Nathan sighed. Contacting a lord and telling him it was at least partially his fault that his daughter was kidnapped and lost in Faery. That was going to be a great conversation.

He reached out with his mind, trying to ensure there wasn't

The glass lay on Illa’s bed. It was currently blank, showing none of the vibrant rainbow hues it had when Myra first held it. He thought about what she must have felt when she first picked it up. Truly a tangible piece of evidence of her heritage, her abilities. Was it frightening? Exciting? Probably more frightening than anything because of the recent developments. He wished he could see her and apologize for everything. Nathan had never meant for her to get hurt. It shouldn’t have happened that way.

On top of that, what was he going to say? Hey, I'm Nathan. I've been hiding out in the human world and got your human raised halfling daughter kidnapped and lost in Faery. Sorry about that.

He could just imagine the anger of the fae lord now.

It didn't change anything, though. Myra's father was the best bet to finding her and he would find out anyway. He would only be angrier if they hid what was happening.

Nathan put his hand to the glass and thought of the fae he wanted to contact. He didn't actually know who Myra's dad was, but that didn't quite matter. He focused on the person who created the glass, the one who made it with the intention of being contacted. Reaching out with his thoughts, Nathan centered them around the fae lord. It only took a second for the lord to make the connection despite what Illa had said.

“Lucilla, Samora, is everything ok?” The lord asked.

Nathan couldn't see much of him, but he was wearing simple, dark gray robes of some kind and was examining something outside of the glass’s view. He hadn't looked into his own glass yet. Nathan couldn't see much of the room behind him, but it looked to be an office of some sort. A stack of papers lay on an engraved table and he could see part of a shelf holding dozens of jars all of various sizes. Their contents were blurry through the glass.

Nathan resisted the urge to clear his throat and said. “I'm one of your daughter's friends.” The lord jerked his head up immediately.

Nathan could see the shape of Myra's eyes on his face, the line of her nose. His hair was darker than hers and down to his shoulders in the fashion of most male sidhe. His eyes were likewise dark, but glinting. Nathan could practically feel the formidable presence of the lord through the glass. He hadn’t spoken directly to one of the upper sidhe in many years. The surety of Ibrihim’s stance, knowing that his every order would be obeyed. The directness of his gaze, knowing he had the full attention of almost everyone he would speak to as he was able to demand from all but the Queens and their immediate juniors. The full, spread-out feel of his power, permeating a room even though Nathan didn’t stand next to him. Even without trying, a lord or lady exuded a minor effect similar to that of the Queens, putting a psychic pressure on all around them and subtly affecting any nearby natural object. As a lord of Summer, the sun shone just a little brighter behind his head and Nathan knew that any vegetation would be slightly more vibrant and would grow just a little bit faster.

Swallowing down a stammer, Nathan said. “I'm sorry to be contacting you like this without knowing you first, but Myra's in trouble. The girls are trying to go after her, but they're having trouble finding her. She was in a warded location at first, but she escaped on her own and they're trying to track her magic.”

The lord didn't say anything. He studied Nathan, his eyes flicking everywhere, trying to decide if he trusted what Nathan said. Nathan didn't blame him. He could have been up to something awful, but why would he contact Myra's father if he wanted to hurt her? And it wasn't like someone of Nathan's skill and age would try to lure a lord of the sidhe into a trap.

“Where was Myra last seen?” The lord finally asked.

“In Maef's demesne. The girls followed her there, but she was already gone.”

“Why was she in Faery? Is her mother-”

“No, no, her mom is fine. Myra's in trouble with another fae.” Oh, Nathan didn't want to get to this part. “She ended up in a pact with another fae laying claim to her.”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The lord's eyes narrowed and his mouth became a thin line. “This isn't possible for fae, not even halflings.”

“No, I know. Summer, maybe her real name is Samora, has already asked for a trial to prove Myra's heritage.”

The lord frowned. Nathan knew he had to be thinking about his lack of knowledge of the matter. The girls were Myra's bodyguards and they hadn't let her father know she was in trouble until they couldn't handle it themselves and they had someone else do it. Would he revoke their status and ask someone else to protect Myra? He couldn't do it himself, not if they guessed right and Myra's mom did make him promise to stay out of her life.

