We'd waited less than an hour when I felt new emotions moving toward us and focused on identifying the source. I was relieved when I recognized the timbre as Citrine.

Jolie looked up at me, whispering, "What is it?"

"Citrine is coming," I told them.

Tate nodded and took a step away from Mark, preparing to protect us if necessary. I spoke quietly, "I think it's going to be fine."

"What's going to be fine?" Citrine asked as she dropped from the trees to join our group. She looked at Hedera with surprise.

Defying my expectations, Hedera lifted her head instead of hiding from Citrine's obvious scrutiny. "I shouldn't have left, but I'm here now, and I'll do what I can to help our people."

Citrine watched her a few seconds longer before nodding, "Good. We can use all the help we can get." A smile crossed her face, "Crystal still isn't fully recovered from your vines, you know."

Hedera didn't reply, but the corner of her mouth lifted as a sense of belonging filled her. Tate was relieved to see everyone getting along. "I thought we might have been gone too long to be accepted back so easily."

Citrine looked at Jolie, and a deep sadness stretched between them. "No. We understand." She averted her eyes when Jolie looked at her. "Crystal made an announcement. I'm sure the details were misconstrued, but the bottom line remains. Lives were lost, and the reward for your heads continues to grow."

No one seemed particularly worried about the prize the Queen was offering for our deaths. I supposed it was nothing new.

"Is the resistance any closer to Crystal?" Tate asked.

Citrine shook her head, "She hasn't left her rooms at court. Since we picked off a few of her most influential followers, guards have been doubled. They seem to be preparing for something, but the Seer can't tell what it is. Their plans are not yet set."

"Do you know anything about our friend Clara?" Mark asked.

"I know she's still with Lochlan. We've kept an eye on him since he appeared to be more supportive of Crystal than we'd realized."

Jolie scoffed, "Why keep an eye on him? Why not pick him off too?"

"We can't kill everyone that seems to support her. There was a time each of us pretended to back her to survive. We have to be sure his support is freely given."

"His support was clear enough when he sent Mark to the trials with a smile." Anger rolled from Tate and bubbled over my skin uncomfortably.

"All of her most zealous supporters have taken rooms at court to be protected. Lochlan is at his own home, usually without a guard. Just him and your friend. Why wouldn't he go with the rest of them?" She looked at Mark apologetically, "I'm not saying I like him. We just need to focus on the goal."

"I get it." Mark bumped Tate with his shoulder when he opened his mouth to disagree. "This isn't about me or revenge. We're here to help your people and make sure Clara is safe."

"Clara first." Jolie looked at Citrine, "I don't care what you think of Lochlan. I don't trust him. We're checking on Clara before we do anything else."

Citrine nodded, "I'll go with you. Once that's taken care of, I'll take you back to Ember."

Lochlan's home was isolated. To get there, we walked until we could fly without being seen, then we walked some more.

Citrine led us to the edge of the trees and signaled for us to get low. In the middle of a small clearing stood a home constructed of colorful stacked rock. It was moderately sized, and from our vantage point, we could see two sides clearly.

The door was closed, and the window was covered by sheer fabric. A light was glowing within, and smoke was drifting from the chimney. I could hear movement coming from either end of the house. I held up two fingers in question, and Tate nodded in confirmation. They were alone in there.

I reached out with my gift. Safety, love, and contentment were shrouded in a heavy fog, making the bearer of these sentiments hard to identify. I thought I would have recognized the cheerful edge that usually surrounded Clara's emotions, but if this was her, something was off.

Straining, I searched for another set of feelings, but there was nothing to find. The rest of the house was void of emotion.

Jolie looked at me, waiting for direction. I whispered close to her ear, "They're in there. But I can only feel one of them."

She gave me a bewildered look, and I shrugged. Lochlan seemed to be gaining new talents. I didn't think that was even possible unless the magic was given to him when another fae passed on. 

A dark thought began to form. What if Crystal was having talented fae killed and somehow forcing them to pass their gifts to him? That shouldn't be possible, and if it was, why wouldn't she keep the talents for herself? I needed to discuss this with everyone, but not here.

"Ladybug," Lochlan called inside the house loud enough that Jolie and Mark perked up at the sound.

I heard Clara moving slowly toward his voice as she replied sweetly, "Yes, my liege?"

Mark flinched, and I felt his anger as Jolie looked at him with shock and mouthed, "My liege?" before poking her tongue out to mimic gagging. While I didn't think I would vomit, the moniker was off-putting. Glancing around, I saw that the other fae agreed.

"I'll be leaving for a while. You'll be fine here, won't you?" They were closer to each other and not speaking loud enough for Mark and Jolie to hear. Instead, the two of them kept their eyes on the house, waiting for movement.

"Of course. Anything you want."

