Brenon eased up on the kiss, pulling away from me. I ran my hands through his hair and pulled his head back to me, prolonging the kiss. I wasn't ready to let him go now that I decided to fall. His hands moved up my sides, sending a tingle up my spine. Finally, I released him and took a step back. For a moment I stared into his eyes, working to catch my breath. My whole body felt like it was on fire and I was sure my cheeks had flushed. I felt like I'd just run a mile as fast as I could, yet all I had done was stand here and kiss him.

"About damn time," Joe said.

I covered my face with my hands. How much had Joe seen?

"It's fine, Ara. I was starting to worry about you." Joe's keys jingled as he walked toward the car.

Brenon took my hand in his, and we walked behind Joe. What did this mean? What was going to happen between the two of us now?

Joe unlocked the passenger door and held it open for me. "Now I can tell you about Cheryl."

"Cheryl?" I asked as I dropped into the seat and Joe closed the door before I got an answer.

I heard Brenon slide into the back seat and shut his door.

Joe was in his seat now and started the car. "We've been dating a few months already, but you had been having such a rough go of it in the romance department I was afraid it would bother you to hear about her."

"You don't have to keep anything from me, I could have handled it," I said.

"Maybe," Joe shrugged, "or you might have tried to convince me that she was just going to break my heart like you do for any new person you meet."

I slumped down in the seat. He was probably right. For the last few years, I struggled to see the good in people and didn't think that possible successful relationship was worth the chance of going through the pain I had been through in the past.

"Now, where's the market in this sorry excuse for a town?" Joe asked.

We drove around in circles for a while before finding a place we could buy provisions for dinner. After we finally secured our contribution to Aunt Kay's household, thanks to Joe since I didn't have a dollar to my name, we headed back. There was nothing to do in this town even if we had wanted to linger.

"What do you think the Elders will say tomorrow?" Joe asked.

"Don't know," I said. "But I sure hope they agree."

"What will you do if they don't?" Joe asked.

I turned around in my seat and looked at Brenon. "What will we do?"

"If they won't help us, we'll still need to fight her. The longer she lives, the more at risk you are," Brenon said.

"But how?" I asked.

"We'll cut off the blue pills," he said.

The words hit me like a sack of bricks landing on top of my lap. I was so torn about those pills. In the wrong hands, they caused harm, even death. To the supernaturals who came here from Faerie, they hid their magic, helping them to blend in. "Won't that bring all the magic back?"

"Exactly. It might be enough to take on Terra if we can unify everyone. With the pills gone, they'd have no choice but to fight her."

"Why didn't you do that ages ago?" Joe asked.

"It's risky," I said, cutting off Brenon. "If they let their magic out, Terra can steal it. If the others decide to stay in hiding, rather than fight, she could pick them off one at a time for years, getting stronger with each stolen magic."

"That sounds bad," Joe said.

"That's why this has to work," I said.

* * *

When we pulled up to Aunt Kay's house, we weren't the only car. A sleek, black Jaguar was parked where Joe's car had been. He pulled up next to it and parked. "Expecting company?"

My insides bristled at the nice car parked in front of my aunt's house. The last time I'd seen an unexpected fancy black car, Terra had taken me to her pool hall. "Not that I know of."

I opened the door and stepped out of the car.

"You two wait here," Brenon said. "I'll check on it."

"No way," I said. "I'm going with you."

Brenon looked like he wanted to argue with me, but he didn't.

"I'll stay here. I'm just in the way if there's magic involved," Joe said.

"Good idea," I said, without even looking back at him. I was already a step behind Brenon on the way to the front porch.

We hesitated at the door, listening for any sounds that would suggest a struggle. Hearing nothing unusual, I nodded at Brenon. He threw open the door and rushed inside. I came in right behind him, prepared to have to fight.

Instead, we crashed right into the Elders sitting on the couch once again.

Mercy stood, then swept her arm to the empty love seat. "Please, sit."

"Uh, just a sec," I said, stepping back outside to signal to Joe to come in. Once he was inside the house, I popped back inside and settled on the love seat as directed. Joe sat down on an empty chair, grocery bags and bottle of tequila in hand.

"What's going on?" I asked. "I thought we wouldn't see you until morning." They'd only been away a few hours.

"Something has happened," Mercy said.

The sound of sniffing pulled my attention to my Aunt Kay. She was dabbing a tissue under her red eyes. She'd been crying. I looked over at Maggie and Adam. All sign of defiance was missing from both of them. They looked beaten down. Gia wasn't even in the room. "Is Gia okay?"

