Marny (31 page)

“I had the weirdest dreams,” she said,
yawning. “Why am I out here in the warehouse? What time is it? And
why are you smiling like that?”

“I just…” He gathered her into a hug. How
could even begin to explain?

“Okay, okay.” After a moment she pushed him
away. “Why so sappy, big brother?”

“It’s a really long story. Are you sure you
feel all right?”

“Did the club get broken into or something?
Where’s Sula?” She glanced around.

“Sula went home.” He didn’t bother telling
her it had been a couple days ago, in real-world time. “And the
enchanted forest had some…issues.”

“Oh, okay.” She yawned again. “I’m so tired.
And hey, wasn’t that Marny girl here? I remember her being
around.”

“Yeah, she was with us.”

But where was she now? Still trapped in the
Realm of Faerie? Worse than trapped? Urgency beat through him. He
stood and held a hand out to his sister.

“Can you stand up?”

“Of course.” She let him haul her to her
feet, then swayed. “Oh, dizzy. Oops.”

“Let’s get you back into bed. It was a rough
night.” Let her believe it was only the next day. He could explain
more later.

After he rescued Marny.

He got Emmie tucked into bed in the spare
room, still groggy and happy enough to go back to sleep. The relief
that she was all right warred with the clutch of fear in his gut
every time he thought about Marny. Was she fighting for her life in
the Dark Court? Was the queen even now preparing to kill her?

Only one way to find out.

This time, Nyx armed himself with as much
steel as possible. No more wooden spears or plas-metal shuriken. He
needed iron to fight the faeries. He slammed back another Haydeez,
ate a protein bar in three bites, then went to face the enchanted
forest.

He’d briefly considered
entering Feyland via the sim system, but ditched the idea. Going in
by the forest was what he knew, and he’d
make
it take him into the Realm.
Begging, tears, blood, whatever it took. No way was he leaving
Marny at the mercy of the Dark Queen.

Besides, she’d saved him. He flashed on the
memory of her warm brown eyes looking into his, the feel of her
lips. Not for the first time, he decided she was the bravest person
he knew. Especially since, when it counted, she’d been able to
admit her feelings for him—and he had the suspicion Marny was not
much into the lovey-dovey emotions.

Him, though, he’d gladly fall at her feet
bearing a dozen tiger lilies. Once they were both safely back in
the mortal world.

Nyx made a quick check of the various blades
strapped about his person, resettled a couple of the knives, then
squared his shoulders and strode into the soft light of the
enchanted forest.

Over the last few days, Marny Fanalua had
become as important to him as breathing. He hadn’t known what his
type of girl was before, because he hadn’t met her yet: strong,
serene, fiercely competent. And apparently embroiled in the magic
of the Realm of Faerie.

He didn’t know what the future held for
either of them, but he wasn’t giving her up without a fight.

June 30

M
arny opened her eyes, then groaned at the pain flaring through
her. She was lying down on something soft. Was she safe?

She turned her head, blinking to focus her
gaze, and almost fell off her bed. Somehow, she was in her bedroom
on the fortieth floor at Intertech.

No. How could that have happened? Slowly, she
sat up. Judging from the light falling through the window, it was
early evening. Her brain throbbed and she felt dizzy, but other
than that she seemed unharmed.

A wild sense of victory flashed through her.
They’d done it! She and Nyx had gone into the Realm of Faerie,
rescued his sister, and escaped. She needed to message him right
away, let him know she’d gotten out of the Dark Court. Thanks to
Korrigan.

Earlier that year she’d saved the
changeling’s life, and he’d insisted that the fey folk always paid
their debts. Guess they were even now. She hoped the little guy was
okay.

Where was her messager? Marny rubbed her
forehead, realizing it must be back at the club, along with her
tablet. Maybe Anjah or Wil would let her borrow theirs. They might
be the worst roomies ever, but surely they’d at least do that for
her.

Moving carefully, she stood up and went out
of her room. She peered through the half-open door of Anjah’s room,
grateful to see her roommate was there.

“Hey,” she said, her voice coming out as a
croak.

“Marny? Ohmigod!” Anjah jumped up from her
armchair and rushed to the door. She reached out—her nails were
fuchsia now, Marny noted—and set her hand on Marny’s shoulder.
“Where have you been? Are you okay? You are in deep trouble with
von Coburg, let me tell you. Do you feel all right?”

“Slow down.” Marny held up her hand. “What
time is it? What day is it?”

“Tuesday evening—I just got home from
work.”

The answer sent a jolt through Marny, though
part of her already knew it was true, after looking through that
one arched doorway in the misty hall. She’d lost almost three days
in the Realm of Faerie.

“Where have you been?” Anjah continued. “Come
sit down, you look like hell. I’ll make you some tea.”

Marny blinked at her. “That’s nice of
you.”

“Hey.” The other girl gave her a wry look. “I
haven’t been the nicest person to you.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“I’m sorry.” Anjah glanced at the floor, then
back up at Marny. “I guess I was just jealous.”

“Jealous? Of me?” Marny stared at
her—gorgeous, stylish, smart. Anjah had it all.

“Of course.” Anjah led her into the living
room and settled her on the couch. “You’re so relaxed and
self-confident, and you’d created the most prime app of the
century. How could I compete with that? When you disappeared…” She
flushed, looking more uncomfortable—and real—than Marny had ever
seen her. “I thought I’d driven you out by being such a bitch. And
I realized that making you miserable wasn’t really a solution to my
own issues. I felt guilty as hell.”

Whew. That was a lot to process. Marny leaned
back against the cushions.

