“Some of us could not leave the forest though,” said Aliena. “Humans who owed a debt, or those with fay families, or even those who tried to speak out against what Titania was doing. We became…trapped, here in the Hollow.”
“The Hollow?”
The Devil stepped away from the window, spreading his wings and arms wide. “A place for those who exist in between.”
“So why areyouhere?” I asked him. “Were you banished for being a public nuisance?”
He leaned back on the windowsill and grinned. “I am unlike any other creature in the Arden,” he answered, “and Titania hates me for reasons all her own. Staying in the Hollow keeps me out of her way. At least, when I am not at my master’s disposal.”
“Your…master?”
“Did you think I dreamed up this entire scheme on my own, Mayhem?” he laughed, then he vanished from the window and reappeared in the doorway, holding the curtain back. “Now that our little history lesson is over, I must steal you away again. We are nearly late for our appointment.”
I bit back more questions and drained the last bit of broth from my bowl.
“We’ll talk more later,” Aliena assured me. I offered her a smile, then left the little cottage and fell in beside the Devil as he walked. We followed the path of the creek, which seemed to flow down from the foothills through the center of the Hollow.
“How old is Aliena?” I asked, once the cottage was out of sight. “She said she was almost fourteen when she left home and that she spent years serving Titania. The war started over twenty years ago though, and she doesn’t look a day over thirty.”
“Humans who enter into fay bargains and come to live in the Arden are…suspended,” the Devil explained. “They might age a little here and there, especially if they leave the forest often enough, but they can live twice the normal lifespan of a human, with only half the aging. Aliena is…nearly fifty by now, if I remember correctly.”
I was struck temporarily dumb by this, but my curiosity recovered quickly. “And how old are you, Devil? You said before that you appeared as a child when we made our bargain, but just now you said that you weren’t born until the war was nearly over. That would make you only a few months older than I am. And I know you aren’t a shapeshifter, at least not a skilled one, or I’m sure you’d take on a much handsomer form.”
He staggered dramatically to the side, clutching his chest, and ran smack into a tree trunk, then sank down into the roots. I stopped to watch the performance with a frown until his blue eye cracked open and peered up at me.
“You have wounded me deeply, my darling. I fear I may never recover from the bolt you have lodged in my heart. Tell me, did your keen mind concoct such bitingwords all on its own?” His smirk returned and I rolled my eyes as I turned away, but he called after me, “How can I go on now that I know my countenance does not please you?” There was a loud whooshing sound, and I sensed him standing behind me again. “Perhaps this is more to your liking?”
I turned and all the breath left my body as I looked into a pair of familiar hazel eyes. Staggering backwards, I saw that he had somehow transformed himself into a perfect replica of Will, down to the clothing and the longbow slung across his back. My eyes filled with tears that I could not brush away, for fear of letting him see how deeply it affected me.
“You are a cruel thing,” I whispered.
“Perhaps that will teach you not to doubt my skills,” he scoffed, but I just marched away between the trees, unsure of exactly where I was going. He followed at a distance, and once I had my emotions under control again, I glanced over my shoulder.
He was himself once more, face stoic and passive as he called out, “Where are you going?”
“Away from you.”
“You still owe me a debt.”
“Why?” I shouted, whirling around and forcing him to stop in his tracks. “Why am I here, Devil? Aliena said that the bargain you made with me was unique and I want to know why. I deserve to know!”
“Clearly, it was for the incalculable pleasure of your company,” he sneered.
“Oh, you are a bastard!” I cried, throwing my arms up and turning again.
He dipped his head down beside my ear. “What if I promised that your questions about our bargain will all be answered by midnight tomorrow?”
“And will I be free by then too?”
The Devil groaned and walked past me. “Do not tell me you still wish to return to the misery of your human world.”
“I don’t,” I said softly. He halted and turned on the spot, then came back and stood so close, I could feel his breath.
“Youdon’twish to go back?”
“Not yet. You promised me a dream, after all.” I gave him a small smile—a peace offering. “But if I am going to stay and be…cooperative, I think I deservesomeanswers.”
“Very well, where shall we start?”
