He shrugs and bites his bottom lip.
I sigh. “Won’t your family be worried about you?”
He looks up at me. A flash of amethyst amongst the muted winter shades of the woods.
“Why?” he asks and he looks genuinely perplexed.
My chest tightens, and a bitter taste floods my mouth. I want to reach out, pull him close, hold him tight, and never let him go. But he hates me now. I’ve burned that bridge and I will regret it forever.
“You don’t think your family is looking for you?” I say.
He makes his dismissive gesture. “They’ll just think I’m up to something.”
I take a deep breath. “So, go home. Say you’ve been up to something. They will never know about the hair thing. You can have your life back. You don’t need to throw it away.”
He stares at me. He is motionless. It is as if he has taken root. It feels like he could stand there and stare at me for a thousand years. Without even blinking.
I shudder.
“You gave me a braid,” he says.
I nod, slowly and carefully.
“If I got back to the palace without using any magic, it might work.”
“Why no magic?”
Mabon huffs as if I’m an annoying toddler asking inane questions. “Because while they might believe I’ve been up to something, nobody will believe I’ve chosen to be in Scotland, with you.”
I shake my head to try to assemble my thoughts. “And if you use magic, it can be sensed?”
He blinks in surprise and then gives me a tiny smile. One that looks for all the world like a proud smile. My heart skips with joy. I’ve impressed Mabon and it feels wonderful.
My gaze flicks to the toadstool. “But you’ve already used magic?”
Mabon shakes his head. “That was all the mushrooms. I did nothing.”
“Can you use the mushrooms to get back to the palace?”
“They can’t be…what is the word? Steered! They can’t be steered. They take you where they choose. Or nowhere at all.”
Unease claws up my spine, but I push it away. I need to think.
Oh. Okay. I think I understand. Mabon needs to get from Scotland to London without using any magic. While wearing a hospital gown. With no money. And not understanding the human world very well.
I run my hands through my hair. I’m wearing a full set of clothes, but other than that, I’m in a similar situation. I need to get home to London. I don’t have any money. The Resistancewill be looking for me too. But I’m human. And I understand how the human world works.
“Alright. I help you get back to Buckingham Palace and then we go our separate ways,” I say. “No seeking revenge.”
Lord knows I deserve it. But I’m doing my best to make amends. To right my wrongs. I’m not brave or noble enough to take a punishment. I want to get Mabon to his home. I want to go to my home. I want to see my mum, and put all of this behind me.
As much as I can. I’ve pissed the Resistance off. I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life hiding. But helping Mabon some more isn’t going to change that.
And there is no point in throwing everything away and breaking him out, to just abandon him here in the middle of the woods.
Mabon purses his lips. Then he sighs. “Fine, it’s a deal.” He holds out his hand.
I stare at him. He is still standing in the middle of the toadstool ring. He may be wearing a human hospital gown, but he still looks one hundred per cent fey. A fey in the middle of the woods, offering a deal.
