“Nothing. Everything.” Tears sprang to Lillis’s eyes. She swiped at them with backs of her hands. “It’s just that’s the first time you’ve really seemed like you since I got here.”
“You ninnywit.” Lorelle gave her a shove.
Lillis rocked back, laughed, then hugged her again, even tighter this time. “Oh, Lorelle, I’ve been so worried. Everything seemed so perfect, so wonderful. More like a dream than anything real.”
“Why is that so bad?”
“It’s not.” Lillis frowned. “It’s just that…”
“Aren’t you happy here?”
“Yes… but…” She couldn’t put her fears into words. The sense of… not exactly wrongness, but more of a not-rightness. She frowned. Lorelle usually knew what she was feeling even before she did. Why didn’t she now?
“Just be happy, Lillis, and enjoy this place. We’re safe here. Nothing can hurt us. We’re with Mama and Papa. We have everything we need—and everything we’ve ever wanted.”
“But not Ellie. And not Kieran and Kiel either.”
Before Lorelle could answer, a knock sounded on the door.
Lillis put a finger to her lips and signaled Lorelle not to answer. Lorelle ignored her and called out, “Come in.”
The door opened, and Eiliss, the tall, shining woman who had found Lillis, stood in the threshold. She wore a gown that sparkled like snow in sunlight, and her long, golden brown hair tumbled down her back in lustrous ringlets. A circlet of fragrant white Amarynth crowned her head, and her warm amber eyes made Lillis want to laugh with joy and forget all about silly things like whether or not this—and she—were real.
“Come,ajianas,”Eiliss said. “We have visitors. I think you will both be pleased to see them.”
With a cry of excitement, Lorelle bounced to her feet and bounded out. Lillis paused to pick up Snowfoot, then followed more slowly. Eiliss led the way down the corridors of the beautiful building out into the verdant town square, where fingers of mist swirled and eddied around soaring conifers and evergreens, and a central fountain splashed like the melody of a peaceful song.
There, at the center of a cluster of Fey villagers, stood two Fey warriors clad in black leather: one with flowing, waist-length blond hair, the other with shining chestnut. At the sound of Lorelle’s excited squeal, they turned in unison, their beautiful Fey faces breaking into smiles of welcome.
“Little Fey’cha,” laughed Kiel as Lorelle raced across the square and leapt into his arms. He swung her around in exuberant circles.
“Ajiana.”Kieran walked towards Lillis, a dazzling smile upon his beloved face, his Fey-bright eyes as blue as sky-flowers.
Lillis stood frozen in place. Her heart pounded like one of Papa’s hammers in her chest. Kieran looked exactly the way she pictured him from her most treasured memories. Exactly. Tall, handsome, his skin luminescent, his eyes Fey-bright…
… with Love the kitten perched upon his shoulder, flicking her stubby little tail against his ear and purring so loud Lillis could hear it clear across the square.
And then she knew, and her nine-year-old heart broke.
“You’re not real.” Tears blurred her vision. “None of this is real.” Mama, Papa, Lorelle, Kieran, Kiel—the family and friends she loved so dearly—all were just an illusion. She turned to Eiliss, sobbing. “Why? Why are you doing this to me? “
“Are you not safe?” the shining Fey replied. “Are you not happy? “
“It’s all a lie!” she cried. “I thought Fey didn’t lie!”
“Is it a lie to offer you what your heart desires? To make you happy and keep you safe from harm. Here, in the Mists, you can be with your mother. Is that not what you want most?”
Hot tears ran down Lillis’s cheeks, and sobs tore from her throat in painful heaves. “But not like this!”
Lorelle—or rather the illusion that wore Lorelle’s face—stepped forward. “Listen to Lady Eiliss. You are in danger out there. Here, with us, you are safe. You wanted to be safe, and so you are. You wanted to be with Mama, and she’s here. You wanted Kieran and Kiel, and they are here, too.”
Lillis backed away. “No! No! I won’t stay here. This isn’t what I want.” Her wild, tear-filled gaze fixed on Mama, standing in the doorway, watching Lillis. She was the only one who didn’t say anything, the only one who didn’t try to convince Lillis to stay. She simply stood there, watching Lillis with wise and watchful eyes.It’s better to choke on a bitter truth than savor a honey-cake lie.Mama’s admonition rang in Lillis’s ears.
Lillis squeezed her eyes shut and clutched Snowfoot to her chest. “Go away!” she cried. “Go away, all of you! This isn’t what I want! I want the truth! Show me the truth!”
A hot tingling sensation flashed through her body. The burbling splash of the village fountain and the whisper of the wind rustling through the treetops faded. The pleading voices of Papa, Kieran, Kiel, and Lorelle died away and the world fell into utter silence.
Pain intruded. It started as a dull ache, then accelerated to burning, throbbing spikes of pain jabbing her like knives.
