I must have dozed off as well because when I awake I find Ezra staring down at me. He is lying on his side facing me, his head resting on his hand.

“Hi,” I say.

“Hello, Accacia,” he replies. The grey of his eyes is soft now, no longer stormy. There is a kind of peace within them. Something I haven’t seen since we met.

“How are you feeling?”

“About as good as I look, I imagine,” he responds.

“You look better,” I lie. Apart from the difference in his eyes, he still looks terrible, but I’m not about to tell him that.

“I find that hard to believe.” He is looking at me strangely, a frown creasing his forehead. I get the distinct impression that he is warring with himself over something. Eventually, he speaks. “Thank you, for giving me the blood. For staying with me.”

“I… you were aware of what was going on?”

“Not entirely, no. I just remember you telling me to drink the blood. Then, when I awoke a few minutes ago, I found you lying next to me. I thought perhaps you stayed to look after me, was I wrong?”

“No, you weren’t wrong,” I whisper.

He moves his head closer to me and my breath catches as he brushes his knuckles against the edge of my jaw.

“It seems this is becoming a habit,” he says, his face lowering ever closer to mine. I don’t think I am breathing now.

“You looking after me, I mean.” Ezra’s hand moves down, his palm smoothing against my throat, lowering to my collarbone before finally resting between my breasts. I know he can feel the pounding of my heart beneath his hand as much as I feel it trying to escape my chest.

“Your heart is strong, it beats so loud. It is good to hear, Accacia…”

“Why?” My chest heaves under his touch and my skin burns beneath his hand. We are caught, Ezra and I, within this web we have weaved about one another. I’m not sure which one of us is the captor and which the prey but whatever this is forming between us, something is different, the barrier is not so impenetrable now.

“Ezra, what are you doing?” I ask gently, not understanding what is going on. Him blowing so hot and cold is confusing me. He loved his wife Thalia, he refuses my blood because of her, because of the love he has for her. I understand why. I understand his pain, I’ve felt the rawness of it. Witnessed it first hand as it tore him apart not an hour or more ago. So why is he looking at me the way he is?

“You are alive, here,” he says, his mouth barely an inch away from mine.

“Yes,” I reply.

“I never thought…” His breath is warm against my mouth, as the top of his nose brushes against mine. Neither one of us can look away. With the lightest of touches his lips graze against mine. “Thank you,” he murmurs against my mouth. “For everything, Accacia.”

A rush of air, followed by the entrance of Eldon, has Ezra scowling once again. He sits up.

“Jael has sent word, the fae king has brought the trial forward. Rhain and Devin are being sentenced this afternoon. If you want to save your friends, then you must leave now.”

Ezra leaps up from the bed. I follow him.

“Where’s the map?” I demand.

Avery walks up behind Eldon. “It is here,” he says, handing over a dry piece of parchment with a detailed drawing upon it.

“Map?” Ezra snatches the parchment from me. I snatch it back.

“Yes, there is a map that will lead us to an inn within the fae city. A man called Solomon will be waiting for us there, he will take us to Rhain and Devin.”

“Well a map is all good and well, but how do we get to the city without being…”

“There’s a secret pass,” I cut in.

Ezra narrows his eyes at me. “You seem to have this all well planned out.”

“You can thank Clover for that. She’s the one who arranged it all.”

“She’s sleeping. How can she have arranged anything?”

“Don’t underestimate what Clover can do, she is a very determined woman,” Avery says with a proud smile.

“Enough of the talk. We need to go, now,” I say, looking between the men. “Rhain and Devin need us.”

“Looks like Clover is not the only one who is determined,” Eldon says, a smile curving his lips. He steps towards me and takes my hand in his, pressing a kiss over my knuckles. A kind of strangled noise comes from Ezra’s throat. I glance at him. He is staring daggers at Eldon, a muscle feathering in his jaw. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was jealous.

“We will take care of Clover until you are able to meet again.” He lets go of my hand and steps back.

I nod. “You’d better, or you’ll have me to deal with.”

“Understood,” he says.

I turn to Ezra, my voice softening. “Can you manage?”

“I will,” he responds.

“What if you have another episode?”

“There are two more bottles of blood left. I will drink them when I need to.”

“But it’s getting worse…” My voice trails off. I know that no matter what I say, it won’t affect his decision anyway. He will still be the same, stubborn Ezra.

