Harmony's POV

My footsteps pounded the wyldwood soil, my breath coming in ragged gasps. My muscles screamed in protest; my lungs burned. It had been a week in the mortal realm, but all of us in the Nevernever lost track of time, as usual. Everything went wrong in so little time.

Behind me, my pursuers crashed through the undergrowth. I ducked behind a tree, shifted, and then started running again. My tiger form was not exhausted yet, unlike my normal human/fey façade, so I put on an extra burst of speed. I could very well fly out of the woodland, but that meant I would be opening myself up to arrows. All I had to do was get outside our campsite. Until then, I would deal.

The sharp twang of bowstrings rang out in front of me. I tried not to dart sideways too much on the trail as arrows rained down from the sky. Coughing, I changed back. My speed faltered.

Puck rushed out from one side, barreling into me. I fell with his weight, knowing that was his plan. We rolled, and I instinctively buried my face in his chest. The charge team could be heard racing from their hiding places, attacking whoever was left after the barrage of arrows.

Landing on my back, I struggled to catch my breath. "Are you okay?" Puck asked, brushing a twig from my hair.

I glared at him. "Next time," I choked out, "I'm not going to be the bait."

"I know." His hand lingered on my face longer than necessary.

Heat rushed through me as I realized how close our faces were from the impact to the ground. Puck's green eyes flashed. He bent and pressed his lips to mine. I kissed back eagerly. After a day of being separated, I wanted him badly.

Still, I pulled away first. "We should go." He got to his feet before helping me up. I entwined my fingers with his, leading the way back to the campsite. We had scouts that camped in shifts out here and a portal to my dimension open at all times. "Thank you, everyone. Rest up as much as you can. I expect that the murder attempts aren't over yet, but we can enjoy a respite for now." I refused to look at the new bushes and everything else marking where the attack party fell.

The guards went back to their duties. All the others I pulled away from home for the assault returned back through the portal. I had my own house locked up tight while the smaller village was available to the warriors I collected somehow. With my special rune, I walked through to my home. The trod closed behind Puck.

"How'd it go?" Kierran looked up from sharpening his blades. He noticed the scratches along my face and arms. "Ouch. Did you get caught?"

"She almost did." Puck tossed his daggers into his locker. Not including my servants, six of us lived in the house. I installed lockers when I realized we would have so many more faeries joining us. "Harmony, you know have to be more careful."

"You know I'm not good as bait," I retorted. "Where's Ethan?"

Kierran shrugged. "Upstairs training Kenzie and Annwyl, I think. Last I saw." I gave him the you're so helpful glare before putting my own weapons away. "I've been taking care of home base here, remember? Chatter went around that they found you, by the way," he added. "I picked up Ash's voice, too. He sounded a bit terrified for you."

"Your father has always been one of my best friends." I frowned. "Anything else?"

"Well, you're still banished, if that's what you're asking," he answered solemnly.

I muttered several curses under my breath. A mortal week ago, I had the idea that we could find long-lost daughters and sons of Faery. The Royal Council had agreed to my plan. We found several half-breeds – both royal and non-royal – as well as more exiles than I thought possible. I had already taken a lot under my wing, but it had increased exponentially during the search. I still had the Dark Muse, Leanansidhe, on my side. Meghan and Ash, the Iron Queen and her Prince-Consort/Knight, were with me. It helped that I knew Ash for all our lives, Ethan was Meghan's brother, Puck had known them both all their lives, and Kierran was Meghan and Ash's son. Mab, even with her agreement, remained mostly neutral. It was the Seelie monarchs, Oberon and Titania, that were giving me trouble.

Well, Titania started it, mostly. Truth be told, I should never have provoked her as badly as I did. She pissed me off to no end! She ordered death sentences over my head and my friends' if we ever showed our faces, all because she thought I sabotaged the Courts by sending out search parties like this. It was not my fault that Forgotten got to some of the patrols. Oberon never put his wife in check, and since he was the Erlking and had lots of power even in the other territories, the kill order spread.

What resulted was this hit-and-run tactic of ours.

Puck reached for my hand once more. "C'mon, no sense dwelling on it now," he whispered.

"Get some rest, Kierran." His lips quirked in a way that reminded me utterly of my brother. I stared him down in a reaction caused by the memory. "I mean it."

Ushered upstairs by Goodfellow, I barely made it to the bed when my legs caved. Puck untied my boots for me and then slid under the covers with me. "I never want you out of my sight again," he murmured.

I curled up against him. "I know. But that'll be hard to accomplish in a battle," I responded softly.

"Are you sure I can't convince you to stay out of the fight?" He tried kissing me again. "Please, Nightshade?"

Pressing my hand to his chest, I shook my head. "You know I love you, Puck, but that's out of the question." His arms snaked familiarly around me. I rested my head on his chest. "Night."

"Just make sure you sleep tonight," came his reply. I drifted off with all my muscles still cramped from the day's work.