“No,” Ren answered as the vehicle slowed. “It’s not.”
I exhaled slowly and sat back against the seat. There was a lot I didn’t know. Big surprise there. Outside the window, the old power plant came into view. It still looked like a place where a serial killer would leave their victims’ body parts. Ren turned down the road, heading towards the back of the building. We passed the old metal fencing and then we entered a narrow alley where the vehicle stopped.
Ren killed the engine, and as I stared at his profile, my heart started kicking around in my chest. His hands slipped off the steering wheel, and I saw his shoulders rise. He turned, his gaze finding and holding mine in the dimly lit interior for what felt like forever. Neither of us spoke in those precious seconds that felt like forever and yet not nearly long enough.
Faye spoke, breaking the spell. “We’re trusting you, Ivy. We brought in Ren. We trust him, and I swore to my people that bringing you here would be safe,” she said. “We can protect you from the prince, but we cannot put our people at risk.”
“Aren’t your people going to be at risk once the prince finds out I’m missing?” I asked.
Kalen spoke up from behind us. “The prince is not our only concern. The Order cannot know where we are either.”
My gaze flew to Ren. Obviously if he was here, then he had agreed to keep this all from the Elite and the Order, and that was a big deal. I had no idea how he had come about finding this place and why he had decided to trust them, because that was a huge leap for any Order member to be working with the fae, no matter how good they claimed to be. It was still hard to believe what Merle had wrote in her journals.
But Faye had gotten me out of that place, away from Drake, and Tink was here, along with Ren. “Okay,” I said, agreeing to the one thing that was sure to get me kicked out of the Order. Then again, being a halfling also revoked my card-carrying membership. But I still felt uneasy, even though it was the right thing to do. “I won’t betray you.”
Chapter Thirty
Faye studied me a moment.
“She won’t.” Tink opened the door on his side. “She kept me all this time and never told anyone. Renny-Tin-Tin didn’t even know about me until he walked out into the kitchen naked with his junk all hanging out, swinging—”
“I’m going to punch you,” Ren cut in. “And it will hurt.”
Tink was already out of the car when I spoke to Faye. “I won’t say anything. Tink’s telling the truth. I never told anyone about him until Ren . . . um, accidentally discovered him.”
Another second passed and then she nodded. “Okay.”
Tink opened my door from the outside as I heard Dane whisper to Kalen, “Naked?” I was glad Ren was out of the SUV.
I climbed out, wincing as my feet hit the ground. The pain registered now, and it sucked. Each step I took felt like I was walking on fire.
Dane walked over to the gate while Kalen got into the driver’s seat of the SUV. He took off, going somewhere, as Dane placed his hand on the building. The metal shook and began to slide to the side.
“The glamour will fade in a few seconds,” Ren said, coming to stand beside me. “Once you’re inside, you’ll see what’s really here.”
Having no idea what to expect, I waited until Dane had created an opening large enough for us to walk through. He went in first, followed by Tink, who stopped just inside, waiting for me.
“Can you walk?” Ren asked.
I really didn’t want to, but I nodded. I got my legs moving, feeling Ren right behind me. Faye was the last to come in, closing the metal wall behind us. At first, I just saw murky darkness—possibly a scrap yard, but then the air shimmered like a thousand fireflies had taken flight. A veil of dizzying sparks suddenly dropped, revealing what truly existed.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
We were in a beautiful courtyard—a garden straight out of a fairytale. Tall trees rose up to the night sky. Paper lanterns hung from the limbs, illuminating the way. There were vines and plants everywhere, virtually untouched by the cold. It did seem warmer here, at least by ten or so degrees. The place carried a magical, almost surreal feeling.
“Crazy, isn’t it?” Ren said, his voice low. “When I first saw it, I couldn’t believe my eyes. That this has been here the whole time.” He looked down at me. “What Merle wrote in her books was true, Ivy. They’ve been here a long time, and this place—places hidden like this—are everywhere.”
“You make it sound so creepy,” Faye said. “We aren’t really everywhere. I mean, we’re hidden in a lot of places, but we do it because of safety.”
“That’s just Ren, being all ominous.” Tink walked ahead, his arms swinging at his sides. “He’s not really what you’d call a people person. I think he’s socially awkward. Or maybe just intellectually stunted.”