“Then yes, we’ll take the apple for the cloak. Yes, yes.”
I wasn’t expecting that. “Really?”
“One giant-sized piece of Seelie fruit is enough to feed the whole clan and give us magic to shield our tree against the shadows for a whole season,” Shanley says excitedly. “Take the cloak, then leave the offering in front of the door. Knock three times and the barter will be complete, yes, complete. Do we have a deal?”
I hesitate. Maybe I’m being irrationally suspicious, but that seemed way too easy. And do I really want to give up one of my apples? Now that I know I’m as far away from the Summer Court as I can get, I need to make them last. I don’t ever want to feel that hunger again. And the cramps? They’re fucking awful.
But the fruit is the only bargaining chip I have.
I bite down on my bottom lip, thinking it over for another few moments, before I ask, “What if I let you have two? Could we make another trade?”
The trio of imps chatter in open excitement. Whoa. They must really want my apples.
“Make a deal,” encourages the male imp. “Whatever the guest wants, yes.”
“Yes,” agrees Shanley. “What would you ask from us?”
She said the cloak was worth fifty gold coins. If an apple is worth trading the cloak for, then—
“Fifty gold coins?”
I brace myself, expecting them to say no. Honestly, I’m just glad the imps are willing to trade me their magic cloak for even one of my apples. Getting some gold coins out of the deal so that I’m a little better off would be helpful, but I don’t really think they—
“Deal!”
Oh.
Never mind.
3
The growing potion works like a charm.
Though Shanley offered to let me stay inside her clan’s tree—and, whoa, is that a phrase I never thought would make sense to me before this moment—I tell her it’s a nice offer, but I have to decline. I’ve never been all that suspicious by nature. Since Faerie? I see ulterior motives in everything now. Maybe Shanley was taking pity on me. Then again, maybe she was one wrong decision away from taking advantage of me.
I’m not about to risk it.
So, taking all of their information to heart, I promise to trade the apples for the shadowy cloak, the growing potion, and the bag full of gold coins before saying goodbye and leaving the imps behind me.
I don’t regret my impulsiveness. I’m slowly learning how to survive in Faerie. As much as I grew itchy at the idea of selling off any more of my precious supply, I saw the way the imps eagerly traded their work for one apple. I’ve got a whole bag. How can I make that work for me now that I’m on my own?
First, I need to go get them. I was a little nervous to step back out into the open, almost as if I thought the rider would be waiting for me. Luckily, no one’s out there. Shanley showed me a knot in the wood that doubled as a window so even before I drank the growing potion, I could prove to myself that it was safe to head outside again.
Just like the imps assured me, the shadowy cloak grew when I did; so did the bag of gold coins in my jeans pocket. As soon as I’m my full height again, I wrap myself up in the deceptively warm material. Glancing down, the oversized, billowy cloak covers my legs, hiding them completely from view. I blend in entirely. Pulling the hood up over my head, I hide my blonde hair and my pale skin. So long as it’s still this dark out, I have some cover.
That’s something.
I’ll take it.
At least I know for sure where I am now. The Unseelie Court. I guessed it was a totally different part of Faerie, but it’s nice to have confirmation. Can’t figure out how to get back to Rys if I don’t know where I am to begin with.
Because that’s it, isn’t it? Saxon might’ve told me that R
ys had to keep his distance. I don’t care. He said he wouldn’t hurt me. He said there’d be time later to discuss our future plans. He said he’ll be right behind me.
I’m holding him to it.
It’s nice having some kind of purpose, some kind of plan; it’s definitely better than wandering around these weirdo woods. Before I start off, though, I have to do what I promised. I go behind the tree, retrieving the bag of apples I hid earlier. Pulling two out, I crouch down and place them in front of the imp’s door, using a knuckle to knock on the wood before rising again.