The Ruby Circle

Chapter 2 Syndey

“OH, ADRIAN.”

There was nothing more I could say as I helped wipe blood and dirt from Adrian’s face with a damp cloth, brushing aside wayward pieces of chestnut hair. He gave me his devil-may-care smile and still managed to look dashing, despite his bedraggled state.

“Hey, don’t sound so down, Sage. It wasn’t that hopeless of a fight.” He glanced over at Neil and said in a stage whisper, “Right? Tell her it wasn’t that hopeless of a fight. Tell her I really held my own.”

Neil managed a wan smile, but Adrian’s mother spoke before he could. “Adrian, dear, this is no time for jokes.”

My vampire mother-in-law and I didn’t agree on many things, but this was a topic we were in perfect harmony about. The pall from our earlier fight still hung over us, and I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty that I hadn’t worked harder to get him to stay. At the very least, I should’ve told him to bring a guardian, since this wasn’t his first encounter with troublemakers. Usually, guardians only accompanied Moroi out in the world, where Strigoi were a real danger. But here, with the rest of Adrian’s people thinking we were freaks of nature for getting married, antagonism hit a little closer to home. We’d faced plenty of threats and slander, though never outright violence before. It was a stroke of good—albeit weird—luck that Eddie and Neil had found him.

Eddie was gone, having hurried off to the front gates to escort Ms. Terwilliger to us. It was a sign of my distress over Adrian’s condition that I’d barely spared a moment to ponder what in the world could’ve brought my former history teacher and magical mentor to the royal stronghold of a secretive race of vampires. Even though some troubled part of me worried her visit couldn’t be for any good reason, I still couldn’t help but be excited at the prospect of seeing her. It had been months since we’d been together in person. I loved Adrian and didn’t mind Daniella—but was dying for some other sort of interaction.

“Nothing’s broken,” Adrian insisted. “I probably won’t even have a scar from any of this. Too bad. I think a well-placed scar right about here”—he touched the side of his face—“could really accentuate my already-perfect cheekbones while adding a rugged touch of manliness to my features. Not that I need any more manliness—”

“Adrian, enough,” I said wearily. “I’m just glad you’re okay. That could’ve been a lot worse. And you should still see a doctor after this, just to be safe.”

He looked as though he had another snarky comment ready and then, wisely, said, “Yes, dear.”

He attempted an angelic expression that only strengthened my suspicion that he had no intention of actually following through. I shook my head, smiling in spite of myself, and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. Adrian. My husband. If anyone had told me a year ago that I’d be married, I would’ve said they were joking. If they’d told me I’d be married to a vampire, I would’ve said they were delusional. Looking at Adrian now, I felt a surge of love well up within me, despite our earlier tension. I could no longer imagine a life without him in it. It was impossible. Could I imagine a life with him that didn’t involve us being trapped in a suite of rooms with his mother while both our peoples reviled us and made plans against us? Definitely. There were any number of futures I’d love to have for us, but this was our current path until something spectacular happened. Outside the Court’s gates, my people wanted to imprison me. Inside them, his people wanted to assault him. At least in this suite, we were safe. Most importantly, we were together.

A knock at the door saved Adrian from any more chastisement. Daniella opened it, and Eddie appeared in the doorway. Seeing him almost always brought a smile to my face. In Palm Springs, we’d passed ourselves off as twins, sharing similar dark blond hair and brown eyes. But over time, he’d truly come to feel like a brother to me. I knew few others with such courage and loyalty. I was proud to call him my friend, and as such, it hurt me to see all the pain he felt over Jill’s disappearance. There was always a haunted look about him now, and sometimes I worried whether he was really taking care of himself. He hardly ever shaved anymore, and I had a feeling the only reason he bothered eating was so that he could keep training and stay in shape for when he located Jill’s abductors.

But my concerns for Eddie were put on hold when I saw the next person entering our suite. I sprinted across the room and wrapped her in a big embrace that caught her by surprise. Ms. Terwilliger—I could never bring myself to call her Jackie, even if I wasn’t her student anymore—had changed my life in so many ways. She’d taken on the role my father used to have: teaching me secrets of an ancient art. Unlike him, though, she never made me feel bad about myself. She’d encouraged me and supported me, making me feel worthwhile and capable, even if I wasn’t always perfect. She and I had communicated by phone since I’d come to Court, but it wasn’t until now that I realized how much I’d missed her.

