Bea nodded, "You were so little, I'm sure you don't remember. I would keep you while your Mom worked, and sometimes if Flint needed to go home for a while, we'd wait right here on this couch for him to come back."

She sighed and stared at the bookshelf for a few seconds, remembering. "It was the only time I got to see his true face, and I didn't want to miss it. You loved him. As soon as he'd walk in, you'd have your little arms up, reaching for him. He loved you too. He'd hold you and talk to you until you fell asleep," her voice trailed off, and she was staring at Tate.

Mom looked at her sadly. Sitting next to Bea on the couch, she held her hand and took over the story, "That day, I'd gotten off work early. When I saw Flint holding you, I didn't even recognize him at first. I just saw this big man with wings holding my baby. I was so scared I couldn't move.

"He handed you to Bea, I hadn't even noticed her standing there, and then he came over to me. With his hand on my shoulder, he said, it's alright, Emily. It's just me." Mom smiled and shook her head, "We had a long talk after that."

Bea still hadn't taken her eyes off Tate, and Ash was watching Bea. He said, "I'm sorry we're making you so sad."

She smiled a little, "No, dear, you're not. I just miss him. He had bright blue eyes, just like yours, Tate. His wings were gray where yours are black, but they were trimmed in blue like yours."

Standing up, Bea walked over to him and held her hand out toward his wing, "May I?" He nodded, and she ran her hand lightly over his feathers. "I never thought I'd see another faerie."

Stepping back from him, she took a deep breath, "I'm going upstairs; it's the middle of the night, and worrying over you two has me worn out. You're welcome to stay here as long as you want, all of you. There's food in the kitchen and plenty of beds. Help yourselves to everything."

Mom waited until Bea was up the stairs before she said anything, "I can see you're all exhausted. Go ahead and plan on spending the day here tomorrow, I want a full explanation when I get back from work, and Bea will want to hear it too."

I nodded. "OK, but tomorrow is Monday, we have to go to school."

Mom shook her head, "It's too late for you to have to get up for school; missing one more day won't matter. I'll call you both in sick. Text Clara though, let her know you're OK. She's been worried too. You're going to have to figure out what to tell her before you see her."

She walked over and hugged Mark and me each again. "I love you both, and I'm so glad you're home safe. I'm going up to check on Bea; this was a lot for her."

As soon as Mom was up the stairs, Ash had his arms around me, "Are you doing alright with all of this?"

I leaned back to look up at him, and he'd already changed into his human appearance. "Yeah, I'm OK. I'm just glad we're home, and everyone's safe."

Tate laughed, "It's a good thing we got home when we did, or I guess we'd be searching for Bea in our world. I see what Flint saw in her."

Mark smiled, "Bea's the best. I can't believe her husband was a faerie, and we never knew."

"Well, apparently, I knew, but I sure didn't remember." Ash tightened his arms around me, and I relaxed into him. Sighing, I said, "I'm tired; let's go figure out where we're sleeping."

I didn't think Mom would like it if Ash and I shared a room, but I wasn't ready to be away from him yet. Mark and Tate didn't seem ready to separate either. Hedera didn't want to be alone, and I didn't blame her. A lot had happened, and this was a whole new world for her.

We decided that even though there were plenty of extra beds and couches, we'd rather sleep all together on the living room floor. It was still a step up from the last few nights. We had plenty of blankets and pillows and no guards watching us sleep. 

I laid on my side next to Ash with my head on his shoulder and his arm around me. I fell asleep to the sound of Tate and Mark talking softly.

I woke to the feeling of someone nudging my foot. Opening my eyes, I saw Mom looking down at me, and the way her lips were pursed made me think I'd done something she wasn't crazy about.

Lifting my head, I realized it was probably the fact that Ash's chest was my pillow. He was sleeping with his arm around me and his hand on my bottom.

I carefully moved him, trying not to wake him as I sat up. I could tell by the way his breathing stalled for a second that I'd woke him, and he was pretending to be asleep. I was glad, though; I didn't want Mom making this face at him too.

Standing next to her, looking down at my sleeping friends, I smiled. Mark and Tate were cuddled together, facing each other, their hands linked between them. Hedera was on the other side of the room, wrapped in a quilt with a peaceful look on her face. It was a good feeling to have them all together and safe.

Mom put her arm around me and gave me a side hug before guiding me to the kitchen. We sat at the wooden table by the window, and she spoke softly, "I'm so glad you're home."

