“I don’t care what you believe or what she wishes, and you will not be setting the bar. She’s going to have a normal life.” At least, as close to normal as I could make it. “Dani, get inside the bookstore. I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

“But I don’t wanna—”

“Now,” I said.

She glared.

“I bet Barrons is there,” I dangled. To V’lane I said, “Dampen yourself so she can shake the thrall.”

He lifted and dropped one shoulder.

Dani made a soft sigh, as if abruptly released from some inner tension she wasn’t entirely glad to be free of, then glanced from V’lane to the bookstore and back again, as if trying to choose between a banana split and a fudge sundae. Then, “Fine,” she said, and flashed out. At the door, she tossed a saucy grin over a shoulder and said, “Take your time, Mac. Me and Barrons, we got stuff to talk about.”

I bit back a snort of laughter, remembering my own teen crushes. They’d been nightmares of awkwardness and nervous tension. Of feeling gauche, too clumsy for words, and needy. I trusted that Barrons would deftly deflect her hero worship. It was only with me that he was a constant jackass.

I watched until she was safely inside and the door closed behind her. Although there were no indications the Dark Zone that had once neighbored BB&B still existed, I didn’t trust those shadow-filled streets beyond the bookstore.

I looked back at V’lane. He was studying me intently.

“You have been battling. Are you well, MacKayla?”

“I’m fine.” My reflexes had been dynamite tonight. Even though I took a few crushing blows, I’d managed to duck or pull back at the last minute and minimize the impact every time. I didn’t even feel bruised anywhere. No cuts. No contusions. I felt fantastic. I loved this sleeker, stronger me.

The floodlights on the top of BB&B flashed on. The street was suddenly blindingly bright. I had no doubt Barrons was about to step outside.

V’lane shot the bookstore a beautifully imitated look of disgust, then his arms were around me and we were gone.

We reappeared, high in the dark night sky.

He was holding my hand.

I made the horrific mistake of glancing down briefly. I yanked my gaze back up again. I was standing on nothing. Black air beneath my feet.

Why wasn’t I falling?

As soon as I thought that, I began to fall. I lunged at him, wrapped my arms and legs around him, and clung for dear life.

His arms cradled me instantly. “I should have done this long ago, MacKayla,” he purred. “Be at ease. I will not let you fall. Look down.”

“That’s a definite not.” I had no idea how high up we were, but it was cold. I squeezed my eyes shut. “Are we just hanging in the sky? Floating here?” This distressed me tremendously. I’m quite certain we were created with feet because we’re supposed to walk on the surface of the planet. Key word there being “surface”: not above it, not below it.

“You would feel safer in one of those conveyances that frequently plummet?”

“Not that frequently.”

“All that is required to end a mortal life is one such fall, yet you assume the risk. Humans are irrational and foolish.”

“This irrational, foolish human wants her feet on the ground.”

“I have a gift for you, MacKayla. I have … what is that word …” He trailed off, and I was startled to realize there was a teasing note in his voice. “Ah, I have it,” he said lightly. “Labored. I have worked to give you this gift. I have not merely waved my fairy wand and made it so.”

He was teasing. I wasn’t sure what disconcerted me more: hanging in the night sky or listening to V’lane tease. The LM claimed that he was changed by exposure to humans. Was V’lane?

“This is the best way to present my gift.”

“I looked down when we got here. Lots of dark space. I think I saw stars.”

“The stars are above us. Look again.” His tone made it clear he was going to keep us hanging here all night if I didn’t do what he said.

Sighing, I opened my eyes, took a hasty, panicked look down, and squeezed my eyes shut again. Then I realized what I’d just seen and my eyes flew open again. We were several thousand feet up and city lights glittered far below.

City lights! We were above a brilliant aura that could only be a major metropolitan area. “I thought the power was out everywhere!” I exclaimed.

“I have been working with other Seelie to see it restored,” he said with pride.

“Where are we?”

“Beneath us is your Atlanta. On the coast, the lights of Savannah.” He pointed. “There, Ashford. I told you I would keep your parents safe. When Barrons beat me by a mere matter of minutes in saving you, I turned my efforts to saving those who matter most to you. Barrons has still never spared them a thought. The Dark Zones that swallowed the cities nearest your home, threatening to spread, have been eradicated. Power is restored. Even now humans learn to defend themselves. My gift to you is your Georgia back.”

I stared down at the lights, then at him. “Could you do this for the whole world?”

“Much of our power stems from our ability to manipulate dimensions beyond yours, but the fabric of the human dimension is … viscous, thick; the laws of your physics are not as … bendable as ours. This alteration required much time, cooperation with other Seelie and many humans.”

In V’lane-speak, that translated to a no. He’d done this for me and would do no more.

“Your parents are safe. Would you like to see them?”

I swallowed against a sudden lump in my throat. Mom and Dad were down there. One of those glittering lights beneath me, a mere sift away. They’d always been a mere sift away, but somehow, in Dublin, with four thousand miles between us, it had been easier to keep that fact blocked from my mind so I wouldn’t be tempted. So I wouldn’t hurt, or worry, or risk exposing their existence to my enemies, I’d crammed Mom and Dad into my padlocked box, with all my other forbidden thoughts. Was that what Alina had done with us, too?

I caught my breath. I shouldn’t. I knew better.

“Take me to the street outside The Brickyard,” I said. “I’ll walk from there.”

I was here and I couldn’t resist. I wanted to see my world again. I wanted to walk the oak- and magnolia-lined streets of my hometown. I wanted to stand outside my house and look up at my bedroom window. I wanted to see if I could find any trace of the girl I’d once been in these streets or if she’d been completely swallowed up by a dark Fae dream. I didn’t dare risk being seen, so I would have to stay to the shadows, but I’ve gotten good at that lately.

I lightly touched down, my boots settled on pavement.

There was The Brickyard, on its large lot, tucked between two antebellums. The lights were on inside and out. Nothing had changed. I hurried up the walk, peered into a window.

Oh, how wrong I was! Everything had changed. Ashford’s police force, firemen, the mayor, and about a hundred townspeople were inside, and I didn’t need to crack a window to know they were discussing strategy. The walls were down and the whole world knew it now. If there’d been national newspapers up and running, the headlines would be about nothing else. The Fae were visible, and here were the grass-roots efforts of my town to protect itself. I wanted to march in and help. Educate. Take up arms and protect.

“Your place and purpose are not here, MacKayla.”

I forced myself to turn away, melt, like a thief, into the night.

It was warm for January in Ashford, but that wasn’t so unusual. I’ve spent Christmases in ice storms. I’ve spent them in shorts and a T-shirt. Tonight was a jeans and tee night.

As I walked, I inhaled deeply. There was nothing blooming this time of year, but I swear the Deep South always smells of magnolias, wild azaleas, sweet tea, and somebody frying chicken somewhere. In a month, pansies would bloom all over the town—Ashford was nuts about pansies—followed by jonquils and tulips.