“My, my,” she said with a chuckle, trying to return the hug. “I didn’t expect such a welcome.” Her efforts were made a little awkward due to the fact that she was holding a satchel in one hand and what looked like a small animal carrier in the other.

“Will you finally let me take this?” insisted Eddie, pulling the carrier from her. She yielded it, allowing for a proper hug. The mingled scents of patchouli and nag champa surrounded her, reminding me of more carefree times, when she and I would huddle together to work on spells. I felt tears spring to my eyes and quickly stepped back to wipe them away.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I said, trying to become businesslike again. “Surprised, but glad. This couldn’t have been an easy trip for you.”

“What I have to say could only be said in person.” She pushed her glasses up her nose and surveyed the others in the room. “Neil, nice to see you again. And Adrian, I’m glad Sydney finally made an honest man of you.”

He grinned at that and introduced Daniella. She was polite but remained a little aloof. Moroi like her, who generally lived secluded lives at Court, didn’t have many human friends. The whole concept of magic-using humans was just as weird for Moroi as for Alchemists, but I had to give Daniella credit for trying to come to terms with it all. She might have terrible timing and not be able to take a hint during would-be romantic interludes, but I couldn’t deny that her life had also certainly undergone a lot of upheaval in the last year.

“Come in, come in,” I said, beckoning Ms. Terwilliger forward. We received so few guests that I’d nearly forgotten basic hospitality. “Sit down, and I’ll get you something to drink. Or eat?”

She shook her head as she went with me toward the kitchen. The others followed, except for Eddie, still awkwardly holding the carrier. “I’m fine,” she said. “And we may not have the time. As it is, I hope I’m not too late.”

Her words made the hairs on my neck rise, but before I could respond, Eddie cleared his throat and lifted the carrier, which I could now see held a cat. “Um, would you like me to do anything special with her?”

“Him,” corrected Ms. Terwilliger. “And Mr. Bojangles will be just fine waiting in there while we talk. Besides, if I’m correct, we’re going to need him.”

Adrian shot me a questioning look at that, but I could only shrug in response.

We all gathered around the kitchen table. I sat, and Adrian stood behind me, resting his hands on my shoulder. In my peripheral vision, the rubies and white gold of his wedding band glittered. Ms. Terwilliger took the spot opposite me and produced an ornate wooden box from her satchel. It was covered in a floral design that appeared to have been hand-carved. She set the box on the table’s surface and slid it over to me.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“I was hoping you could tell me,” she said. “It arrived a few weeks ago, left on my doorstep. At first, I thought it was some sort of gift from Malachi—even though this isn’t his style.”

“Right,” agreed Adrian. “Grenades, camo vests . . . those are his usual gifts of choice.” Malachi Wolfe was a questionably stable self-defense instructor Adrian and I had taken classes with and who had inexplicably won Ms. Terwilliger’s heart.

She smiled briefly at Adrian’s comment but never took her eyes from the box as she continued. “I soon learned the box is magically sealed. I tried all sorts of unlocking spells, common and rare, with no luck. Whoever did this cast something extremely powerful. I spent the last few weeks exhausting my resources and finally took it to Inez. You remember her, of course?”

“She’s hard to forget,” I said, thinking back on the venerable and quirky old witch back in California who had decorated every single item in her house with roses.

“Indeed. She told me she had a powerful spell that could probably bust it open but I’d failed because this enchantment is keyed to a specific person.” Ms. Terwilliger looked chagrined. “I hadn’t detected that. Obviously, that person isn’t me. Inez speculated whoever the box was intended for would be able to open it with little difficulty, and from there, I concluded that you were the recipient.”

I started at that. “But why would they give it to you for me?”

Ms. Terwilliger glanced around with a wry look. “This isn’t exactly an easy address to deliver to. I just wish I’d learned this sooner. Hopefully, whatever’s inside isn’t time sensitive.”

I regarded the box in a new light, feeling myself fill with both eagerness and trepidation. “What should I do?”

“Open it,” said Ms. Terwilliger simply. “Although I’d advise the rest of you to step back.”

Daniella complied quickly, but Adrian and the dhampirs obstinately stayed put. “Do what she says,” I said.

“What if it’s a bomb?” demanded Eddie.

“I can most likely minimize any damage to Sydney but make no guarantees to the rest of you,” said Ms. Terwilliger.

“‘Most likely’?” asked Adrian. “Maybe this is the Alchemists’ way of finally getting to you.”

