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it. Leave. Now.”
    My second unwelcome interloper of the evening didn’t retreat, not yet. She simply stared at me for a long moment, her hauteur still running high, and then threw a tight nod towards the house. “You accept the moneys of the House, and yet one of the House’s own is turned away while an Unseelie is sheltered within? What manner of answer is this for the Queen?”
    â€œNot that it’s any of your goddamn business, but I am not in fact taking anything past what was my mother’s alone. You all tried to kill me, and I don’t want your fucking money. Now did you miss the part where I said leave?”
    Then and only then did Melisanda step back from me, and something I couldn’t recognize at first in the grip of my anger flickered across her eyes. When I caught on, though, I stood down too. Respect, I thought. That was respect I saw in the Sidhe’s face, and maybe even a little regret. “Her Majesty must at least know why you are harboring an Unseelie renegade,” she pressed. “Will you at least permit me that, and an opportunity to fulfill the Queen’s command and make my amends to you and the Warders?”
    When my fey blood had arisen, both Courts of the Sidhe had been all over it. The Unseelie Queen, Luciriel, had sent Elessir to convey an invitation to join her Court’s ranks, a plan thwarted in no small part by the fact that the bard had turned against her on the strength of my uncle’s promises. That hadn’t stopped her, though, from reiterating the message herself, or trying to scramble my brains with the seductive ability the Sidhe called thralling, right in front of Millicent and Christopher. The Seelie, by contrast, had been subtler. No one had outright asked me to join Amelialoren’s Court, but the Queen had gone out of her way to restore the damage Malandor and his lackeys had done to my life. Truth be told, if I’d had the slightest bit of interest in signing up for a monarchy, Amelialoren struck me as the better option. She’d proved her goodwill and hadn’t tried to thrall me once.
    Nonetheless, I balked at Melisanda’s evident belief that I owed the Seelie anything, especially the ones who were my kin. They, after all, had been the ones who’d had it in for my mother for taking a human as her husband.
    â€œLook, all I know is that Elessir fell out of a portal. He’s hurt and sick and we can’t damn well take him to a hospital,” I said, scowling anew. I wanted to get snarkier, but held back only for the sudden vivid memory of Amelialoren’s tourmaline eyes and the timeless, ageless force of her power. “Go tell her that, if you want. Either way, just
go
. If you’re serious about making amends, you can start by doing that, and respecting my wishes.”
    For a single moment longer we stared at each other; finally, Melisanda straightened, gave me one last nod, and turned to go. “As you wish, my lady. I’ll contact you again at a more suitable time.”
    â€œWhatever. Just beat it. I’m not up for dealing with you.”
    She left. Which when it came down to it wasn’t much of an improvement, because my night wasn’t over yet. I drew a deep, cleansing breath into my lungs and reached, as Millicent had taught me, for the Wards that permeated the walls of my house. They were Christopher’s magic, laced through with my own, and they felt like home to me as nothing short of the circle of Christopher’s arms could do. Their humming resonance washed over me and infused me with a desperately needed and profoundly welcome calm.
    Thusly braced, I headed inside to see what the others had done with Elessir a’Natharion. He was a far bigger problem than Melisanda. And he would not, I could not help but think, be dismissed as easily.
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    Everyone else was in the living room, with the addition of my housemate Carson and minus the ailing Unseelie who’d