She glided off, her trolls stumping along behind her, and the small crowd that had been watching dispersed.
I rose, breathing slowly, carefully, to make sure none of my ribs were broken. “I’m all right,” I rasped, to ease the concern on both Annwyl’s and Kenzie’s faces. But while Annwyl hovered anxiously, her green eyes solemn and worried, Kenzie remained where she was, watching me with a mixture of concern, wariness and anger.
My shock hadn’t faded. I didn’t know what to feel; my insides were such a chaotic, churning mess of emotion, I didn’t know what to settle on. Relief that she was here. Anger that she was here and not safe with her family. Astonishment that she had found us. A horrible, gnawing guilt that I had ditched her, left her behind while I went looking for the fey.
And of course, there was that knowledge that she had just saved us. Again. I remembered Kenzie’s quick thinking in the Nevernever, when I’d been in trouble and she’d managed to turn it around. The odds hadn’t looked good for me a few seconds ago, either. Those trolls probably would’ve torn my arms off.
Why didn’t you want her to come, again?
Oh yeah. Because she was gravely ill. Because there was a creepy faery assassin following me around. And because, no matter what she said, the world of Faery and everything in it was dangerous.
And I couldn’t lose her to Faery the way I’d lost Meghan.
“Kenzie, what are you doing here?” I snapped, which didn’t come out as strong as I wanted as my lungs were still a bit flattened. “How did you even find us?” Her eyes flashed and shifted all the way to anger.
“I asked around,” she replied, glaring at me. “You’re not the only one who can see the fey anymore, remember? When we got here, I kept my eyes open and found a faery living in the hotel we’re staying at. A brownie, I think. He was all too happy to tell me how to find and get to the goblin market.”
“Dammit, Kenzie,” I growled, glaring back at her. “What did you give him for that information?”
She raised her chin. “I brought a whole suitcase full of gifts and bribes, tough guy. It’s amazing how far costume jewelry will get you.”
Relief spread through me. At least she hadn’t come unprepared, though, really, what had I expected from her? It wasn’t even that much of a shock that she had found her way with little to no information. Kenzie would always find a way, whether it was a good idea or not.
“You shouldn’t have come,” I insisted, and her expression darkened.
“Yeah, well, I’m here now,” Kenzie shot back. “So unless you’re going to throw me over your shoulder like a caveman and cart me out, I’m not going anywhere.”
I clenched my fists, wondering how badly she would hurt me if I did just that. But Annwyl moved up beside me and touched my arm.
“Ethan, look,” she murmured, nodding to something across the street.
Tearing my attention from Kenzie, I followed Annwyl’s gaze. On the other side of the road, I caught sight of a line of birds perched along a telephone wire, black and nearly invisible against the darkness. Below them sat a plain, nondescript tent, also nearly invisible against the carnival-like backdrop of the market.
Kenzie glanced at the line of birds and the tent beneath it. A puzzled frown creased her forehead. “Crows,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Am I missing something? I thought we were here for Keirran. Do we think he’s in there?”
I slumped. “No,” I muttered, picking up my dropped swords and sheathing them at my waist. No use in standing around arguing. Kenzie was here, and she wasn’t leaving. I was certain she’d lay into me about it later, but right now, we needed to find what we were looking for and get out. “But it’s a place where someone might know where he is. Just...we have to be careful. I don’t think honey and fake jewelry are going to work here.”
Kenzie still looked pissed but gave a stiff nod. Still, something nagged at me, and I caught up to her as we crossed the road, heading for the tent. “Wait, what did you give that Winter faery?” I asked in a low voice as we passed under the telephone wires, hearing soft, garbled caws overhead. “She said it was a Token.” A Token, in faery terms, was an item that had been so loved, hated or cherished in real life, it had actually developed a life of its own. The item, whatever it was, became the embodiment of that emotion and was like a lump of pure glamour to the fey. “That wasn’t costume jewelry, was it?” I asked, and Kenzie swallowed.
“No,” she whispered, not looking at me. “It was...my mom’s ring. I was saving it, in case I needed something really valuable to offer for trade.”
I stopped, looking at her in horror. “Kenzie...”
“It’s fine, Ethan.” But she still didn’t meet my gaze. “I don’t regret it. And it was the only thing I could think of.”
The guilt I’d felt before was nothing compared to the bone-crushing weight I felt now, squeezing the air from my lungs. I didn’t know whether to apologize or yell at her for doing something so stupid, giving up something so precious, for me. But Kenzie walked doggedly forward, head and back straight, and ducked through the tent flaps at the edge of the sidewalk. Annwyl and I had no choice but to follow.
The inside of the tent was dark, musty and warm. Orange candle glow flickered around us, on tables and hanging lanterns, and the air smelled of bark, dust and animal droppings, making me stifle a cough.