"OUT!" she shrieked. "GET OUT! Sol!”

Sol took the pipe stem from his mouth and put an arm around his wife's shoulders. Anger had turned his eyes hard and cold. "My wife is absolutely right. You Fey have abused our trust and brought the worst sort of evil to our doorstep. You need to leave. Right now”

"Papa!" Ellysetta protested.

"They go, Ellysetta. All of them. This instant. And they can consider the betrothal contract null and void, too. The entire flaming world can burn like the Seven Hells before I'll entrust the Fey with my daughter now." He jammed the pipe stem back into his mouth and clenched his teeth down hard.

"Papa! You can't be serious! The Fey are here to protect us. We're all in danger.”

Neither the furious expression on her mother's face nor the sober determination on her father's wavered the least bit.

Ellysetta's lips trembled. She clamped them together and clenched her fists at her sides. She'd never defied her father before. She was going to defy him now.

"I will be leaving with the Fey today, Papa," she said. She met his gaze without flinching. "I'd rather go with your blessing and a Church-sanctioned marriage, but I'll go without both if I have to." She saw the shock in her father's eyes, and it almost gave her pause.

"You would choose the Fey over your own family?" her mother cried.

"If I stayed here without them, I'd endanger us all. I won't do that. I've already brought enough harm to this family.”

Lauriana's expression went lax for one shocked moment, then hardened with determination. "If you walk out that door, Ellysetta Baristani," she declared in a tight voice, her face pale but resolute, "you will not be welcome back.”

"Laurie," Sol muttered. He gave her shoulder a warning squeeze. "That's enough.”

Lauriana yanked free of his grip and ran up the stairs in a flurry of skirts. The slam of her bedroom door rattled the glass table lamps in the parlor.

Sol turned back to Ellysetta, frowning. "I trusted you, Ellie, despite your mother's misgivings. And in return, what have you given us? Lies and deception. And now the Dark Lord. What sort of evil has Rain dragged you into?”

"It's not like that. Rain's been trying to protect me from evil, not drag me into it.”

"Then how do you explain him?" Sol jerked his head towards the infamous Fey behind her and lowered his voice, "He's a dangerous man. The most murderous dahl'reisen who ever lived. I can't believe Rain allowed him within seven miles of you. I can't believe you brought him into this house.”

"Gaelen's not a dahl'reisen anymore, Papa. I restored his soul.”

Her father's pipe fell out of his hand and clattered on the floor. "You what?”

"That's what happened last night. That's why Rain took me back to the palace." She spread her hands, staring at the smooth, seemingly mortal palms. "There's magic in me-and not just the little bit you've always suspected. It scares me even more than it scares Mama, but I can't deny it any longer. And I'm going to have to learn to use it.”

Her father's brow creased with dismay. He knew, just as she did, there would be no reconciliation between Ellysetta and her mother once she began using magic openly.

"I love you, Papa. I always will ... but you and I both know I don't belong here anymore." Her throat closed tight, cutting off the last word. It was the truth, but saying it aloud was like stabbing a knife in her own heart.

"Ellie, no ..." Tears rose to her father's eyes. "We can go away-leave the country if that's what it takes ..

"No, Papa. I've been running all my life, and you've been running because of me. It's got to stop. The Fey can help me in ways you can't. And they'll keep me safe.”

"Is this what you truly want?" His eyes begged her to say no.

"It's what has to be." His shoulders slumped in weary defeat, and she rushed on before she completely lost her composure. "You agreed the wedding could take place today, immediately after the Bride's Blessing. I'll understand if you and Mama don't want to come, but I'd like your approval and blessing all the same.”

"If I don't want to-? Oh, Ellie." Sol wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight to his chest. The fragrance of fresh wood, pipe smoke, and polishing oil surrounded her-the scents she would always associate with love and protection. "Of course I'll be there. We both will. You're our daughter.”

"Thank you, Papa," she whispered against his throat. "I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've caused." She closed her eyes, sent up a silent prayer, and tried to summon her power. The crystal on her wrist glowed, aiding her, and a whisper-thin thread of Spirit answered her call. She wove her thoughts into it and sent the thread into her father's mind. «I'm going to order the Fey outside to stay, Papa. »

She pulled back, meeting his eyes, and added, «They'll remain invisible, so they don't frighten Mama, but I want you to know they'll be there, protecting you.» She watched shock freeze his expression and stiffen his spine the moment he realized she wasn't speaking aloud but through magic. «I love you, Papa.» She sent that too, packed with every emotion in her heart, so he would know it was true.

Breaking his shocked paralysis, he snatched her back into his arms for a final, fierce hug. "I love you too, Ellie-girl. I always will.”