I needed to think this through. Faeries and magic are real; that's crazy but not the most pressing thing. I didn't care if the people who caged me had wings or rode unicorns, I just wanted out.

Moving around; I tried to get comfortable. OK, focus. Ash is a faerie, which is weird because I definitely would have noticed wings. I guess they can hide them? Why didn't he tell me?

The way the Queen was talking he was ready to give up everything for me. That was a crazy thought. I like him a lot though, I might even love him. Do I care that he's a faerie, does that change who he is to me?

Staring at the welt that used to be my hand, I decided it didn't change anything. I wished he would have told me though. Maybe that was what he was coming over to show me! I mean you can't really tell someone you're a faerie over the phone, can you?

Wait. She called him her dream walker and he was coming over to explain how he knew about the conversation we had in my dream. Dream walker is literal!

Oh, crap on a cracker! That hot and heavy make out was real! That's why he said it wasn't the right time, because I was dreaming!

Does that mean I made it all up? It was pretty freaking great. If he hadn't stopped us I don't know if I would have. Just thinking about it had my stomach all tingly. His hands on my skin pulling me close and his lips on my neck.

I wasn't making him do that, was I? It wasn't like it was my dream, so he was a puppet? That would be gross.

That couldn't be it though because he was the one that stopped us and he told me stuff that I didn't know. Stuff that was apparently true, like I'm the first person he's ever been interested in, his first kiss even. Which was even more crazy now that I've been here, faeries seemed to all be good looking.

Even Blue; if he didn't look like he could happily beat the crap out of me, he'd be hot. He made me think of the shirtless models on the posters at that store, all intense and ripped.

The woman was still leaning on the tree, motionless. I hadn't seen her look at me at all, but I got the feeling she was the one to worry about, not her angry sidekick.

Looking at Blue, I decided it might be fun to ask him some questions. What's the worst that could happen?

"So, it sounds like Ash is pretty important here. What does he do for your Queen exactly?"

Blue didn't react to my words, he just continued to stare angrily.

"Oh, I get it. That's probably something for the higher-ups to know, right? I guess you're not told much."

Curling his lip at me, he said, "Everyone knows what the Dream Walker can do."

I gave him a look of disbelief and out of the corner of my eye, I caught a smirk on the woman's face. Did she think the way I was playing him was funny?

Blue said, "He makes you sleep and in your dreams he finds your secrets. While we're awake he knows what we're feeling or if we're hiding something, and his magic is as strong as his talents."

Wow, he was just a fount of knowledge. "Is magic different from talents? It seems like those talents are pretty magical."

He looked at me like I was an idiot. "We all have magic. Faeries, not you, you have nothing," he spoke like that was news to me and looked disappointed when I shrugged.

"Having magic is part of being a faerie but some are stronger than others. Not everyone has a gift, most don't, and he's the only one of us with his talents. That makes him important, which is the only thing keeping you alive."

I shook my head, "I don't get it. Fine, use me as bait to get him here, but if he doesn't want to stay, what keeps him from leaving?"

He sneered, "You do. If he wants you kept alive. The Queen offered to allow him to keep you as a pet as long as he does his job. Don't humans keep their pets in cages?"

The disgust I was feeling must have shown on my face because Blue looked content.

"Any more questions, human?"

"Nope. I'm all set for now, faerie."

He looked annoyed at my tone but didn't say anything when I laid back down. I couldn't look at him. I didn't want him to see me freak out, so I'd just lay there until I had my face under control. I needed to figure out how I was getting out of this damn cage.    

Dahlia was living with him and she was a faerie. Did that mean Tate and Fawn were faeries too? The Queen said to watch for Ash and his warrior friend, I doubted that Fawn was a warrior, so I guess that meant Tate.

I couldn't imagine funny, flirty, Tate being any kind of warrior though even if he is huge, he's too nice. It would be good to have a warrior show up. I was no damsel but some help would be great.

I wondered if the female guard had any talents? What about Dahlia, why was she special? Maybe she had a talent for sucking up. That was the only thing I'd seen her do.

Sighing, I realized that wasn't true; she had an amazing voice, Ash even said it was her gift. I bet Fawn's is storytelling! That was why she was so awesome at the library.

Ash could invade dreams and apparently he knew what people were feeling. That was pretty freaking embarrassing. I had definitely had some feelings around him that I didn't want him to know about. I took a deep breath. Oh well, I couldn't worry about that right now.

