Chapter 8

Heyder and Ali poured through Samara's journal as the family sat around looking at each other with anxious eyes. Birdie hovered by her mother as Hayden and Nora sat beside one another waiting for the jinns to say something.

After several long minutes that dragged on like torture, Heyder finally sighed and slammed the journal shut.

"I'm still reading," Ali complained, taking it back.

"Well?" Maya looked at her husband.

"The motherfuckers are on earth," Heyder ran a hand through his dark hair.

Birdie sat up straight and looked around the room with bright eyes, "Where? How do we find them?"

"I don't know yet," Heyder looked back down at the journal. "Ali, spread the news at court. Tell all the elders to gather."

"What? Why?" Birdie looked at her father.

"We have to find them?" Heyder paused. "Before they become a problem."

"We can start with the town hall," Ali said. "Shake up that old man and see what we can gather. Find the other guardians."

"Wait, stop," Birdie stood up. "Why are we speaking as if we're going to war?"

"Because we are, darling," Ali said.

"We just found them!" Birdie shrieked. "We don't even know if they're good or ba-"

"They're feys," Heyder's eyes darkened. "And we do not wait around for them to grow stronger."

"What about mom and Hayden?"

"That's different," Heyder shook his head.

"That's hypocritical," Birdie protested.

"These are feys," Heyder leaned forward on the desk. "Do you get that, love? They are not our friends. The suffering they have cost us for millions of years can not be forgotten or forgiven."

"But-" Birdie tried but Heyder wouldn't hear it.

"They raped our women, slaughtered our children," Ali's carefree nature vanished as he sat beside the desk looking down at the rings on his finger. "If we protested or stepped out of line, our loved ones would be hung at the city gates until their bodies rotted in the sun. The elders will tell you how they were hung from trees by their ankles until blood poured out of their nose and mouth."

Maya flinched in her seat, gripping the pillow beside her. Nora's eyes watched her as she quietly reached for Hayden's hand beside her.

"Birdie," Ali looked up at the young girl. "I know you want to meet these people. But baby, they are not interested in meeting you. Remember, even wounded beasts can pounce."

"And as far as your mom and Hayden are concerned," Heyder sighed. "The fey inhabiting them has given us no reason to drive it out. It protects your mother and it protects your brother. As long as it's on our side, we will protect it."

"But if there are more feys," Ali looked at Hayden briefly, making Nora's heart contract. "And they find out about Hayden...."

Birdie paled. The air was knocked out of her as she turned towards her brother.

"Maaz might be relentless," Heyder said, looking out the glass wall towards the woods. "But the feys will be merciless."

Along with Birdie, Nora began to shiver. She looked at Hayden as he sat staring at nothing in particular. Her head felt as if it weighed a ton, making her nauseous.

"How do we find them?" Maya spoke for the first time since entering the room.

There was a small pause as Heyder's eyes found Nora sitting beside his son. Everyone around the room turned to look at the girl as Hayden's eyes snapped up.

"No," he said immediately.

"Nora is the only connection to them right now," Heyder said.

"They want her for her blood," Heyder sat up straight.

"They won't hurt her," Ali said. "They need her."

"Are you hearing yourselves?" Hayden's anger made his palms heat up. "You want to send her to the feys? Right into their den?"

"How else do you propose we find them?" Heyder asked.

"Ask the elders!" Hayden jumped to his feet. "I'm sure someone at court knows how to lure them out."

"The feys are in hiding," Heyder shook his head. "They're outnumbered. It'll be impossible to lure them out."

"You're not going to send Nora to them," Hayden took a step in front of Nora and blocked his father's view of her.

"Everyone calm down," Maya ordered. "No one is doing anything right now. We just found this information. It's going to take time to gather all our forces, speak to the elders and know all our options. Let's not create mountains out of molehills right now."

No one spoke around the room. Ali sat holding the journal as Heyder spun his rings with his head down. Birdie looked at her father and then at her brother. She walked over to Hayden and placed a hand on his arm to sooth him. She knew Nora would be more suited for the task, but the girl seemed to be going into an existential crisis sitting on the sofa with her hands under her thighs.

