"Evening," the Winter Prince said quietly, his lips curving into an even deeper smirk. "For a second, I didn't honestly believe it was you. I mean, really… Venice?"

She didn't answer. Her tongue was like lead in her mouth and wouldn't work properly, and she was too busy combating a sudden rush of nausea as her head spun like a top and the ground shifted beneath her feet.

"Aren't you even going to say hello?" he asked her, tilting his head slightly, his icy eyes glinting with evident laughter. "Or does my presence take your breath away?"

That jerked her slightly from her reverie, at least enough to make another much more vigorous attempt to get her arm free, but the Sidhe Prince merely tightened his grip and shifted so he had her backed up against the bar, one arm braced on the other side of her while his hand maintained possession of her right arm.

"Let go," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, her throat making it hard to create volume.

"I don't think I want to right now," he purred at her, leaning his weight on his free arm, his smirking face very close to hers, making it feel even harder for her to breathe. "My night was pretty boring up until now, and I don't really feel in the mood to let things go back to how they were. My brother's not exactly great company and this was supposed to be my night out."

"I thought you were on house arrest," she said, her voice trembling.

"Good behavior does wonders," he said with a small chuckle, "Especially when you happen to be the favorite son. But, wouldn't you know, everything comes with a price and mine was having a probation officer tail me. And they didn't even bother sending someone mundane or easy to manipulate. They sent my prude brother of all people."

Catherine felt her throat close a little more as she registered in the back of her panic stricken mind who Rowan's brother was, and remembered the moment at the bar smelling spearmint and ice. Maybe it hadn't been just that dryad's drink after all…

"I actually saw you on the dance floor earlier," Rowan was saying, rather conversationally, as though they were merely discussing the state of the day, "But, like I said, I figured Venice was the last place you would end up and figured it was just some look-alike fey girl. Lucky me, though, actually running into you here. Lucky you, too. You didn't look like you were having that much fun."

She couldn't lie there, because he was right, but she'd sooner dance with every other fey in the entire room than spend the next ten seconds this close to Rowan. Everything from Elysium was flooding back into her mind, particularly their very last encounter, being forced against a gate as she tried to retreat from him, and felt her shoulder give an involuntary twitch that made her heart stutter. What if he knew, she asked herself, terror rising up fast. What if he found out about the blood oath? Oh, God, she felt sick…

"You look a little pale," Rowan noted, smirking broadly, "Maybe we should go dance; get your blood flowing…"

She met the Prince's malicious stare and felt her knees go weak. He knew… He had to know…

"No," she said very quietly, and tugged at her arm again.

"Ah-ah," he tsked her, tightening his grip yet again so she winced as his fingers bit into her arm through the dress jacket she wore. "I haven't dismissed you yet…"

Like she was his servant or something… And to him she probably was. Just a plaything…

"I'll scream," she threatened, but that only made his face split into a smile of pure mirth.

"By all means," he invited her. "If it makes you feel better. Just remember who happens to own and run this bar before you make that decision."

Oh, God, she was going to be sick… She really was.

She didn't scream. Knowing he was right, and thinking frantically of what she could do, because, if she had to be painfully honest with herself, it wasn't much. She still couldn't entirely believe that he was here, in front of her. He thought it was something finding her here? It was something like a cursed happenstance that he was here at all, especially considering where he could have gone to celebrate his temporary freedom from house arrest. And of course he would have gotten out early. Mab's favorite bastard and all of that, he was certain to have twisted his mother's arm and gotten her to let him go somewhere…

"Did I mention how much I enjoy your outfit?" he inquired then, momentarily distracting her from her thoughts to see him raking his cerulean eyes over her entire body.

Just the way he looked at her made her skin crawl, as though he were deliberately undressing her with his eyes, which lingered on her legs, then rose higher to settle for a long moment on her breasts.

"Very appropriate," he said appreciatively, his gaze finally flicking back up to hers, the blue of his eyes glinting with clear malice. "I like this on you so much more than that dress Oberon stuck you in for Elysium. I don't have to work so hard at imagining what the rest of you looks like when you're already practically wearing nothing…"

His voice was a low purr, and it sent shudders of revulsion down her spine, and she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as he leaned in another scarce few centimeters, so close that his breath blew across her cheek, and she physically winced. His lip curled at the corner, a smirk very much in evidence, and he sighed, shaking his head slightly.

"You really don't seem at all happy to see me, Catherine," he said, pretending to sound put out, even as his eyes gleamed down at her.

"Should I be?" she asked shakily, glancing around her in desperation, looking for any kind of help nearby. But there was no one she could see that looked to be in a mood to get her away from Rowan. Even Lire had his back resolutely turned to them, polishing a glass in his massive hands, apparently none the wiser to what was going on behind him…

"You could at least pretend," Rowan purred softly at her. "I'm feeling a little let down by this reaction. You haven't even screamed yet. I must be losing my touch…"

No, he still had it, she thought bitterly to herself, wincing again as a sudden jolt of pain in her right shoulder caught her off guard. Her breath momentarily stilled in her chest as she realized just what the pain meant, and her eyes flashed up to Rowan's, staring in fear into the icy blue depths as he looked back down at her, his expression a mixture of amusement and pure enjoyment. She couldn't believe that he honestly didn't know about the blood bond. This was just…just too much. Or maybe she was just so caught up in panic that she couldn't stop the process that perhaps she was just misinterpreting his normally sadistic behavior to mean a specific thing. If he knew about her blood tie to him, she realized, she would most certainly be in a great more amount of pain than she already was. She probably wouldn't even be able to stand up straight if he really knew about it, because there was no way he'd just sit back and let such an ace go to waste.