"Me too. I'm so sorry you were worried."

"I'm just glad you're both home safe."

My stomach twisted at the reminder that we weren't safe; it wasn't over. The Queen wasn't going to just let this slide. I couldn't tell Mom that, though, so I tried to adjust my face into a normal smile and nodded.

Squeezing my hand, she said, "I wish I could stay, but I have to go to work. I want you and Mark to stay here today."

"We'll all stay. I don't think any of us is in a hurry to go anywhere right now. We didn't get to talk last night; we were all too tired.

"When I get back, I want to hear everything."

"OK."

Before she could ask any questions I didn't know how to answer, I changed the subject. "Where's Bea? Was she OK last night?"

Mom nodded, "Seeing your friends just brought up a lot of old memories for her. She and Flint were something special, a once in a lifetime love."

"Poor, Bea. It must have been so hard on her when he passed away."

She gave me a stiff nod and sniffed, blinking away tears, "It was terrible. Flint was a good man."

Mom was quiet for a minute before shaking her head and taking a deep breath. Smiling, she said, "Bea got up early this morning. She decided to stop for breakfast on her way into the shop. She didn't want to make any noise and wake you, kids."

"She didn't have to do that!"

Mom chuckled, "I know, I told her that, but you know Bea. I think she's just excited to have company and didn't want to bother anyone. She gets lonely in this big house, but she won't leave it."

I thought about that and how she used to say there were too many memories here to leave. Now, I'm sure it has something to do with the faerie magic in the basement too.

Mom stood up, "I have to get going." She gave me a peck on the top of the head, and I smiled at her as she left for work.

I didn't get up. I decided to stay at the table by myself for a while. I wasn't ready to deal with anything, and just sitting in Bea's kitchen was relaxing. This house held as many memories for me as my own.

I spent years doing my homework at this table while Bea fixed me an after school snack. I grinned, remembering how I'd always ask for ants on a log because I thought it looked cute. She didn't mind that I picked off the raisins.

She'd say, "Study hard, smart girl, and you can grow up to be anything."

I thought I'd have an idea of what I wanted to be by now, but here I was, worse than clueless. Mark and I were supposed to graduate in two weeks. Now that we'd pissed off a faerie Queen, college didn't seem as pressing.

I put my head in my hands and stared at the wood grain on the table. Maybe if I were still, no one would notice me, and everything would just work itself out around me.

It only took another minute before I was noticed. Ash came and sat next to me, hugging me close to his side; he kissed my temple and said, "Good morning, love."

I suppose being found wasn't terrible. I smiled up at him as everyone else took their seats around the table, and he leaned down for a quick kiss.

Hedera sat with her hands folded in her lap and stared down at them; she seemed uncomfortable. That was understandable. She was in a whole new world; I'd be nervous too.

Mark and Tate scooted their chairs close to each other. As Mark rested his arm on the back of Tate's chair, Tate grinned and reached for Mark's other hand.

Mark looked happier than I'd ever seen him. I was so thrilled for them. I had to stop myself from smiling like an idiot at my best friend.

Tate broke the silence, "What are we going to do?"

I shook my head, "I have no idea, but I don't want to put Mom and Bea in danger. I wish there was somewhere we could all just run and hide."

"Why can't we? I'm fine with leaving this town anyway," Mark shrugged.

Ash shook his head, "We would only be delaying the inevitable. They can find us anywhere."

Tate sounded frustrated. "She wouldn't be doing the searching herself anyway. She'd send people to do it for her. All she'd have to do is sit and wait."

"Hiding wouldn't protect anyone but us even if it would work," Ash said quietly.

"You're right," Mark shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. That was really selfish."

Tate lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of Mark's, "No, it was natural. My first thought was to hide with you too."

Mark gave him a little smile, "So, what do we do?"

Ash moved closer to Hedera. Leaning down, he spoke softly, like he was dealing with a scared child, "Hedera, I can feel that this is upsetting you more than everyone else. Is there something we should know?"

When she looked up, she had tears in her eyes. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you that maybe you already knew. It's just so terrible," she was so quiet I could barely hear her.

Kneeling between Hedera and me, Ash said, "You don't need to be afraid. None of us blame you for any of this."

Tate leaned forward and rested his hand on her shoulder, "He's right. We're all glad you wanted to come with us."

She shook her head, "I'm not afraid for myself. I'm upset because I know it will hurt you."