Right after pizza, my parents and I, along with Leihalani, retreated to our part of the compound. No one wanted the elf to stay with my grandparents, even if they weren't helpless or had the extra room; nor was it wise for Leihalani to be in close proximity to Lucas for now. So, she was spending the night in Richard's old room. Nobody was particularly happy about the arrangement, but Leihalani hadn't exactly given us any reason to mistrust her. Besides, we were the ones who attacked her. No one could fault her for defending herself.

Leihalani perched on the sofa while Mom and I sifted through items I would be taking with me to the Summer Kingdom. What the hell have I gotten myself into? I wondered for the thousandth time, staring at all the objects strewn across the living room floor. Sure, I was nervous, but I chose to go. I wanted to go. I had to see if there was something better out there for me that didn't involve a desk and a phone.

"Be honest with me," Mom said to Leihalani, "how much danger will she be in?"

"Danger?" the elven woman repeated as if it were a foreign term. She paused and chewed on the side of her thumbnail. "Very little," she admitted.

Mom's sigh of relief flooded the living room.

"The real trouble lies in keeping her humanity a secret," the elf continued. She leaned forward and flicked through the clothes I'd brought down from my room. "Have you no cloak?"

"What if I just pulled my hair over my ears?" I asked, demonstrating.

Leihalani shook her head. "You are too pale to be a Summer elf, and even if we could pass you off as a Spring elf who dyed her hair, there is still the matter of your eyes."

Well, shit. "No purple eyes, huh?" Considering her own were silver, I figured there was a chance.

"No."

I sighed and sat back on my heels. Maybe no one would look at me too closely.

"I suppose I could procure you a cloak at the guard station," Leihalani ruminated, reaching down to snatch up a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup off the floor. The wrapper crinkled loudly in the silence that followed. "You will have to remain silent in public," she told me, gesturing with the candy before popping it in her mouth. A blissful smile creased Leihalani's lips as she chewed. "Might I have another?"

Mom handed one up to her.

"Thank you. The less attention we bring to you, the better—especially if the child thieves stayed close to the Gate. Still, your very presence in my company might be remarked upon—I'm known to travel alone," she added as Mom and I turned identical questioning looks in her direction.

Great. "Can't you say that I'm some sort of assistant that you picked up along the way?"

The elf pursed her lips in thought. "That might work. A mute assistant ..." she murmured, staring off into the distance and trailing off.

Mom and I exchanged worried glances. Taking a deep breath, Mom threw back her shoulders and began furiously organizing the mess on the floor into neat piles. "Stupid ... foolish ..." she muttered under her breath.

I didn't blame her. We really were flying by the seat of our pants. It was amazing how quickly everything unfolded in such a short amount of time. Perhaps that was for the best; the sooner we got to the SummerKingdom, the sooner I could bring Jimmy home.

A loud creak split the silence. Mom and I jerked at the same time as the cellar door opened and Dad appeared at the front of the living room. "Is this big enough?" he asked, holding up a large, but very dusty backpack.

"God, Terry," my mother cried, leaping to her feet. "Take that thing outside! Who knows what's crawling around in it."

Without waiting for Dad to do it, Mom grabbed the backpack and raced outside to take care of it herself. Dad threw up his hands in exaggerated fashion and joined us in the living room.

"So, have you girls figured out a plan to get through this Gate or whatever it's called?"

Oops. Why hadn't I thought of that?

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Leihalani's lips twitch upwards as Dad referred to her as a "girl".

"Um, no, not yet," I told him.

Leihalani leaned forward. "Why would we need a plan?"

"The police dug up the area around that Gate because they thought he might be buried between the stones," Dad explained. "It's still off-limits."

"Is there a guard there right now?" she asked.

"I don't think so. They didn't find a body, but it's still part of an active kidnapping case."

Leihalani's smile turned sly. "I wouldn't worry how we are going to get to the Gate. I have been coming here for almost twenty years. Until today, no one has caught me." She raised her eyebrows pointedly.

Well, she had us there.

I had a hard time falling asleep that night. No matter what I did, no matter what position I curled up into, my brain would not shut down. Situation after hypothetical situation rolled through my mind on an endless, infuriating loop. What if Leihalani betrayed me? What if we got separated? What if Jimmy was dead?

Growling with frustration, I rolled over and punched the pillow into a shapeless mass. Maybe a little exertion would bring me peace. With a loud sigh, I flopped onto the mattress, head bouncing off the pillow I so artfully pummeled. Closing my eyes, I settled down ... but those dark, worrisome thoughts continued on their eternal parade. It was as if my mind was playing games with me; it knew that I had to be well-rested for tomorrow and decided that it would be funny if I stumbled through unfamiliar territory bleary-eyed and irritable.

