Chapter Eight: Willow

She didn't want to sneak back. She'd rather cuddle with Martin for the rest of the evening, but since his parents were due back at any moment, along with his sister – Willow needed to make herself scarce. A few hasty kisses, some whispered affirmations that everything was wonderful, incredible, and that she very much looked forward to future dates and opportunities to grow closer to him.

She did have to bail out of the window unceremoniously at the sound of keys in the lock, and the last thing she saw him do was spritz an air freshener to clear the musky scent from the room.

Good luck with that, she thought in amusement, knowing tiger senses to be more advanced than human ones.

The walk back was dark but not lonely, as she had her thoughts and recent pleasant memories for company. The way they came together – the way the desire boiled over into such a delicious, all-consuming thing. No wonder people became addicted to that feeling – no wonder they wanted to have it over and over. She'd had one time, and it wasn't enough. She needed more. There had to be more.

Those thoughts fizzled when she read the email from Professor Z'Hana.

"The summoning spell works. The mist appears about five minutes after we use it. It had the scent of salt upon it. We didn't go in the water, but we are set for tomorrow. Make sure not to use your magic or exhaust yourselves. We'll need our wits about us if we're to make sure we can break Martin's enchantment and see if this place may have anything to do with some of the problems appearing in our corner of the world lately.

Stay safe and keep warm. We'll meet up in Oakwend tomorrow just before noon."

Above her, the moon showed itself, engorged with a brownish-yellow tint. She imagined little beavers scurrying about in the dark, building their dams, all beneath the moon that had been named after them.

It was a good, calm night for a walk. Nothing about it suggested any lingering threat.

Back in her dorm room, sleep came easily to Willow, which surprised her, as she'd expected to be up half the night anxiously overthinking.

Instead, she slept like a baby, comforted by the memories of Martin's smile, kisses, and warm hands. Their breaths mingled, the little sounds made in the confines of the bedroom. Memories that dominated her mind until she fell asleep.

The next morning, realizing she was in her bed without company, she felt an absence.

Her phone tinged.

Harrow: Good luck! You're stealing my boyfriend – make sure to bring him back in one piece, yeah?

She smiled at Harrow's message, but now the peace within slowly began to morph into anticipation, feeling that something big was about to happen and that she needed to be prepared for anything. She resisted the urge to use her magic for frivolous things. She wanted every ounce of power possible to channel toward protecting them from water.

Of course, with any luck, they wouldn't need her magic at all, and the high tide that occurred while the students were in the cave was simply because they lost track of time.

The closer it got to noon, the more Willow couldn't sit still. Eventually, she headed toward Oakwend and encountered the rest of the group a short distance ahead of her, making their way down the beaten path. She scurried up to join Professors Z'Hana and Umber, Katerina and Marlon. Each had their own special abilities. Marlon and Kati both had abilities far more intriguing than Willow's, but people seemed to be impressed with her brand of magic as well.

I suppose the grass is always greener on the other side.

"Is it weird that I brought my swimming gear?" Kati asked, all bright-eyed and enthusiastic. She had a faint overseas accent, though Willow couldn't quite pinpoint where it was from.

"A little bit," Marlon said. "As far as I understood, we won't need them with Water Girl here."

"You don't," Umber confirmed in a gruff voice, "if the tide comes in on us, Willow will do exactly as she should – we'll be fine."

Six of us are going, Willow thought.

She'd been practicing with ten bubbles. Hopefully, that practice would pay dividends.

They arrived in Oakwend and the beautifully tranquil woodland next to it, a mix of evergreens and bare-branched trees, their leaves turned to mush on the ground from the rains. Martin, waiting by his front gate, waved. He seemed just as antsy as Willow felt. Both of them tried to play it cool in front of everyone. She didn't quite want anyone to know about their developing relationship just yet.

Martin's amber eyes locked with hers as he reached out to shake her hand. "Thank you all so much for coming. It means a lot that I'm finally getting the help."

Professor Umber cleared his throat rather dramatically. "About time," he growled. "It's a shame that things got to this point. Anyway, all of you should be aware that this trip may be dangerous. You must have your wits fully about you. You must be ready to activate your powers at a moment's notice: Kati, should we encounter a fae that will not let us go; Marlon, if things go terribly wrong and we need to turn back time; Willow, if our only escape is through the water. As for me, I'm the muscle and fire-breather, and Z'Hana has her own set of dark magic that may come in handy. All of us should perform well."

"Uh," Kati said, raising her hand rather awkwardly. "What exactly is the aim? Is it to find that missing person?"

