"Chase is not of my order. We are not ... friends."

The way he said it made me step back a pace. "Why not?"

"It is the way we are made. Friendship has no place in our world."

"That's ridiculous. The Overworld is made for stuff like that."

"You have been there?"

He had me on that one. "No, not really. But it's like heaven, right? Where everyone is best friends and you can eat all the pie you want and never gain any weight?"

"What is pie?"

"It's a delicious food that makes you fat. Seriously, though. The Overworld is all about love and friendship, right?"

"Love, yes. And duty, honor. Friendship is a concept for the Here and Now, so easily given and taken away. We do not believe in such easily-broken bonds."

I snorted. "Yeah, right. So why did you guys bind me and Ben? That one's a non-starter for sure."

"Your guardian felt it was best for you. Many did not agree, myself included, but it was his decision. His and the Fate's."

"You talk about Fate like it's a person."

"Fate is personified in your realm."

I frowned, trying to figure out what he was saying. "Fate isn't a person. It's a thing. A concept or whatever."

"Fate is more than either of us could ever conceive or understand."

As I tried to match his words with my understanding of it, I realized he was right. "Agreed. I mean, it's like, destiny, right? Life just happens?"

"Life never just happens. You cannot be so naive to really believe what you've just said."

Yes, I can. I was too tired to figure out this latest mystery, so I just waved him off. "Never mind. I'm tired and I need to go to sleep. Are you ready to leave?"

"Almost. I just have one question for you."

"What's that?" I asked, yawning big.

"When are you going to accept that Chase is never coming back to you?"

I glared at him, letting the anger build up inside me. Beau didn't look like he was trying to give me any grief or had any hidden meaning behind his words. It was a serious question, and I gave him my serious answer, stepping forward at the same time so I could shove him in the chest.

"Either when he tells me that himself or never, whichever comes first!"

Beau flew backwards from the force of my shove, disappearing into the darkness beyond.

I took a big breath, refusing to give in to the sobs that wanted to take me over. "I want to go back, now!" I yelled out into the air around me, closing my eyes and picturing myself in my bed. Send me back, send me back, I don't want to be here anymore listening to this c.r.a.p.

Suddenly the bed was beneath me again, and my soft sheets rubbed up against my calves as I moved my legs from side-to-side. I breathed out in relief, keeping my eyes closed and letting myself fall into the oblivion of sleep.

CHAPTER THIRTY.

I AWOKE GROGGY, FEELING LIKE I'd only gotten thirty minutes of sleep. Tim flew into my room as I was dressing in clean clothes, landing on my dresser in front of me.

"Whoa, holy baggage under the eyes. Do you need some hemorrhoid cream or what?"

"Why on earth would I put b.u.t.thole cream on my eyes?"

"Gets rid of the swelling."

I snorted. "No thanks. I don't have hemorrhoids on my eyes."

Tim mumbled something, which I ignored. It might have been, "Coulda fooled me."

"I had another couple of visitors in my dreams last night," I said, happy to change the subject.

"Who? Demons?" Tim perked up at the idea of me being haunted again, which wasn't an encouraging sign in a roommate.

"No. Ben and Beau."

"Oooh, sounds like a s.e.xy dream to me. Do tell."

"It wasn't. Not at all. I was wishing you were in there, though. I needed some of your super snooper spy skills."

"Of course you did. Tell me, young mage. What did you need my help with?"

I glanced at the door, noticing it was cracked open. I walked over to shut it, peeking out first to see if Aidan was still asleep on my couch. I noticed the steady rise and fall of his chest before closing the door very softly, hoping to keep from waking him. I wasn't ready for all of the wolves to know my secrets yet, and I had a feeling that Aidan's loyalty to me was second to that which he held for his wolf-brothers.

I sat down on my bed and Tim joined me, sitting on the covers in front of my crossed legs.

"So, you had a s.e.xy dream. Tell Uncle Tim all about it."

"Okay, so Ben was in there, but he couldn't see Beau for some reason, but Beau could see and hear Ben."

"Interesting. Continue."

"Ben admitted he's still on that humans-need-to-submit-to-fae plan he had going all along."

"I'm not surprised."

"Yeah, well, you might be surprised to learn that he sounded very okay with the demons getting out and stealing a few human souls while they're at it."

"Did he actually say that?" Tim sounded like he didn't believe me.

"Yes. I think. Actually, he said something like things not being a coincidence, that they could be part of a plan. I don't know ... I was so tired it's all kind of blending together."

"Well, if that's true, he would be in some serious trouble with the council."

"He'd never agree with you on that. According to him, they aren't in charge of what he does."

"He might be right. But that doesn't mean it's a good idea to be a cowboy and do whatever the heck you want. The council exists so that we can have well-reasoned decisions made by fae who've lived enough lifetimes to help us not repeat the mistakes of our past."

"I'm not old."

"Yeah, well, you're the exception to the rule. You're there because you're dangerous not being there."

"Hey!"

