It was difficult to tell time was passing in the Hollow. Aisling said the grandfather clock in the hall and the small clock above the fireplace in the drawing room had both stopped years ago. Niall’s atern wristband incorporated a small watch, but it seemed to be acting up; the minute hand swung madly around as though it were a compass trying to locate north in a room filled with magnets.

Not that he really minded. He wanted to learn as much about Aisling as possible. He couldn’t believe she was real. In life, she was so much more beautiful than his dreams – her eyes like giant brown saucers, her curves delicious, her lips crying out to be kissed. Niall knew he was staring at her, but he wanted to commit every feature of her face to memory, in case he woke up and this was just a dream, as well.

As Aisling talked about her mother and grandmother, her brown eyes seemed to grow wider. They gave her face a wide-eyed innocence that was utterly intoxicating. It was the kind of face a fae longed to corrupt. Niall crossed his legs, hiding his stiffened cock in the folds of his pants. His whole body shimmered with energy. He had never felt this attracted to someone before, much less a witch.

You can’t think about that now, he admonished himself. Focus, in case she asks you something else about the weapon. His previous fabrication had fallen apart when he’d laid eyes on her, and he’d had to construct a new lie on the spot. He had to get inside that house by any means, and that meant he had to convince her he had no ill purpose. A lie that was close to the truth seemed the best way. And now that he was here, and she was sitting there looking equal parts innocent and wanton, he wasn’t going to ruin things by telling her the truth. He was stuck in this house now, indefinitely – he was damn well going to make the most of it.

Niall couldn’t believe Aisling had lived alone in this house her whole life, especially given the capricious nature of the void. He remarked that the changes in the house almost seemed designed to test a person’s resolve. She laughed, the sound like a trickling stream. “This house casts its own spell on you,” Aisling said, sipping her second cup of tea. “After awhile, you can’t help but feel enchanted by it, to want to protect it at any cost, even if it’s just you standing alone against the void.”

“You don’t have to do it all yourself any longer,” he growled, a fierce wave of resolve flared in his chest. This was his dream girl, and he would protect her, at any cost.

You have to be careful, he warned himself. Don’t get too carried away with Aisling. You have to focus on your mission, on getting enough atern to save your brother.

Outside the window, the cold gloom of night fell, draping Scitis in a blanket of black. Aisling drew the drapes, shrouding the room. “Follow me,” she said. “Before it gets too dark to see.”

Aisling led him past the kitchen, where a small suite of servants quarters led off a narrow hallway. She showed him a room, much roomier and nicer than the one he currently lived in, only a few doors down from hers. A small window high above the bed looked out across the frozen lawn. The bed was made up with sheets and a floral duvet, and there was a wooden chair and cupboard on the opposite wall. A painting over the bed showed a woman relaxing in an armchair, a black cat curled in her arms. Niall scanned the walls for cracks, but could see none. “It’s nice,” he said.

“I’d move the bed over to this corner, if I were you.” Aisling pointed into the easternmost corner of the room.

“Why?”

“You’ll find out. I can help you if you like.”

Niall peered even closer at the wall above the bed. “It’s safe where it is, though, right?”

“As safe as anything is in this house.”

“I’m not going to get sucked into the void in my sleep?”

“I’m not deliberately trying to kill you off, if that’s what you’re implying. But there’s—”

“Then I think I’ll leave it where it is.” Niall grinned at her. “I’m going to be here a while. I need to get used to this house’s quirks.”

“Suit yourself.” Aisling’s brown eyes swept over him, an unreadable expression on her face. Niall stepped toward her, drawn to her. All evening he’d sat across from her, holding himself back from grabbing her and kissing those gorgeous lips. Now, in the gloom of night, with an inviting bed right there beside them, his fae desires pulsed through his veins. His self-control ebbed away, the voice of reason in his head fading to a dim murmur.