"Birdie," Maya looked at her daughter. "You have school tomorrow. Go get ready for bed now."

Birdie hesitated, looking at her brother.

"Hayden, take Nora upstairs," Maya continued.

Hayden tore his gaze away from the journal in Ali's hand and looked down at Nora. The broken look on his face tugged at his heart as he held out a hand for her. As Nora slowly climbed to her feet in the silent room, Hayden turned towards Birdie.

"Are you okay?" He asked, touching the edge of her tiny face.

Birdie nodded.

We'll talk to baba tomorrow, Hayden mind-linked her. Don't say anything else tonight.
I have a bad feeling about this, Hayden. Birdie sighed.

I know, Hayden took Nora's hand and headed for the door. Me too.

"Birdie," Maya called to her daughter once more. "Go with them."

Birdie turned on her heels and headed out behind her brother and Nora.

"Don't say anything," Hayden said as he watched Birdie close the door.

"I won't," Birdie agreed. "But Hayden...if there are feys, then shouldn't we at least see if they can say anything about you and if there is a way to he-"

"Birdie," Hayden stopped her. "Baba is right. Feys are dangerous. It's all wild magic."

"But-"

"What are you not getting?" Hayden tried to control his temper. Nora gripped his hand and placed her palm against his chest to remind him he needed to calm down. "They will tear us apart."

"I know!" Birdie said, her eyes holding the same stubbornness as her brother. "I just want to give them the benefit of the doubt."

"When it comes to the feys, jinns are not strong enough to offer such kindness," Hayden said. "Please, just let us figure something out. I know you want to meet them but trust me it won't be good."

"Hayden," Nora spoke up slowly as she noticed the way Birdie's eyes dimmed.

"I'm sorry," Hayden apologized to his sister sincerely. "I wish it was all different. I wish you could have what you want."

"It's okay," Birdie nodded. "I understand."

"Please stay on campus," Hayden urged her. "Clare will reinforce the boundaries tomorrow morning. And Ares is sending in his men to set up posts around the perimeter."

"What?" Birdie looked up in shock. "Why?"

"Because you're a jinn that looks like a fey," Hayden said. "Mom and I can get away with it. But god forbid they try to come after you."

A chill ran down Nora's spine as she listened to Hayden's words. And from the looks of it, Birdie felt the same. She wrapped herself around herself as her beady eyes filled with worry.

"We won't let them near you," Hayden promised. "Ever."

Birdie nodded her head.

"Go to sleep. You have class in the morning," Hayden said.

Quietly, all three climbed to the second floor. Hayden and Nora dropped Birdie off at her door before making their way down to the end of the hall.

"Nora," Hayden said as they neared his door.

"Yes?" Nora cleared her throat.

"Stay with me tonight," Hayden looked over at her with his hand on his door. "Please."

Nora hesitated as she felt her heart flutter in her chest. She knew the smart choice was to politely decline and stay in the guest bedroom. There was too much going on in her life and in his for either of them to start something new. Nora was petrified of the idea of giving the remaining pieces of her heart to Hayden. It was all she had left after everything around her fell apart. Would she survive giving that up?

But no matter how much she tried to explain the logic to herself and tell her to decline his offer, Nora couldn't look away from those green eyes. She felt them caress her tenderly as he waited for her to answer. They both had just survived a very long day. Nora told herself she was strong enough to build back the walls in the morning as she took his hand and stepped into his room.

"You can change into something from the closet," Hayden said as he kicked off his shoes and pulled his shirt over his head.

"Okay," Nora nodded, looking at the large bed and then at the boy standing beside her. "I need to shower."

"Do you want to go first?" Hayden asked.

"Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah," Hayden nodded.

Nora slowly removed her shoes as Hayden brought out a set of plush white towels for her. He handed them over before stepping back to let her walk to the bathroom. Nora thanked him as she closed the door behind her and stripped off her clothes.