"So," the Sidhe Prince sighed then, shifting his body so he was practically laying on top of her against the bar, and her breath seized once again as his weight settled more fully on top of her, "Just to keep things interesting, I'm thinking you should go ahead and scream, because you're not really giving me much exciting conversation, unless, of course, you'd like to try something a little nicer? I'm still hung up on that kiss from last time…"

His eyes fairly glowed now as he looked at her, and she felt her stomach roll nauseatingly so she was taking slow breaths to ensure she didn't do something like vomit, though, at this point, that wouldn't be such a horrible idea. It might at least get him away from her, but she figured she'd rather find a less humiliating way of escape. She might be scared past reason at this point, and willing to do almost anything to get him away from her, but dignity was one of those things that didn't so easily go away, and retching in public was just not on her list of okay escape methods. So, trying not to hyperventilate with the Prince's face a mere inch or so from hers, she tried to think straight.

Her mind was racing fast, and a spur of the moment idea had her taking a deep breath. Rowan's eyebrows shot up, and his smirk broadened; obviously he thought she was going to scream. Yeah, right… She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. Instead, she braced herself on the bar, brought up her other arm, and, once she'd gotten enough stability, shoved forward against him with all of her might, knocking him off balance and away from her, allowing her to yank her arm free of his grip. His startled expression was all she saw before she turned to dart away onto the dance floor, desperate to put distance between them. She needed to find Nik and Tri, fast. If they found out Rowan was here, they wouldn't care what Leanansidhe said or wanted, they'd make her take them all back the Between in a split second.

She darted between a pair of dancing sidhes and spotted her friends twirling idly in a far corner of the dance floor. Leanansidhe was nowhere in sight, yet again, but that was nothing. If she could get to the other two, she had a chance, at least, of being able to outnumber Rowan. Because by herself was about as helpless as helpless could get. She choked with fear just seeing him, and she was still in shock from him discovering her. It was just so unreal. Like a nightmare come to life. She almost felt tempted to pinch herself, but a quick glance behind her to see Rowan sauntering across the floor towards her was enough to convince herself that nightmares could, in fact, come to life, and she ducked under the swinging arms of a troll and lurched across the remaining space of the dance floor to reach Trinity and Nikki, who had seen her coming and turned to greet her. Though the minute she got to them, they immediately registered her pale face and froze.

"What's wrong?" Trinity demanded, grabbing hold of her and yanking her close as Nikki stepped closer, brown eyes wide.

"Rowan is here," she practically gasped out. "He saw me at the bar and he's following me right now!"

Trinity's head came up as Nikki looked around, and both girls immediately spotted the Winter Prince still casually approaching, hands shoved into the pockets of his white jeans, and his trademark smirk plastered across his face.

"You have got to be screwing me right now," said Trinity, and her voice shook slightly, her eyes huge. For once, she didn't feel brave in the face of danger, because the earlier encounter with the Winter fey from before told her pretty much that neutral territory was an oxymoron and if it came to a standoff, Rowan had pretty much an army of Winter fey to call on them if he wanted. And by the look of satisfaction on the Prince's face, he knew it, too.

"Where the hell is Leanansidhe?" demanded Nikki, looking around frantically for the Exile Queen; not seeing her. She was holding Catherine's arm hard, her knuckles white, because she sharing the exact same thoughts as Trinity, only she was wishing they had the guys with them for back up, because an army of Winter fey was nothing when you had Robin Goodfellow.

"I don't know, but we've got to move," said Catherine in a trembling voice, deliberately not looking at Rowan.

"Well where the hell do we move to that he can't follow?" hissed Trinity, even as she hurried the two girls ahead of her, angling for a crowded corner that would make it harder for Rowan to so easily slide through.

"The girls' bathroom," Catherine said at once, the place jumping into her mind.

"Cat, I don't think that's going to—" Trinity began, but Nikki cut her off.

"You got a better idea, Tri?" she asked desperately, "He's still coming and he's parting the crowd like the Red Sea! Let's hope his wench of a mother raised him well enough to know better than to come into the girl's room and we'll camp out there!"

Trinity still didn't look like she was buying into the idea of hiding out in the girl's room like a third grader afraid of a bully, but looking back she could see her friend was right about Rowan parting the crowd. They were practically scrambling to get out of his way, obviously recognizing him, and nobody was looking to see where he was going or what he was after. There'd be no help for them out here. Better to chance it in the bathroom and hope Leanansidhe came looking for them. Hell, maybe she was already in there freshening up her makeup and they could just poof away from there.

"Go, go, go," Trinity urged her friends as they came closer to the side hall that housed the bathrooms. The way was mostly clear, with only a couple of fey framing the doorway, but not deliberately getting in their way.

"He's right behind us," Nikki sang nervously, glancing back to see Rowan still coming steadily, not all deterred.

"He's playing fucking cat and mouse with us and he knows it," Trinity hissed, furious that she couldn't do more to protect her friends than just running and hiding.

"Tri," Cat whispered desperately to her friend, giving her a frantic look.

"I know!"

They speed walked towards the hallway, within yards of the doorway. But they weren't paying much attention to where they were going or who happened to get in the way—since no one was really making an effort to block them—and in a split second while Tri and Nik glanced back as one to judge Rowan's distance, Cat was distracted by focusing on the bathroom door, and didn't see a pair of fey careening right into their path until it was too late.