“Niall?” Aisling looked up at him. Damn, she was hot. The air between them sizzled with energy, the pull of their bodies undeniable. Niall reached out a hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

As his fingers brushed her cheek, a spark shot down his arm, opening a quivering warmth in his chest and jolting his cock to life. A faint moan escaped his lips. He bent his head toward her, ready to devour her—

Aisling’s breath hitched. Her eyelids fluttered, and her lips pursed in a way Niall found irresistible. He cupped her cheek with his hand and pulled her toward him—

Her eyes grew so wide they practically bugged out of her head. She ducked under his arm and darted toward the door. Niall’s hand remained frozen in the air, his cock aching in protest.

“Come back—”

“Don’t do that,” she choked out. Niall realized she was shaking.

“I’m … sorry,” he said, the words feeling woefully inadequate. Niall had never apologized for anything in his life, not even when he broke his father’s brand-new microscope pretending it was a spaceship. But the words flew out of his mouth like butterflies. He just wanted to touch her so badly, to know that she was real. He didn’t want to see her hurt.

“Niall …” Aisling’s shoulders tensed.

“It’s weird,” he said. “I just apologized to you.”

“I heard.”

“That’s not normal. Fae don’t apologize. I’ve never said those words before in my life. I’ve only been here a few hours, and already this house has changed me.” He was babbling, to try and fill the awkwardness, to cover over the surging energy that pulled him toward her like a magnet.

“Just … ” She sucked in her breath, her hands straight at her sides. She didn’t look at him. “It would never work. You’re fae, I’m a witch. Your people are trying to kill me and take my house. I hate you for that. We have many days trapped in here together. Let’s not complicate things.”

“But don’t you want this?” He balled his hands into fists. He felt angry, cheated. How could she deny the connection between them? She was his dream girl.

“It doesn’t matter. Just … forget it, please. Rest well, Niall.” She backed into the hall, kicking the door shut with her foot. It slammed against the frame, the sound echoing through the large room.

Your people are trying to kill me and take my house. I hate you for that.

Niall’s body knotted with tension. He stared at his fist, then smashed it against the portrait hanging beside the bed. The frame splintered and cracked, and the canvas tore away as his fist slammed into the wall behind.

He yanked his hand back, his knuckles stinging. He felt a little better, but the tension still hadn’t left his body. There was no way he could hope to get any sleep now, and he had a long time to wait before it was safe to explore the house on his own.

He gazed at the torn portrait, really seeing the image for the first time. It was a woman sitting by the window on the drawing room. He recognized the window frame and the writing desk beside her, although the neat garden visible through the window had very much changed. She wore an elaborate gown of silk and brocade, and the painter had taken great pains to detail the embroidery around the hem and the folds of fabric swirling around her feet. On her hand sat an open volume, and a black cat stared with heavy-lidded eyes from her lap.

What struck him most about the portrait was the woman’s remarkable resemblance to Aisling. She was older, in her late thirties in human years, he guessed, but she had the same wide brown eyes, luscious lips, and delicate bone structure. Her breasts practically spilled out of her corset, which cinched in her waist and accentuated her already ample curves.

It must be one of Aisling’s ancestors, he realized. Most likely, it was the same woman in the portrait above the staircase. Her and Aisling could practically be sisters. The resemblance really was remarkable. He could just imagine Aisling bustling around the house in a corset—

Stop thinking about her. Aisling had made it clear she wasn’t interested. She’d embarrassed him, made him feel small. He would have to give it time for his seduction to work, as much as his cock still rigidly refused to obey. Knowing she was sleeping only two doors down the hall made it even worse.

This was going to be a long night.

Niall slipped off his shirt, and went into the small bathroom across the hall to wash. Luckily for him, the servants’ bathroom was still exactly where it was supposed to be. A thin bar of soap sat on the edge of the sink, and a tub of baking soda and a bottle of vinegar sat on the edge of the claw-foot bath – a substitute for shampoo, which he guessed hadn’t been enchanted to regenerate along with the food. Niall settled for splashing some water and soap on his face.