"Partially. We hope to find Yannick or his body and break the enchantment on Martin by completing it. And we hope to find out whether the things that have been happening lately are related to this or not."

"Sounds like a plan," Marlon said, folding his arms. "I can rewind time a couple of minutes one time or around twenty seconds back twice. We'll see what happens, I suppose."

"What I wouldn't give for your powers, boy," Umber said, shaking his head. "Some people have all the luck."

With terse nods, the group set off together. It was a rather eccentric bunch, a mishmash of powers, students, and professors on what may or may not prove to be a deadly school trip.

They entered the woods, and Professor Umber stepped forward to invoke the name of the moon and the summoning spell, Brumous Draíochta.

"I looked this up, by the way," Z'Hana whispered as they waited for the spell to take effect. "The lingual families of this spell don't match. But it doesn't really matter whether they match or not, so long as the intent is clear and the day is of significance."

"Wait," Martin asked, "does that mean I could say something like omelet du fromage on a full moon or something, and I'd end up with something anyway?"

"Uh…" Z'Hana frowned. "Sure, why not? You can try it on the next full moon and see if anything happens."

Willow giggled at that, though the giggle died out when she saw mist creeping toward them as if lured by a powerful magnet.

"Why is it called a Beaver Moon?" Kati asked.

"It's simple. Around this time, traditionally," Z'Hana replied, "many animals would prepare for winter. They collect resources and prepare to hibernate. The beaver is one such animal. They repair and build up their homes, dams, and lodges and stock up on food. They're not the only ones, of course – but all the moon names are related to animal, plant, or seasonal changes."

"Oh, that's cool."

They watched as the mist plumed around them, reaching through the woods, and tasted the faint tang of salt in the breeze. Martin reached out to squeeze Willow's palm briefly, though she felt incredible tension in his grip. When she examined him properly, it looked as if he was trying to resist something invisible. The enchantment? She squeezed back harder.

The grip became painful, but she didn't let go until he took a deep breath, nodded, and his hold lessened.

"You'll be all right," she whispered, hoping that it would be true.

They waited in silence for a little longer before Z'Hana beckoned them forward. With a gulp, she followed the professor, and they walked into the fog. It grew thicker and thicker until she could barely see in front of her, and then the trees thinned out, the ground became hard, and the world around them changed.

Ahead, instead of woodland, a sheer cliff loomed. It sliced off into a sea that seemed calm. The stretch of beach they saw glistened from the tide that had lapped over it perhaps some hours earlier. The wind beat at them, carrying the salty tang of the sea, and the place looked completely unconnected to where they'd been before. It just seemed to be at the edge of the woods, which faded into a heavy fog that hid it – and before them, a rough-hewn path led down.

"This is the same thing you saw before?" Professor Umber asked, nudging Martin, who had grown quiet and was gazing ahead into nothingness. He appeared dazed, and it took another nudge from the professor and a repeat of the question before he responded.

"Uh, yeah. This… this is the place."

"And how are you feeling?" Professor Z'Hana asked, examining him with her dark eyes. "I suspect the enchantment is tugging at you now."

"It… it is," he confirmed. "We have… we have to go down the steps. They lead to the cave. The cave is where it all happened."

All of them looked at one another before nodding and marching down the steps.

Without any sort of railing, the path felt precarious, as if all it would take was one false step, and they'd go hurtling toward the beach and rocks below. It took a nerve-wracking few minutes to make it to the bottom, and Z'Hana pointed at the discoloration in the rock strata.

"The sea reaches at least this depth on a regular basis. It covers the last few steps, but we should be able to wade up." Then, her eyes drifted to a small sign that showed the tidal times. "I wouldn't trust this sign. It might say high tide is in six hours, but this is a fae realm. Rules don't work the same here."

Willow watched Martin, who blinked a few times and swallowed hard.

"We…" He paused. "The tide definitely came in faster than we thought. We really believed we had a lot more time. But we didn't."

Willow wondered if the damp tidal line on the rock might be a deception as well. There was no way of telling what was what here, and it bothered her. The whole place had an eerie, unnatural feel about it, even though it looked like a natural seascape.

The water had a greenish tint to it – not like the shimmering blue of the Pacific or the Caribbean, with that luscious green fading into blue. This was more of a sickly green.

There was also the faint scent of something pungent, almost like decay, but Willow couldn't quite identify it.

"The cave," Martin said, pointing unnecessarily at what everyone now saw. Slightly further down the beach, the rocks inverted, revealing a small entrance to a cave.

