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Lend was gone, and it was my fault.
I slammed my head against Reth again in rage; he pulled me closer and said, in a voice tender and sad, "Sleep. "
And then it was black.
Chapter Eight
SHOCKING ENCOUNTERS
Shh, shh," Vivian said, cradling me and stroking my hair in our dark, star-filled dreamscape. "Where have you been? I've been feeling strange lately; I wanted to tell you. But what's wrong? What happened?"
"Lend. She took Lend. The Dark Queen took him, and I'll never get him back again. It's over. Everything. "
Her hand stopped, even her breathing stopped. "She-she came out of the Faerie Realms?"
I nodded, sobbing so hard my stomach hurt.
"It's. . . she's never done that before, Evie. Ever. Something must be happening, something big. Things must be changing. "
"They want to leave. The elementals and everyone, they're working with the Seelie faeries. They asked me to make a gate. It doesn't matter now, nothing matters now. Maybe I should make them a gate so I can burn myself into oblivion. "
"Don't say that! Don't you ever say that. Your soul is worth more than any of them can ever understand. " She pushed back and took my face in her hands to glare into my eyes. "You hear me?"
I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. "
"Don't be stupid, Evie. It always matters. Now, listen: Did she kill him?"
"I-No, I don't think so. She just took him. He. . . he changed into me. She thought she was taking me. "
Vivian laughed, a short, mirthless sound. "Go, Lend. Bet she's not happy when she figures out she dirtied herself with the mortal realms to bring back the wrong person. "
"You don't think he's dead?" I whispered, not daring to hope.
"No, he's too interesting a prize. The faeries who raised me talked about the Dark Queen all the time. She loves collecting pretty things, and if she's going up against the Seelies and all the elementals, she's not going to throw away the son of a water spirit. She's too smart for that, too cunning. She'll cut her losses and figure out how to use him to gain an advantage. "
I let out another sob, thinking of Lend in her clutches, remembering what she had done to those poor people I saw when I was in the Faerie Realms with Jack. She'd done more than break their bodies-she'd stolen everything that made them human. The thought of what she could do to Lend. . .
"Deep breaths, Evie. This is good. I promise. She's not going to hurt him. Yet. "
"Yet?" Gee, thanks, Viv. That was really reassuring.
"Exactly. Yet. Which means that you had better get your butt in gear and figure out a way to save him and take her down. "
"How am I supposed to do that? She's the freaking Dark Queen. Have you ever seen her?"
"No. "
"Well, I have! And both times it was all I could do not to throw myself at her feet! Around her I've never. . . I've never felt so nothing. I'm nothing compared to her. Not even a grain of sand in eternity. She's everything. "
Vivian rolled her eyes. "She's totally overrated. And she has your Lend. You can do this. You have to. "
I wiped my tears away, clenching my jaw. I could do this. I had to. Lend was the only choice I'd ever wanted to make, and as long as he was alive, I wasn't about to stop fighting.
"I love you, Viv," I said, needing her to know that it was true, that someone could love her in spite of everything she'd done. I might never get a chance to see her again. Oh, who was I kidding-I was about to take on the Dark Queen. I was definitely never going to see Viv again.
Her face lit up in a smile that almost made her glow. "Ah, stupid, you know I love you, too. " Vivian held up one hand, palm out, and I put mine flat against hers. Her smile shifted, a vicious slant to her eyes. "Magic hands, remember?"
I nodded. "Magic hands. "
