As Harry walked down the hall to the shower, he heard soft voices coming from the living room. He was about to keep going when Gideon's voice rose slightly and he froze in place.

"I'm sure. The report I heard stated that the Shadow would be trying to kidnap the Lady of the Air's youngest daughter during the Festival."

"But that doesn't make any sense. They've never gone after people before, just objects. Why would they be changing targets now?" Harry could almost hear the frown in Laric's voice, and he frowned himself. Ash would Never hurt a child!

"I have no idea. That's just what I was told by some of the Guards, they'll be thick all over for the next few days until the Festival is over or the Shadow is caught. But that's not the only problem this morning. My uncle wishes to meet our Vorthr and Harry too."

There was a sound too soft for Harry to catch, it almost sounded like Laric had cursed. But that couldn't be right, he had never heard the quiet Warrior so much as raise his voice before.

"My thoughts exactly. But when the Lord speaks, I must follow, even if he is my uncle." Gideon's voice sounded amused.

As Harry wavered between listening some more, and hurrying to the bathroom before he was caught eavesdropping, he heard the Warriors moving. Deciding it was past time to get to the shower, he hurried as silently as he could until he was inside the bathroom with the door shut. As he showered, his mind kept turning the conversation he had heard over and over. Ash had been missing for four days now, there were only three days left after this of the Festival. And she had been so excited about dragging them all off and showing them everything. It was strange that she would suddenly vanish the morning it was all due to start. And yes, she was a thief. But she was not a kidnapper. Which means... He stopped in the process of drying his hair with a fluffy towel. Which means, that one of the copy-cat thieves Ash had mentioned when she first told them her secret must be the one who wished to kidnap the Lady of Air's daughter. And that meant that Ash had to be trying to track them down. It was the only explanation he could come up with that fit the pieces he had. After all, he couldn't see Ash stealing from her own elements ruler.

As he entered the bedroom again, Fionn was getting his things together to take his own shower.

"I heard an interesting conversation on the way to the shower." He picked his words carefully, if he had managed to accidentally hear the conversation, he didn't want to take any chances that the Warriors would hear this. Fionn tilted his head and looked at Harry curiously.

"Apparently the Shadow is planning on kidnapping the youngest daughter of the Lady of the Air during the Festival."

Fionn's eyes widened and his mouth opened, but Harry shook his head and pointed to his own ears before pointing at the door of the room. The Fae closed his mouth with a small frown, golden eyes glinting in the light from the window. Harry pulled Fionn into his arms for a moment, holding him close with his mouth near one of the Fae's ears.

"I know. It can't be her. But if we keep our ears open, we might find out something useful." He barely breathed the words, but Fionn's body relaxed and he nodded his head slightly.

Leaving Fionn to shower and dress, Harry crossed the house to the kitchen where he found the two Warriors and Fred and George. Surprisingly, there was nothing cooking, or any food ready on the table. George was sitting at the table, but Fred was sprawled out on his back half under it with Gideon standing above him with his arms crossed.

"Do I even want to know what you've done now Fred?"

"Me? I didn't-"

The foot nearest Fred's ribs tapped the floor meaningfully, and Fred cut himself off to look slowly up at Gideon. "Ah, that is to say... No? Best behavior! Right, got it." He saluted, still laying prone on the floor as George turned his face away to hide his laughter.

"My uncle wishes to meet all of you, and has requested our presence this morning. We are to have breakfast with him, and as he is the Lord of the Shadow, I expect all of you to be on your best behavior." Gideon looked meaningfully at George, who quickly nodded his head. "We have to walk, elemental transportation doesn't work around the homes of the Lords and Ladies for safety."

Gideon led the way out of Laric's house with Fred and George following him, Harry and Fionn fell into line behind the twins, and Laric followed them to be sure no one wandered off or got lost on the way. The Festival was in full swing, even this early in the morning, and a lot of the vendors were the same as they had seen before. Harry found his attention wandering slightly, still thinking about Ash as well as what meeting the Lord of the Shadow would be like. He had one arm around Fionn's waist and just followed the others without really paying all that much attention to where they were or where they were going.