As he stared at his reflection in the mirror, he wondered what on earth he was doing here.

The edges of the mirror rippled with eerie blue light. Every surface of the house gleamed with the aura of its stored magic. The place was practically a nuclear power plant, it contained so much raw, untapped atern. No wonder the rooms seem to have a mind of their own.

Niall dared a smile. Aisling may not yet be succumbing to his charms, but he had done what he’d set out to do. He was inside the Hollow, the house that terrified even the toughest fae. He was still alive, and he had parsed the mysteries that engaged even his father’s imagination. If Odiana’s device worked, he would save his brother. And the girl in his dreams had turned out to be very real and very, very enticing. Even if she didn’t want him right now, a few days or weeks together in the house, and she would change her mind. He would wait. For her, he would wait.

Niall returned to his bedroom, checked the door had firmly closed behind him, and pulled out the case from beside the bed, where he’d left it. Luckily, he’d thought to disguise the ray. By spending 25 atern on a glamour spell, he’d transformed the appearance of hard casing and the ray to an ordinary suitcase filled with clothes. Even if she were to open it, Aisling would never suspect the real reason he was there, and he never wanted her to.

He ran his fingers over the ray, reminding himself of Odiana’s directions. He glanced at his watch, before remembering it was broken. It was too early yet, anyway. He’d just have to wait it out.

Niall lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, trying not to think of Aisling. It was impossible. His thoughts kept returning to her beautiful lips, her curves, her bouncing curls. He began to compile a list of things he could do to seduce her, tricks he’d pulled in the past on the fae he had bedded. Were female witches the same as fae, easily won over with flattery? Aisling didn’t seem that way, but then, she’d invited him in, hadn’t she?

Stop thinking about it. He got up and paced across the floor. The movement only seemed to make him more agitated.

He had no idea how much time had passed. He had to stand on the bed to gaze out the high window, only to discover it looked toward the back of the property, where the tempest of clashing worlds raged. For a time, he watched dark clouds clash against one another, giant forks of lightning illuminating barren flowerbeds and, toward the rear of the lawn, a small family cemetery. A fork slammed into the side of the house. Niall jumped back as the wall shuddered. The Hollow groaned.

Something wet fell on his shoulder. Another droplet splashed against his cheek. Suddenly, he was standing beneath a shower, his wet clothes clinging to his skin as more and more water poured on top of him. Niall glanced up into the black void of the roof. Was there a leak somewhere? That seemed unlikely – he would have noticed a draft. Besides, it wasn’t raining outside.

This is what Aisling must have been referring to. Niall laughed as he wiped slick strands of hair from his sopping forehead. He rolled off the bed, and watched the ceiling rain down a giant puddle on top of the sheets. This is nuts. I’ll have to sleep on the floor.

The thought made him laugh even harder.

He squeezed out what water he could from his trousers, and used the curtain to dry his face and hair. How much time has passed now? Will it be safe to sneak away to use the ray yet?

Niall pulled open his door and crept down the hall. He pressed his ear to Aisling’s door, his superior fae hearing straining to discern any sound. He heard a faint snuffle, followed by a gasp. She’s still awake. Niall listened for a few more moments, then pulled away as he realized the sound was sobbing. Aisling was crying.

The sound made his chest ache. He longed to shove open the door, wrap her in his arms, and kiss the tears away.

What is happening to you? One look at that girl and you’ve turned into a fop.

Annoyed at his own sentimentality, Niall returned to his room to wait a bit longer. The ceiling rain had stopped, and the puddle on his bed had completely disappeared.

* * *

What seemed like hours passed, although without a working watch, Niall couldn’t be sure. Still, the house lay shrouded in darkness. Niall moved through his bedroom, pulling bed away from the wall and examining every surface. If he wanted to learn the secrets of the Hollow, he might was well begin with his own bedroom.