A lone satyr and a redcap suddenly launched themselves from a nearby table, fists flailing as they went at each other, the redcap snapping his jagged little teeth, both howling and snarling at each other, and slammed right into the three girls. Nikki and Trinity sprawled backwards onto the floor, shrieking in alarm. Catherine turned halfway before she was broadsided by the satyr as the redcap lunged at him again, tackling him to the floor, and Cat tripped forward, watching the floor come flying up at her face. She threw out a hand, eyes closing as she braced for the hit, but instead of hitting solid floor, she only fell halfway forward and slammed into a solid, living something that gave a muffled sound as she hit it. Whatever it was stopped her forward momentum, and steadied her when she might have slipped sideways onto the floor, one hand firmly set on her shoulder.

"Jeez," she muttered shakily, her eyes still closed, adrenaline pumping at three times the normal rate.

She could still hear the satyr and redcap going at it, and cringed as a horrid yowl indicated someone had gotten in a good hit, or bite, as well as the steady thumping of footsteps as Lire undoubtedly came to break up the brawl.

She felt an arm sweep around her, gathering her away from the fight, and as she opened her eyes to glance down she could see the bleeding satyr and still snarling redcap rolling over and over towards her. But before they could careen into her again, Lire was lifting the pair of them off the floor, holding them each at arm's length and glaring menacingly down at both of them. The satyr was pretty torn up, but obviously still raring to go as he kicked out with hoofed feet at the redcap, snarling curse words. The redcap merely bared his vicious, blood stained teeth and spat out a mouthful of fur onto the floor. Lire dragged the pair of them to the door and tossed them out, yelling to keep the fights out of his bar from here on out before slamming the door behind them and stomping back to clean up the mess.

Catherine was still shaking rather horribly, from a mixture of adrenaline at nearly face planting on the floor, and fear as she remembered just why she'd been so oblivious to the brawl in the first place as she rested her eyes on Rowan, who was standing just a couple of yards away, about four feet behind where Tri and Nikki were heaving themselves upright, grumbling and cursing but otherwise unharmed. Catherine would have gone to help them, but Rowan was too close already and she stayed where she was, staring at him. He was outright glaring, his face a clear depiction of resentment, and it took Catherine a moment to realize that his ice blue eyes, so filled with rage, were not at the moment focused on her, but rather a good foot above her own head, and looking behind her. It took her less than a heartbeat to realize that she was still being half supported by whatever—or whoever—had halted her fall, and while she would have desperately liked to believe that Leanansidhe had come to the rescue, she didn't remember Leanansidhe having a flat chest, or cold skin.

Her heart suddenly in her throat again, Catherine slowly turned her head around, tilting it back to look up, and up; her eyes touching on a silver pendant that hung from a leather cord, imprinted with the outline of a thorned rose. Further up, over a pale skin, until…Oh, jeez…

Frosty emerald eyes locked with hers, fringed with black lashes, and for a moment the world disappeared and all sound muted, and the breath left her lungs for the second time in ten minutes, leaving her dizzy.

"Sage…" His name came out involuntarily, a mere thread of sound, and she immediately regretted saying it.

There was no reaction from the Winter Prince as he gazed down at her, no immediate recognition or emotion to change the stoic features, and she expected none. Though that didn't mean she stopped hoping…

She almost expected—foolish as it was to hope—that he would smile down at her, and say something absolutely corny like, "We keep running into each other like this." But she knew better than that, in spite of her wishful thinking, and merely stood there gazing up in stunned disbelief into his emotionless face, her hand loosely twisted in the black material of his shirt; her mouth half open. She probably looked like a fish…

"Sage," Rowan addressed his brother, his tone at once chilling and falsely welcoming, "Looks like you finally made it away from the table. Coming to save the lady, hm?"

Sage's eyes flicked away from Catherine's face to fix on his brother.

"What are you doing, Rowan?" he asked quietly.

Catherine glanced around in time to see the younger Prince feigning a look of confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked in as innocent a tone as he could manage, though the gleam in his blue eyes gave away his true state of mind.

"You know the order," Sage murmured, and Catherine felt chills run along her spine as she felt, as well as heard, the resonance of the Sidhe Prince's voice under her palm. "You were instructed to leave her alone…"

"Oh, spare me the lecture, brother," said Rowan irritably, very quickly giving up his façade to glare at his elder sibling again. "This is neutral ground. The laws don't apply here, as you should know."

"They apply regardless of where you stand," Sage retorted, his tone never changing. "Mab gave clear orders that you were to leave the half-breed be. I would not be opposed to reporting this."

"Oooh, are you going to tattle on me?" snorted Rowan, rolling his blue eyes, folding his arms over his chest and sneering. "Honestly, what a killjoy… And you wonder why I didn't want you to come along."

"I knew exactly why you didn't want me along with you," Sage informed his sibling, narrowing his emerald eyes, "But I have my orders as well, and you hardly earned the right to leave Tir Na Nog, let alone come here. Mab instructed me to follow you."

"Do you always do what you're told?" the younger of the Princes taunted his brother.

"Just as much as you do the opposite of what is ordered," Sage replied coolly, unruffled. Rowan scoffed and rolled his eyes again.

"What a hero you are, my brother," he said, "Saving the poor little half-breed from the big bad prince."

