“But wouldn’t I be the witch keeping you safe? Trapping you up here in our tower?”

Aislinn had thought about it. “No, you’re Rapunzel, and we’re hiding from the witch.”

“And what happens if the witch finds us?”

“She’ll steal our eyes or make us dead.”

“So if we leave our tower?” Grams turned everything into a quiz. Everything was about them, and wrong answers meant staying inside longer. “What are the rules?”

“No looking at the faeries. No talking to faeries. Nothing to attract faeries’ attention. Ever.” Aislinn counted the big three rules off on her fingers as she said them. “Always follow the rules.”

“Exactly.” Grams had hugged her then. Her eyes were shimmering with tears. “Breaking the rules will let the witch win.”

“Is that what happened to Momma?” Aislinn tried to see Grams’ face, hoping for clues. Even then she knew that Grams didn’t always answer the whole way.

Grams snuggled her more tightly. “More or less, baby. More or less.”

Moira wasn’t a subject they discussed. Aislinn looked at Grams, the only mother she’d had, and hated that she’d be so long without her. Eternity was a long time to be without family. Grams, Seth, Leslie, Carla, Rianne, Denny, Grace…everyone she’d known before Keenan would die.And I’ll be alone. With just Keenan. She couldn’t speak around the ache in her heart.

“There was a special program on the complications of the unexpected weather shift.” Grams motioned to the television. She was big on paying attention to the weather now that Aislinn was the embodiment of summer. “A bit on the flooding problems and some theories about the cause of the sudden environmental shifts…”

“We’re working on the flood thing.” Aislinn kicked off her shoes. “The speculation is harmless though. No one believes in faeries.”

“They were talking about how the polar bears are—”

“Grams? Can we not do this tonight?” Aislinn flopped down on the sofa, sinking into the cushions with a comfort she never felt at the loft. No matter how much Keenan tried, that wasn’t home. That wasn’t where she felt herself. This was.

Grams clicked off the television. “What happened?”

“Nothing. Just…Keenan…we had a discussion—” Aislinn wasn’t sure of the words she needed. She and Grams talked about dating, sex, drugs, drinking, everything really, but it was usually in the abstract. It wasn’t up close and detailed. “I don’t know. I went out to Shooters with Carla after. It helped, but…tomorrow, the day after, next year—what am I going to do when I don’t have anyone but him?”

“So he’s pressuring you already?” Grams didn’t waste time. She never had been one for subtleties.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s afaery , Aislinn.” The loathing wasn’t even close to hidden.

“So am I.” Aislinn didn’t like saying that sentence, not yet, maybe not ever. Grams accepted her, but she had a lifetime of fear and hatred against the very thing Aislinn now was. Her daughter died because of them.

Because of Keenan.

“You’re not like them.” Grams scowled. “You’re certainly not likehim. ”

Aislinn felt the first few tears of frustration burn in her eyes. She didn’t want to let them fall. She didn’t have enough control yet, and sometimes the weather reacted to her emotions even when she didn’t want it to; right now she wasn’t sure she could control both her emotions and the sky. She took a calming breath before answering, “He’s my partner, my other half….”

“But you’re still good. You’re honest.” Grams came over to the sofa. She pulled Aislinn close.

Aislinn leaned into the embrace, let Grams baby her.

“He’s going to push you to do what he wants. It’s his way.” Grams stroked Aislinn’s hair, threading her fingers through the multicolored strands. “He’s not used to being rejected.”

“I didn’t—”

“You rejected his affection. That smarts. All faeries are prideful. He a faery king. Women have been giving themselves to him since he was old enough to notice them.”

Aislinn wanted to say that Keenan wasn’t interested in her just because she said no. She wanted to say that he was interested in her because of who she was. She wanted to say that their friendship was evolving, and they just needed to find a way to make it make sense. But she wasn’t sure if any of that was true. There was a part of her that believed he was simply reacting to her refusal of his attention or to centuries of thinking that queen equated to bedmate. There was another, less comfortable part that believed that because they were partners the compulsion to be more than friends was only going to grow stronger.That part was terrifying.

“I love Seth,” she murmured, clinging to that truth, not admitting aloud that loving one person didn’t mean not noticing anyone else.

“I know that. So does Keenan.” Grams didn’t pause in the rhythmic motion of her affection. She always knew how to nurture without smothering. It was something no one else had ever done—not that there’d been anyone else. It had been them, just the two of them, forever.

“So what do I do?”

“Just be you—strong and honest. The rest falls into place if you do that. It always has. It always will. Remember that. No matter what happens over the…centuries ahead of you, remember to be honest with yourself. And if you fail, forgive yourself. You’ll make mistakes. The whole world is new, and they have all had so many more years in it than you.”

“I wish you were going to always be with me. I’m scared.” Aislinn sniffled. “I don’t know that I want forever.”

“Neither did Moira.” Grams did pause then. “She made a stupid choice, though. You…you’re stronger than she was.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be strong.”

Grams made a small noise that was almost a laugh. “You might not want to, but you’ll do it anyhow. That’s what strength is. We walk the path we’re given. Moira gave up on living. She did some things that were…dangerous to herself. Slept with strangers. Did God-knows-what when she…Don’t get me wrong. I got you out of her mistakes. And she obviously didn’t do anything that made you born as an addict. She didn’t end your life or give you tothem either. She let me have you. Even at the end, she made some tough choices.”