"Aaaaaagghhhh!" I bit my wrist, unwilling to wake the rest of the house. Goddammit! Go to sleep!

That didn't work, either. So I lay there, staring as the minutes ticked by on my alarm clock until God finally took pity on me and let me have a couple not-so-restful hours.

The house was quiet when I rolled out of bed at five and stumbled to the bathroom. After showering, I rubbed condensation from the mirror and stared at my face in the reflection. Yup, still looked like shit.

"Aly?" Mom called out, knocking on the bathroom door.

Groaning, I lifted my head. "Yeah?"

"What do you want for breakfast?"

"Uh ..." I might feel like crap, but I was always up to eat. "Toast, eggs and sausage, please."

Mom chuckled softly. "Well, I think your dad wants to get on the road as quickly as possible. Will a bagel do?"

A bagel? I shrugged at my reflection. "Sure, sure."

"Okay."

True to my mother's word, Dad hustled us out of the house as soon as the last drop of orange juice slipped down my throat. We drove us through the quiet streets of Streamfield, Mom sitting up front with Dad while Leihalani and I were in the backseat. Our bags sat in the bed of the truck; Mom had insisted on packing the elf some snacks, too.

"Now, when we get to the Gate, I will need to activate it," Leihalani explained. "I will go first—then you follow. Do not hesitate—walk straight through and do not stop until you get to the other side."

That didn't sound good. "What happens if I stop? I won't get lost in there, will I?" Well, that had definitely not been on my revolving list of worries.

"No, but it will hurt—a lot."

Pain? Okay, I could deal with that. Pain was better than being evaporated or cut in half. "Great. And then?"

"There is a guard station nearby. I'll collect my horse and we can head to Inyenshire. That's the nearest village." She paused and looked at me directly. "Do you know how to ride?"

"No." Horses never appealed to me as a little girl.

"Well, you will have to learn very quickly. You cannot travel in cat form, remember?"

Oh, right. "I sort of figured you'd have a carriage and an armed escort, being the daughter of a great lord and all."

Leihalani blinked, then laughed. It was so infectious that I had to smile. "Oh, no, I'm not that type of lady. I've traveled across the length and breadth of our kingdom—and some of the others—mainly by myself for a very long time. My brother, on the other hand, rarely moves without an escort."

It sounded like her brother was full of himself, but I didn't say that out loud.

Mom twisted around in the front seat. "And you don't fear for your safety? Traveling alone?"

The elven woman's expression turned thoughtful and she fixed us with a sobering gaze. "I held off a pack of shapeshifters, did I not?"

Yes, and I still had the bruises to prove it. Mom nodded and turned back around.

My eyes flicked out the window, watching as the sun gradually rose above the tall hills that surrounded the city. Bands of yellow and orange stretched outwards like open arms; above, the sky lightened from midnight blue to rosy red and purple. Is this what it will look like over there? I wondered.

"Is there anything else I should be aware of?" I asked instead. "Things I should or shouldn't do?"

Leihalani paused, considering. Then she shook her head. "Nothing immediately comes to mind."

I believed her, because what else could I do? No one in living memory had ever been to elven lands. If I couldn't trust her, I was screwed.

I really didn't want to be screwed.

A few minutes later, Dad pulled off to the side of the road and shut off the truck. I heard his deep intake of breath and subsequent sigh. "All right, girls, we're here."

I peered out of the window. We were on one of the roads behind the school, one that thankfully had few homes on it. Outside, a sea of oak, pine and maple awaited.

All right; here we go. Gritting my teeth, I shoved the truck door open and jumped out. Dad walked around to the back of the truck and unlatched the tailgate. He lowered it carefully and pulled out our bags.

"Thank you," Leihalani said, inclining her head. "For your troubles." She pulled one of the emeralds out of her hair and held it, palm up, to my father.

Dad shook his head. "Just make sure my daughter and Jimmy come home safe."

A soft, sympathetic smile graced the elf's face. She clipped the emerald back into her mass of chestnut hair. "I will." Shouldering the small pack Mom had given her, she began to walk into the woods. "Hurry."

Suddenly, the moment was here. I reached for my bag, but found myself enveloped in my father's strong arms. "Be safe, kiddo," he murmured into my hair.

Tears sprang to my eyes and I fought to keep my emotions in check. "I will, Dad."

Dad squeezed me hard, then let me go. I felt Mom touch my shoulder and turned to see her struggling with her own tears. "Bye, Mom."

She opened her mouth, then stopped. Shaking her head slowly from side to side, she gripped my shoulder. "Good luck, sweetie."

Leihalani's voice drifted out of the woods. "Alina!"

Dad heaved the backpack into place. "Go, go!"

I took off at a jog, pausing once to look back at my parents. A tear, then a second, slid down my cheek to splatter on the ground. Tucking my chin towards my chest, I shouldered onward.