"Hardly," said Sage, and stepped away from Catherine at once, leaving her to let her empty hand fall uselessly to her side. "I wouldn't be here if you had enough sense to stay on Mab's generous side."

"Oh, but where's the fun in that?" smirked Rowan.

Sage's eyebrows rose. "And here I thought you enjoyed playing mother's favorite stooge," the elder Prince observed, to which Rowan's sneer vanished and he fixed his brother with a lethal stare.

"Watch what you say, Sage, it may come back to do you harm," Rowan murmured dangerously.

"I could say the same for your actions," Sage informed his brother as he stepped around Catherine, moving towards the other Prince. "Now, if you're done fooling around and making a general nuisance of yourself, we're leaving."

"My brother," scoffed Rowan, "The life of the party."

Catherine turned to glance at him, and it was to see he hadn't moved an inch from where he stood, his eyes locked on his brother, who was standing beside him.

"I hope you don't seriously expect me to do what you say," he said to Sage, smirking. "Because you're sadly mistaken if you really do."

"We're leaving," Sage said very quietly, his voice leaving no room for argument, unless you happened to be Rowan.

"I don't think we are," the younger said coolly, and deliberately sauntered a little closer to Catherine so Sage reached out and seized him hard by the shoulder.

They stared at each other, Rowan's eyes filled with evident fury, while Sage merely leveled a cold stare at his younger sibling.

"I'd get your hand off me if I were you, brother," Rowan murmured very quietly.

"Back off the half-blood, Rowan," Sage warned him.

"Or what?" Rowan sneered at him. "Are you going to tell Mother on me? What a threat. I'm sure she'll break out the whip again and probably kill that pathetic servant this time. And what will that have accomplished for you?"

"I'm sure it's not the servant she'll use the whip on this time," Sage said in a barely audible voice, his eyes narrowing to slits.

Rowan looked ready to snap back, but at that moment Catherine felt a hand land on her shoulder, and, looking around, it was to see Leanansidhe standing behind her, Tri, and Nik, her gaze fixed on the two Winter Princes.

"Well, well, well," she said, loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the room, including Rowan and Sage, "Look what the rats dragged in. Mab's two bastards. Rowan and Sage, wasn't it?"

Sage straightened at the sight of the Dark Muse, and even Rowan seemed to perk up, his eyes going from angry to wary in a split second as he eyed the auburn haired female, who was smiling almost serenely at the pair of them.

"And what brings you boys here?" Lea asked the two casually, tilting her head, her sapphire eyes flashing fire at them. "Rowan, dear, I heard you were playing jail rat back in Tir Na Nog. Don't tell me Mab's gone soft to let you off easy."

Rowan bit back any retort he might have had, and that in itself made Catherine feel a little safer. If Rowan couldn't stand up to Leanansidhe, even with a whole bar of Winter fey around him, it spoke volumes about who held the greater power in the room.

"We were just leaving, Leanansidhe," Sage addressed the Exile Queen, catching Rowan's arm and deliberately tugging him backwards. "We apologize if we have intruded on your evening."

Rowan didn't say anything. His eyes had fixed on Cat, and had noticed Leanansidhe's hand on her shoulder.

"The half-breed is with you?" he asked, his tone casually inquisitive, though his eyes danced with malicious glee. Catherine felt a curl of unease and glanced at the surrounding fey to gauge their reactions. Some were exchanging glances with each other, but no one seemed really to be reacting to the idea that Leanansidhe was harboring half breeds.

"Problem?" Leanansidhe inquired, flashing a lethal smile at the Prince. "Don't tell me you've been bothering my girls." Her hand tightened on Catherine's arm. "Come to think of it, Rowan," she went on idly, "I do believe I heard of you harassing one of these lovely ladies before, isn't that right?"

Rowan's face darkened, and Catherine wished she could have gotten Leanansidhe to stop talking right then, but she knew the chances were scarce to none, so she merely ducked her head and said nothing.

"That's right," sighed Leanansidhe, "I do remember hearing that. What a pathetic little rat you are to go picking on half-bloods. I guess that shows just how powerful you really are if you have to stoop to that level; bullying those with only half your power. I'm sure Mab is so proud."

Rowan's face was a mask of fury, but he dared not speak, especially not with Leanansidhe's glamour swirling in a palpable force around the room, making the candles flicker and dance ominously.

"If you're a smart little rat," Leanansidhe murmured, "You'll leave with your brother, and you won't show your face to me again. You might be protected in Tir Na Nog, but the Mortal Realm is no place for a little prince who doesn't know his way. You've been warned."

Rowan narrowed ice blue eyes at the Dark Muse, who merely smiled coldly at him, then flicked her eyes to Sage.

"Give Mab my regards," she said. Sage nodded curtly, then firmly dragged Rowan back from the group, ignoring the stares of the fey around them.

Catherine watched them go, her focus on Sage's back as he finally approached a wall-length mirror she had not noticed before. He stopped as Rowan struggled, and released his brother's arm. They both looked at each other, Rowan glaring furiously. Sage merely sighed, shaking his head, and stepped through the mirror without a moment's hesitation, causing the surface to ripple and undulate like the surface of water after a stone has been dropped. Rowan didn't immediately follow, turning back to fix his stare on Catherine. Her breath caught in her throat, and he smirked.