At least until he felt Fionn stiffen and start to shake slightly. He looked to see what was wrong and saw all the color had drained from the Fae's face, his eyes were wide and slightly haunted looking. Harry stopped dead and his wings went up as he bristled, looking around for what had put that look on Fionn's face. They were in the thick of a crowd. Fae, Gargoyles, other Demons and a small cluster of Djinn surrounded them. The Djinn all gave off that same feeling of darkness that he had noticed from Djuran, but he wasn't among them. There were 2 red-skinned Djinn, one was holding the leash of one of those black panther-like creatures. This close he could see it had no fur, but was covered in an almost waxy-looking hide. It had no ears, just a small hole on either side of the head where the ears should be, and way more fangs than he had ever seen on a cat. They were all needle-like and quite long, it was hissing as people got too close to it and the Djinn who held it's leash was laughing. The other 2 Djinn were both blue-skinned, one was shaved bald and tall, the other was short and stocky with short black hair and a goatee.

His attention was pulled back to his mate when he felt Fionn sag against him with a soft whimper. Whipping his head around he still couldn't see what the threat could be. "Fi? What's the matter?" The rest of the group had noticed they weren't moving by this time, and had come back to see what the problem was.

Fionn shuddered and turned empty eyes towards Harry. "He's here. I ca-can't." Shaking his head Fionn made a high-pitched keening sound, and Harry lost it. Pushing Fionn into a startled George's arms, Harry mantled his wings even higher and looked closer at the Djinn. He hissed and took a step forwards when Gideon suddenly blocked his way.

"Harry! Focus! What is wrong? Don't lose yourself, tell me what's going on so we can help you."

As Gideon reached out to grip his shoulder, Harry relaxed his grip on his Fire. His wings burst into flames, they danced along his arms, dripped from his hair, a small flame flickered in each pupil. And suddenly they had all the room they needed as the crowd backed away, leaving the group in the center of an open space. Harry whipped his head around, trying to see where the Djinn had gone. He hadn't expected to meet the one who had hurt Fionn, but now that he was here, he would make him pay.

Gideon cursed, his own wings coming up, trying to block Harry's sight of the crowd behind him. "Laric, stay with George and Fionn. Fred! On my mark, douse him!"

Laric moved to stand behind George who had yet to let go of Fionn. Resting one hand on George's right shoulder, he used his wings to shelter them and hopefully block out some of what was going on. Fred moved to Gideon's side and reached out with his right hand, palm facing Harry who was still burning fiercely and looking for someone to attack.

The moment all were in place, Gideon took hold of Fred's left arm and nodded sharply. "Now!" A huge gush of water shot from Fred's spread fingers, hitting Harry in the face and making the flames hiss and die on his hair and shoulders. The moment he sputtered and shook his head, Gideon darted in and gripped him with his free hand. The next moment he had invoked Shadow and all three were gone.

Most of the crowd had moved on by then, not wanting to get in the way of an angry Fire Demon. Laric relaxed his stance and folded his wings back out of the way before looking down at George and Fionn. "What happened? Why did Harry lose control that badly?"

George looked down at Fionn, who was still clutching his shirt tightly with his face buried in George's neck. His slender frame was still shuddering, but he wasn't crying that George could tell. Gently sliding a hand beneath the Fae's chin, he lifted Fionn's head until he could look into his eyes. They were completely blank and unseeing, as though no one was at home inside his head and George shuddered slightly himself before focusing back.

"Fionn? Can you hear me?" There was no response, the Fae let himself be moved around like a doll, but there was no sign that he had heard a word spoken. George lightly slapped Fionn's cheek, and other than a brief flinch, there was still no response. Frowning to himself he thought a moment, and then he spoke Harry's nickname for the Fae in a firm voice. "Fi." There was the tiniest flicker in the golden eyes, but it was gone again almost as quickly. He could feel Laric's presence looming behind them, knew the Warrior would keep them safe while he delt with Fionn. But he was fast running out of ideas on how to reach the Fae.