"I don't like how narrow that entrance is," Professor Umber grumbled, eyeing it in great distaste. "With high tide, this will be a beast to squeeze through and not drown."

"That's why we have Willow," Professor Z'Hana said. "I went through four days of training with her. She's capable."

No pressure, Willow thought, cold beads of sweat forming on her forehead; none at all.

Her attention went to Martin again, who also had broken out in a cold sweat like an addict coming out of withdrawal or someone consumed by paranoia and anxiety.

The enchantment must be rough on him.

Or maybe the memories were – maybe he was remembering everything that happened in that cave. Maybe he was afraid to go in.

Her hand still throbbed from when he'd squeezed it hard.

Wordlessly, Professor Umber led the way, and Martin ended up in the middle of the line so he'd be easier to keep track of. He accepted that without complaint. Professor Z'Hana was at the rear. Willow followed behind Umber, ready to use her own magic. They descended as they traveled farther within, and their feet sloshed through murky sea water crusted with anemones and limpets. Eventually, the path curved upward, but Willow had a horrible feeling they were still below sea level by the time they'd reached what appeared to be a huge clearing, lit with a soft blue-white light. Also, the tunnel took two or so minutes to walk through; definitely not easy for someone to swim through and reach the outside for air in time.

Her mind prickled, thinking of what possibly happened here, imagining the water rising, filling this space…

Their voices echoed in the cavern as they spoke, and the sound of shuffling feet reverberated all around.

"This is a really big cave," Professor Umber said, now checking his wristwatch for the time. "And the patterns on the cavern are not done by mortal hands. They're enchantments, are they not?"

Professor Z'Hana stepped up, approaching one side of the wall, examining the symbols etched into the rock. Then, with a growl, she lifted one finger, which began to glow with an ominous darkness. She raked the finger over the symbols, and it cut a clear indent into the pattern.

"What're you doing?" Kati asked, eyes wide.

"Breaking the spell written on the wall," she said. "This one was designed to make people lose track of time. I'll need to examine every pattern here. This is all Unseelie Court, and it's intricate."

A spell to lose track of the time… Willow saw Martin's stricken expression, and all of them knew, without needing to express it, that this was likely what had happened to Martin and his group of friends. They'd slipped into the cave, and the enchantment on the cave wall had infected them, causing them to lose track of time and reality right until the waters came.

It sounded like a nightmare. The cave itself had an eerie atmosphere, intensified by the echoing sounds they made.

"Are… are all of these enchantments?" Willow asked, and both the professors nodded. Z'Hana's finger carried that darkness with it as she inspected the other symbols etched throughout the large cavern, which seemed like a single room with an indent on the far side, which led to a dead end.

"Some of it is just language, but a lot of it does appear to be subtle enchantments…" Professor Z'Hana scowled. "Here's the enchantment that enamored Martin and would enamor all of us, too." Her finger sliced across it. The tension left Martin's body at once, and Marlon and Kati also appeared to relax.

"It's gone," Martin murmured. "I feel it. It's gone."

"Thank goodness for that," Willow said. "This place is really unnerving me. Also… no offense, and I don't want to dredge up any bad memories… but shouldn't Yannick's body be here?"

"Not if it was carried out on the tide or eaten by fish," Professor Umber said. "A lot can happen in five months, though I'm not sure how time operates in this place."

Z'Hana cleared her throat, drawing their attention. "I have news for you. This place isn't a dead end. There's an illusion spell that stops us from being able to see everything in the room." She snaked her finger across another obscure set of symbols, and the room seemed to fizzle before a doorway appeared around the indent at the end. It was silver with glimmering blue runes upon it.

Professor Z'Hana approached it, and they all watched with bated breath, apprehensive of what she might discover.

"This is no normal door," Professor Z'Hana said after a deep examination. "This is a prison."

A prison?

"A prison for what?" Marlon gaped, tensed as if ready to cast his own time-travel magic. "Something dangerous?"

"I doubt it'd be a prison for something safe." Professor Z'Hana studied the silver door while Willow silently understood why Z'Hana was useful. She seemed to know an awful lot about magic, particularly dark magic, but Willow never really understood what the professor's specific skill set was.

Now she knew. The professor's magic enabled her to read and break certain spells, though she suspected it had a little more to do with the written ones since, otherwise, how could Z'Hana have lifted Martin's enchantment?

"I know what you're thinking," Z'Hana said while looking in their direction, almost before Willow spoke the question. "No, I couldn't have lifted Martin's enchantment."