"Try not to have too much fun without me," he called to her, and, after waving a hand idly, stepped through the trod after Sage. The glass rippled again, then slowly settled back into place. There was no reflection in the mirror's surface…

Catherine felt herself exhale shakily, and lowered her eyes to the floor, noting that her legs were shaking slightly as she stood there, her hands clinging tightly to Nikki and Trinity. Leanansidhe still had a hand on her shoulder, but the Exile Queen was no longer smiling. Instead, she was frowning as she looked down at the top of Catherine's head.

"I hadn't realized just how horridly that wretch would treat you," she murmured, and Catherine turned her head to peer back at the female.

"You knew he was here?" she asked Leanansidhe quietly.

The woman hesitated, then nodded. "I'd seen him over at a corner table with his brother earlier in the night, but I didn't believe he'd approach you in this place. Let alone threaten you. I would never have imagined—"

"You knew he was here and didn't say a thing to us?" demanded Trinity, rounding on the Dark Muse, her blue eyes blazing with anger.

"I—" Leanansidhe looked stunned.

"Why would you do that?" Nikki threw in, looking just as furious as she turned on Leanansidhe, too. "You knew what had happened between them!"

"I—" Lea tried again, but Trinity cut across her again.

"I can't believe you," she snapped, glaring. "I really can't. You didn't even bring us out here to make things up for how you treat Cat earlier! This was all for you! And where were you when he was after her?"

"Stop it!" Catherine burst out. "This isn't helping anything!"

Silence fell, and she became aware of the fey in the bar staring at them.

"I just want to leave," she murmured, jamming the heels of her hands into her eyes, causing white spots to dance and wink in front of her vision. "Right now. I want to leave and go back to the mansion, and I don't want to hear about this for a long, long time, alright?"

No one answered for a moment, then Leanansidhe spoke up, "I really feel awful…if I could make it up to you—"

Catherine lifted her head and silence the Queen with a single look. "I think you've done enough of trying to make things up to us," she murmured quietly, and Leanansidhe looked stricken, "If you really want to make things better now, you'll take us back to the mansion. Right. Now."

There was a heartbeat of silence, and then Leanansidhe sighed softly and took hold Catherine's hand and Trinity's; they in turn took Nikki by the hands, and a split second later they were experiencing that unusual melting away of reality until only swirling darkness remained, and they were flying through space back towards the Between. Whether it was because Catherine was desperate to get back to the mansion, or because it simply took longer because Leanansidhe was already drained from pulsing out threatening glamour, no one could be sure, but the trip back was much longer than the trip out seemed to have been, and it seemed much later when they finally felt the floor slam into existence beneath their feet. This time, no one stumbled, and the second they were solidly set in the front entrance of the mansion, Catherine broke away from Leanansidhe and Nikki and walked off down the hallway towards the sitting room.

"Cat!" Nikki and Tri went after her, leaving Leanansidhe to stand silently in the main entrance, her shimmering blue eyes a mixture of emotions as she watched the girls go. She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed her head, breathing a deep sigh and murmuring quietly to herself, her shoulders slumped.

Catherine was speed walking down the hallway, not really aware of where she was going until a figure stepped out of a doorway on her left and she slowed, lifting her head to see Demon emerging from the sitting room, arms folded over his chest, his expression expectant, but immediately switching to bemused, then to concerned in a matter of seconds.

Without a word, he strode towards her, stretching out a hand to her. She didn't even wait, she went straight to him and threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest and half choking on a sob.

Demon froze under her grip for a split second, staring down at the top of her head, then looked up as Nikki and Trinity rounded the corner at a jog, high heels in their hands. He took one look at them and felt his stomach bottom out.

"What happened?" he demanded quietly as they froze at seeing him.

Their faces were pale, their eyes swimming with emotions that ranged from anger to anxiety, and when they exchanged identical expressions of uncertainty he only felt all the more tense.

"What happened?" he repeated more firmly, drawing the other boys out of the room as well as they heard the urgency in his voice.

Trinity glanced past him to Tertius, who was one of the first to emerge, his silvery eyes immediately finding her, concern evident. Puck was close behind him, finding Nikki, his expression uncertain.

Nikki looked helplessly at the fiery haired fey, and he swept past Catherine and Demon to gather her in his arms.

"Nik, what's wrong?" he asked her quietly, nuzzling the top of her head.

She just heaved a sigh and leaned into him, looking at Trinity.

Realizing the duty had fallen to her, Trinity reached a hand out to Tertius, who immediately moved to her side, an arm twining around her waist.

"Rowan," was all she said. All she really needed to say.

"What?" Glitch looked stunned. "Rowan? Where?! How?!"

"At the bar Lea took us to," Trinity explained quietly, resting her forehead on Tertius's shoulder, glad for his strength and support. "We didn't know he was there till Cat came and told us… Lea knew but didn't even bother to tell us…"

Demon was silent, his expression unreadable, but he wound his arms around Catherine and held her closer as she hid her face in his chest. He could feel her trembling, but she didn't cry. Maybe she was still too shocked to, or maybe she just couldn't anymore. Maybe facing Rowan put her past tears now. And he honestly didn't know if that made her all the stronger for it or all the more damaged…

There was movement at the doorway leading into the hall from the entrance way, and Leanansidhe appeared, her expression subdued, her blue eyes dark as she looked past the others to Catherine.

Demon leveled a stare at the Dark Muse, his yellow-green eyes narrowed.

She met his gaze, and after a heartbeat looked down.

"I know what you'll say," she murmured, "And I deserve it. I'm sorry."

"Not good enough," Demon said very quietly.

"I know," Leanansidhe said even more quietly, not lifting her head.

