I walked stiffly, conscious of Kierran following our steps from behind. Hell, I still couldn't get over what had happened, it had been beyond awkward. Leahnansidhe talked all the way until we got to the backyard, She must like the sound of her voice Well, I just wanted her to close her mouth.

"Here it is" She pointed at an ordinary-looking lotus blue flower. Kneeling, I touched with the tip of my finger one of its petals. It had a silky texture, softer than most flowers.

I stood up. "So what? Are you going to give it to us for free?" She raised an eyebrow at Grim, who stood motionless at her side. He didn't acknowledge her.

"If I hand it in, it will benefit me but..." she gazed longingly at the little plant "It's quite special for me. You'll have to give me at least something in exchange, somehting like..."

"A totem"

This time she raised both of her eyebrows "And do you have one, child?"

Kierran stepped in "If we had one, would you accept it?" He folded his arms across his chest, making his muscles visible through his shirt. Leahnansidhe's eyes sparkled.

"Maybe"

I took one of the totems I had brought with me out of my backpack, and put it on my palm. "Take it or leave it"

She closed he hand over mine and took the photo of Dad and me I had chosen. Dad widened his eyes when he saw it, but didn't say anything. It was hard to give it up, but it was the only choice, it was the most powerful of the three.

"So touching... take the flower and leave, I haven't accepted to give you shelter for the night, unless you are willing to give me another thing"

With Dad's help, we removed the flower from the ground "No, it's okay"

She shrugged "As you wish"

We left the Between through a different trod, that took us to an alley in New York.

"I still wonder why did those knights attaked us. Hadn't Mab give us her word?" I asked while we settled on some wooden benches in the Central Park, the only place Dad and Grim would be comfortable with.

Grim huffed. "Those weren't under Queen Mab's orders. Someone was controlling them"

I gaped at him "How on earth do you know that?"

"I'm a cat"

It was dark and there wasn't anyone nearby. We had agreed that camping in the Nevernever was propbably a bad idea, since the point was to keep me alive, it was too dangerous there. Of course we still needed someone to keep watch.

Dad and Grim were sound asleep in a matter of minutes. I could hear Kierran playing with the grass, keeping his mind busy We had succesfully avoided talking to each other since we left Leahnansidhe's.

I summoned some inner strenght "So, we'll keep on ignoring each other for the rest of the week?"

The sounds stopped. "I hope not"

I was lying on the ground with my back to him. "Good, because I think it's stupid" I sneezed.

A deep, sweet laugh echoed in my ears. "A Summer half-fey trying to survive New York's winter. Come here"

Of course you aren't cold, you have a sweater on dumbass!

Reluctantly I crawled to where he sat, leaning against a tree. "Well at least I'm not the combination of Summer, Winter and Iron" I tried immitating Leahnansidhe's honeyed voice "Geez, I'd go insane if I had that much power inside of me, it sounds like a big deal"

Kierran lowered his voice to a whisper "Sometimes I think I am going insane. I've spent my whole life in the Iron Realm, only leaving occasionally to hunt with my father. This was my first Elysium, it was a relief to get out."

"That's why you came with us? To get way from your Court for a while?" The question came out a little more accusatory than I had intended. It sounded as if I was actually hurt because of it. And I wasn't. Just healthy curiosity.

"Yeah, that had to do with it"

"Oh." My heart sank a little. It felt like a balloon deflating. Gulp. Guess I was hurt because of it "Good for you" I leaned my head back on the tree and closed my eyes.

I sneezed again but this time he didn't tease me "Are you okay? Are you sick?" He cupped my chin and gently tilted my face towards him, sending goosebumps along my arms. He examinated my face, and I wondered if he was conscious of our faces, mere inches between them. His warm breath caressed my cheek, making me lean closer to him.

Kierran realized he was within kissing distance and his normally sky blue eyes, turned stormy and darker. And I realized he had been just making sure I was okay, he had no interest in me, at least no in that way.

Dad snored loudly and rolled over to his side, startling us both.

"Uhmmmm we should go to sleep" I sputtered crawling back to my previous spot. Something tugged on the hem of my shirt holding me back.

"Hey not so quickly, you're gonna freeze to death"

I turned to him. "Would you please take your hand off me?"

"Sure" He held up his hands. "I was just saying"

"Stupid prince" I muttered curling up on the grass again.

He laughed and I drifted off peacefully with the sounds of nature as a lullaby.

"Summer wake up!" Dad shook my shoulders.

I jerked awake, noticing it was morning. "Five more minutes"

"We could use those minutes to save many lives, human" Grim said scornfully.

Yes, I had almost forgotten about that. "What's next?" I asked sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"A Phoenix's tear " Grim answered nonchalantly.

There were some people jogging in the park, and neither of them seemed to notice us. The morning was cold, but luckily, not as cold as the night, and a thin layer of snow now covered the ground.

I shook my head and some snow fell from it. Indeed, I was freezing "Find a Phoenix, piece of cake, right?"

Kierran sighed. "Where will we found a Phoenix?"

Grim yawned "Follow me"

He vanished and reappeared on the other side of the clearing. Dad and Kierran shrugged and did as the cat said.

That's when I realized I had Kierran's sweater drapped around me.