So in Fawn's house, living together was a dream walker, a warrior, a singer, and a storyteller. It sounded like the beginning of a joke, only they should be walking into a bar.

I chuckled at the thought and Blue gave me a strange look, like he thought I might be freaking out. That's cool, I might be able to use it. No need to watch me too closely guys, I'm crazy.

It was getting brighter outside and the chill in the air was going away. Had I been laying here all night already? I guess time can fly when you're not having fun too.

I wondered what Mark would think when he got up. It was a good thing Mom was out of town, she would freak.

With the sun coming up, I saw that my book bag was in the cage with me, and there was a basket of food. Awesome! But that meant I must have dozed off at some point, damn it! How did they get the food in here? If I'd been awake, I could have seen the door.

Sitting up, I looked around the outside of the cage. My guards were still there, they were eating some kind of fruit and Blue was still staring at me. What was his problem?

Except for me, my bag, and the food basket, the inside of the cage was completely bare. I couldn't reach for anything through the vines without touching them and I had no interest in doing that again.

The swelling in my hand had gone down, it was still pink but it wasn't nearly as sore as it had been. Flexing my fingers I decided I could hit someone if I needed to.

Looking through the food, I found a couple pieces of weird-looking fruit and what looked like a big dinner roll. There was also a small wooden carafe that I hoped was full of water, I took a sip and it was water. Thank goodness! I was about to dry up.

Picking up the bread, I found that it was slightly sticky but it smelled good. I took a bite and I was in heaven. I was either starving or this was the most amazing thing I'd ever eaten. It was still warm in the middle and it's yeasty goodness was covered in something sweet. I finished it quickly and licked all the wonderful sweetness off my fingers.

Time to see if I had any school supplies that could be repurposed into something helpful. Dumping the bag out onto the ground, I sighed at the useless contents. A couple of textbooks, a binder, two pencils, and a thin jacket because it was always freezing in marketing. The jacket would be nice if I had to be here another night; it was pretty cold.

Opening the front pocket, I hit a gold mine! Half a bottle of water, peanut butter protein bar, and Motrin! I shook out two of the pills and took them; maybe my head would stop pounding.

Hopefully, I wouldn't be caged much longer, and it would be good to have some supplies that could travel with me. I filled the bottle with the carafe and put it back in my bag. It felt good to have things packed like I was ready to go. I just needed to figure out how.

I needed a plan. Alright, here we go, step one, escape. Step two, run. Step three, hide and figure out where I am. Step four, go home. Easy; it was only four steps from here to home. I rolled my eyes at myself.

Step one could use a little more detail. How was I getting out of the damn cage? Looking closely at the pattern of vines I notice that they all seem to be swirling from the same direction. Following that to the bottom, it looked like the whole thing was made from one plant.

Lying on my side and trying not to be too obvious, I looked under the vines. I was right! It was all one plant and that was the only place the whole thing was connected to the ground. It didn't look heavy either; the vines were so thin.

If I could touch it, I could lift it enough to squeeze under the bottom. I wondered if it would zap me through my clothes? Taking a deep breath, I realized I was going to have to test it.

I wished I was wearing jeans; they'd have to be more protection than cotton shorts. I was going to have to use my arm. I didn't want my guards to know that I was testing it. It was better if they thought I would sit and wait to be rescued.

Scooting closer to the edge of the cage I sat up and pulled my knees to my chest. Keeping my eyes on Blue I waited, he had to look away at some point and when he did I was going to touch the vines with my elbow.

If my shirt was enough protection and I couldn't feel it, great. If clothes didn't help and I got zapped, I'd play it off like an accident. I really hoped I couldn't feel it.

Watching Blue watch me; I studied his face. He really was attractive despite the ugly sneer. Faeries have larger eyes than we do and their ears are pointed at the top. I wonder if Ash looks like this? Do they just change themselves to match us?

The woman suddenly straightened up. She turned to look at the path behind her, and Blue copied her stance. I took a deep breath, clenched my teeth, and poked the vines with my elbow. Nothing happened. I didn't feel it! Keeping an eye on the guards, I tried again.

This time I left my elbow on the vines as I counted in my head. At three Mississippi's, my arm was starting to sting. By five, I was afraid I was going to cause some damage.

As I pulled my arm away from the vines, I saw what the guards must have heard.