Tate looked so serious I was almost afraid to hear his answer.

"The trials are fights. If you win, you move on to the next opponent. The Queen created them to punish those she's decided have broken the law."

"Oh, crap." I wasn't expecting a fair trial but fighting them definitely wouldn't be fair.

"She can't make us fight," Mark shook his head.

Tate looked sad, "Actually, she can. If you refuse, she has someone that will make you want to. You'll be so blinded by rage, you won't be able to stop. It's not over until one of you dies."

I just stared at Tate, I didn't know what to say, but Mark did, "That's sick! What the hell is wrong with her?"

Ash shook his head, "It doesn't matter, the only option is to get out of here before it begins. You two have done well so far, but you wouldn't make it through the trials."

Mark looked like someone punched him. "So not only do faeries look nothing like Tinker Bell, but you're not peaceful and you hate humans. What the hell, Disney?"

"We don't all hate humans, obviously," Ash reached over and took my hand.

Tate sighed, "The fae you saw here don't even all hate humans. Some of them do, but a lot of them were here because agreeing with the Queen is the safe thing to do.

"Since her sister was killed and she took over, she's changing everything. She's gone from promoting anti-human sentiment to limiting our interaction with them, now she's entering you in the trials to be killed."

That was the longest I'd ever heard Tate talk without cracking a joke, or flirting with someone. He looked angry and upset, pacing back and forth. Ash started to squeeze my hand, I looked at him, and he let go.

Standing he said, "I'm sorry, I just need a few minutes." Walking to the side of the cage farthest from us, he stood facing out with his head tilted down.

"What's he doing?" I asked Tate.

"He's tuning us out as much as he can. Or, tuning me out; you two look like you're handling this pretty well."

Mark huffed, "We're not. I think I'm still in shock. I can't even process this. Yesterday I didn't know faeries were real, today they want to kill me."

Sitting next to Mark, he said, "We don't all want to kill you."

"Thanks, I feel a lot better," Mark's dry humor made Tate grin.

"I don't understand. Why does she hate us?" I asked.

"We've heard things about her wanting to join our Court with the other Court of Fae, the Seelie with the Unseelie."

Mark and I looked at each other and shook our heads. Nope, that explanation didn't help. "What does joining the two courts have to do with us?"

"Our people, the Seelie, have loved the human world for centuries. Before she became Queen, we could travel through the mist without question, and most did. Some even fell in love and decided to stay for their chosen mate, some just decided they liked it better there and never came back.

"This world is limited in a way that yours isn't. As long as we're here, we're born, we mature quickly, and then we stop. If we stay here, we can live hundreds of years and barely change at all. This is what I've looked and felt like for well over a hundred of our years."

Mark's eyes bugged out of his head and I had more questions. "What do you mean our years?"

"Time runs differently here; it's faster. One of your days is about three of ours."

"So, how long have I been here? It hasn't really been a day yet?"

"You were taken sometime before midnight Thursday, correct?"

I nodded.

"We found out before school the next morning, and we were here within a couple of hours. It's sometime very early Saturday morning in your world now."

That was really weird, but I was relieved. "I was worried about Mom, but she's not even home yet."

Thinking about Mom made me miss home even more. What would she think if I didn't make it back?

Ash came and sat behind me. With his legs on either side of mine, he pulled me back against his chest. "I will get you home, Jolie, both of you. I promise."

Mark turned, so he and Tate were facing one another. They were talking about how they got here and how we were going to get home, but I wasn't really listening. This was as close to privacy as we were going to get, I decided to take advantage of it.

I turned so I was leaning my side against Ash's chest. He wrapped his arms around me and it felt so good to just relax with him; almost normal. He put his hand in my hair and gently tipped my head back to look in my eyes.

I'd never get used to knowing he could feel my emotions, and he was letting me feel his. He had incredible faith in us, and knowing he was willing to be so vulnerable with me was an immense feeling.

Nestling my head under his chin, I was reminded that he was shirtless. I looked down and was amazed that I had been looking anywhere besides his chest. Moving my eyes lower, I changed my mind; the abs were the star of this show.

Holy crap, I wanted to run my fingers down the ridges and...

Ash suddenly took a deep breath and I knew he'd noticed my thoughts were getting away from me again. That was embarrassing; my cheeks were on fire.

Smiling, he rubbed his thumb over my warm cheek. He lowered his head and whispered in my ear, "I've told you before, you don't have to be embarrassed. I feel the same way about you; you just get caught too easily."

I giggled and he went on, his deep voice rumbling in my ear, "Mark pointed out I've never seen you in a tank top. Ever since he mentioned it, I've been lamenting the weather in your world."

I was still giggling as Ash sat up straight and Tate jumped to his feet. Ugh, what could it be now? I tried to peer through the vines, but I didn't see anything. I looked at Mark and he didn't know what's going on either.

"It's alright, stay here with Mark." Ash got up and stood next to Tate as Mark scooted closer to me.

A few seconds later, I saw three faeries coming. Hedera, who built our cage, was back; she was carrying a water pitcher and had two guards behind her.

One of them was my female guard, the one Ash knocked out in the fight. I needed to remember to ask him how that worked. The other guard didn't look familiar, or friendly.

"Please, stand back. I brought you food," Hedera spoke softly and the guys both took a step back.

She motioned with her free hand, and a small opening appeared in the vines. She passed the water to Ash. Reaching behind her she took a basket from the female guard and passed it to Tate. As soon as it was in his hands she motioned again and the opening was gone. I guess that answered the question about where the door was on my cage, and where the food came from.

Hedera turned and walked away as soon as the cage was closed again. She looked sad both times I'd seen her, I didn't think she enjoyed her job.

"Thank you, Hedera," Ash said and she nodded as she walked away.

Coming back to sit by me, he set the pitcher on the ground in front of us but he kept his eyes on Tate. He looked worried, and it made me wonder what emotions he could feel.

Setting the basket down, Tate crossed his arms and looked at the guards, "I see she has you delivering food now Citrine, that seems a bit beneath you." He was using the same teasing tone I'd heard him use with Ash.

The female guard gave him a cocky smile, and I finally knew her name. "I see she has you in a cage again; that seems a bit beneath you, Tate."

He smiled at her as she turned and walked to the nearest tree before flying up to sit on a low branch. Apparently, she was staying to watch us.

The male guard stepped up to take her place in front of Tate, looking extremely hostile. "I can't believe I used to look up to you. We all did, even after you went through the trials. You could have begged for her forgiveness and kept your place here. You would be training her army by now; instead, you're in a cage with humans."

Through his rant, he barely spared us a glance, and I was fine with that. I was all stocked up on hateful looks from faeries.

I was afraid Tate would be angry again, but he smirked, "You're right, I am. Still, I know I made the right choice. I don't need any of you to look up to me to be happy; I need to be able to live with myself."

Turning his back on the guard, he scooped up the basket before sitting next to Mark again. Picking out one of the sweet rolls he held it out to him, "Try this. It's much better than what you guys call a honey bun."

Mark took it with a smile, "Thanks."

The basket was passed to us, and the guard finally walked away with a disgusted look. I guess he realized we were going to ignore him.