“Maybe, but they’re not fans of human magic. I can’t imagine they’d turn to it.” I sighed. “Please. Just move back. I’ll be fine.”

I didn’t know that for sure, but after a little more coaxing, the guys yielded. Ms. Terwilliger took out a small pouch and sprinkled a yellow, spicy-smelling powder on the table. She murmured a Greek incantation, and I felt magic—my kind of magic—burn in the air around us. It had been a very long time since I’d sensed it in another, and I was surprised at the rush it gave me. With the protective spell in place, she nodded encouragingly at me.

“Go ahead, Sydney. If just opening it doesn’t work, then try a basic unlocking spell.”

I rested my fingertips on the lid and took a deep breath. Nothing happened when I lifted it, but that was to be expected. Even if Ms. Terwilliger was right about this being intended for me, that didn’t mean it was going to be entirely easy. As I summoned the words of an unlocking spell, the obvious questions nagged at the edges of my mind: Was this really for me? If so, from whom? And most importantly, why?

I spoke the spell, and though the box didn’t change, we all heard a small pop sound. I tried the lid again, and this time it lifted easily. Even better, no bomb went off inside. After a moment of hesitation, the guys all crowded forward to see what the box held. Looking down, I saw some folded pieces of paper with a single hair on top. I lifted it carefully, holding it up to the light. It was blond.

“Probably yours,” said Ms. Terwilliger. “To key a spell like this to a specific person, you need something that’s part of the recipient. Hair. Nail. Skin.”

I wrinkled my nose at that as I opened up the first piece of paper and tried not to think about how someone would have obtained one of my hairs. The paper turned out to be a flyer for a robot museum in Pittsburgh. That would’ve been comical if not for the chilling words written over the picture of one of the museum’s featured exhibits, the Raptorbot 2000: COME PLAY, SYDNEY. My breath caught, and I looked up sharply. Everyone else looked as bewildered as I felt. The writing was none I recognized.

“What’s the other piece of paper?” asked Neil.

It too was folded and had a sheen to it, like it was from a magazine. At a glance, it appeared to be some sort of travel ad. I opened it up and found myself looking at a picture of a bed-and-breakfast in Palo Alto. “What’s this have to do with a robot museum in Pittsburgh?”

Ms. Terwilliger stiffened. “I don’t think that’s the page you’re meant to see.”

I flipped the paper over and gasped at what—or more importantly, whom—I saw.

Jill.

I’d nearly forgotten about this ad. Ages ago—or at least it felt that way—Jill had briefly done some modeling for a Palm Springs fashion designer. I should’ve never allowed it, seeing what a security breach it was. The picture I now looked at was one that had been done in secret, against my wishes. Jill wore a pair of large, gilt sunglasses and a peacock-colored scarf wrapped around her abundant curly hair. She was gazing off at a cluster of palm trees, and unless someone knew her well, it would be difficult to realize this was her. In fact, it would be difficult for most people to even recognize she was Moroi.

“What the hell is this?” demanded Eddie. He looked as though he might rip the page away from me. Few things could make him lose his cool and collected nature. Jill’s safety was one of them.

I shook my head in disbelief. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

Adrian leaned over me and picked up the first page. “Surely it doesn’t mean Jill’s being held prisoner at some robot museum? In Pittsburgh?”

“We have to go,” said Eddie fiercely. He turned as though he might walk out the door then and there.

“I have to go,” I said, pointing at the flyer Adrian held. “The box was intended for me. This note is even addressed to me.”

“You’re not going alone,” Eddie retorted.

“You’re not going anywhere,” said Adrian. He set the paper back down. “Before my little, uh, fallout with Wesley, I had a chat with her majesty, who made it very clear you and I are not allowed to leave Court.”

Sorrow and guilt filled me as I gazed at Jill’s profile. Jill. Missing for almost a month. We’d waited desperately for some lead, and now it had come to us. But as Ms. Terwilliger had speculated: Was it too late? What had happened while this box sat around?

“I have to,” I said. “There’s no way I can ignore this. Adrian, you know that.”

Our eyes met. So many feelings churned between us, and he finally nodded. “I do.”

“You don’t think Lissa would really forcibly have security stop me?”

He sighed. “I don’t know. But she—correctly—pointed out that after all the trouble we gave her by staying here, it’d cause even more if you left and were caught by the Alchemists. We could try to sneak out . . . but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re checking cars at the gates.”

