I walked absently to the entryway, still feeling the king's eyes on my back. I had Puko clamped in my arms, willing him to be quiet for once in his life until we were away from the picnic and around the corner.

"Shh," I whispered to Puko absently, shifting my eyes back and forth and watching for Diamid to pop out and grab me. But he never did.

In my distress to get away from the prying eyes of the hilltop, I must have turned a wrong corner, because nothing looked familiar.

I took a calming breath, and turned the way I came. Surely I would be able to see the fountain soon, I hadn't passed it but a moment ago.

But I never found the fountain. I walked in circles, panic growing as the hallways around me seemed to move and change, despite not walking very far at all. The ivy covered walls were alive and rustling with a breeze that came from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

I decided to pick a hallway and stick with it, for better or worse, until I found someone who might be able to help me. I took the brightest, widest one in hopes that I would find a Spring fae. The hallway wound and curved, but remained bright. I was hopeful as more sun began to peek through the greenery overhead, widening into a possibly more frequently traveled hall. 

Instead, I rounded a corner and almost bumped into a familiar face. One that I was in no condition to handle at that moment.

I snapped my eyes off the corridor around me and onto a set of milky white eyes. Her skin was a pleasant pink, her short black hair was still cropped close to her head and now that I saw her up close I could see small horns protruding from her temples.

Lady Krissaph inhaled deeply through her nose and smiled. She ran her tongue over her sharp fangs and grinned. She wore a thin gold dress with a neckline that dropped to her naval and a slit on the side of each leg that rose above her hips. All in all, I could see nearly as much now as I could when I met her in the bath at the Autumn Palace.

"Wren. Imagine bumping in to you here," she purred.

"Lady Krissaph," I said. I bowed my head like I had seen so many others do as a sign of respect. I wasn't sure how her blindness worked, but she could obviously sense more than she let on, so I didn't risk it.

"I see you've been in Diamid's esteemed presence. Been prodding for information, has he?" She offered me her arm. "Come."

Puko's feathers bristled, he was puffed up like a black cloud in my arms. I didn't know what to do, I was frozen in place, not wanting to go with her but I was already lost as it was...

"Oh come on now, I don't bite." She continued to hold out her arm patiently. "Well, I don't bite females. Often."

I took a deep breath and shifted Puko to one arm, taking Krissaph's arm with my other hand.

"Good girl, wise decision." She immediately began walking further down the hallway, and I had little choice but to follow.

"So, young one. You have many mysteries surrounding you, yes?" she asked.

"I'm not the only one," I muttered. Puko cawed his agreement.

"Interesting company you keep, Wren." To my dismay we turned a corner and split away from our original corridor. "He seems to be full of secrets too."

I glanced down at Puko's milky white eye. He seemed to be watching Krissaph with it, and it sent a chill through me. I hadn't ever given him much thought, but he had sat faithfully on Mila's shoulder since I could remember. The things he must have seen would probably haunt a lesser being than him.

"Where is it we are going, Lady Krissaph?" I asked.

"A small detour through the lovely palace, then I will safely deposit you at your door. Don't worry, despite what that frigid bitch may have said about me, I won't hurt you." Puko ruffled his feathers and let out a low gurgling croak that I had never heard before. 

"Oh hush, you," Krissaph hissed at Puko, which shut him up. "Now, I just want a pleasant chat with the renowned found youth. Is that so much to ask?"

"I don't know what you want to talk about, but if you'll promise to get me back to my rooms I'll try to talk with you," I offered.

"Wonderful," she grinned, leading us down a new path. "Now, can you tell me what exactly you keep on your back that smells so sour?"

I stiffened, panic running through me. "You can smell it?"

"Yes, I can. I doubt many others could though." She tilted her head to the side. "Does that distress you?"

"Yes." I swallowed. "And I'd rather not talk about it."

"I see,"  she said with a pout. "I suppose it can't be helped then. In that case, would you like to talk to me about your parents?"

I blinked. That had come out of nowhere.

"Oh don't be so surprised, I am blind, not deaf. Of course who your sire is would be the talk of the Wyldes."

"I don't know anything about my parents," I said truthfully. "And I don't know how I would find out. For all I know they are dead."

"Hm, an interesting problem to have." She grinned. "But if I have tasted your sire before, I could taste him on you now. Would you care for a tryst in a dark corridor? I know a lovely spot with candles and the most comfortable cushions. If you lay on the red one and throw a leg across the round one I can reach your-"

"No! No thank you, Lady Krissaph." If any more blood rushed to my face I would pass out. I could barely wrap my head around a romantic outing with one of the two males clouding my thoughts now. I certainly couldn't handle whatever a succubus would try to do to me.

