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“It was my fault.” Jack stands as a shield between me and Simon. “All fae are protected from humans by the poison they secrete when touched. I thought mine had been completely neutralized when I became a scout, but it seems the coding was still inside my sperm, which is how Ivy inherited it. I’m sorry, Simon. I loved your mother very much. I never would have put her life in danger if I had known.”
Simon shakes his head as his face reddens with anger. “No. I don’t accept this. I don’t want to hear any more of your lies.”
Angrily, he turns and makes his way back down to the cave.
“That went about as well as I expected,” I say.
“In time, he’ll come around.” Boris places a comforting arm around my shoulders. “Come on, poppet. You need something to eat and some rest. I’ll watch over things while you sleep.”
“Agreed. Since I’m about to go through my change for the evening,” Margaret says. “I should probably try to eat something too before it happens.”
As the three of us start to walk back down the path, I notice Jack doesn’t follow.
“I’ll be down there in a minute,” I tell Boris and Margaret.
“Don’t be long.” Boris casts a wary glance in Jack’s direction.
“Aren’t you coming down?” I ask him. “You could probably use something to eat like the rest of us.”
“Why don’t you hate me?” He looks confused by my lack of animosity toward him. “I killed your mother, gave you a curse, and now it seems I also gave you geomancer powers. If I were you, I would want to punch me right in the face.”
“Who says I don’t want to do that?”
Jack takes my question as the joke it was meant to be. He smiles and shakes his head.
“You amaze me, Ivy. After everything you’ve had to deal with in your short life, you find ways to persevere.”
I look behind me to make sure there’s no one lurking in the shadows like Simon did earlier.
“Do you think the bats are a trial?” I ask him. “Are Damon and the others being tested?”
“I have no way of knowing that for sure, but if I were a betting man, I would wager you’re right in your assumption.”
“Should I be worried? What kind of trials are these? Life and death?”
Jack shakes his head. “I wish I knew the answers to your questions, but I don’t.”
I sigh, feeling slightly aggravated. “What happens if they fail this trial?”
“This world will cease to exist.”
“So as long as we’re still alive, we know he succeeded, and odds are that means he is still alive too.”
“More than likely.”
“Your answers aren’t exactly comforting,” I quip.
“I’m sorry about that, but I don’t want to mislead you. All I can do is tell you what I know, which isn’t very much.”
“Well, at least you’re honest.” Warily, I look up at the darkening sky. “We should probably get back to the others before something grabs us too.”
The night passes quickly for me. Right after I eat, I fall asleep with my head on Boris’s lap and Margaret lying close enough to share her warmth. By the time I wake up the next morning, Boris has already changed into his wolf and my head is resting on his folded clothes.
“Good morning, dear.” Margaret brings me a plate of bread, cheese, and fruit. “I thought you might be hungry this morning.”
I sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes. The sun shines brightly outside, a littletoobrightly.
“What time is it?” I ask.