With a soft sound of frustration, George tilted Fionn's head up a little more. Looking into those empty eyes was giving him the creeps, but he didn't know what else to do to reach him... Wait... He remembered Fionn's reaction to Rialyn. Would messing with this end of the mateship snap him out of things? He was willing to take the chance of being hit to snap him out of this. Sliding his hand from under Fionn's chin, he changed his grip to cradle the Fae's face with his thumb still underneath to hold Fionn's head at the right angle. And then he leaned down and lightly kissed him. At first there was no response, and just when he was about to pull away and ask for Laric's suggestions, he felt Fionn let out a breath through his nose and the lips beneath his parted slightly. Without thinking, George deepened the kiss, pulling Fionn closer and into a better angle. The Fae slowly relaxed, unclenching his death grip on George's shirt as he returned the kiss.

After a moment, Fionn pulled away. Resting his face in the crook of George's neck, he breathed deeply as George ran soothing fingers along the Fae's spine.

"Fionn? Can you tell us what happened?" George tried to keep his voice even, though he was worried just asking the question would send Fionn over again.

"He was here." He whispered the answer against George's skin.

"Who was here?"

"Adzir."

"Who is Adzir?"

There was a long pause, George wasn't sure if Fionn would answer the question but he finally did. He pulled back slightly and looked up into George's concerned blue eyes before whispering. "Adzir is the Djinn who bought me."

George could suddenly see exactly why Harry had lost it as he darted a quick look at the crowd. He didn't see any sign of the group of Djinn from before, but he did feel the anger Laric was feeling behind them. He flicked a wing in Laric's direction as he brought his focus back to Fionn. He was still surprised he hadn't been yelled at for kissing him, and the Fae still hadn't actually tried to leave his arms either. Feeling that a subject change was in order, and wanting to ask before Harry returned, he gave a faint hint of his usual crooked smile.

"I'm sorry for kissing you, it was the only thing I could think of to wake you up after the other ideas failed. But I must admit I'm surprised you let me, and returned it!"

Fionn looked at George a moment, before seeming to accept the change of subject and resting his head on George's shoulder again. "I told you and Fred when you first came here. Harry wants you and Fred as mates. He doesn't realize yet of course, because he's Harry. But you two will be joining us. So why should I object? It won't change things, and I have no issues with either of you joining us."

George blinked down at the golden head resting so easily on his shoulder. He still didn't think Harry was interested in them, he'd never shown any signs of being interested in them in that way. But Fionn sounded so sure...

***Meanwhile, with Harry***

The moment they were free of Shadow, Harry lashed out at Gideon. How dare he take him from his mate when there was danger there! He snarled as he missed, the Warrior yanking his hand back just in time. He noticed Fred move back away against a wall, but most of his attention was focused on the Warrior in front of him. His wings still dripped fire, as did his hands. Flames tried to grow along his shoulders and upper arms again, but he was still dripping with the water Fred had doused him with and the flames were having a hard time taking hold.

Gideon circled Harry, keeping a wary eye on his hands and wings. "Harry. Calm yourself. Get control of your Fire. Now. Fionn is in no danger, Laric is with him."

The only response Harry gave, was a hiss. The flames did not die down, though he seemed to have given up calling any more than what was on his wings and hands. He turned to face Gideon, keeping him in sight and not allowing the Warrior to get behind him.

Gideon could see he wasn't getting through to Harry yet, but kept his attention focused on himself instead of Fred. Once he had Harry with his back to Fred, he nodded once sharply and Harry found himself doused in Water again. The flames on his wings sputtered and died, and he yelled in outrage, turning to face George. Gideon took immediate advantage and leaped forward, grabbing Harry around the chest and pinning his wings between them. Fred quickly doused Harry's hands, and then moved out of the way of the struggle.