Demon didn't say anything else, and merely stared at the Dark Muse, accusation clear in his expression, even as he ran his hands through Catherine's hair, trying to soothe her.

No one else spoke, merely standing in silence. Glitch stood by the doorway leading back into the sitting room, his brilliant violet eyes scanning the group around him, lingering on Trinity and Nikki for a moment longer, judging their expressions.

"How bad was it?" he asked after a long moment, breaking the silence.

The pair of girls looked over at him, but Catherine didn't move from her position. She didn't so much as twitch. Nikki and Trinity exchanged looks with each other for a moment, as though not certain what they could say or how accurate it would be. After all, if they had to be honest, they'd only realized Rowan was there at all once Catherine had said something. They hadn't seen the precursor to the little cat and mouse game that had taken place. Not only that, but they now realized that Rowan probably wasn't the only reason for Cat's now current meltdown. Sage had been there as well, and even if they were still on the sidelines as far as that ordeal went, Nikki felt fairly certain that while facing off with Rowan was certain to have rattled Cat's cage, meeting up with the elder Prince was probably no less jarring an experience.

"I don't know," she admitted at last in a quiet voice, "Really, we only saw him for maybe five minutes, if that. We didn't even know he was there until Cat said something."

Everyone focused their eyes on Catherine, in spite of Demon seeming to make a good effort of shielding her with his body.

The girl didn't look at any of them, and Nikki got the distinct feeling she didn't even want to be standing in the hallway at the moment. She couldn't hear real crying from her friend, but Catherine was very obviously trembling, her head bowed and her face hidden in Demon's shirt while she clung to the Cait Sith's waist.

"Did he touch you?" Demon asked the girl softly, his yellow-green eyes fixed unblinkingly on the top of her copper haired head.

She nodded once. "He grabbed my arm," she said, her voice almost inaudible as it was muffled by Demon's chest. "I pushed him off and ran to Tri and Nik…"

Demon nodded once, still gently patting her head, a low rumbling sound resonating from him. His expression was tense, but Nikki wasn't getting much else from him, other than what his aura expressed; which was a dark, black and red fury, but she couldn't tell who that anger was directed at. It could have been at Leanansidhe, or Rowan, or both.

"Was it just Rowan?" Tertius prompted quietly, his gaze flickering from Trinity to Nikki, to Leanansidhe. "Or did he have others with him?"

The girls hesitated, their eyes locking on the Iron Knight, both of them—even Trinity—clearly unwilling to answer. But Leanansidhe gave no preamble, clearly attempting to make up for whatever she could by giving information.

"His brother was there," she answered at once, and Catherine twitched; a movement only Demon noticed, as the others were too busy looking over at the Dark Muse. "Sage. There didn't seem to be others of the court there. From what I understood, Sage was only there to keep an eye on his bastard brother. Even though Mab let Rowan out of her sight, she apparently doesn't expect him to keep to his word, though how to be sure if he gave his word in the first place is difficult to know. All I heard before that was that Rowan had been given orders to leave Catherine alone."

"He has," Demon confirmed in a cold tone. "Mab instructed it, from what we all heard, as Catherine is under Oberon's protection."

"Not here, she's not," Leanansidhe said with a small frown.

"That's right," Puck said loudly then, fixing the faery Queen with a venomous glare, "That was supposed to be your job tonight, wasn't it? Brilliant on that, Lea. Everyone is just fucking impressed, I'm sure. And where were you when all this happened?"

Leanansidhe didn't answer. She didn't even look at Puck. She put her head down again and didn't speak, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. Nikki glanced up reproachfully at Puck. She was just as upset with Leanansidhe as everyone else, probably even more so, but she felt that the jester's words were just a little too harsh, even for the circumstance. But the look on Puck's face was far from repentant, and it was obvious to her that he believed Leanansidhe deserved everything he'd said, and probably more, if he could have his way. But she tugged on the sleeve of his hoodie, and he glanced down, catching her somber expression.

"Stop," she pleaded with him quietly, her brown eyes imploring.

His angry expression instantly melted off of his face, and he frowned, his emerald eyes glowing with the slightest hint of guilt. Nikki didn't believe he was sorry for what he'd said to Leanansidhe, that just wasn't Puck's style; but she did believe he was sorry that he'd upset her.

"Sorry," he mumbled, as though to confirm her thoughts, and bent his head to brush a kiss over the top of her mahogany curls.

She just thumped his arm in silent reproach and leaned her head on his shoulder while he tightened his grip around her.

"What now?" asked Glitch, the only one who really felt in a position to speak at this point, since it was obvious to him that Leanansidhe was pretty much done with her piece and the others in the room were too busy brooding.

"Nothing," said Demon quietly. "He's gone back to Tir Na Nog, with any luck, and we won't hear from him again for a long while. Besides, even we were to see him again, the majority of us are sworn to restrict ourselves from laying a hand on him."

Leanansidhe's head came up at this, her blue eyes enormous.

"What?" she demanded, sounding stricken. "Sworn to whom?"

Catherine stirred now, and broke away slightly from Demon to turn her head to lay sad but dry jade eyes on the Exile Queen.

"By me," she said quietly, and Leanansidhe's mouth fell open.

"Why?!" the woman burst out, clearly shocked. "After everything he's obviously put you through—!"