"How on earth –" Willow asked, stunned.

"I could see it on your face." She quirked one eyebrow at Willow. "I need the physical origin of the enchantment to break it. It doesn't work on secondary targets, unfortunately. Otherwise, I doubt I'd be working in the academy, and some secret organization would scoop me up. The reading and breaking part I do is a little more common."

It didn't feel that common, but Willow and the others accepted the words and waited patiently for her to read the symbols. A whooshing sound tickled her ears. Was that wind or water? Was the sea level already rising? Or was it just the sound of her own thumping heart, magnified in this awful silence?

"I'm nervous," Martin whispered to her, standing close. "I thought… I don't know, but I believed Yannick to be here still. That I'd see him and bring him back to his family…"

"What the professor said about the tides, though… that could be possible," she whispered back, wondering if she dared grip his hand here in front of the others or continue to play it cool. Surely, it'd just look like a comforting gesture.

Water dripped off the ceiling, striking her between her clothing, and she yelped, causing everyone to stare and react as if a monster had just slithered in.

"What?"

"I got water down my spine! Agh!"

"Oh…" Marlon said while Kati and Martin burst into laughter, breaking the otherwise fraught tension between them all. The mood had been dour since they'd entered, but now they were able to relax a little. Not completely, though. They were still in a strange and alien place. They dreaded the idea of the water lapping into the tunnel, rushing toward them.

"The writing here doesn't tell us what's in the prison, unfortunately," Z'Hana said. "I'm going to open it. But before I do so, I need Marlon, in particular, to be ready to revert time if it turns out to be catastrophic. Umber and Martin, protect Marlon as if your life depended on it – of which it may just."

They moved into position, Martin and Professor Umber flanking Marlon, who appeared a little sickly.

Professor Z'Hana took a deep breath before waving her finger of darkness across the runes on the door, butchering them. The runes faded in color, and the door, as if sealed precisely by those runes, creaked open.

It"s not ominous at all.

Z'Hana poked her head into the billowing fog that started to appear. "Wish me luck. If you don't hear my voice in twenty seconds, assume something bad happened to me and rewind." She stepped into the fog, continuing to talk loudly.

"It's foggy, hard to see… oh, it's clearing. And I'm in a chamber of sorts. Oh."

"At last," a deep bass voice said. Unfamiliar to any of them.

Marlon crouched, listening intently.

"You and your friends waiting outside may come in. I do not bite."

"I suppose you can't." Z'Hana poked her head back out. "We can go in."

Cautiously, they followed her in through the fog and emerged into a room smaller than the cavern, lit instead in a brilliant white and gold compared to the softer blue hue of before.

Before them, two individuals waited.

One was on the floor, appearing as if in a deep sleep. Martin let out a cry. "Yannick!"

The missing student.

The other individual was noticeably chained by shimmering silver cords that extended from the floor and ceiling. The cords wrapped around their arms, legs, and neck. The cords seemed long enough to allow a little movement, to lie down, to kneel, to barely stand. The individual in question chose to kneel. Stark red eyes glared at them from an eerie, lavender face. It had long, sharp ears, white eyebrows, and white hair that extended well past its waist, framing a wispy, knife-thin body. The only clothing it wore were some tattered-looking shorts.

"Welcome to my abode," the fae being said, and a terror crept up Willow's spine. The Unseelie Court was among the most elusive of the courts, the most dangerous and cursed of them, free with glamours and free to pursue passions over honor. The court was so secretive that none of them had names. This creature before them looked distinctly alien, with sharp-angled features and big red eyes with black instead of white in their eyes. "I would offer nourishment and a place to sit, but as you may see, the options are rather limited here."

And what a voice the creature had. Willow suspected that if it wasn't chained with what looked like anti-magic chains, that voice itself might have a spell concealed within it.

Silence fell over the room until Professor Umber stepped in to speak. "What of the boy who lies so still?"

"Alive," the fae said. "In hibernation. He would have long died from starvation and thirst if not for the last bit of magic he possessed to make himself sleep. I, of course, guided him to that sleep. My powers are limited but not yet eradicated." He grinned, and something of the notion of a fae managing even to seep magic through all those anti-magic cuffs made her feel dizzy.

This was a being of incredible power and danger. No wonder the little hairs on her neck stood up on end. The being grinned at them. "You can check if you wish."

