Shadow Faerie

Chapter 22

Twenty-Two

VIOLET

Violet leaned back in the booth, lifted her trumpet-shaped glass of iced night, and took a sip. Ryn did the same with his tankard of ale. The two of them were doing their best to appear at ease, but it was tough in a tavern in the heart of Unseelie territory. Violet pulled her sleeves a little lower, making sure her wrist markings were covered. Things would turn south quickly if the patrons of this tavern discovered two guardians amongst their company, and she doubted anyone would give them a chance to explain their ex-guardian status.

Ryn lowered his tankard and leaned forward. “I don’t understand why we can’t find it,” he said in a low voice. “We’ve been there before. Why is it hidden from us now?”

“It’s been a long time since we were there,” Violet reminded him. “The Unseelies have obviously upped the security around their palace. Made it invisible to those who shouldn’t be there.” She tapped her glass with her fingernails. “Calla will get in. You know she will.”

“And if the Unseelie Palace has some kind of Griffin Ability detection spell over its entrance like the Guild does?” Ryn asked. “She’ll get herself caught while she’s following those guards. It won’t matter that she’s invisible. They’ll know someone’s there.”

Violet slouched a little lower in the booth, attempting to look bored. Beneath the table, she kicked Ryn’s foot. He was going to bring attention to himself if he didn’t start looking more relaxed. “I very much doubt the Unseelies have that kind of magic over their entrance,” she said. “They’re not bothered by Griffin Abilities, remember? They value them, in fact. They don’t just want to use Em’s power; they want her to be one of them.” News of the Unseelie Prince’s betrothal to a Griffin Gifted girl had reached the Guild soon after Dash’s impromptu decision to climb into an Unseelie carriage, and Perry had passed the news on to Calla immediately. It confirmed Dash’s suspicion that the girl his mother had heard rumors about was indeed Emerson. But it had now been four days since that announcement, and Dash still hadn’t returned with Emerson.

Ryn shook his head. “That poor girl. After everything she’s been through with her mother and that woman with the glass magic and everyone hunting her for her Griffin Ability, now she’s being forced into a union with an Unseelie.”

“And she’s so young,” Violet murmured. “Not even eighteen yet.”

“She never should have left the—our safe haven.” Ryn’s hand clenched around the tankard. “Why was she so foolish? If she’d just stayed with us, we could have kept her safe.”

Violet gave Ryn another kick under the table, and he finally leaned back and smoothed out his expression. “What’s done is done,” she said. “Once we’ve got Em back to safety, she can explain.”

“Dash should have retrieved her by now. Why is it taking him so long?”

“Probably because he doesn’t have Calla’s ability to cast illusions,” Violet pointed out. “He can’t simply walk out of there with Em. It’s a wonder he got into the palace in the first place.”

“If he got in,” Ryn reminded her. “We still don’t know if something happened to him after he got into that Unseelie carriage.”

Violet took another slow sip of her drink before answering, needing a few moments to mentally convince herself that nothing terrible had happened to Dash. “He’s fine. I’m sure he’s fine. He’s a good guardian. Calla will get inside, she’ll find him and Em, and all three of them will return safely to us.”

“We should have gone with her,” Ryn said. “Calla could easily have made all three of us invisible.”

“Yes, but it would have been harder for her to cast any other illusion at the same time,” Violet reminded him. They’d been over this repeatedly yesterday and this morning while planning for Calla to follow the first Unseelie guards she could find. “And we need to be available to respond to any other emergency Ana might inform us of. Now can you please stop being so anxious? I’m going to run out of reassuring things to say.”

Across the table, Ryn gave her a small smile. “If you could stop being so anxious, I might be able to get past my own worry. But it’s tough when I have to feel mine and yours.”

Violet began tapping the side of her glass again, feeling guilty—as she always did—when her negative emotions ended up affecting Ryn. “I’m sorry. I thought I was doing a better job convincing myself not to be concerned. But despite my worry—” she reached across the table and placed her hand on his “—I do believe they’ll be fine. Dash and Calla have escaped from dangerous situations before; they can do it again, with Em this time.”

Ryn nodded. “On a slightly different topic,” he said, “have you noticed how insistent Calla’s been about staying involved with the search for Em? She was originally supposed to be with Chase today to stop that heist in Paris, but she asked Darius to go in her place.”

“Yes. I did notice that,” Violet said, leaning back again. “I wondered if maybe she bonded with Em more than I realized while Em was at our safe haven. But … I don’t know. Em wasn’t with us for very long.”

“She’s also been more distracted lately,” Ryn continued. “And she’s been leaving more often than usual without telling us where she’s going. I think she’s investigating something we don’t know about.”

“You’re probably right. But she doesn’t have to tell us everything, does she? Living with family, working with family …” Violet rubbed her finger over a droplet of condensation on the table. “Well, it can be difficult at times when everyone knows everything about you. I don’t blame her for keeping some things from us. And she’s been talking to Chase, at least. I’ve seen the two of them whispering together. So whatever’s going on, she isn’t dealing with it alone.”

“True,” Ryn said.

A shiver against the side of her leg alerted Violet to a message on her amber. She removed it from her pocket and kept the rectangular device beneath the edge of the table as she tapped its glossy surface. “Message from Perry,” she said as her eyes darted across the words. “Hmm. Another glass attack on a group of guardians. Darn that woman. Oh, and this is important. The Guild’s finally decided on a date for that big fancy ceremony they want to have while doing their veil restoration spell.”

“Idiots,” Ryn mutters. “Why are they making such a fuss about it?”

“Well, it is a big deal. It’s been, what? Seventeen, eighteen years since it was torn?”

“Yes, but the Guild is practically asking for someone to come along and interfere. It would have been safer if they’d quietly done it already without any fanfare.”

Violet sighed as she put her amber away. “It’s happening in four days. Last time we spoke about it, Dash suggested we should be there, and now Perry’s saying the same thing. I think they’re right. We should hide there and keep watch. Just a few of us—you and me, anyone else who isn’t busy at that time. In case your predictions come true and something does go wrong.”

Ryn quirked an eyebrow. “You don’t think they can handle things without our help?”

Violet rolled her eyes. “I wish they could, but they’ve been known to mess up before.”

“They’ve been known to spectacularly mess up,” Ryn said. “I believe that’s the word you were looking for.”

“I believe you’re right,” she said with a smile. “So, since we’re doing nothing useful right now, we may as well plan how we’re going to hide on that tiny piece of island that’s left around the monument.”