We'd been walking without any issues for a couple of hours. That was good because Mark was in no shape to deal with anything.

I had to hold his hand to keep him from running ahead to pounce on Tate. Keeping them separate was the best way to keep us moving and keep Mark from being embarrassed later.

I was thrilled to see him so happy, and I didn't think it was the moss juice. It just seemed to be making him more vocal than he would normally be, especially in front of everyone. They were all pretending not to hear, but I knew they could.

Mark had been alternating between staring at Tate and talking about him. Tate had been good about it. At least he didn't make any comments, and I knew he wanted to.

There were a couple of times he couldn't stop himself from turning around to give Mark a little smile; like when Mark told me about how Tate took care of him last night, that was really sweet.

The only thing Mark hadn't told me about was the fight. I wanted to ask him, but I'd wait until he was thinking straight. Hedera said she didn't think it would be much longer. I hoped she was right because we should be getting close to the exit, and it would be good if Mark was acting like himself by then.

Up ahead, the guys stopped walking and waited for us to catch up. Mark immediately went to Tate's side, but the juice must have been wearing off because he was content to hold his hand while they grinned at each other.

Ash came to my side and put his arm around me, "Tate and I are going ahead to check things out. We want you three to wait here; it should only take a few minutes."

I wasn't happy about splitting up, but I knew it was the best idea. "If you see anyone, can you please just come back and wait for us to help you?"

"I make no promises," Tate smiled and gave Mark a peck on the cheek before asking him to sit and wait here.

Mark sat down without even a question. Tate looked at me and pointed at him as if to say, does he seem ready to deal with guards to you?

I knew he was right, so I sat next to Mark, and Hedera joined us. We watched them walk off without us, and I tried not to worry.

After a few minutes, Mark looked around and said, "I feel weird."

"Weird how?" I reached over to feel his face and see if he was hot. I was worried about his back getting infected after being on the dirty ground, but Hedera said it would be alright.

"I'm not sick. I just feel kind of out of it."

"It must be wearing off then. You'll be yourself again soon," Hedera smiled, and he looked confused.

"Who have I been?"

I laughed, "You've been you. Just a more openly loving you, who's really into Tate and PDA."

His face was blank, and then his eyes widened, and I knew he was remembering the way he'd been acting.

"It's OK; you couldn't help it. Apparently, the moss juice has some side effects."

"Where's Tate now? And Ash? How long were we walking?" He looked around like he just realized we'd moved.

"They went to make sure no one's guarding the exit. We've been walking for a couple of hours. We should be out of here pretty soon."

"You let them go off without us? What if they need help?"

I didn't know what to say; I didn't want to hurt his feelings. Thankfully, Hedera spoke up, "It was best for us to wait here while you were, not yourself. They'll be alright."

He shook his head and looked annoyed, "Great. So we're here not helping them because of me. I guess I can just add this to the list of times I've been helpless the last couple of days." He leaned forward and rubbed his hands through his hair, looking really upset.

"What are you talking about? When were you helpless?" I asked.

"When I sat there tied up getting spit on, then when Tate had to save me from being smashed by a giant, and after that, when I could barely move without help. When haven't I been helpless in front of him?"

I was surprised at how he saw things. "No one thinks you were helpless. We were all tied up; none of us could get free. You weren't the only one stuck there."

"Tate got free. He didn't need any help."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but that's kind of his thing. He's magically badass."

Mark huffed and shook his head. It didn't look like that made him feel any better.

Hedera cleared her throat quietly before speaking, "Your friend didn't see you fight, but I did. You were very impressive. No one has ever held out that long against Sarsen."

Mark didn't say anything; he just looked down. I'd never seen him look so frustrated with himself. It was really bothering him that he felt weak in front of Tate.

Sighing, I said, "I don't know what you remember about the last couple of hours, but I can tell you what I've seen. Tate doesn't think you're weak; he cares about you."

Mark looked happier, but he didn't say anything. He just shook his head and looked down again.

Hedera smiled at Mark, "I like Tate very much. When I saw you fighting, you reminded me of him."

Mark looked at her in disbelief, but before he could say anything, we heard someone coming. We all turned to look, and I jumped to my feet. A second later, Ash and Tate came through the trees.

Tate smiled, "You're too easy to sneak up on. We could hear you talking before we even landed."

I wanted to poke my tongue out at him, but I managed to hold back. "How was it? Are there any guards?"

