In the end, choosing Faerie wasn't difficult. There truly was nothing back home for me, and the more I thought about waking up in my lonely apartment, logging into my depressing job, or staying in on the weekends, the more I dreaded going back, and those were the trivial things that made me want to stay. Protecting the humans from the savagery of the Fae...that's why I needed to stay.

But I had terms.

"Okay, I'll stay, but you have to give me something in return."

All the tension seeped out of Lorcan, and he replied without a hint of wariness. "Whatever you ask, it is yours if it is within my power."

I ran my fingers over the Silk Willow vines. My fingers came away glittering with the residue that made them sparkle, and my heart swelled with contentment. They told me staying in Faerie beyond thirty days and going back to the human realm would make sick with yearning, but even if I went back today, I would become a shell of who I was, lost in the memories of this place.

"Is the blood sacrifice the same thing as what would have been required of me to join Faerie?"

"No, not quite. It won't change you the way the other would."

"I would still be human."

"Yes."

In a small way, that made me happy, but for what I was going to ask for to work, I needed the power of the Fae.

"But I could do both if I wanted to be more like the Fae?"

Lorcan nodded, his gaze following me as I paced circles around him. "Yes, Luna. Is that what you're asking for?"

"Partly." I sucked in a deep breath, my heart aching strangely. "I don't want to return to the Summer Court. I want to be left to live where I please."

"Luna—"

"No, Lorcan," I pulled away from him. "You can't think this thing between us is still possible?"

Shadows darkened his glimmering eyes, and there was some sort of understanding behind them I couldn't quite grasp. More secrets, perhaps?

"No. I don't believe it is. Not now. But if you bind yourself to the Core and become more like the Fae, you will have to choose a Court as well. You must have an allegiance."

"How can I choose a Court when I've only seen the Summer Court? I can't live in the Middle Lands?"

"No." He almost shouted the word. Then, more quietly, he added, "The only Fae who live in the Middle Lands are outlaws. It is too dangerous."

"Well, I'm glad I didn't know that when I spent the night out there." I hadn't even seen the first signs of life other than that strange little light.

"There is a way, though. As a human, you can move freely between the Courts. It wasn't often done for various reasons, but mostly because it wasn't safe. Now that the Fae can't glamour you against your will, I think it would be fine, especially if they knew you might choose their Court. I would feel better about sending someone with you. Calix—"

"No. In fact, I would almost prefer it if he thought I left Faerie all together."

Lorcan narrowed his eyes, the corner of his lip twitching. "I thought you and my brother might have gotten over your dislike of one another, considering."

I didn't care for the suggestion he made with that tacked on word, but what did it matter? We were both fools, dancing around the truth. Anyone who knew I'd been poisoned with the Druil Blossom also knew I had to have been screwed six ways to Sunday to still be standing here. But sex didn't equal love...or, my heart turned over, even like.

"We do not have to tell him what we're doing. In fact, it might even be better this way. He will not approve."

"Why not?" The atrium was almost completely dark now save for the Silk Willow leaves that glowed with the sunlight it had absorbed.

"He would not be upset if the Vow was destroyed."

"Even though his mother gave up her life for it?"

Lorcan's statement rang false to my ears. When Calix mentioned it to me before, he called it the Vow. Surely, if he wished to return to the old ways, he would have called it The Curse, and I felt his love for his mother. A Fae born human. He would not wish ill on her kind.

"Especially because of that. Now, is that all?"

"I think so."

"Good."

He ushered me to the exit, and we ascended the stairs slowly, speaking in hushed tones. Torch flames crackled and the click of our shoes echoed in the cavernous space. Above our heads, vines and flowers twined together, creating a canopy that blocked the sky, but here and there starlight was visible. Maybe I would miss the Summer Court more than I imagined, and for more reasons than one.

When we reached my room, Lorcan paused outside the door. It was a simple act, acknowledging the change between us. No longer was he welcome in my bedroom, and while I hadn't forgiven him for what he'd done, I was grateful for this display of respect.

"Prepare your things—"

"I don't have much. I only came with my dress." And my phone. I needed to make sure I packed that.

"Whatever we have given you while is yours, Luna, and we will ensure you are set up to care for yourself until you find a home. It is the least we can do."

The protest died on my lips. It truly was the least. "Thank you."

"Sleep well. We will leave tomorrow morning."

"Will it take us long to get there? The full moon is not until the night after tomorrow?" It would be nice if we could all flit from one place to the next like Calix, or soar in the heavens like Niamh.

"Where we need to go is not far, but the Ley Lines would take nearly two days to reach. If others are to think you're going to the human realm, we have to leave tomorrow."

"Oh, of course."

Lorcan grabbed my hand as I turned to leave him. He pressed a warm kiss against it. "Thank you, Luna. You do not know what this means to me."

"Goodnight, Lorcan."

Once inside my room, I looked around the grand space and committed every nook and crevice to memory. Since my father died, no other place had felt so much like home than this one had, and I was more than a little sad to say goodbye to it.

But after everything that happened, I didn't know how else I could survive living here. Calix being so close...being so closed off and hateful after what happened between us. For no other reason, then what? That I was human? Was that why he hated me so?

Conveniently, a satchel had been placed in my wardrobe. The blue feather on the handle made me smile, and I pressed it between the folds of a silk nightgown before packing it. Every article of clothing fit with room to spare, and I marveled at the magic. Would I ever grow tired of it? I hoped not.

"You're keeping your word, then?"

I spun around, hand over my leaping heart and glared at the dark-haired prince reclining on the ledge of the window. Half of him was bathed in moonlight, while the other half—the one facing me—melted into the shadows, hiding his expression as he waited for me to answer.

"Of course. I told you I wanted to leave."

He grunted. "Good."

"Excellent." I closed the satchel and shoved it aside. "Why are you here? I can't imagine you cared enough to say goodbye."

Calix swung his legs over the ledge, his boots thudding on the floor as he dropped to the ground. In six swift steps, he was at my side, tangling his hand in my hair and yanking my head back. I gasped and raised my fists to strike against his chest,

"Never think of this place again, Luna. Never wish for this place again. Do you understand me?"

"If it means I never have to think of you again, then I will gladly obey," I spat.

He pulled my hair harder, forcing me to arch against him to get relief from the burning in my scalp. Unfortunately, my brain chose that moment to remind me of the last time he pulled my hair like this, and though I'd never admit it to him, I knew I would do nothing but think of him for years to come.

"Good," he snarled.

Then he kissed me, and it was nothing like I expected, given his current temper. Soft, slow, and sensual. Calix gave more than he took, teasing my flesh with strokes of his tongue and nips of his teeth, coaxing me to open to him.

My body needed no encouragement, and I took a step back, leading us to the bed. If I was to leave this place forever, I wanted to prove to him what had happened hadn't just been because of the flower. It would be enough to believe he wanted me as much as I wanted him. That I wasn't just a convenient body.

"Calix," I groaned into his mouth as his hands plunged beneath the waistband of my pants. "Please."

My begging had the opposite effect of what I wanted. Instead of pulling me closer, he pushed me away, forcing me onto the bed, but he didn't follow. He stared at me for several seconds, his chest heaving, and his eyes bright.

"Goodbye, Luna."

And then he turned to mist and drifted away on the breeze.