“I thought something like that might be going on,” said Ms. Terwilliger. She’d overcome her shock and was slipping into her let’s-get-things-done mode, which I found immensely reassuring. “Which is why I came prepared. I have a way to smuggle you out, Sydney, if you’re willing.” Her gaze lifted to Adrian. “Just Sydney, I’m afraid.”

“No way,” he said promptly. “If she goes, I go.”

“No,” I said slowly. “She’s right.”

His eyebrows rose. “Look, you risk a lot more than I do by going out there. I’m not going to let you go and endanger yourself while I stay safe, so don’t—”

“It’s not that,” I interrupted. A moment later, I amended that. “I mean, I want you safe, yes, but listen to what you just said. If I go out there, I risk more because the Alchemists are looking for me. Except they aren’t looking right now because they think I’m safely locked away with you. And so long as they keep thinking that, they aren’t going to be actively looking for me. No one sees me here around Court, but they do see you every once in a while for feeder visits. If we both suddenly disappear, word might get out to the Alchemists that we’ve left. But if people still see you . . .”

Adrian grimaced. “Then they’ll think you’re still here too, just hiding away from the mean vampires.”

“You’d be part of my cover,” I said, placing my hand over his. “I know you don’t like that, but this really would help. It’d let me move around more freely in the world and try to figure out how that”—I nodded at the robot flyer—“is tied to Jill.”

He took a few moments to answer. I could tell he knew the truth of my argument—but still didn’t like it. “It just bothers me to think of you out there alone while I sit around.”

“She won’t be alone,” said Eddie. “I don’t have any assignment, and no one’s after me. I can come and go freely from Court.”

“Me too,” said Neil.

“One of you needs to stay with Adrian,” I argued. “Just in case there’s another repeat of today. Neil, would you? And Eddie, you’ll come with me to check this out?”

I made it sound like a request, a favor even, but knew there was nothing on earth Eddie would rather do right now than search for Jill.

“Here’s the deal,” said Adrian, once the dhampirs had agreed. “I’ll stay here and cover for you, but as soon as there’s a way I can join you without blowing our cover, I will.”

I met his eyes again, wishing I could tell him so much. Like that I was sorry about our earlier fight, that I wasn’t trying to control him. I was worried. I loved him so much that I just wanted him to be safe. I hoped he knew all of that. All I could do now, with so many witnesses, was nod in agreement.

Ms. Terwilliger regarded us all with dry amusement. “Has everyone decided which brave roles they’ll be taking on?” she asked. She shot me a smile. “You don’t seem very concerned about how I plan on getting you out of here yet, Sydney.”

I shrugged. “I have faith in you, ma’am. If you say you’ve got a way, I believe it. What’s it involve?”

After she told me, silence fell in the room. We all stared at her, dumbfounded, until Adrian finally spoke. “Wow,” he said. “I can’t say I saw that coming.”

“I don’t think anyone could have,” admitted Eddie.

Ms. Terwilliger’s focus was on me. “Are you up for it, Sydney?”

I swallowed. “I guess I have to be. And we shouldn’t waste any more time.”

“First,” said Adrian, “can I have a word with my wife before the hilarity ensues?”

“Of course,” said Ms. Terwilliger, gesturing grandly.

Adrian steered me away and called to the others, “Talk amongst yourselves.” He led me to our bedroom, not saying anything else until the door shut behind us. “Sydney, you realize this is crazy, right? And I don’t say that lightly.”

I smiled and drew him to me. “I know. But we both also know there’s no way I can’t not follow a lead that might take us to Jill.”

His expression darkened. “I wish I could do more than be your cover,” he said. “But if that’s what it takes . . .” He sighed. “What also seems crazy is you leaving after we fought so hard to get here and be together.”

“Yeah, but . . .” I hesitated, hating to say my next words. “You can’t say this has exactly been what we imagined.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, but I could tell he already knew.

“Adrian, there’s no question I love you and want a life with you. But this particular life . . . hiding away from both our people . . . having your mother hovering over us . . . I don’t know. Maybe some space is a good thing.”

His green eyes widened. “You want to get away from me?”

“No, of course not! But I want to revaluate things, to figure out how we can get that life we’ve been wanting.” I sighed. “And of course, even more than that . . .”

“We need to find Jill,” he finished.

I nodded and rested my head on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. That earlier emotion rose up within me as I thought about the last year and all we’d gone through. We’d had to keep our relationship a secret, and then once it was discovered, the Alchemists had held me prisoner and tried to brainwash me into coming back into their fold. Every moment I had now with Adrian was a precious gift, but reveling in that, turning my back on Jill . . . well, that would be selfish.