Leaning close to Jolie again, I told her, "He's getting ready to leave. She's staying."

I saw Tate tell Mark what was happening and felt their moods lift. This was exactly the chance Jolie and Mark had been hoping for.

"That's my ladybug," he approved of her reply.

There was a soft giggle as the door opened, and he stepped outside with his arms wrapped around Clara. She had her hands fisted in the front of his shirt and a pout on her face.

"You won't be gone long, I hope." Her eyes were glassy, and I could feel heartbreak coming from her.

"I'll be back soon. Guards are coming to watch over you while I'm gone." His hands slid down her sides as he kissed her goodbye. The disgust surrounding me was palpable.

Finally, he stepped back before taking off into the air. We stayed in the shadow of the trees as Clara watched him fly away before shutting herself inside. We waited a moment to be sure he was gone before heading to the house.

Mark stopped to peek inside. He was puzzled as he waved his hand to get our attention and pointed at the window. Jolie and I stood next to him and peered through the glass.

We had a perfect view of Clara sitting in a chair in the middle of the room facing the door. Her hands were folded in her lap, and except for breathing, she was as still as a statue. A buzz of comfort and love encircled her, but it was so low, it was almost as though she was sleeping.

"Something isn't right," I whispered.

"No shit," Mark and Jolie answered in unison.

Citrine and Hedera volunteered to wait and watch for the guards as the rest of us went in the front door. Clara showed no notice of our arrival. Jolie moved quickly to her friend.

"Clara. What are you doing?" Jolie was trying to stay calm, but the lack of reaction was making her anxious.

She turned to Mark and he stepped closer, "Clara." He shook her shoulder, and she looked up at him with uncertainty. Encouraged by her movement, he said, "Come on. We need to get you out of here. Are you alright?"

She jerked away from his hand and stood. Taking a step back, she said, "I'm fine. I'm not leaving."

"You're not fine. You look like a zombie. What are you doing?" Mark was exasperated.

"I was waiting for my liege. Everything will be fine when he comes back."

Jolie cringed, "Gross. Stop calling him that. His name's Lochlan, or asshat will work."

Clara lunged at her. It was so unexpected; I barely had time to move her away from the attack. Tate caught Clara around the waist and pulled her back against his chest. She continued to reach out and claw at the air separating her from Jolie.

Mouth agape, Jolie watched her friend. Shock and hurt filled her as she whispered, "We have to get her out of here."

Mark grabbed her wrists to still her flailing arms. "What the hell, Clara? What did Lochlan do to you?"

His words angered her further. "He loves me," she screamed. "He's the only thing I need!"

"That's not true!" Mark pushed her arms down, "He's done something to you. He doesn't love you. We do. You're our family."

"Let me go." She was still furious, but she wasn't fighting them anymore.

Mark nodded at Tate, and he set her carefully on her feet. Her breathing was ragged and heavy. Her usually bright, smiling eyes were filled with malice. Slowly, Mark let go of her arms and stepped away. She moved back until she bumped into the kitchen table.

"We're here because we love you," Jolie spoke softly. "We want you to come home with us."

"You don't love me. You're just jealous he chose me." She looked from Tate to me with revulsion, "You're stuck with these inferior fae while I was chosen for something better. I'm special, needed, loved, and you're just in the way."

"That's not true. He-"

Clara lifted a knife from the table, cutting off Mark's words. She spoke through her teeth, "Say another disparaging word, and I'll kill you."

Tate was in front of Mark in a blink. "That's it. We're done talking. If you want her to go with us, I'll get her."

"You can try," Clara snarled at him and held her weapon higher.

Before they could decide anything, Citrine opened the door, "The guards are coming. We have maybe a minute."

Tate glanced at Mark, "What do you want to do?"

Clara's hostile reaction took them off guard. "I don't know," he turned to Jolie.

She shook her head, "I'm not going to fight her. We can't force her to leave."

Tate shrugged, "I can."

"No." She sighed, "She seems safe enough. Leave her for now, if that's what she wants."

"Fine, let's go." Tate was ushering us toward the door as Citrine poked her head back in the room.

"Now! Hurry!" she whispered, and we knew the guards were close enough to hear us.

Tate and I grabbed Mark and Jolie and sprinted for the trees where Hedera was waiting. She put her finger to her lips and waved her hands, signaling for us to get down. A second later, five guards flew overhead and landed in front of the house.

One of them knocked as the rest of them took up protective positions. Clara answered the door as though nothing was wrong.

The guard felt disgruntled but said, "We'll be out here if you need us."

She nodded and closed the door without speaking. The guard turned to his friends, "I don't get it. Why is this one important?"

One of them scoffed, "You don't have to get it. For what Lochlan's paying, I'll guard whatever he wants."

Jolie and Mark were filled with conflicting emotions as Citrine led the five of us away.