"Because Mab doesn't need another reason to hate me or anyone else," Catherine cut her off sharply, though her voice broke slightly as she spoke. "Even if she knows what Rowan's done, it won't make a difference to her if the rest of us were to go off to chop his head off or something. It'd be paramount to starting a war, and that's the last thing any of us need. Besides, it would only give Rowan what he wants, more than it already has."

"What do you mean?" Leanansidhe asked softly, looking slightly confused.

"He wants a reaction," Trinity answered in a rather dead voice, shrugging her shoulders tiredly. "Whether it's fear or anger, and he knows we can't really do anything to him, not with the powers we have, so he doesn't worry about it. It just gives him something to laugh at. The only reason he backed down today was because you and Sage were there. He's afraid of you, and he knows Sage would go back to Mab to tell her what happened. Though it sounds like he doesn't even get a proper punishment for the crap he pulls, based on what Sage was saying."

"Say what?" asked Puck, craning his neck to look at the blonde girl. "What do you mean?"

"Rowan made it sound like the only thing that would happen if Sage told Mab what he was doing," Nikki began to explain, "Is that a servant would take the beating for him."

"Like a whipping boy," Trinity added in disgust. "The royal does something wrong and then he gets to pick who takes the beating for him, and only sits there and pretends that he feels sorry."

"That's the kind of thing Rowan would do," Puck said, his face twisted into evident revulsion. "And it's so like Mab to let the bastard get away with everything. At least she had the sense to send Sage with him."

"That by itself wouldn't have stopped Rowan from pulling something," Catherine said softly, shaking her head, "We were in a Winter owned bar, and he basically told me that Unseelie Court owns it. Just Sage being there wouldn't have stopped him. It might have gotten him to back off a little, but he would've just snuck around Sage in the end. If Leanansidhe hadn't been there, he wouldn't have quit."

Puck gave a dry snort of derision that had Leanansidhe cutting her sapphire eyes at the Summer Jester.

"Right," said Puck derisively, giving the Dark Muse a very deliberate look, "'Cause she was such a help."

"Robin!" Nikki startled them all by using the fey's first name, even Puck himself, who looked down at her with wide emerald eyes. "I said stop it," she told him quietly, narrowing her brown eyes at him. "It's done. We just want to forget about it, okay?"

Puck looked like he might have liked to say something, but they all knew he didn't have the heart to snap back at Nikki, especially not as obviously distressed as she was, so he merely sighed and buried his face in her shoulder, refusing to look at anyone. Nikki lowered her eyes to the ground and fell silent as well.

The others exchanged looks, and Demon looked down at Catherine, frowning slightly as he met her weary jade gaze.

"Bed," he said softly, and she nodded, stepping away from him slightly.

"We all should be in bed, really," sighed Trinity, having overheard the Cait Sith. "It's late, it's been a hell of a night, and we've got work to do tomorrow."

They all nodded in silent agreement, and after a rather pregnant pause in which no one moved—as they then realized they didn't actually have a clue where they were staying—Leanansidhe cleared her throat minutely and stepped forward, head up, eyes determined.

"I'll have the butlers take you to your rooms," she said, her voice stronger than before, and snapped her fingers, immediately drawing several crisply dressed redcaps into the halls. For once, no one bothered to chuckle at the absurd pink bow ties around their necks. Once eight of the little men had gathered, standing in a single file line before Leanansidhe she waved an arm to indicate the others. "My guests are tired," she instructed them, "Take them to their rooms so they may rest."

The redcaps bowed almost to their toes, and divided into groups. Two approached Demon and Catherine, bowed to them, and indicated that they should proceed down the hallway towards the east side of the house. Cat glanced back at Trinity and Nikki, who were also being directed by redcap butlers, and when their gazes met, she gave them the tiniest of smiles.

"Goodnight, guys," she said, and they nodded, their expressions worried.

"Sleep well," Trinity said, and Catherine nodded back at her before turning to follow Demon and their redcap escorts down the hall.

Trinity went with Tertius and two more butlers, while Puck, Nikki and Glitch were led away by the remaining four. Leanansidhe remained behind in the hallway, staring after Catherine and Demon, her expression drawn. There was a soft rustling from just inside the sitting room, and a moment later a large gray cat sauntered into the view of the Dark Muse, his yellow eyes narrowed.

"Don't say it, Grimalkin," Leanansidhe sighed without even looking at the Cait Sith, putting a hand to her forehead and massaging her sore temples.

"I wasn't going to say anything," the cat replied softly, settling on his haunches, his tail curled neatly around his paws.

Leanansidhe sighed once more, now pinching the bridge of her nose, her eyes cinched shut, as though to block out the world. Grimalkin merely sat sedately and watched her, his eyes unblinking, as silent and unmoving as a shadow. The only sound was the crackling of the fire in the room beyond. After several long moments, however, Leanansidhe lowered her hand and finally opened her eyes, looking down morosely at the feline seated just a couple of steps away.

"They blame me," she said. It wasn't a question.

"Only slightly," Grimalkin consented, inclining his head. "The rest of the blame they throw on the Prince and themselves."

"Why themselves?" asked Leanansidhe irritably. "It wasn't their fault the abomination happened to be there."

"No, but they look at themselves as her protectors," Grimalkin told her, his yellow eyes closing halfway as he peered up at her. "They feel they have failed far too many times. Though, to be fair, they slightly blame you, since you were the one who insisted they go out in the first place."

"I only meant to make the time here a little more enjoyable," Leanansidhe said, half to herself, as though trying to excuse what had happened, though they both knew there was no real way to do that now. "I felt so wretched treating her the way I did when she first came in here, and now…I feel even worse."

