Page 28 of Lifebound

“It takes approximately three to four days to reach the Seelie Court from the Aetherway in these forests,” the man said. “By horseback, that is.”

I squinted my eyes at him. “Aetherway?” Was that even a word?

“The passage between our realms, yes. There are two on Earth, one in Verenthia.”

The way he said all of this and expected me to just go with it was incredible. I wasn’t sure if he’d even get the sarcasm if I said what was on my mind right now.

“So, eight days,” I said instead. “I would need to be gone for eight days.”

“Approximately eight days in Verenthia, yes,” the man said.

“And…on Earth?”

He thought about it for second. “Time moves a bit differently in our realm. Not too much, but you can come back to find that less than eight days have passed here—or a bit more.”

“Nilah, we need to talk,” Dad said, coming to stand beside me, his eyes on the man. “Right now. In private. I want to speak to my daughter.”

“As is your right,” the man said, and there was something in his eyes now. Something close to anger, but again, I couldn’t be sure if that’s what he wanted me to think he felt, or what he actually felt.

“But I’m afraid I’m going to need an answer from Nilah tonight. Like I explained earlier, there simply isn’t more time.”

“But she doesn’t even know where she’s going. What will she need? Food? Clothes? Phone charger?”

This from Fi.

“I will explain everything about Verenthia and the ways of our world on the way, if Nilah chooses to join me. We will provide everything she needs and more,” the man said. “But I’m afraid technology cannot make it past the Aetherway. We have tried many times in the past—it does not survive the energy shifts.”

No phone.What a strange idea. Did I even know how to live without a phone?

“One more question, Mister,” I said—and I called himMisteron purpose again, just to see if I could get an honest reaction out of him.

He gave me none.

“Of course,” he said with a deep nod, folding his hands in front of him.

“What if it doesn’t work? What if I can’t heal your prince?”

It was obvious that he stopped breathing, stopped moving completely for a moment. Even the energy that was coming off him changed, becamecooler. His pause gave me a moment to focus, to try to better understand who he was andwhathe was, the energy he let off, the way he looked—like a drawing rather than real. Just like that boy in the meadow all those years ago.

His skin didn’t look like skin and the golden rings he wore looked too perfect to be real and even his hair shone the way hair didn’t—ordidin shampoo commercials and heavily Photoshopped pictures. The same could be said for the guards as well—smooth skin, unreal eyes, strange aura.

“It will,” the man finally said in a whisper, but his whisper had power. It waswarm,and it pulsated in my ears. “It will work.”

“But in the event that it doesn’t,” I insisted.

“A life-bond is not a joke, Nilah. Itwillwork as it has for millions of years.” I opened my mouth to speak again but he didn’t let me. “Butin the event that it doesn’t, you will be brought back home at your request any time you choose,” he finished, and now that golden shimmer to his cheeks was gone, replaced by a pink as bright as the flush on my dad’s face.

He looked at me. “Nilah, we speak in private.”

But the stranger said, “First, I will need to know your decision, Nilah. Will you save the prince, or will you forsake your debt?”

“Now that’s not fair!”my dad exploded, and he said a lot more words I didn’t get because my eyes were locked on the golden ones of this stranger, and I tried to see, tried to find anything that would give away his true intentions, if the ones he gave us weren’t it.

I’d spent my whole life drowning in guilt—for Mom, for Dad, for Fi, even Betty. I dreamed of a day when Iwouldn’thave to live like that anymore, a day when life would be easy. Beautiful. Like it had been in what little I remembered before that snake bit me and sent things spiraling out of control.

And maybe this was it. Maybe this was my chance to take back control of my life, to do the right thing, toownwhat happened to me once and for all and be unapologetic about it.

The boy existed. Hehadsaved me. The fae were real, too, but that was a whole other story.

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