Professor Z'Hana knelt to check Yannick's pulse and examine the boy. "I can't tell if he has an enchantment or not. I did bring a Truesight potion…"

"If you wish to waste such a precious thing, be my guest," the fae said, though it didn't seem offended. "The boy was drowning. By sheer dumb luck, he made it into the room. And then I helped to preserve him when he starved."

"You saved him? Why?" Martin snapped. "Why only him?"

"The door only opens for those of the Unseelie Court," the fae replied colorlessly. Its voice rasped on occasion but seemed more than willing to talk. Perhaps it was a byproduct of being isolated in this room. "It also apparently opens for those whose blood faintly echoes an ancestor from the Unseelie Court. This boy's luck came from having the right ancestor at the right time."

"That makes sense." Professor Z'Hana glared at the fae. "I saw that the enchantment would allow members of the Unseelie Court through."

The fae bowed mockingly. "It also opens for glyph breakers like you, too." The lips curled into a vicious smile. "My name is Morgryn. I'm afraid I cannot give you more, for you might use it against me."

"Morgryn," Z'Hana said with courteous respect. "You'd be the first of the Unseelie Court I've ever had the pleasure… or misfortune of meeting. Those of your blood don't surface often. I am curious to know why you are confined. I doubt you will tell the truth, though, as the Unseelie are not known for their honor."

Morgryn chortled. "Honor is for the sycophantic Seelie Court. Though the truth is…" His eyes shifted to Kati. "I wish to make a deal with you."

"Accepted. What is the deal?" Kati said, and something dark flickered in her eyes. Z'Hana and Umber both suddenly looked anxious.

"For my freedom, I will tell the truth and nothing but the truth. If you do not deem the truth to be worthy, then I will stay in these chains and rot. But should you find my truth worthy, then I will be free. This is the deal I wish to make."

"Careful," Z'Hana snarled, but Kati had already stepped forward, darkness flaring around her.

"I accept the deal; the contract is made. The price of the contract, however, will be that you can never again use your magic to harm a mortal being."

Something angry flickered across Morgryn's face before he bowed in acquiescence. "Ah, mortal being. Nice touch."

"Just in case," Kati said sweetly.

Kati could cripple a powerful being like that with just a contract? Now Willow saw exactly why she'd been needed. Fae couldn't resist deals. And Kati's deals always came double-edged due to the dark origin of her magic.

Professor Z'Hana grinned, patting Kati's back enthusiastically. "All right then, Unseelie. For your freedom, tell us why you're here."

Morgryn closed his eyes for a moment, sinking backward until the front chains became taut. "How shall I conceptualize it for your tiny mortal brains? Oh, how clever you must feel right now." He lapsed into silence, and Willow wondered for a moment if he might refuse to talk out of spite. However, with his freedom on the line, she doubted he'd resist for long.

"I used to be the king of the Unseelie Court," he said, and Professor Umber let out a curse.

"No way! Are we dealing with royalty here?"

"I am bound to tell the truth, am I not?" Morgryn nodded to Kati, who nodded back rather reluctantly. "Royalty is conditional. We change leader every hundred years so that all the most powerful in the court will eventually have their turn. It's not always so straightforward, of course."

"I can imagine," Willow murmured. She pictured a strange, ethereal place where weird purple beings like Morgryn backstabbed each other all day long or all century long, according to whatever absurd lifespans they happened to have.

"In more recent times, there were some voices in the court who disagreed with the compact to remain aloof from the mortal realm. Out of their greed and passion for mortal souls and for the power they gained by making deals with mortals, they wished to breach the silence we had left. I did not agree. I told them it was foolish. I told them there was a reason we refrained from getting involved with the affairs of mortals." He smiled, showing his canines that were as sharp as needles.

"You were overthrown? That's it?" Professor Z'Hana folded her arms, suspicious wrought across her features. They had no good reason to trust a fae being, but under Kati's contract, he should be telling the truth. The problem was, even when bound to truth, you could omit things or not express them completely.

"Something like that, yes. We are not so easy to kill, and some in the court still hold some respect for me. And here I am."

"All right." Professor Z'Hana sighed. "Is the Unseelie Court behind all of the recent issues in the mortal realm?"

"Luckily for me, they are," Morgryn said.

"Why lucky?"

"Simple. This… place, this shard of our realm that you see – was cut off to completely isolate me and hide me from those who might search. But the more the Unseelie make their little deals, the more they bargain with the random mortals whom they drink the power from – it brings our realm closer. After many years and many deals, finally, this sliver of a place was touching your world. Barely, of course, but just enough for individuals to potentially slip through, should the timing be right. And, as long as the Unseelie continue to make their little deals, we are headed on a collision course. Soon, the court and the mortal world will be indistinguishable."

