“Whoa—take it easy! No need to go putting holes in me, I swear!”
I kept my hands aimed at him, my heart still hammering. What was he playing at, wearing that innocent smile after leading me here?
“It’s okay,” he went on, expression growing sheepish. “I’m so sorry to sneak up on you. Force of habit. I had to get you alone for, you know, obvious reasons.” He angled his head toward the door that Jon and Cliff were still trying to force their way through. They cursed as yet another lockpick shattered.
“You sealed the door,” I said, somewhere between a question and an accusation.
“You don’t like the privacy?” The fairy winced as he glanced at the containers around us. “I mean, it’s a creepshow in here, but it’s off-limits to guests. Totally isolated. I knew we could talk here.”
“And who are you, exactly?”
He blinked, stammering for a second. Under other circumstances, his sudden shyness might have been sweet.
“I’m Ben,” he said with a little wave as though we were having a pleasant conversation and there weren’t two hunters clawing murderously at the door.
Pushing his hands through his hair, he drifted into a pacing flight back and forth in front of me.
“This is amazing!” he said. “I didn’t think I’d see another fairy before the auctions. I didn’t sense any in here earlier and figured it was a lost cause to get lucky so early. Our kind would be kept under tighter lock and key, wouldn’t they?” He paused, eyeing me with more urgency. “Do you know where the others are being kept? Did they get away, too?”
“Others?” I wondered if there could possibly be fairies trapped inside some of the cages in this room. “What are you talking about?”
Ben inched closer earnestly. “I’m sorry—you must be overwhelmed. You don’t have to worry. I’m a friend, really.” His blue eyes didn’t waver from me, nearly indigo in their depth. I didn’t see the magic pouring out of his hand until it was too late, but it wasn’t an attack. A speck of dirt in the middle of his palm transformed into a flower with lavender petals. He held it out to me, a peace offering that I cautiously accepted.
It was impressive work, but an earth affinity would be at a disadvantage in a human-made structure—I hoped.
“Friends don’t corner each other in dark, scary places,” I informed him, tucking the flower’s stem into the hip pocket of my leggings.
He glanced down, chuckling. “I’ll have to remember that.”
Another deafening though fruitless crash against the door made us both flinch. Several caged creatures responded with agitated noises: buzzes, caws, and hisses I couldn’t begin to identify. I spotted a hulking cage in the far right corner. It was empty now, but the bars were warped, and a label dangled from a single nail at the top.
Harpy, adult. DO NOT APPROACH UNAUTHORIZED.
In a blink, I was back in the snow-dusted woods with Jon, fighting for my life against the manic creature. At the time, it hadn’t made any sense why a harpy would be in Colorado of all places.
It had escaped from this hotel. But more questions surfaced, each more harrowing than the last, as I drank in the sheer amount of cargo being stored in this room.
Ben regarded me grimly, looking far more concerned with the hunters on the other side of the door, their muffled efforts continuing.
“Sylv?” he said slowly. “Is that your name, or is that just whattheycall you?”
“Sylvia,” I corrected, trying in vain to gather my patience. “Open the door—now. I know it’s hard to believe, but they won’t hurt you. They think I’m in danger. But we can talk this out, and you can tell us more about what exactly is going on in this place. We can help you find any other fairies who are trapped.”
His puzzled frown did not inspire hope. “You don’t have to answer to those brutes anymore. You’re safe now.”
“Stars above,” I said through a brittle laugh. “My life would be so much easier if everyone weren’t trying to save me. I don’t need your help, Ben.”
“He grabbed you!” The burst of emotion in his words made me recoil, but he didn’t rein it back in. “I saw it. You were trying to get away, and he wasforcingyou to—”
“I’m sure it looked bad.” I tried to soften for the sake of calming him down. “But they’re my friends—really. We had a disagreement. Please, you have to let them in. A hotel worker was already on their ass, and this building is choking on power I’ve never sensed before. If someone gets the jump on them, they could be killed.”
“That’s great!”
So much for calm. Frost crackled along my fingers as I raised my hands. “Unlock the door!”
Ben jolted back, looking thoroughly disappointed—pained, even. “This isn’t good,” he sighed. “She’s totally brainwashed, isn’t she?”
“Who are you talking to?” Oh,stars, he might be utterly insane. “You know what, I don’t care. Unlock the door, or your wings will snap right off from frostbite.”
