her eyes. As I closed the door, she craned her neck to peer outside and into Faerie. It dawned on me then that she must feel so alone and isolated here away from her home.
I nodded. “You okay?” I couldn’t ignore that fact that she looked like she had been crying.
Her face fell. “Your mother … was my best friend. I’d have liked to attend her celebration of life.”
Oh. Gods. That was sad. “I’m sorry,”
Mara waved me off and started to tinker with her table while Elle and I strapped in.
“Wait a minute,” I suddenly blurted out, remembering that no Fae or human could stay in one world too long. “How can you stay here and not get sick?”
Mara looked up from her table and a dark look crossed her face. “The elders permit me an hour every three days to sit by the Tree of Life.”
Gods, that was like solitary confinement or something.
“Same place as last time?” she asked, changing the subject.
I nodded as Elle leaned into me, lowering her voice to a whisper. “We’re going to do anything to get this crystal right? Anything?”
Her eyes said what her words did not. Would I kill Liam to get the crystal?
I gulped, nodding. “Anything.”
Faerie was more important than any feelings I had for my “possible soulmate,” who happened to be an evil, Dark Fae halfling.
“Seattle, here we come. Buckle up!” Mara yelled.
The spinning sensation pulled at my gut, but it was easier to handle this time. Less like being on a rollercoaster. When the room settled from its blurred state, I unclipped and stood, swaying on my feet a little. Mara led us through the house, past where Bash was asleep on his back, drool dripping down his face.
“So, did he just travel with us or … we left him behind somewhere?” I wondered aloud.
Mara opened the blinds on a window in her kitchen and I peered out into the misty forest of Seattle.
“My office is in the in-between. I picked you up from Faerie and Bashur was in my house, which I’d previously moved to Seattle last night, before making a stop at Venice Beach to see Jonah. Then I brought Bash back to Seattle before getting you. Make sense?”
Not really, but I nodded.
She walked through the laundry room and opened the door that led to the front porch. This house was backward from where you would think. The front door led to the backyard and the back door led to the front porch.
I was thoroughly confused.
“So, if you were to move your house while I was out on a mission and I open this door…” I needed to get some more info about this inter-world travel thing.
Mara nodded. “You would see the inside of a dusty old two-bedroom house.”
Elle said what I was thinking: “So cool.”
How powerful was Mara? Because that took some serious skill.
“But I would never leave my post unless it was an emergency. If that ever happens, just sit tight and I’ll be back to get you.”
That seemed like something we should have talked about on day one. I nodded and pulled the rolling pin from my bag. “Trissa said you could give me a lesson?”
Mara waved me off, her golden hand cuffs clanking together. “Oh, who has time for pesky lessons.”
Rubbing her hands together, a bright purple light built between her palms. My eyes widened. “A spell?”
Mara nodded. “I rode a motorcycle plenty of times before I got locked down in this place. I’ll just transfer the memories.”
I stepped back a pace, my wings stiffening. “Transfer memories?”
Elle and I shared a look.
Mara smirked, her lips curling. “It’s nothing scary. They will feel like your memories and your muscle memory will remember it as well. Trust me, it’s nothing compared to what Indra and Aubin can do. Those two could wipe your whole memory bank if you cross them.”
Wipe my whole life. I shivered. No one should have that kind of power. Memories that felt like mine but weren’t? That seemed scary as hell. But I knew we didn’t have much time to argue if I wanted to catch that crystal. “Okay.”
“Alright, then.” Mara reached out with the glowing purple hands and grasped the side of my face. A warm tingle worked its way into my head and a slight zapping noise popped in my ears, followed by a flare of purple light. She pulled her hands away.
“Done.”
I didn’t feel different, but maybe it would come to me on the bike.
“Alright, girls, Bash and I