As they climbed out of the car, Annwyn stepped out of the manor house and strode to meet them. She touched Nikolas’s shoulder in greeting and turned to study Sophie in frank assessment. Having grown so accustomed to the clothing fashions on Earth, Nikolas found Annwyn’s boots, leggings, and tunic a disturbing combination of the familiar and the strange.

She was just as he had remembered her—sleek and racy as a cheetah, and just as dangerous. The sunlight touched on the strands of white at the temples of her auburn hair.

“I’m glad you’ve decided to return,” Annwyn said to Sophie, offering her hand. “I’ve been hearing stories about you from Gawain, Rowan, and the others.”

Color touched Sophie’s cheeks as she shook Annwyn’s hand. “I deny all the bad bits.”

Annwyn laughed. “There are no bad bits. Do you accept my offer to buy this land?”

“Yes, on one condition. I want to explore the contents of the library with you. If there’s anything relevant that pertains to the Dark Court, it’s yours, but I want everything else.” Sophie shrugged. “I don’t even know if it will be interesting or if I’ll want to keep it. I just don’t want to give the whole thing away sight unseen.”

Annwyn cocked her head as she considered. “That’s acceptable. It’s a deal.” She paused. “I want you to consider something else as well. There are other broken crossover passageways. With some exploration, we might be able to make one or two of them viable as well. Will you help us?”

“I’ll do what I can,” Sophie said. “I’m not as Powerful as a full Djinn though. If we find I’m not able to help, you can always see what they might be able to do for you. If you go that route, just please be careful when you bargain with them.”

“I have a condition of my own about that,” Nikolas said. Both women turned to look at him, eyebrows raised. He said to Annwyn, “She doesn’t go to any of the other broken passageways without me.”

“Done.” Annwyn smiled. She strode off.

Sophie watched the other woman walk across the torn lawn. “What about the crossover passageways Morgan has hidden?”

“We haven’t figured out yet how to dissipate his spells.” Nikolas crossed his arms. “He’s also hidden the passageways that lead to Avalon, the Light Court land, so if we can figure out how to reveal our passageways, we can uncover theirs again too. That reminds me, have you seen Robin? Somehow he escaped from Isabeau, so he might have found a way to use their passageways.”

The corners of her mouth turned down. “He stopped by yesterday morning to say good-bye. He said he’s going to strike a blow at the heart of her strength. I’m worried he might have meant he’s going to attack Morgan.”

Nikolas pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’re going to have to trust he knows what he’s doing—or at the very least that he can keep from getting captured again.”

“He promised to come back when he could. I hope he returns soon.” She squared her shoulders and turned to face him. “We need to get back to something you said earlier.”

She looked like she was ready to go into battle again. He crossed his arms and readied himself. “What’s that?”

“You said we’ll build a house together, but Nik, I’m not going to move in with you.”

His impulse to smile died away. He scowled. “Of course you are.”

“No,” she said, “no, I’m not. We’ve known each other for four days.”

“Seventeen,” he reminded her.

A not-quite-smile trembled on her lips. “Seventeen,” she agreed. “But no matter how you do the math, like we said, it hasn’t been very long. So we’ve both agreed we’re together, but that doesn’t mean we need to live together. In fact, I think that would be disastrous. You go ahead and build your own house, and I’ll find some place to rent in town.”

“Unacceptable,” he snapped.

She cocked her head and planted her feet in a sturdy, immoveable stance. “I’m sorry you’re going to have a difficult time with my decision.”

“No, Sophie—I’m serious. It’s not acceptable. If you move to town, I’m going to have to assign a security detail to you twenty-four/seven. That’s going to cost me fifteen to twenty men.”

Her eyes flew wide. She gave him a look filled with horror. “Oh no. You’re not doing that. No security.”

“Yes, security,” he growled. “Put aside our personal relationship for the moment. You’ve become a major asset to us, and that means you’ve become a major target. If Isabeau got her hands on you, she would have you disemboweled for half the things you’ve done.”

“Ugh!” She dug the heels of her hands into her eyes and turned her back to him.

She was so clearly upset his frustration with her intransigence evaporated. Walking up behind her, he slipped his arms around her and rested his cheek on top of her head.

“I do hear what you’re saying,” he said after a moment. “There are five acres here, and Annwyn is looking to see if she can buy more.” He pointed in the direction of the lake, or at least where the lake had been and where it would be again. “When we restore the lake, we’ll build you a place there. How would you like that?”

She sniffed and leaned back against him. “I’d like that a lot.”