By morning I was in a mood fit to make a thunderstorm cower.

My night had been spent fitfully sleeping and replaying that conversation over and over and over again. And as I listened I got angrier and angrier. At myself, at him, at Thistle, at the unfairness of it all. It got so petty in my head as to be alarming.

This frustration bled into my dreams. I dreamed of tossing ships and bloody hands and a king with a dead smile who demanded that I act against my will. Dreams that made no sense, but left a stale taste of worry and fear and fury on my tongue. I woke up with a gasp as I lifted a stained crown onto the head a man I knew but did not know. I hated stress dreams.

That's why I gave Arion the most loaded glare to have ever been created as I sat across the fire. I couldn't even contemplate apologizing at this point. The further apart we grew, the more I knew I could protect myself. I ignored him. He ignored me. We were both pointed about it.

Thistle studied the pair of us and then sighed heavily. "Fight later, children. We can deal with your romantic issues– "

"Please, don't," Arion said coldly. "Grace has made it clear she doesn't want anything to do with me. That's fine."

I locked my jaw and didn't say a thing. I felt Thistle's eyes heavy on me. Finally, I said, "I need to go take a walk."

"Don't go too far," Thistle said.

"I won't. I just need some space from his Royal Highness." I saw his hands clench. I tried not to attend to how much petty glee I got from his reaction. At one time I couldn't get a reaction if I begged. Look at how far we had come. I stepped from the clearing into the foliage and walked a bit, until I found a nice stump.

I settled there and breathed deep. My mind settled some. As I thought about the morning, I knew I was going to have to apologize for my surliness this morning. I might be frustrated with Arion, but I was mad at him for something he couldn't understand. He was wrong about how I felt, but I couldn't ask him to understand how afraid I was about the crown. I exhaled slowly.

I ought to tell him about the curse. Tell him about his mother and Thistle. If he reacted the way I was terrified he might, then clearly he was the wrong man. I could kick him to the curb easily at that point. I was only afraid that then he might not let me go. On the other hand, if he took it well and agreed to keep our relationship at a normal pace then all would be well. He simply would have to guide his people without a crown and that would be… well it might be downright impossible. I didn't know enough about Fae culture to be certain.

Though I wasn't happy about it, I knew I should tell him.

Standing, I turned towards camp when a loud boom broke the peaceful silence of the woods. My heart skipped.

Either Thistle and Arion had decided to play with fireworks or something was seriously wrong at camp. I seriously doubted this was part of the plan to get me captured on purpose. Without thinking, I sprinted back to camp.

I was about to burst into the clearing when a spike of pain tore through my mind. STAY AWAY FROM THE CLEARING HIDE STAY AWAY GRACE boomed the screaming message. I gritted my teeth and peered into the clearing.

Something had ripped the clearing up: it looked like it had exploded from the ground up. I couldn't see Thistle anywhere. Frantically, I searched for either her or Arion. I saw a mop of gold lying on the ground near the edge of the clearing. I edged closer, hoping to drag him to safety. I was too late. A group of men pulled him off the ground.

"Where is the lady?" They demanded, striking him across the face. He groaned and spat at their boots. I winced.

"Now, now," a voice I recognized intoned. My skin crawled as Tiernan entered my view. Thistle had been right – Tiernan now had giant circles under his eyes and his face was sharper and unhealthy looking. Gone was the large man you could see astride a charger and in his place was something crueler and harder and much, much more dangerous.

I had known there was something much darker under the façade of Tiernan from the moment I had met him. I had not known that it could manifest itself in this way.

Tiernan stepped towards Arion and grabbed his chin. "Hello, little brother." His lips curled upwards.

"Up yours, Tiernan," Arion replied breezily, as though he hadn't just had the living shit kicked out of him. I saw now that he was bleeding and a serious shiner was forming around his eye.

Tiernan tsked. "You always had a way with words, Arion. So use them to tell me where the girl is."

Arion's jaw locked. "Eat shit and die."

The other prince looked unfazed by this. "Charming. Well, if you won't talk. Grace!" I stiffened at my name on that man's lips. He drew out the c in an eerie hiss. "If you're listening, please come out and play."

I stayed put. Arion had put my sentiments into words perfectly moments before.

A second of stillness passed and Arion began to laugh. "She's not here, Tiernan, you stupid bastard. She has already run away. She's been trying to get away from me since I found her."

"I somehow doubt that, brother." He said. "Come out, Grace, and I'll let Arion live."

My heart pounded a drum song in my ears. Tiernan was bluffing. He wouldn't hurt his brother. I watched the prince's face closely. In those dead eyes I saw nothing. I knew then that he was so far from bluffing it was alarming. I saw a man who intended to burn the world for what he wanted.

"Grace, if you're here, don't be foolish." Arion shot back quickly.

"Better yet, I'll let your mother live too." Tiernan added.

That son of a bitch has my mother. The thought shot fear through my body from my head to my toes.

"Swear to me you'll let them both go alive and I will go with you willingly!" I shouted from where I hid.

Arion slumped in a way that was horrible, and suddenly he began to melt into the ground before becoming a pile of clay. I blinked. What the-

"Hello, Grace," I heard next to my ear, and I screamed, stumbling from the brush and into the open. Tiernan followed me into the open. "So good to see you again, my dear."

"Try calling me my dear again," I said, taking a stance. I would dance him into oblivion if he thought he could talk down to me that way. Tiernan didn't respond, simply started to stalk around me. I kept my eyes on him. I felt like was being stalked by a big cat. I widened my stance into a better fighting one like Arion had taught me. Tiernan wasn't going to have an easy time with me.

I glanced at the pile of clay. "Where is Arion?" I demanded.

Tiernan shrugged. "He didn't stick around to play."

Dammit. I realized what the message had meant. It hadn't just been a warning, it had been Arion's exit plan. "So why bother with the fake?" I asked. I thought it best to keep him talking while I tried to figure out what to do to get away.

"You're here, aren't you? I needed leverage." That was all he gave me. So much for my evil monologue giving me time to think.

And it was then that I realized that this was absolutely alright. They'd wanted me to be captured so I could play double agent. Well, here I was. Captured. I suppose what I wondered was, now what? Did I just surrender? "And my mother?" I asked.

"I will, in fact, let her live," Tiernan said. I narrowed my eyes at him. He couldn't lie and say he had her. But it wasn't technically a lie if he said he'd let her live.

"You don't even have her, great," I said, playing that I was frustrated. My mind raced. How to sell the fact that I was captured. He didn't say anything. It was then that I came up with a plan.

I swung at him. "You bastard, tell me!" I said, allowing myself to be angry. Besides, I genuinely was pissed at him. Tiernan caught my clumsy punch. Good. Success would have only been a bonus. I swung again, he stopped that one as well. I struggled, spitting and kicking. I avoided the crotch and feet. Wouldn't want him to think I might have been able to escape. Besides, I wanted him to think I was incapable of being strong. I kept the torrent of cussing coming.

I felt him touch my face and say "Sleep." That was the last I remembered before blacking out.

I shot awake, sitting straight up.

I woke up in my room in Merriwind. My stomach sunk. While I knew this was the goal, my stomach turned with nervous butterflies.

I had sworn I would never return to this damn palace. Here I was, and it was because I had actually schemed to get here. I couldn't believe I had returned on purpose.

"Madame, you're back!" the familiar voice of Marie. I groaned.

"Yeah. Who would have thought, right?" I said.

"Well – I –" she started.

"Please don't make a clairvoyance joke."

I stared at my surroundings and rubbed my face tiredly. Here we go again. Round Two in Faerieland. Yeehaw.