"She's fine, she's upstairs," Aunt Kay said.

"What happened?" I asked Mercy.

"There's a small Sayge village in East Texas. It's very isolated, few even know it's there." She took a deep breath.

I squeezed my hands into fists, my whole body tensing as I prepared to hear the terrible news, hoping she wasn't going where I thought she was going with this.

"It's a town of magic. They didn't hide it or keep it secret." Mercy swallowed. She was struggling to get the words out.

"Late last night, Terra and her wolves attacked. She took the magic from every citizen there. Young and old alike. There were no survivors."

I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand as tears blurred my vision. A whole town wiped out, and Terra more powerful as a result.

"She's never done this before," the male elder said. "She's kept her attacks random, and mostly focused on the Fae. This is the first time she's targeted us that we know of."

"There were 300 people who called that village home," the other woman said quietly.

My heart felt like it was shattering. This was all my fault. She was sending me a message. I wanted to say something, but my voice was missing. How do you react to that? How could she be so evil? I looked at Brenon. How was he related to that crazy Fae? They were so different. He'd been working to hide his kind, protect them from her. She would do anything for power.

"What happens now?" Joe asked.

"We fight back," Mercy said. "The vote was unanimous. The Sayges will stand with you. You tell us what you need us to do and where you need us to be, and we'll be there."

This was really happening. We were actually going to stand up to Terra and I could stop worrying about my safety and the safety of my brother. But it also meant that I was going to lose Brenon soon. A weight rested in my stomach. The cost of the Sayge support had been too great. The loss of life was the thing we were trying to prevent. Now, it was an aim to beat the clock. Stop Terra before she did any more damage.

I knew the next few days were going to keep moving fast as we figured out how to challenge Terra. It was also going to be the most dangerous thing I'd ever done. I took a deep breath, pushing away the fear. "Thank you. This is more important now than it ever was. We can't let Terra harm anyone else."

"Agree," Aunt Kay said. "We need to strike before she has a chance to get any stronger or we won't be able to fight against her."

"But how do we get her out in the open?" Maggie asked.

"I can call her," I said. "Agree to meet with her."

"She'd never believe you," Adam said. "You've already escaped from her twice. Why would she think you'd come to talk to her of your own free will?"

"Because I'd ask her if we can make a deal. She knows my history. She knows I want to protect those I care about. She'll buy that."

"I don't know," Maggie said. "It could backfire."

"So what if it does?" I said. "We get her to meet me somewhere and the rest of you hide. Even if she intends to harm me, you all can jump in before then, right?"

"No," Brenon said.

I looked at him, surprised. Now was not the time for him to get protective of me.

"It has to be me," he said. "As far as we know, she doesn't know that you came back to the Circus. She knows I want to protect you and she wants my magic. I'll contact her and set up the meeting."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked. Would Terra try to hurt him before the Sayges and the other members of the Circus could help? I'd never seen her interact with Brenon, but she didn't seem to be happy with him at all.

"Sounds good to me," Joe said.

I glared at him. "You've never met her. She's the living embodiment of a nightmare."

"And you want to walk right up to her?" Joe asked.

"She needs me," I said. "She won't kill me."

"How do you know? I mean, I know I'm new to all of this, but it sounds like she's changed her plans," Joe said.

"Which is why Brenon is more at risk meeting with her." I set my hand on Brenon's arm and looked at him. "What if she tries to take your magic?"

He covered my hand with his. "She can't. Unless the curse is broken. I'll be fine."

"It's very odd to see someone worried about the Ringmaster for a change," Gia said. "Never thought I'd see that."

"It's sort of unsettling," Adam said.

"That's enough," Aunt Kay said. "We're working together here and Brenon knows his sister. He can set up the meeting."

"Let us know the time and place," Mercy said. She and the other elders stood. "We'll ready the Sayges."

I stood and nodded in the slight bow I'd seen used last time when the Elders prepared to leave. The four of them left, pausing at the door for final hushed words with Aunt Kay.

I stood near the love seat, Brenon at my side. Gia walked over to us. "Need a ride anywhere?" Gia asked him.

"Yeah, thanks." He turned from Gia and leaned closer to me, pressing his lips against my cheek. "I'll be back soon."

Numbly, I watched him and Gia leave the house. They were on their way somewhere to set up a meeting with Terra. I wanted to go with them, to be near him as long as I could before he had to return to Faerie, but I know they'd tell me no, so I waited.

Aunt Kay walked over to me and put her arm around me. "How about we work on the spell you'll need to know to open that gate? Things are moving fast, now."

I nodded, then followed her upstairs.