And Harry did struggle. He kicked and wiggled, tried to use his head to smack Gideon in the face, but nothing he did got himself released. He finally hung limply in the Warriors arms.

"Are you listening again? Do you understand what I'm saying Harry?"

"I hear you." He sounded sullen even to himself.

"Good. Is your Fire under control again?"

"Yes." He almost hissed the word. "We have to get back to Fionn. He's not safe!"

"Fionn is fine Harry. Laric and George are with him. You don't believe they'd let anything happen to Fionn, do you?"

"He needs me. That Djinn was there! The one who hurt him!" Harry tried to struggle again, but the arms around him were just as strong as before and he got nowhere.

"You can't take on a Djinn Harry. You couldn't even take on me. You weren't thinking with your head, you were letting your Demon rule you. Which is why you couldn't get your Fire to keep burning after Fred doused you. Hasn't Ash taught you what goes on when you let that happen?"

Harry bowed his head, the fight finally leaving him as he watched water drip onto the floor beneath himself. "I just got so angry. He was so scared, didn't you see how scared he was?"

Gideon slowly lowered Harry to stand on the floor, his arms loosening slightly but not releasing Harry yet just in case. "I did. And had you explained what was happening, we could have helped you both. Instead, you lost it in the middle of a crowd. Do you have any idea how many people you could have injured with your Fire? Including Fionn?" Gideon's voice was filled with disappointment as he finally released Harry fully and stepped back.

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen, I just saw his face and he was so afraid. I couldn't seem to help myself."

Fred finally moved forward and reached out, lifting Harry's head so he could look him in the face. "Did you really think we wouldn't help you protect Fionn? I know you'd protect George, why would you think I wouldn't do the same for Fionn?" Blue eyes looked into green and held them when Harry would have looked away.

"I know you would have Fred. I just... I couldn't think straight. All I could think about was that Fi was afraid, and the one who had hurt him so badly was right there in front of us."

Fred slid his hand around to the back of Harry's neck and squeezed, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to get his point across. "Next time, tell us what's going on. I'll help, you know I will. And George wouldn't let anything happen to Fionn either. But we can't help if you don't talk to us."

Harry hung his head again and nodded. "I know. I'm sorry."

"And there had better not be a next time. Had you harmed an innocent person in that crowd, you would have been brought up before the Lord of the Flame. And I could not have helped you much there." Gideon said quietly. "Are you calm enough to return to the others? In control of yourself and your Fire?" At Harry's nod, Gideon flicked his fingers out and Harry found himself dry again, though his hair was a worse mess than usual.

Reaching out, Gideon took Harry and Fred by the hand and invoked Shadow. Harry had no idea how much time had passed since he had been snatched away, but when they stepped out again, he saw Fionn resting comfortably in George's arms and Laric looming behind them watchfully. It made him feel even worse than he had already, he had failed his mate. Instead of taking care of Fionn, telling the others what was happening, he had lost control and had to be removed from the area like a toddler throwing a tantrum. His wings sagged down a bit and he hunched in on himself slightly, but with a push from Fred, he moved forward into George's line of sight.

George raised his brows at him, and then gave a pointed look down at the top of Fionn's head. Harry flushed but nodded, hoping his face looked as apologetic as he felt. George murmured something to Fionn that Harry wasn't able to catch, but it didn't matter as the next moment the Fae had lifted his head to look for Harry. And then released George and flung himself into Harry's arms, burying his face into Harry's neck.

"Shhh... I'm here, I'm sorry I lost it. But I'm here, and you're safe."

AN: So "Vorthr" is an old Norse word that means "Guardian Spirit." It isn't exactly fitting, but I couldn't find another word that I liked the look/sound of nearly as much. I am using it in place of a word like "ward" or "protegee."

This chapter has been split into 2 chapters, mostly because the tone of this one compared to what is now Chapter 33 are completely different and I didn't think they meshed well.

Thanks as always to my wonderful beta, Nicky Noodle. Review replies can be found in the forum, which is linked on my profile.