the mist and climbing out of a hole under a tree before I had time to get too anxious. After making sure we were alone, Tate said, "What now? Straight to the fire flowers?"

"I don't know," Ash shook his head. "So much could have changed since you last spoke to Citrine. Maybe we should check in with her first."

I thought I was ready for this, but now that it was real, I was getting nervous. Ash pulled me against his side. "We'll be careful, love. Everything's fine."

"We should see what we've missed." Mark looked at Tate, "All of us, we stay together."

He took Tate's hand, making him smile, "Together. Let's see if Citrine's home. First, what kind of cookies are those?"

I stared at him blankly before remembering the bag Bea had given me. I'd forgotten it was in my hand. Holding it up, I said, "I don't know. Spice cookies, maybe?"

"Perfect," Tate took the bag with a smile.

We walked and ate cookies like we were spending the day at the park and not possibly on our way into a trap. As we got closer to Citrine's home, Tate stopped. "Wait here. I'm just going to peek inside."

Mark started to object, but he was already gone. "Damn it," Mark complained under his breath.

"Don't worry, we'll be able to hear him," Ash said softly. "She lives just through these trees."

We stood motionless, trying to listen. A minute later, we heard the low rumble of Tate's voice followed by silence. Mark took a step to follow Tate, before I could stop him, Tate stepped through the trees with Citrine following.

Her bright yellow eyes seemed to take all of us in at once. "Why are you here?"