“How about that tea,” she said. “And could I
borrow your messager?”

“Sure.” Anjah handed over her
glitter-embossed messager, then hurried into the kitchen. Anjah
nodded and hurried into the kitchen. The hiss of the electric
kettle warming was strangely soothing. Normal.

Marny sent a quick message to Nyx, but there
was no reply. Then to her family, reassuring them that she was fine
and it had all been a misunderstanding.

“I was the one who found the medical report,”
Anjah said, coming back to the couch and sitting a little awkwardly
at the other end.

“Medical report?” Marny frowned.

“When you didn’t come back by early Monday
morning, and I realized all your clothes and stuff were still here,
Wil and I figured something must have happened to you. We called
the hospitals, and Wil even went around to the unregistered clinics
to see if you were there. Then I found the med-tech report about
the accident at Club Mysteria, and we knew you’d been hurt.”

“Right. That.” It seemed like her injury had
happened a thousand years ago.

“Are you okay?” Anjah peered at her arm. “It
sounded pretty severe.”

“It was. Is.” Marny forced herself not to
look at her completely normal arm. Better to pretend it was still
hurt—because how could she explain away the fact that she was
miraculously healed?

“Anyway. Wil went to the club a few times,
but it was all locked up, nobody answered, and he couldn’t get in.
When we couldn’t find you we… well, we covered for you.” Anjah
smoothed the back of the couch with her hand, like she was petting
a cat.

“You did what? How?”

“We basically called you in sick. I showed
your team the med-tech report, and said you were resting and
shouldn’t be disturbed. Then Wil kept looking for you, and I
contacted your family to let them know you were missing.”

“But you didn’t tell Intertech?”

“Oh!” Anjah jumped to her feet. “Wil’s
meeting with Brenna right now. Let me message him.”

Marny handed back Anjah’s messager, and the
kettle dinged in the kitchen.

“I’ll get that,” Marny said.

She needed a minute to collect her whirling
thoughts—and come up with some kind of alibi to tell her roomies.
And her family.

“What did my family say when you contacted
them?” she called over to Anjah.

“Your uncle is on his way.” Anjah tucked her
messager away. “Also, Wil and Brenna are coming up.”

Marny fixed herself a mug of tea. It felt
like forever ago since she’d bought her colorful mug. She made a
cup for Anjah too.

“Thanks.” Anjah came into the kitchen and
picked up her cup. “Sorry. So much for taking care of you. I suck
as a caregiver.”

Marny gave her a half-smile. Despite herself,
Anjah would always be a princess. But maybe a more thoughtful one
in the future.

“I appreciate you guys covering for me,”
Marny said as they took their tea back in the living room. “And
getting ahold of my family.”

She was about to ask to borrow the messager
again—she had to reach Nyx, and Uncle Zeg—when the apartment door
slid open and Wil and Brenna came in.

“Hey!” Wil said, grinning when he caught
sight of her. “You’re here. Prime.”

Brenna raised an eyebrow, the pale streak in
her hair catching the light. “What’s been going on, Marny? First we
get accounts that you’re injured and resting, then Wil comes to me
this afternoon saying you’ve been missing for days, and now we find
you sitting on the couch drinking tea.”

“Well.” Marny took a sip to buy time, then
set her mug on the table beside the couch. “As Anjah knows, we went
to a club and I met a guy.”

Anjah’s brows went way up but she nodded.
“Nyx Spenser. Ooh, you move fast, Marny girl.”

Marny felt a blush heating her cheeks—but
that was okay. It helped create the impression she wanted them to
have.

“Anyway, he’s a martial arts pro. We were
hanging out this weekend—in fact, Mr. von Coburg’s guards can
confirm that we had a breakfast date. So, Nyx was showing me how to
use one of his spears, and I got hurt. I guess the pain meds the
techs gave me were way strong or something, because I was knocked
out for practically two days. Nyx took care of me, and brought me
back here earlier today.” Kind of true, in a way. If by true you
meant almost completely fabricated.

“Nice.” Anjah sent her a knowing look,
clearly jumping to all the wrong conclusions.

“While I appreciate the camaraderie that
prompted not immediately informing Intertech that Marny seemed to
be missing, I cannot condone it,” Brenna said.

“Of course not,” Anjah said.

Wil nodded, looking contrite. “We just didn’t
want her to get in trouble.”

“The company is liable for her safety,”
Brenna said. “At the very least, you would’ve gotten me fired,
since I’m your liaison. Plus, you could have opened Intertech up to
a potentially huge lawsuit. This is serious business. I’m tempted
to recommend that all three of your internships be terminated over
this.”

Whoo, Brenna was bringing the hardass.

“This is entirely my fault,” Marny said. “I
know I’m going to get the boot, but please don’t punish Wil and
Anjah, too.”

Brenna raised one eyebrow, her gaze resting
on Marny. “I’ll have to sleep on this. Marny, do you need another
day, or are you good for working tomorrow?”

“I can work. I don’t want to let the team
down any further—I know I missed a crucial meeting yesterday, and I
need to apologize to them for that.”

Somewhat mollified, Brenna gave her a short
nod. “Then I expect you all to arrive at work bright and early
tomorrow morning. I’ll let you know my decision at the end of the
day. Now get some rest.”

This last was directed at Marny, along with a
sternly sympathetic look.

“Right, boss.” Although, strictly speaking,
Brenna wasn’t her boss.

And strictly speaking, Marny wasn’t going
obediently off to bed, either. She had to get to Nyx’s club and
make sure both he and his sister had returned safely from the Dark
Realm.