“Finding her is bigger than us right now,” I said.

“I know,” he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “And part of why I love you is that there’s no question you have to do this. And that you’d let me if our roles were reversed.”

“It’s what we do,” I said simply.

“I swear it, as soon as I feel like I can sneak out safely, I’ll come to you. You won’t be alone.”

I touched my heart. “I never am. I always feel you in here.”

He brought his lips down to mine in a long, exquisite kiss, the kind that sent heat all the way to my fingers and toes and made me very conscious of the fact that there was a bed behind us. I pulled back before we accidentally got distracted.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” I said, giving him one more hug. “And if all goes as planned, Jill will be with me.”

“If all goes as planned,” he countered, “we’ll get a call any minute now that whoever’s holding her has released her after the law change and she’s on her way home.”

I smiled at that, but there was no true joy in it. “That would be nice.”

We kissed again and returned to the others. I realized then that although Adrian and I were on good terms again, we hadn’t exactly resolved the fight from before. There were still a lot of issues to deal with—the biggest one being his continued flirtation with spirit. I’d missed my chance, and now I could only hope for the best with him.

Meanwhile, Ms. Terwilliger had already made herself busy converting our kitchen into a spell workshop. Bottles and bags of components were set out on the table, and she was busily boiling water on the stove. She sprinkled something into it, and the steam soon took on the fragrance of star anise.

“Good, good,” she said, barely looking up. “You’re back. Would you measure two teaspoons of that beetroot powder for me?”

I fell in beside her and had a brief sense of déjà vu. It was easy, momentarily, to feel like I had slipped back into those old days together. Not that they’d been exactly stress-free. Learning magic from her had been difficult both mentally and physically, and I’d always had the added pressures of my struggles with Adrian and the others. Still, the familiarity was nice, particularly since I’d missed this sort of magic-working. I still practiced but rarely cast anything of this magnitude here at Court. The spell she had in mind to make my escape work required both of us and a few hours of labor. Adrian and the others tried to distract themselves as best they could, and Eddie left once to grab an overnight bag, since none of us knew exactly what would happen in Pittsburgh.

Jill, I hoped silently. Please just let us get to that robot museum and find Jill there selling tickets.

Somehow, I doubted it’d be that easy.

Around four in the morning, Ms. Terwilliger and I completed our work. This was still practically midday on the vampiric schedule, which I’d adjusted to, but she was showing signs of fatigue. I knew she was dying for coffee, but caffeine reduced the effectiveness of magic, and she’d had to cast small spells along the way. The final one in the process was mine, however, and as the end neared, I began to question just what I was about to do.

“Maybe it would be easier to just smuggle me in the trunk,” I said, holding a cup of the brew we’d crafted.

“Good chance they’ll be searching cars as you leave,” said Adrian. “Especially hers. Lissa made it clear she didn’t want us leaving.”

I started to carry the potion over to where Ms. Terwilliger was setting up a mirror. A new worry fell over me. “Do you think she’ll let me back in when she finds out I left?”

No one had an answer for that right away until Ms. Terwilliger said pragmatically, “We can always get you back in the same way we’re getting you out.”

I grimaced and glanced down at the cup in my hands, wondering how I’d feel about that later. In the living room, Ms. Terwilliger had helpfully propped up a full-length mirror from Daniella’s bedroom. She now hauled the pet carrier over to it and opened the door. A white cat with tabby patches—Mr. Bojangles—came out and calmly sat in front of the mirror. If I hadn’t known any better, I would’ve said he was admiring himself.

“You know the words?” asked Ms. Terwilliger.

I nodded and knelt down by the cat. I’d memorized the spell throughout our work time today. “Anything I should know before this happens?”

“Just remember to look at the cat once the spell is cast,” Ms. Terwilliger said.

I glanced at the others one last time. “See you soon, I guess.”

“Good luck,” said Neil.

Adrian met my eyes for a long moment, saying nothing aloud yet somehow conveying a million messages. I felt a lump form in my throat as that earlier sentiment returned. We’d fought so hard to get here, and here I was, walking away. Not walking away, I told myself. Going to save Jill. What Adrian and I had talked about earlier was true. We loved each other but weren’t so selfish about our love that we could simply turn our backs on someone we cared about.