“I will ensure Myra gets home safely and speak to the lord presiding over her trial. Thank you. Tell Somora and Lucilla to contact me immediately upon their return.” The lord's eyes flashed with a tightly held anger at the last words.

Most of the sidhe wouldn't show their emotions, even anger at a subordinate, in front of others. Solidarity was considered very important when strangers or those who were not in the group were present. Even by these words, though, Nathan knew the lord was furious. Nothing showed on his face aside from the smallest of frowns and gentlest narrowing of his eyes. Nothing more than mild irritation by anyone else’s account, but from a lord that was positively screaming his emotions. Nathan was surprised he showed even that much.

“Yes, my lord. I will let them know as soon as possible.”

“Thank you. I will wish to speak with you again after Myra is safe as well. I will know any fae who is in her life.”

That almost sounded like a threat.

“Yes, my lord.” Nathan bowed his head deeply and the glass went blank.

Well, that could have gone much, much worse. The lord seemed so worried about Myra that he didn't want to waste time meting out punishment or finding out who Nathan was right now. Nathan was too low on the totem pole for the lord to really be worried about him anyway and besides, he'd find out everything he needed to know soon enough. Nathan shuddered. The anger of a sidhe lord could make you wish for death before they finally grant it to you. There was no telling what Myra's father would do to the ones who got her into trouble and failed to keep her out of it.

Nathan shook his head to ward off terrible memories and placed the glass in Illa’s closet just in case one of the other girls decided to come in without warning. They probably wouldn’t, but just to be safe. He also decided to stay in Illa's room for now. Seemed better to stay here than risk Summer's wrath when they got back. Hopefully they would get back soon with Myra and the lord wouldn't be too angry with all of them. If they didn’t get back soon, he was going to go look himself. If Myra came back on her own and they weren’t there, she would at least have the school staff and he would pop back in periodically just to be sure.

At the very least, it would be interesting to see how the lord handled the situation if he wasn't allowed to contact Myra. Nathan shrugged away the thought. He wasn't an outsider who found fascination in the whole thing. He was Myra's friend and cared about her.

Sometimes the darker nature of being a fae, of being taught to connive, conceal, and betray came out in the worst way. Not that any of it was good, but against your actual enemies, it could be useful. He hadn't thought about those parts of their lessons for so long. Summer must have been bringing it back with her animosity. She wasn't an enemy, though, not any more than he was to her. Most of the sidhe were taught not to trust anyone, to only have alliances that could be thrown away when they became inconvenient or harmful. So much is the sidhe who climbed the ladder, gaining power and influence that they forgot how to actually work with each other.

Sitting down on the floor, Nathan leaned his head against the wall. He closed his eyes and tried to think of happier things. He didn't want to leave just yet in case Myra made it back on her own and he didn't want to mess with Illa's things. That left either sleeping or thinking. Try as he might, he couldn't get the old thoughts out of his head. The old training and halfway instilled habits tried to come back to the surface. The fear as the others had hunted him through the human world, thinking that he had done the unthinkable to their own.

Summer had been one of the last ones to give up hunting him down. She wanted to make him suffer for what she thought he did and what they all knew the teachers did. The teachers had been so far gone. Their psyches had already been so warped by their own lessons as children and the magic that they used to fight each other, to fight in battles, and to hurt and toy with the humans who crossed their paths. The older a fae was, the more it affected them and drove them into cruelty and darkness.

And Summer thought that Nathan had been like them, too. She thought he'd been cruel, callous, heartless. It was hard to give up on something you believe so much to be true, especially when those who love think it, too, and when you spent years trying to find someone to punish them. Nathan didn't blame Summer. At least not completely. Their whole childhood had been one big exercise in abuse and learning to abuse others. Even the more innocent lessons they had like learning to control and harness magic had been designed to grow into battle magic and back stabbing your friends. She was bound to think that it might have taken with Nathan and she was bound to be suspicious of her fellow fae.

Falling into a fitful sleep, Nathan again tried to force his thoughts away. Where could Myra be now?