He took down to torn portrait, then moved on to pulled all the drawers out of his dresser and examined the scanty contents. Behind one drawer he found a dark crack in the wood – a gateway into the void. Aisling must not have known about it, otherwise he was certain she’d never have given him the room.

He held his hand in front of the crack, felt a cool breeze blow across his palm. The wind made a whistling noise as it was thrust from the crack. Niall moved his head closer. It almost sounded as though—

Niall. Come to me, Niall.

The wind was calling to him through the void.

Hurriedly, Niall replaced all the drawers and backed away. He stood still, straining to hear. Was that his name still hanging in the air, the black void still calling to him through the dresser? Or was he just imagining it?

How has Aisling survived in this house for so many years? I’ve only been here one day and already it’s creeping me out so much I doubt I’ll ever sleep again.

Speaking of Aisling … surely she’s asleep by now?

Niall grabbed the ray from where he’d set it down on the floor. He didn’t dare put it on the bed in case that water – if it even was water that had been falling like rain – drowned it and rendered it useless. Without Odiana’s knowledge at hand, he wouldn’t be able to fix the ray if it broke.

With the ray under his arm, Niall crept into the hall again, and listened at Aisling’s door, straining to hear the faint sound of regular breathing. She was finally asleep.

Niall crept along the servants’ corridor behind the kitchen, careful to tread near the edges where the wood was less likely to creak. At the top, he headed toward the sealed-off dining room. He’d seen a great concentration of atern there, and after what she’d told him, he knew Aisling was unlikely to go near enough to that section to notice what he was doing.

The dining room door glowed with blue light, like the entrance to some post-apocalyptic dance club. Niall ran his fingers along the edge of the top board, feeling a faint cold breeze against his skin, similar to the one coming through the crack in his bedroom. Noise whispered through the gaps in the boards. At first, Niall thought it was just wind, but as he checked the dials on the ray were still in their correct positions, he realized they were words.

Come inside, Niall. Come inside. I want you.

It was the same chorus of voices that had called to him from behind the dresser. What was going on? How did anything inside the void know his name? His heart pounding, Niall wasted no time. He synced the ray’s settings with his own atern wristband, and pointed the ray at the door.

He squeezed the trigger.

The ray kicked in his hands, drawn toward the source of energy. A faint line of blue appeared from the tip. It made a whirring noise, and then stopped.

Nothing happened.

Niall turned his wrist over to see his atern total. It was still on the same number.

What happened? Why won’t it work?

Niall checked all the dials, but they were positioned exactly as Odiana had told him. He pointed the ray again, and pulled the trigger, but this time he couldn’t even get the thin stream of blue light to appear.

Anger surged through him. He’d come all this way, managed to get himself trapped inside the house, ready to do something truly selfless by sacrificing his own life to set his brother free, and Odiana’s precious ray didn’t even work.

She promised. She swore to me she’d cracked this.

Niall stepped back, raising his arm above his head, ready to throw the useless ray into the void. But as his foot came down, it collided with something furry.

“Reeeeeeow!”

Sharp pain arced up his leg. The ray clattered from his hand.

“Widdershins? You scared me.” In the gloom, Niall could just make out a pair of yellow eyes as the black shadow darted down the stairs. He gave Widdershins a twenty-second head start, then picked up the ray and started down after him.

I’m going to have to try and fix it myself.

Back in his room, he found Widdershins curled up in the center of the bed, his yellow eyes staring daggers at him. Happy to concede the strange bed to the cat, Niall pulled the pillows off the bed and made a nest for himself in the center of the room, as far from both the ceiling rain and the crack as he could get. He lay down, weariness creeping along his limbs, now that he could see the full horror of his situation.

Niall fell asleep staring out the window at the swirling maelstrom, his mind on the life outside these walls he’d thrown away, and the girl sleeping only a few doors away. The only girl he wanted, who was completely out of reach.