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“I know. Faerie… it’s different here.”
“No shit.”
“I counted every day,” I tell him. It’s like I have this urge to prove I’m being honest—about this much, at least. “First thing when I woke up, I added another day to my total. I… I never wanted to lose track. I wanted to remember every d
ay, to know how long I was missing so that I could try to explain when I…” My voice cracks, but I force myself to finish my sentence, “ ...when I finally got to go home again.”
“Saxon said you needed me to go to you. Well, I’m here now. We can go back together.”
Wait a minute… he doesn’t know, does he? I thought that Saxon explained that part to Jim. I thought he told him that I needed him to come to Faerie because I couldn’t go back.
One look at the earnest expression on Jim’s face and I know I’m wrong.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
I blink. “Are you telling me that you don’t... that no one’s told you…”
Earnest becomes utterly confused. “Told me what?”
If he doesn’t know…
No, no, no—
“What have you been eating?” Not that I expect Rys would do it on purpose, but what about Lolly? The brownie is used to feeding me and all I eat is faerie fruit. “An apple? Peaches? A pear?”
He laughs. I’m on the verge of panicking, and Jim freaking laughs. “Hey, Hel. Calm down. I haven’t had anything yet. I was just wondering if I could maybe get a bite to eat when you knocked on the door.”
“Oh, thank God. Whatever you do, don’t eat anything unless me or Rys tell you that it’s safe.”
“Let me guess.” He’s definitely back to teasing me. “Another promise?”
“I want you to be safe,” I say. So I’m being defensive. Sue me. And, since I’m feeling like my back’s up against the wall, I figure I might as well go for broke. “There’s one more.”
“Lay it on me, babe.”
“No touching.”
“Huh?”
“I know how weird that sounds, but it’s true. Listen. The fae… they’re different than you and me. They have this magic, sure, and they rule Faerie, but there’s a reason why they waste their time with humans like us. You see…” How to explain this? “There’s power in a touch, okay? They can, I don’t know, steal part of your soul—”
“Like a vampire?”
And… he’s still teasing. “No. And they’re not really leeches, either. But there’s power in a touch, and if you give them permission, the only one who’ll have any power is the fae. Trust me, they don’t need anymore.”
“So what are you telling me?”
“It’s simple. Don’t let anyone touch you. They need permission. And, yeah, I know that sounds like a vampire thing. If it helps, think of it like that. They’ll burn if you don’t let them, but you’ll be screwed if you do.”
I’ve learned that one the hard way. When I say screwed, I mean literally.
But I can’t tell Jim that, though maybe I should have. If I had, no way he would’ve reacted the way he does.
“Okay. No touching. Got it.” Before I can stop him, he moves into me, laying his hand on my arm. “But that doesn’t mean you, I hope.”
This is it. This was what I’ve been dreading since I came face to face with Jim again.