"If you really desire to make this better, Lea," Grimalkin murmured, "The least you can do now is tell us where the trod to the Briars is. Anything else to them will only seem to be a way to redeem yourself for your own sake. They don't care for your image. They only care to get where they aim to be."

"Lord Wrath," said Leanansidhe softly, her eyes glazing over slightly, seeing into a far off place, as though she could envision the King of Cats sitting at the end of her hallway. "I hadn't really believed until tonight that he was potentially the only hope for the girl. But after seeing the way that sleaze looked at her tonight, I can see there's no other option short of murdering the rat. He won't stop… But why is he so intrigued with her? She's just a half-blood. I would have thought this was just a reiteration of his slights on Meghan Chase before she became Iron Queen, and even then it was only to spite Ash, but this is entirely different. He wants her. Really wants her."

"It is very unsettling," agreed Grimalkin, the tip of his gray tail twitching as he glanced down the hall to where Catherine and Demon had vanished. "It reminds me of the feud between him and Prince Ash even before Meghan Chase was even a twinkle in Oberon's eye."

Leanansidhe gave a wry smile at that, but the humor didn't reach her eyes as she gazed down at the Cait Sith. "You mean the late daughter of the Duke of Glassbarrow," she murmured, and Grimalkin nodded. "I remember that as well… If I recall, that was the very beginning of Ash's and Rowan's rivalry. Rowan believed he deserved the girl far more than Ash did, and in his way he would have been correct, only his advances terrified her."

"As they should," snorted Grimalkin, shaking his head. "He only ever saw her for the possibilities her title, and her beauty, offered him. And she saw that. She was very wise, even before her revival."

"But this is not that time anymore," Leanansidhe murmured, shaking her head. "Whatever Rowan's interest in Catherine, it does not bear the same intentions as what he felt for Ariella of Tularyn. She offered him power beyond what he already had; Catherine has nothing of that sort to offer him. She is a half-blood, and a child at that. What could he possibly want from her?"

"Obedience," said Grimalkin, and his tone grew cold and bitter. "The great mystery of all living things is the nature of us cats, and Rowan is no different. He sees in Catherine the potential to tame a wild creature, because she is too young and not powerful enough to defy him."

"If it weren't for the fact that you speak only the truth, I would almost feel that that assumption was made solely on your pride as a feline," Leanansidhe confided in him with a humorless smile, "But I'm afraid you're right… The Winter fey have always desired to lord over all the Nevernever, and you and yours are no exception, especially a half-blood… Especially since she is the only half-blood of her kind."

"Indeed," agreed Grimalkin, nodding. "Hopefully, this will be the last encounter of its kind."

"And why do you say that?" asked Leanansidhe, eyeballing the Cait Sith.

Grimalkin didn't answer immediately, merely glancing up at the Dark Muse, then away towards the end of the hallway again, seemingly lost in thought. Leanansidhe knew Grim better than that, however, and merely waited him out, arms folded over her chest; her sapphire eyes narrowed at the gray figure.

"This doesn't leave this hallway," he snapped at last, catching her eye after a long few seconds, and she smirked.

"You have my word," she said, and crossed her heart for emphasis.

Grimalkin thumped his tail, hunching his shoulders as though bracing himself for something ugly, then heaved a deep, cat-like sigh of resignation and ducked his head as he muttered, somewhat reluctantly, "I do not wish ill on my kin, and seeing the youngest of mine tormented like this is simply unacceptable. I would do more for her were I able, but my abilities only go so far. And they certainly don't stretch far enough to allow me to threaten the wellbeing of a Winter heir…"

Leanansidhe was dumbstruck, and could only stand there, gaping open mouthed at Grimalkin's confession, though the feline seemed very pointedly avoiding looking at her at the moment, and kept his yellow eyes glued resolutely to the carpet beneath his paws, his bushy gray tail twitching agitatedly back and forth.

"Grim," said Lea after a long pause, and felt a smile breaking out across her face.

"What?" he groused at her, his ears laying flat against his head.

"I just…" She beamed at him. "I never thought you would be the one to say that…"

Grimalkin snorted.

"Like I said," he sniped at her, getting to his feet and marching staunchly back into the sitting room, "If I hear so much as a mutter about this I know exactly who to come to Lea. The last thing I need is my cousin or anyone else breathing down my neck about going soft for a half-blood kit like her."

"My lips are sealed, my good man," Leanansidhe said, making a good show of zipping her lips closed and throwing away the key, even as she beamed after Grimalkin, and followed him into the sitting room.

"I hope so, for your sake," he muttered under his breath as he alighted onto the vacated armchair by the fire.

Leanansidhe rolled her eyes, but said nothing as she took the seat opposite him and, with a wave of her hand, reset the chess board between them.

"Fancy a game?" she asked him, arching an eyebrow when he looked around at her.

He eyed her for a moment, as though weighing his options, then sighed. "What are the stakes?" he asked, straightening up on his seat and contemplating her warily.

"Just for fun, Grim," she said, shaking her head, "I've really had quite enough of gambling tonight."

Grimalkin's eyes grew round in surprise. "Coming from you, that's quite something," he observed, faint amusement coloring his normally indifferent tone.

"Like you said," she said, winking at him, "It doesn't leave this room."

Grimalkin looked as though he smiled. "You won't hear anything out of me," he purred, then settled down as Leanansidhe made the first move, shifting a knight into position.