"You're sure?" She frowned. "What a shame. I do wonder what you taste like under all that smoke and despair."

I didn't want to know. Not even a little bit. Well, maybe a tiny little bit. "So to, um, taste me. You can't just, I don't know, lick my hand or something?"

Krissaph tilted her head back and laughed. She had to hold her stomach she was laughing so hard. I held on tighter to Puko, who let out another gurgling croak.

"Oh dear, how charming. You really did grow up outside the Wyldes." She wiped a tear off her cheek with her free hand and steered us down a new hallway. "I need to taste you on a more personal level than that, Wren. I need you at a heightened state of emotion to do that."

"I'm pretty frustrated and upset right now, won't that work?" I sighed.

A smirk tugged at her mouth. "No, I need to feed from a fairly specific emotion, and it's not frustration. Well, it's not that kind of frustration anyway."

"Oh." And here I thought I couldn't blush any harder than I already was.

"Ah, Wren. We're nearly at our destination and you seem to be leaving me with more questions than answers." She winked slyly at me and turned us down another hallway. "Here we are, stop one."

She stepped into bright sunlight as the new hallway opened up into a stone courtyard with a bubbling fountain and lines of clothes out to dry. Several females of different sorts were happily at work and chatting away the afternoon. 

I looked around, unsure of what I was supposed to be doing. "Um, this isn't my rooms."

"No you silly thing. Look up," she said.

I did. There were a few clouds, the sun was high in the sky. "What am I seeing?"

Krissaph sighed and came over to me, pointing at the mass of black feathers in my arms. "If you don't want Diamid to investigate him further, send him outside until your time in the Spring Palace is done."

I looked down at Puko, who seemed to be nodding in agreement. "Caw!"

I lifted my arms and let him shake out his feathers, then he spread his wings wide.

"Oh, one moment." Krissaph reached over and plucked a stray feather from Puko's tail. "A souvenir." 

She tucked the feather behind her ear and backed up, letting Puko take off. He soared away and quickly dipped out of sight.

"Now, do you still want to go back to your rooms? Or would you like to see mine?" she smiled and a few heads turned our way. These females probably thought I was having a fling with Krissaph, and she probably did that on purpose.

"Mine, please," I said a little louder than I needed to. "I need to get back to Eberon and Schula."

"Very well, young one." She offered her arm again and I took it, walking with her through a new corridor.

She seemed content to lead me around in silence for a few minutes, until I spotted a familiar statue in an alcove I knew to be by the baths.

"Ah, I believe this is where we part ways." She turned to face me brushing a lock of hair from my face. "I may be of the Spring Court, but I will associate with who I want. You interest me, Wren. I think you're going to shake a few things up in the Wyldes, and I for one am looking forward to it."

Footsteps passed nearby and Krisspah backed me into an alcove. She pressed our bodies together in what must have looked to the outside world like a lovers embrace. I heard a giggle accompany the footsteps as they faded away. 

"If you are ever doing something and you need to cover your tracks, you are welcome to claim an evening with me. No one would question it, and I will tell them you were with me all night. That is a promise." she whispered in my ear, raising goose bumps on my skin with her warm breath.

"What would I be doing in secret?" I murmured.

"Anything you want, young one." She backed away, licking her lips. "I encourage your mischief. There are a few important fae in this part of the world who could stand to be shook up a bit, and I for one am waiting to see it happen. I think you can make it happen."

I stepped away from her and toward the hallway that would lead me back to our rooms. "But I don't want to shake anyone up."

"I don't think you have a choice, young one. You taste of change, whether you like it or not. And of course, my offer still stands for a midnight tryst." She winked seductively at me and I took another step away.

"Um, thank you, I think." I swallowed and tried to stand up straight.

She inhaled deeply through her nose and smirked.

"I look forward to whatever trouble you get yourself into. And let me know when that sour thing comes off your back, would you? I'm deeply interested in what smells so curious about you."

She nodded her head and turned away. Lady Krissaph sauntered off, swinging her hips in a suggested promise as she wandered down the way we had come.

I took a few deep breaths and straightened my dress. I clutched the quartz at my neck and sighed as I began my walk to the rooms. 

Now in a familiar and populated part of the palace, I felt the presence of fae all around me. I felt their eyes on me, and I tried to shake it off as paranoia on my part. I just hoped no one had heard Krissaph's words to me.

My imagination ran wild with suggestions that I was going to bring change to the Wyldes. I didn't want change, I wanted to settle down and build a nice cabin and be left alone. I suppose that was a long way off anyway.

I found myself at the door and I stopped. I blinked the threatening tears from my eyes and stood squarely in front of our rooms.

Between the king and the succubus I was exhausted, and I desperately needed the help of my friends.