I gave him a small smile and then drank the potion. It had a faintly peppery taste, not entirely unpleasant but also not something I’d really drink for fun. When the cup was empty, I set it aside and then focused on the mirror—particularly the cat’s reflection beside mine. Mr. Bojangles was still sitting contentedly, and I assumed Ms. Terwilliger had picked this particular cat for his good nature. I called upon the magic within me, tuning out the rest of the world and focusing only on the spell at hand. I spoke the Latin words, still gazing at the cat. Aside from the physical labor involved, the spell required a fair amount of personal strength, and when I finished speaking, I felt exhausted as the magic surged through me and went to work.

My eyes were on the cat, but slowly, my vision of him changed. In fact, my eyesight changed completely. The cat’s orange color muted to gray in my vision while the pattern on his coat suddenly sharpened. I noticed more nuance and detail in the tabby pattern than I had before. Meanwhile, everything looked incredibly bright, as though the lights had been turned up. I blinked a few times to try to clear up that sensation and noticed I was getting closer and closer to the ground. Something fell over my face, obscuring my sight, and I wiggled out from under it. It was my shirt. Looking back at the mirror, I found myself regarding the reflections of two cats.

One of them was me.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

I didn’t recognize the voice as Adrian’s right away. I was still human enough to understand language, but my new ears processed sounds in an entirely different way. In particular, I heard more of them, and ordinary noises from before seemed louder. I had little time to ponder this as two hands suddenly scooped me up and pushed me into the cat carrier. The door shut.

“We don’t want to get them mixed up,” Ms. Terwilliger said.

“Where are you going to put the other one?” asked Daniella.

“Wherever you like,” said Ms. Terwilliger. “I can’t take him with me. The guards saw me come in with one cat. They’ll see me leave with one.”

“What?” My mother-in-law’s voice came out extra shrill to my ears. “That creature’s staying?” It figured. Her daughter-in-law transforming into an animal? No problem. Having to take care of a cat? Crisis.

“I’ll pick you guys up a litter box and some cat food,” said Neil helpfully.

Through the metal grating on my carrier door, Adrian’s face suddenly appeared, peering in at me. “What’s new, pussycat? You okay in there?”

Out of habit, I tried to answer, but all that came out was a half meow.

The world suddenly whirled around me as the carrier lifted in the air, forcing me to scramble to keep my balance with both feet and senses that were foreign. “No time for chitchat,” said Ms. Terwilliger. “We need to move.”

Adrian must have followed her because his face appeared again through the door. “Be careful, Sage. I love you.”

Ms. Terwilliger and Eddie made their farewells and headed out the door. We walked through the building and then outside. I knew from an earlier clock that it was still nighttime, but the world I was able to see through the gaps in the carrier looked wholly different from what I was used to. The scattered lampposts more than lit up the darkness to my enhanced vision, and even if I didn’t see a full range of colors, I could see much farther than my human eyes ever could have. We had at least an hour on the spell’s longevity, but my companions kept up a good pace, walking briskly through the Court’s grounds to visitor parking.

There, Ms. Terwilliger reclaimed the rental car she’d driven in and set my carrier in the backseat. It gave me a poor view of our surroundings but still allowed me to hear everything. At the main gate, guardians interrogated Ms. Terwilliger about her visit, wanting to know why Eddie was with her.

“I’m currently on leave,” he responded in a way that was brisk but not defensive. “I’ve got personal matters to take care of, and she offered me a ride.”

“I know the roads outside your Court aren’t always friendly in the dark,” Ms. Terwilliger added. “So I don’t mind the company.”

“Wait, and the sun’ll be up in less than an hour,” said the guardian.

“No time,” she replied. “I have a flight to catch.”

As Adrian had predicted, the guardians searched the car thoroughly, and I heard one of them whisper to the other, “Make sure there are no stowaways.”

My anxiety rose, and I found myself experiencing the strange sensation of whipping my tail back and forth.

A dhampir face appeared before me, and he made some clicking sounds. “Hey, kitty, kitty.”

I made no response, afraid it might come out as a hiss.

The guardians finally cleared us, and like that, we were on the road, free of the place that had been both a sanctuary and prison for the last month. Ms. Terwilliger drove us another half hour to put distance between us and Court, and then pulled the car off on the shoulder of a rural highway. Once parked, she opened up the carrier so that I could come out onto the backseat, and she set a pile of clothes beside me. Beyond her, I could barely discern the sky lightening.

“There you go,” she said, moving back to the front seat. “I should probably have told you before . . . it’s a lot easier going into this spell than it is coming out of it.”