"The only thing that council's missing is a pixie. You should tell them that."

I smiled, picturing Tim getting his cloak, which I hoped would happen soon. "I'll try to remember to do that."

"Anyway, what else happened? Any three-way snogging by any chance?"

"Tim, you are seriously messed up if you think, one, I'd do that, and, two, that if I did, I'd tell you."

He shrugged. "I have to cover all my bases. So tell me. Any other diabolical plans we need to thwart? Love triangles to agonize over? Girls to be jealous of?"

I sighed, ignoring his sarcasm. "No, I don't think so. Ben thinks I'm on his team. Oh! I forgot! And get this ... Leck is the mastermind behind Ben's plan. Can you believe that s.h.i.t?"

Tim put his finger to his lips, deep in concentration. "Hmmm ... that is distressing, isn't it?"

"Distressing doesn't even begin to cover it. I mean, the guy's a total b.u.t.tmunch, we both know that, and his tactics are a little too much in the Hitler department to let me believe they're anything but evil. But at the same time, Ben doesn't seem like Leck. Even though they have the same plan, I really believe Ben is doing this stuff because he feels like he's righting a wrong or something. He said something about a scrying and about how all the humans and fae are supposed to be living together out in the open. He's acting like he's just fixing a mistake."

"That's how all dictators justify their actions," said Tim. "Don't let his pretty face distract you from his black heart."

"I don't even notice his face anymore. Every time I look at him, I just want to slap him."

"Maybe you should."

"Maybe after we foil his plans, I will. For now though, we have a better shot of me getting into his inner sanctum if I keep my hands to myself."

"Well, not necessarily ..."

"Tim, shut it. I'm not going to sell out the hootchie to save the fae."

"Geez, what kind of Mother are you?"

I reached out to snag him, but he was too fast for me.

"Ah, ah, aaaahhh. Keep your dirty little fingers to yourself, young lady-fae. I'm having a particularly good hair day today, and I won't have you messing it up."

"Except for that little section right there," I said, pointing to an invisible problem.

Tim zipped over to the mirror. "Where? I swear it was perfect ten minutes ago."

I stood, my mission to annoy my roommate now accomplished. "Come on, I'm starving. Let's go get some breakfast."

Tim was patting his head all over. "My hair's a wreck! How can you expect me to go out in public looking like this? My fans will abandon me for sure."

"Your hair is fine. I was only messing with you. Come on. Besides ... your true fans don't care what your hair looks like."

I opened the door, looking back as I waited for him to get away from his coiffing and fly out in front of me.

He frowned at the mirror. "You know, you're right. My hair was perfect and now I've messed it up." He growled. "Arrgh, do you have any idea how long it takes to make my hair look that good?"

"Ten seconds?" I asked, innocently.

He flew past me and farted as he went by. "Ten seconds, my b.u.t.t," he said.

I waved my hand in front of my face as I walked through my sitting room. "Wake up, wolfman. Time for breakfast."

Aidan's eyes opened, but he didn't move for a moment. He seemed disoriented.

I stopped when I was next to the couch. "You're in my room, watching my door, remember?" My earlier feelings of security went out the window as I noticed how long it took him to wake up and actually be fully conscious again. I rolled my eyes. Friggin wolves.

He sat up and rubbed his hands all over his head, getting rid of the flat spot on the back but making it stand up everywhere. He was endearingly ruffled now, making me happy to have a wolf at my door, even if he did suck at being alert.

"Oh, yeah. What time is it?" he said in a rough voice.

"Time for breakfast. Come on, Tim and I were just leaving."

He stood and smacked his mouth. "I need a toothbrush."

"After you eat. I'm starving. No time for brushing right now."

Aidan followed, making faces and smacking his lips some more. We made our way down the hall, Tim using the s.p.a.ce and the opportunity to practice his midair acrobatics. Aidan looked impressed, but I was used to it. There was no denying, Tim really was awesome at the flying thing.

Tony came out of a door to our left, surprising me enough to make me jump. But I recovered quickly enough and grabbed him into a huge hug. "Hey, Baloney Head! Where've you been?"

He hugged me back and then pulled away. "Working with the gray elves, coming up with a plan." He fell into step beside me.

"Did you do it? Mission accomplished?"

"Yep," he said proudly. "It took a while and a lot of research, but I'm pretty sure we're all set for the council. They've moved the meeting to after breakfast."

I frowned, realizing that would cut into my plan to figure out the rest of Ben's secrets. But fixing our demon problem was a more pressing issue, so I kept walking and didn't argue. I couldn't very well do it in front of Aidan anyway. Telling Tony what I'd found out would have to wait.

We arrived at the dining hall after a lot of fae had already gotten there. The din from the gathered crowd was at its peak, making any further important or private conversation impossible. We went to the buffet and filled our plates, joining our changeling friends at our usual table. I looked over the room, but Ben had not yet arrived. I used the opportunity to visit with my friends.

"Hey, Jayne," said Finn. "How's it hangin'?"