to find.”
“Nothing is impossible for Rixaline to find. That’s why the fae want her back so badly. Plus, she was held at that stronghold, so she knows it better than anyone.” Donna looked up at the girl, who now stood timidly beside her. “You drew the map?”
She nodded and held the paper out. She swallowed as she stuck near Donna.
“Thank you so much.” Was it the presence of the wolves that frightened Rix? Donna wasn’t sure, but something had the teenager on edge. She took the map and laid it flat on the table. “You did a good job.”
“Charlie gave me the colored pencils,” Rixaline said quietly.
“Smart choice.” It was actually a pretty decent rendering with trees in green, paths in gray, water in blue. The fortress was a dark purple square with a small rectangle just in front of it. That rectangle was labeled as a gate. “The stronghold is in a forest?”
Rixaline nodded. “Yes.” She tapped a small brown square near the top of the map. “There’s a castle here, but the fae call it the folly because it’s just for show. That’s not where the fae are. They’re in the big purple square. Although the stronghold isn’t really a square. I don’t know the real shape.”
Donna looked closer as everyone else did the same.
“A castle that’s just for show?” Pierce leaned over her shoulder to see the map. “Wait a minute. Those paths look familiar. In fact, this all looks very much like the Ramble in Central Park.” He straightened to see Rixaline better. “Are you telling me the fae stronghold is in the middle of Manhattan?”
“That sounds…right,” Rixaline said as she tipped her head in thought. “The woods is surrounded by city. I know because that’s part of what helped me escape. I disappeared into the crowds, and they didn’t dare take me with all those people around.”
Toni shook her head. “How is that possible? I’ve never heard of any kind of fortress in the park besides Belvedere Castle, which is what I’m guessing the folly is.”
Pierce nodded. “Has to be.”
“Y-you can’t see the stronghold.” Rixaline twisted her fingers together. “Unless you have fae blood or are under fae control.”
“Fae magic is a remarkable thing,” Donna said.
Rixaline nodded.
LV frowned but spoke softly. Like a grandmother. “What does that mean, child? Under fae control?”
Everyone looked at Rixaline.
She seemed to shrink in on herself. “I’m not sure. I think if a fae has ahold of you. Like actually touching you. Or you are under their power in some way. Rico is under their control, so I’m sure he can see the stronghold around him. That’s just how fae magic works. I don’t know more than that.”
“Thank you,” Donna said. “That was helpful.”
Jerabeth raised a finger, the first time she’d interjected since arriving. “I think I have a solution for that. But…I’m going to need some pretty difficult-to-get ingredients. At least one toughie anyway.”
Donna turned toward the witch. “And that would be?”
Jerabeth grimaced. “A live fairy. Because I need their blood.”
Chapter Three
Donna groaned softly. “You said difficult, but a live fae sounds impossible.”
Toni shook her head as she sat up straighter. “There has to be another way.”
“I’m sure there is,” Jerabeth said. “But I don’t know what it would be.”
Rixaline stuck her arm out. “You can have my blood.”
Jerabeth’s smile was sympathetic. “That’s a kind offer, but you’re only half fae. I’m not sure it would work. And this doesn’t seem like a situation where we’re going to get a second chance.”
“I agree,” LV said. “We have to do this right the first time, or they’ll kill him. I have no doubt. And that would lead to war, because I assure you I would not let the murder of my grandson go unavenged.”
Donna leaned her head into her hand, her fingers over her left temple. “I hate to say this, but we need to tell the vampire governor of New York what’s about to happen in his state.”
Toni curled her lip. “A better governor wouldn’t let those fae run rampant.”
With a sigh, Charlie said to Donna, “You’re right, Governor. I hate it, too, but you’re right. I can’t imagine what Fitzhugh’s reaction would be, but I can guess how he’d react if you ran a raid in his state without telling him first.”
Donna groaned softly. “Maybe we’ll get lucky, and he will ignore us.”
Pierce snorted. “Sure.”
Charlie started scribbling something on the legal pad in front of her. “I’m making a note to draft an email to him. Although…” She