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“Stew?” Green Man spoke up, and Emerald’s stomach rumbled next to him.

“Four-eared rabbit, dove, and mushroom. If you’re real sweet to me, I might even share some bread with you. Make me laugh, and I’ll even put honey on it.”

“I agree!” Green Man nearly yelled at the prospect of the meal Jackdaw was promising. Emerald flashed a series of handshakes and nearly wiggled her ass like an overexcited dog at the prospect of such simple bounty.

Brittle Spear crossed his arms over his chest, a silent observer, but I felt how at ease he was with the situation, as if it were playing out exactly as he had assumed it would.

Violet held out, though, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Jackdaw. Jackdaw seemed not to notice or care, letting the little doll fester in her one-sided battle of wills. She was gregarious, easygoing, and radiated a calm restraint in everything she did. It was a stable kind of confidence that I envied. My eyes slid over to Violet. I was with Jackdaw; if Violet wanted to stand out here and eat moldy straw, that was her choice. I wouldn’t take another choice from her either. She’d had enough of that in her long life, and I had promised myself never again.

Jackdaw led Emerald and Green Man into the cottage and kept the door open. Violet moved closer to me so she could look into the open doorway. I stood with her for several minutes, watching Jackdaw first taste the stew and then portion it out into rough, polished wooden bowls for Green Man and Emerald, then for herself. They chatted quietly as they ate, the three seemingly at home with each other, far faster than would have been possible without an empty belly and a full bowl.

“Do you trust her?” whispered the ancient woman next to me, her soft voice nearly lost under the joke Green Man told and the belligerent laughter that followed.

“Anyone who would trust a Fae to do anything but what’s in their best interests would be a fool.” I sighed, reluctant to admit the next part.

“You did not ask me, little doll, but she is trustworthy.” I had almost forgotten he was there, the Fómhar Ard Tiarna having remained silent for the longest stretch of time I’d ever witnessed since first meeting him.

“It’s just us out here as it is, No One. And we have your back,” I murmured in an attempt to assure her.

“I’d bet my pigtails on us against the world.” She pointedly gave Brittle Spear a glare that said she excluded him from that “us.”

The vote of confidence pulled up the corners of my lips into a half-hearted smile. It felt good to hear that, even if I knew it was spite and bitterness fueling it. Rule #12: Bitter things don’t get eaten. It had been true about the dating world back in Human; it kept me from falling victim to one too many honey-pot traps set to draw desperate women like myself into the arms of a Romeo. Though now that I was here, pushing ruby-red grass trampled down to a dull burnish with the upturned pointed toes of pilfered boots, I wondered how many of those had just been Far Darrig in disguise.

“Fine, then not an ally forever. Just for tonight.” My voice made Violet rip her gaze from the others and cock a brow at me. “Plus, if she fucks around, I’ll just try to pull a bunny out of a hat. Mutually assured destruction, even if she doesn’t realize it.”

A devilish grin filled with a lust for the flavor of Fae suffering played across her face and pulled at the golden cracks of her porcelain plates. “Barbecued Fae doesn’t sound half bad now that I think of it. Keep that promise, Gold One. Or I’ll stab you in the kidney.”

I snorted, and Violet left my side to join the others. Jackdaw gave her a warm, welcoming smile but did not comment on her tardiness as she plated up a bowl for her. I watched from outside, wrapping my arms around myself against a chill that crept into the breeze.

“Who is she?” I asked, turning my attention to the silent tower beside me.

“Let her show you.”

“Does she know who you are?”

He hummed in consideration. “She knew Brittle Spear. She does not know Iron Thorn yet. When I reveal myself to her, she will know my title, and the ruse will be ended.”

“Why did you bring me here?”

A casual shrug rolled through his shoulders. “There is something here you should see, if she feels inclined to show it to you.”

I narrowed my eyes on him and then let them slide between the doors of the cottage where Jackdaw was breaking bread with my friends. They seemed at ease, unburdened by the cares or fear they had been suffocated by when we were in Havenhome.

I could walk away right now. I could leave them here with this Fae who seemed honest enough and save them the heartache and turmoil of what I would find at the ruins of my ancestral home. I could save them from the hounding of the Ard Rí. I could let them fade into obscurity without the burden of my choices and without the peril that following me would put them in. There were plenty of buildings. Green Man could easily fix some of them up.

It would be lonely, sure, but safe. They deserved to be safe. It would break my heart to see my friends, truly the only ones I’d had in my life, left behind. But it would be better for them to be without the dogs nipping at my heels and me.

Jackdaw looked up from their conversation, and her mint-green eyes connected with mine. They drew me in and whispered in my ear. It wasn’t magic; it was just the simple spark that passes between two people who have experienced things. She tilted her head just enough not to draw the attention of the others, then frowned as if she could read my thoughts: a gentle rebuke, just a simple, tiny shake of her head.

I sighed, caught in my waffling melancholy, and joined them. Brittle Spear followed, a shadow and nothing more.

Jackdaw, to her credit, said nothing of her suspicions and rose to fill a bowl for me. “Oh, um. That’s okay. Just some bread if you don’t mind.”

“Stew’s great, promise I haven’t poisoned it.”

“Our Goldie there doesn’t eat meat,” Green Man chipped in over a full wooden spoon.

She handed Brittle Spear a bowl without comment. Her gaze darted from him to me and back again a few times. “Is that true?”