Martin raised his hand. "That's a bad thing, right?"

"Quite," the fae sniffed. "It was why all the courts severely limited their dealings with mortals in the first place. A full collision would do untold damage. Neither world would function properly, and the laws each world follows would blend. The magic of the fae realm would be far too much for normal places, and it would twist and kill life from sheer overload. I agreed on this separation with the courts. I was even one of those who brokered the deal. But there were those in the court who saw me as a traitor, who wanted little more than to follow their passion, to indulge and feast with no regard."

"So what? You're a good guy, is that it? And you expect us to feel comfortable with freeing you?"

"I suspect you will," he said to Z'Hana, still smiling that predatory smile. "It might surprise you to know that I do have some interest in making sure the Unseelie stop their dealings, at least to the degree they're currently doing it. I would much rather keep the laws of the Unseelie Court as they are. I would stick to the original deal that was made."

"A moment. I'll need to confer." Z'Hana beckoned to the others, and they clustered outside the door, though it remained partially open. In a quiet tone, Z'Hana asked, "What do you make of this conversation?"

Professor Umber shook his head. "You cannot trust fae and especially those of the Unseelie Court. They know exactly what to say, but their motivations are entirely selfish, and they have zero regard for mortals."

"Yet he saved Yannick," Martin pointed out. "He didn't have to. He had no reason to."

"A bargaining chip. A trick to make us trust him. These fae don't do things out of the goodness of their hearts. They're malevolent. That's the whole point."

Martin continued, "He's under an obligation to tell the truth. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm inclined to release him. It sounds like he might actually be the solution to all of these issues. The fae even chained him up!"

"Even with truth, things can be omitted," Umber retorted. "The question is knowing what exactly he chose to omit and how that will affect us."

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Martin said then. "If the Unseelie themselves chained him up, then we need to think of it this way: An enemy of our enemy is our ally. If he is holding something back, and I understand it'd be stupid to trust an Unseelie fae – we should try to ask questions to gather if he will actually try to stop the fae from meddling in our world. Maybe we should make a contract or something with it since fae are so fond of those."

The professors examined Martin before Umber beckoned for them to return. Morgryn looked slightly bored as they fanned out around him, and Umber took the lead in speaking this time.

"Okay. We have a few more questions before we're satisfied. The first is – if we release you, will you be trying to fix the issues that the Unseelie Court is creating in the mortal realm?"

Morgryn let out a rather dramatic sigh and gave a diva-like eye roll. "Yes. I intend to stop the Unseelie Court from interfering with the mortal realm. The cost is not worth the pleasures it can bring."

"Have you informed us of all the dangers that are facing us right now?"

At this, one corner of his mouth quirked up. "No."

"Would you… tell us?"

"I think you're well equipped enough to deal with it. As guardian of my prison, I recommend that you hurry, though. It will become more and more noticeable by the moment that the door has been opened."

Umber cursed under his breath. "I think that's about as much as we can get from him."

"One more question," Z'Hana said. "Can I call upon you for help, as my aim is also to stop immortals meddling in our realm?"

"Perhaps. But it will be at my convenience only. Are you now all satisfied? May I be granted my freedom? Remember – thanks to your clever little witch here, I won't be using my gifts to harm you directly."

What about indirectly, though? Maybe that base was not properly covered. Willow patted her neck nervously, noting the dampness there.

Tersely, they agreed to let the Unseelie fae go. Kati cleared her throat, announcing that the deal was concluded.

The chains around Morgryn faded away as if rubbed out, and the immortal flexed his fingers, rubbed his wrists, and let out a deep, relieved sigh.

"Finally." He crouched by Yannick, and everyone tensed. "Relax. Yannick will wake up within a day. The process to leave hibernation is already starting, but he will need assistance to get out of here. I have some… urgent matters to deal with as soon as possible, so I will leave you now."

"What about the guardian you mentioned?"

A sound like rushing water echoed to them from a distance, and everyone shot one another a panicked look.

"I am certain that you can handle it. I cannot afford to waste my powers. I may or may not contact you soon." Morgryn bowed, and in the bow, a green light flickered around him, and he faded from view.

Z'Hana started cursing. "I hate fae sometimes."

"I don't want to be a downer, but I think the tide's coming in," Marlon said.

"Then we better get going!" Martin barked, picking up the limp body of his friend. The others helped, and they all turned and sped for the door while Willow prayed that her magic wouldn't fail them now.