"Not anymore," Tate grinned as he sat next to Mark and reached for his hand, "How are you feeling? You seem more like yourself."

Mark's eyebrows pulled down, "I think that stuff is wearing off, but how could you tell?"

"Well, I've been here for nearly a minute, and you've hardly touched me," he winked, and Mark gave him an annoyed look.

"Now that I'm not drugged, I'll try to contain myself."

"Don't try too hard. I wasn't complaining," Tate kissed Mark's cheek, making him smile. "What's this about Mark fighting like me?"

Hedera shook her head, "It's not that he fights like you, but the attitude was the same. When he winked at Sarsen, it made him so mad," she covered her mouth and giggled quietly.

I let out a surprised chuckle, "You winked at him? That's awesome."

"Yeah, and gave him one of these," he cocked his head to the side and waved his hand in a come-and-get-it motion, and I laughed harder.

Tate grinned and kissed the back of the hand he was holding, "I love that confidence." 

I nodded at him, "Agreed, that's awesome!" I held my hand up for a high five.

Mark slapped my hand and laughed, "Yeah, Sarsen wasn't too happy with me."

Tate leaned forward and pulled Mark's pant leg up to look at his ankle. "This looks a lot better, almost totally healed. Are you guys ready to go home?"

Mark and I both nodded, "Yes, please."

I knew we were getting close to the exit when we started passing sleeping bodies. It was easy to tell who took each faerie down, some of them were bleeding, and some weren't. It looked like Tate took down three before Ash made them sleep, and Ash got two on his own.

So there were five guards on just this one exit. From what Ash said, there were a lot of exits too. Was she having all of them guarded? I wondered if anyone had found her yet?

It didn't matter; we were close to getting out of here. We were going home, and we were all going to be OK.

"Where is it?" Mark was looking around, and I didn't see anything either. Just a bunch of trees.

"Over here." Ash was standing in front of a huge dead tree. It must have been three feet across. The front of it had a big spot that was rotted away all the way from his shoulder height to the ground.

It was dark in there, and I was hoping he didn't expect us to go inside, but of course, he did. He and Tate talked it over and decided Ash would go first and Tate would go last.

Ash gave me a quick kiss, "Don't worry, you're almost home." He walked over, and as soon as he ducked down and stepped into the tree, he disappeared.

I gasped, but Tate said, "It's OK. There's a drop, but it's not too far."

Mark and I looked at each other. We didn't trust their idea of not too far. I walked closer to the tree, and then on all fours, I crawled the last little bit.

Tate's laughter cut off after an annoyed sigh from Mark. I'm sure I looked silly, but I didn't care, it was so dark I couldn't see anything. Why was it so dark?

I felt the ground in front of me, trying to find the opening without falling in. When my fingers curled over the edge of the cool dirt, I scooted closer and hung my head over the side, "Ash?"

I heard him chuckle, "It's alright, love. I'm here, drop-down, I'll help you."

He sounded farther than I was hoping, and that didn't make me feel any better. I glanced back at Mark, and he wasn't too thrilled about it either.

I was ready to get home, though, so I put on my big girl panties and swung my legs over the side. Before I could think about it too much, I pushed back and fell.

It was a bit of a drop, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I only dropped for a couple of seconds before hitting the bottom. I landed on my feet as Ash's hands steadied me.

We were standing in a dirt tunnel that curved sharply where we were standing, making the bottom. The only light was from above, and there wasn't much of that. Ash helped me to the side to make room for the others to come down.

I heard Mark at the opening above us, "Are you okay down there, Jo? I'm not going to land on you, am I?"

"No, there's room. Be careful on your ankle, though."

There were scuffling sounds, and then the light was blocked out completely for a second as Mark fell. When he reached the bottom, Ash caught him before he could hurt his ankle.

"That wasn't too bad," Mark moved next to me, and we stood against the dirt wall to make room for Hedera.

She dropped down quickly and gracefully and stepped to the side. Tate followed closely behind. As soon as we were all in the tunnel, Ash led the way. It was cold and smelled like damp earth.

It made me think of the greenhouse at school, and I was surprised I missed it. Well, not it so much as normal days with my friends and Mom and everyone safe where they were supposed to be.

"I wish we had a light," I whispered.

It was so dark; I might as well have my eyes closed. I guess it didn't matter. It wasn't like we could take a wrong turn. The tunnel wasn't very tall, it was just barely high enough for me to stand. Everyone else must have been hunched over.

"Don't worry. We don't have far to go," Ash squeezed my hand.