“Dad said he didn’t think you wanted to go back to Faerie,” I said through chattering teeth.

“Did he?”

“Yeah. Something about Lachlan.” I watched her from under lowered lashes, but she showed no reaction to Lachlan’s name.

“For all his ambition and delusions of grandeur, my brother is, I’m afraid, a rather unimaginative person,” Aunt Grace said. “If I were to go into Faerie and take up with Lachlan as things stand now, then I would be…” She frowned. “I’m afraid shunned is too mild a word to describe the reaction, but it’s the best I can do. But Seamus forgot that if I went back to Faerie, it would be with you at my side. I will be Queen, and you, my dear child, will be a terrifying enough threat to discourage the rest of the Sidhe from treating me with anything less than the utmost respect.”

“So, what, you’re going to keep me at your side all the time, like a dog on a leash, in case you feel like shooting someone?”

She smiled that mad smile of hers, her eyes glinting with an ugly humor. “I hadn’t thought of it before, but I think a leash would be a wonderful idea. That long white neck of yours would look so lovely with a jeweled collar around it.”

I shut up, because I didn’t want to hear any more about what she had planned for me. We had reached the bridge now, and my last remaining hopes started dying one by one as we crossed toward the gatehouse.

Grace pointed at a door on the far right end of the gatehouse. A small light at the top of the door cast a faint glow on a sign written in a language I didn’t know.

“You see that door?” she asked, but apparently it was a rhetorical question, because she didn’t wait for my answer. “That door will lead us directly into Faerie without having to bother with any annoying human customs.

“It’s beautifully simple and ingenious. In Avalon, there’s a long hallway, which leads directly to the border. On the mortal side of the border, there’s nothing but a reinforced concrete wall, so for mortals, it’s a dead end. But in Faerie, there is no barrier, so we shall be able to walk right on through. There are border patrol officers stationed in the hallway, of course, but you know better than to make any kind of scene.”

Yes, I knew better. Even if Aunt Grace didn’t have my mom as a hostage, I couldn’t rely on the border patrol for help. After all, Aunt Grace was their captain. No, it seemed like there was nothing to stop her from whisking me off to Faerie. I hoped if nothing else that it would be warmer there, because my clothes were now thoroughly soaked through, and though I hugged myself for warmth, my teeth chattered more and more with every passing minute.

The parking lot I remembered seeing when I first encountered the gatehouse was nearly empty tonight. There were three cars parked close together right near the ultra-secure official entrance. And there was one other car, a nondescript sedan, parked under a burned-out light near the door to Faerie.

As Grace and I stepped into the parking lot, she seemed to notice the car for the first time, and her footsteps slowed. She grabbed my arm with her free hand, pulling me to her, magic prickling across my skin.

At first, I didn’t know what she had seen that alarmed her, but moments later a man stepped from the shadows.

He was tall and very thin, almost frail-looking. He looked like he’d been roused from bed, his long blond hair fastened in a frazzled braid, his clothes wrinkled and mismatched. Even in the dim light of the parking lot, I could tell that his shirt was navy and his pants were black, like he’d grabbed them in the dark and just thrown them on.

I thought he was a total stranger to me, until he stepped into a pool of light and I got a look at his eyes. Fae, of course, but of an unusual shade of teal blue. Just like Ethan and Kimber’s. Grace confirmed my guess by speaking, even as she backed away, pulling me with her.

“Why Alistair, what a lovely surprise,” she said.

He rubbed his face, looking exhausted. I was almost surprised Grace didn’t just run right over him. He certainly didn’t look like much of a threat. But of course, I knew that looks could be deceiving, especially here.

“Lovely is not a word I would use to describe it,” he said, and he sounded as tired as he looked. He took a step closer to us, and Grace continued to back up. Maybe Alistair would be able to chase us all the way over the bridge and back into the, er, safety of Avalon.

“Don’t be difficult about this,” Grace said.

Alistair shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t allow you to take the girl into Faerie.”

“Why ever not?” she asked, and she sounded genuinely puzzled.

Alistair gave a bark of laughter. “It’s too late in the night for games. If you try to go through me, I will stop you.”

Aunt Grace looked … annoyed. Her hand tightened on my arm until I hissed in pain. She didn’t loosen her grip.

“Perhaps you’d like to convince Alistair to step aside, dear,” she suggested to me, brandishing the phone.

My throat tightened in terror, and I turned pleading eyes on Alistair.

“Please,” I begged in my most respectful voice. “She has my mother. She’s going to have her friend kill my mom if you try to stop us.” I could hardly believe I was in a position of begging someone to let Grace kidnap me into Faerie, but I had no doubt she was spiteful enough to have my mother killed if this grand plan of hers failed.

Alistair’s gaze darted over my shoulder and then back, so quickly I might almost have missed it if I hadn’t been staring at him so intently. I think it was an involuntary moment of distraction on his part, not a cue for me to look over my shoulder. But I couldn’t help looking anyway.