“Then I will deal with it.” Ezra crosses his arms, and I know that he is done with discussing the matter. Avery is watching us both in amusement.

“What are you grinning at, pretty boy,” Ezra says, snarling.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing.” Avery chuckles, walking from the room.

Ezra and I follow him. We take the lift back down to the ground floor. There are a few other fae people milling about as we pass each floor. They look at Ezra and me with curiosity but do not say a word. Avery raises a hand, does some strange hand movement, and they all turn away, busying themselves with whatever it was they were doing before they noticed us.

“The secret pass is beneath the tree. Only a handful of fae here know of its existence,” Avery says, stepping off the platform. We walk alongside him, heading back outside. There isn’t anyone about on the ground, the fae preferring the safety of the tree, it would seem.

“You do not trust your people?” Ezra asks.

“It is not that we do not trust them. We wish to keep them safe.”

“Sure,” Ezra says, unconvinced. “Yet here you are, showing us the secret pass. Two complete strangers.” He turns to me. “Do you not think that’s a little odd, Accacia?”

I roll my eyes at Ezra. “Not so long ago you were asking me to trust these men, and now you’re questioning their motives? You sure know how to confuse a girl,” I snap. Ezra’s cocks an eyebrow at me.

Avery grins. “Accacia has a point.”

“Besides,” I continue, “Clover is my friend. She wouldn’t do anything to put me in danger. So, no, I don’t think it odd. I do, however, think you have serious trust issues.”

Ezra blanches, making him look even more sickly. “I do not have trust issues. I’ve just been around a lot longer than you, Accacia. I see things a little differently.”

“Yes, I know that, but it doesn’t mean you’re right.”

As we step outside into the light of the fireflies, Avery takes a sharp left. We follow him around the side of the tree. Almost half way around he stops in front of a tall gap where the roots of the tree make an archway before joining with the trunk. There is a hollow where the trunk dips in slightly, almost like a cave in a cliff face.

“Where’s the secret pass? This doesn’t lead anywhere,” I say.

Avery opens his palm. Resting on it is a tiny green flame. When I look closer it is, in actual fact, a firefly. It hovers just above Avery’s palm before launching itself into the air, heading straight toward the tree. It disappears through a gap that has suddenly appeared. I can see its green glow hovering just beyond the entrance. More fae magic.

“Well, I suppose this is goodbye. Thank you, Avery,” I say, holding my hand out to shake. He winks at Ezra, before planting a kiss on my lips. It is a platonic, no passion kind of kiss, but it seems to have a strange effect on Ezra.

“Back off fae,” he seethes, yanking at Avery’s shoulder.

Avery raises his hands in mock-surrender. “No harm meant.” His eyes sparkle with mischief.

Ezra mumbles something distinctly rude under his breath, but Avery is completely unperturbed by it.

“Before you go, take these,” Avery says, as two long robes appear in his hands. “You don’t look much like fae, the colour of your eyes is a big giveaway. If you haven’t already noticed, ours are all green.”

“All of you?” I ask, taking one of the robes and pulling it on. It has a large hood that when pulled on, completely overshadows my face.

“Yes, all of us.”

“Won’t we stand out even more with these on, don’t you have any sunglasses instead?” I ask.

“What are these sunglasses you speak of?” Avery cocks his head to the side, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Never mind. You’re certain this is a suitable disguise?” I press, wanting to be sure.

“This is what they wear in the city. Though, I prefer to be unencumbered by clothes.”

“I can see that,” I laugh, glancing at his bare chest.

Ezra puts the robe on, keeping the hood off his face for now. “Let us leave,” he says abruptly. “There is no more time for niceties,” he adds, ushering me forward.

I place a hand on Avery’s arm. “Remember what I said.”

“We will protect her with our lives, you have my word, Accacia.”

“Okay.” I let go of Avery’s arm and step into the entrance. A few paces into the darkened tunnel I turn, expecting to see Ezra directly behind me. Instead, Avery has Ezra by the arm and is talking animatedly to him. Ezra looks none too pleased. They both catch me watching them. Ezra snatches his arm away, striding towards me.

“What was that all about?” I ask.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” he responds, avoiding eye contact.

“Fine,” I say, feeling the web between us becoming more tangled still.