A small blonde faerie brushed dust from her hands with satisfaction as she turned away from the railing. “Katya!” Laurel exclaimed, running forward.

“Hecate’s petals, you’re here!” Katya exclaimed. She pulled back, gripping Laurel’s shoulders, then pulled her close again. “You shouldn’t be! It’s so dangerous. Oh, but I’m so glad you are!”

Laurel lingered in her friend’s arms an extra moment. This past summer, when Avalon had been so lonely without Tamani, Katya had been Laurel’s personal rock. She never asked for details, but somehow she intuited that Laurel needed someone and took special pains to keep her busy and entertained.

Katya squeezed Laurel’s shoulders one more time then looked up at Tamani. Her eyes lit with recognition. “This is your sentry friend. Tim . . . no, Tam?”

“Yes,” Laurel said.

Without hesitation, Katya threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you so very much for bringing her to us safely.”

“We’re not yet half done,” Tamani growled, but Laurel could tell he was pleased. She turned and hugged Katya again, grateful she was alive. It was a bittersweet reunion, but one Laurel hadn’t realised until now that she had been looking forward to so much. She even took a moment to laugh at their matching pink peasant-style shirts that looked like they must have been made by the same Spring faerie.

Katya’s eyes fell on Chelsea, standing just behind Laurel’s shoulder. Laurel looked at the two and grinned. She had told both of them so much about each other, it felt momentous to finally have them together. Gesturing to each one, Laurel simply named them, pleased that their faces lit as she did so. “Chelsea, Katya.”

“Laurel,” Tamani called, breaking into their momentary reprieve. He was at the far edge of the railing, pointing.

Turning from her friends, Laurel ran to him, and her eyes followed his finger. The trolls had felled a tree somewhere, stripped of its branches, and were now using it as a rudimentary battering ram. David must have realised that the battering ram was the greatest threat and was on one side of it, hacking away at any troll who tried to pick it up. It appeared the trolls hadn’t yet figured out just how dangerous David was, though; they poured onto him like water and fell like autumn leaves.

“David!” Laurel yelled, almost not daring to interrupt his concentration, but needing to know that he was OK.

“David?” Katya whispered beside her. “Your human boy?”

Laurel nodded, not meeting Chelsea’s eyes or bothering to fill Katya in on the specifics.

“He’s amazing,” Katya said in awe.

“He certainly is,” Chelsea said under her breath.

Laurel had to admit it was true. Trolls were falling so quickly there was a pile around him and he was forced to shove bodies down the front stairs with his feet to avoid being buried. Everywhere he went, he turned the tide of battle, and yet watching him do it here only made Laurel sad all over again.

“David!” she called again, and at last he heard.

He glanced up at her, then his brow furrowed in concentration and he swung the sword in a particularly wide arc, picking his way across the piled bodies while still keeping his sword in front of him. He slowly made his way towards them and Katya halted the faeries still throwing things off the balcony so that they wouldn’t hit David.

“It’s OK,” Chelsea said, a sparkle of pride in her voice. “He’s untouchable. Keep tossing stuff.”

“Guys,” David gasped when he got closer. “I can’t do this much longer. My arms—” He sucked in a breath and paused to swing the sword at another troll. “My arms are about to give out.”

“Where is that rope?” Tamani demanded, an edge of panic in his voice.

Laurel scanned the balcony and caught sight of two faeries running towards them, tying sheets together as they ran. She leaned over the railing. “We’re—” She paused, feeling her voice about to break. “We’re here, David. We’re almost ready.”

Tamani grabbed the first sheet from the faerie and pulled out his knife, splitting the end into two strips that he tied into a stirrup. He met Laurel and Chelsea’s eyes with gravity. “We lower this and David has to get to it first or the trolls will pull it down and we lose it. He puts his foot into the loop and we pull him up. Understand?”

Laurel nodded as Tamani handed her the stirrup. She leaned over the railing and repeated Tamani’s instructions, to which David – without looking at her – nodded his understanding. She worried about telling him what to do when all the trolls could hear, but he was killing them off so quickly she suspected none of the ones in earshot would still be alive when the loop descended.

“Grab hold!” Tamani yelled, gesturing to the handful of fae surrounding him.

Everyone grabbed on to the end of the tied sheets and Chelsea stepped forward as well, taking hold of the sheet right behind Tamani. “Aim carefully,” he said to Laurel, then clenched his fingers around the material and planted his feet.

“David!” Laurel shouted, and he looked up at her.

“I’m ready,” he called weakly.

Laurel closed her eyes, took a breath, then opened them and tried to apply every concept she’d ever learned in softball as she threw the knotted material towards David.

Removing one hand from the sword, David reached up and grabbed the material out of the air, pulling it down and against his chest. After taking a moment to catch his balance he leaned over and thrust his foot into the loop.