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Ada stick on the top ofplace Shutting it up in a closet had seemed rude

He came back to the bed and kissed me, a quick, possessive kiss He pulled back and looked at me, to make sure I was okay

“Let me just take a look-see around the place to make sure” He waited for my nod before he left me alone

I waited for hihts that could be triggering s I orried about

Maybe so with Tad and Zee—that would explain the walking stick’s presence instick could be concerned about them—they were fae At least, Zee was fae

When one of the Gray Lords who ruled the fae had declared independence froovernment, the fae had retreated to their reservations Zee, s o to the Walla Walla reservation, which was about an hour away

The fae barricaded theovernment had built for theure out that the walls weren’t the only things that protected the reservations The Walla Walla reservation had all but disappeared, hidden by illusion and er did Rumor had it that when people tried to find it by airplane, the pilots forgot where they were going Satellite photos were a gray blur for an area far larger than the reservation had occupied

Then they released some of their monsters upon the human population Fae that had been held in check by their rulers were let free People died The govern to keep a lid on it, to avoid panic, but theto notice

I closedacross my lap, the one that Ada stick ed to catch it in the process

I hadn’t worried about Zee a whole lot at first—he can take care of himself Tad and I had been able to contact him now and then

Tad was Zee’s son Half-fae, product of a mostly failed experiment by the Gray Lords to see if fae could reproduce with humans and still be fae, Tad hadn’t been required (or asked) to retreat to the reservations The fae had no use for their half-bloods, at least not until Tad had deic was powerful and rare Then they’d wanted him

Seven weeks he’d been gone Without Tad, I hadn’t been able to activate the mirror we’d used to contact Zee Seven weeks and no word at all

“Is it Tad?” I asked the walking stick But it sat inert in ot up and put it back on the chest

—

Sitting at the kitchen table the next ue of mechanic’s supplies and e numbers and prices