The rain outside hadn't stopped. Lightning lit up the sky as Nora turned on the hot water and stepped into the shower. She mindlessly washed her hair with Hayden's shampoo, feeling the familiar scent invade her senses. The hot water was too comforting. Nora wanted to stay inside forever but she knew Hayden was waiting outside. After washing the shampoo out of her hair, she turned off the water and wrapped herself in the towel Hayden had given her.

As Nora began to dry her hair, she passed the mirror and stopped. The ache in her chest intensified as she gazed at the girl that stood before her. She couldn't find any hints of the girl she had known her whole life. Who was this person with big empty brown eyes staring back at her? She didn't know this person.

"Nora?" Hayden walked to the bathroom door, feeling Nora's emotions running high.

"Y-yeah," Nora cleared her throat and opened the door.

Hayden looked up as the door opened. His eyes lingered on Nora's face to make sure she was okay before they lost the battle he was fighting and started to roam down her figure. The towel was wrapped around her curves tightly, ending at mid-thigh. Hayden felt his stomach clench as the water droplets on Nora's shoulder began to slide down her arm and then hit the floor. She stood gazing at him, her breathing growing with his.

"Are you..." she started, her voice intoxicating him. "Are you going to shower?"

"Yeah," Hayden nodded.

"Do you need the towel?" Nora asked before instantly turning red.

Hayden bit back the smile that tried to bubble up to not embarrass her further, "No, I think I have another one somewhere."

"Okay," Nora stepped around the half jinn, trying to hide her face behind her wet hair.

"My phone is on the nightstand," Hayden said, stepping into the bathroom. "Passcode is 0615."

"I think there's enough thunder to fill the silence," Nora scrunched up her nose.

"Just in case you need it," Hayden smiled before closing the door.

Nora used the few minutes to herself to flip her hair over and toss it up in the towel. She walked into the large walk-in closet and ran her hand through the neatly hung shirts before she found the drawers with the plain t-shirts and shorts. Picking out an oversized black shirt, Nora ditched the shorts and made her way over to the bed.

She picked up Hayden's phone and typed in the passcode. The water ran in the bathroom as she scrolled through his music, trying to find something calm. The pitter patter of the rain outside would have been enough any other night, but standing in Hayden's room, weaning his towel and using his phone all made Nora's heart beat wildly. She needed something to keep her mind off of all the crazy twists and turns in her life.

Just as Nora was about to hit the first song at the top of the list, a text notification popped up beneath her finger, causing the apps to switch.

"Shit," Nora froze as Hayden's messages opened up.

As she tried to quickly exit out of the app and go back to the music, Nora's eyes fell on the words and the name at the top of the screen.

Elsa Kaz.

Of course, Nora thought to herself.

She remembered reading about Elsa and Hayden in the newspapers a month or two before Clare had shown up with the job offer. Elsa was a young supermodel who had climbed to the top with sudden fame and attention as soon as she had stepped into the scene. It didn't hurt that her mother had been a model too and had all the connections with the right people. There were tons of photos that had circulated in the media of her and Hayden. Hayden never confirmed anything but Elsa always posted cryptic captions or tweets that pretty much confirmed they had been together.

As Nora stood chewing on her bottom lip, her eyes read the text on the screen.

Just heard about Kiara's surprise party. Can't wait to see you. It's been so long ;)

Nora felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. Her trembling fingers closed the app and she tossed the phone aside as if it was poisonous. She stared at the thing on the bed for a few minutes before walking over to her pile of clothes and pulling out her own phone. Nora knew what she was about to do was a terrible horrible idea but she couldn't stop herself. She googled Elsa Kaz despite knowing exactly what the girl looked like.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Nora scrolled through the model's Instagram. She went through one photo at a time reading the funny captions, adoring comments and millions of likes. The girl lived her life in bikinis. And who wouldn't when they had the body of a supermodel? Nora's fingers scrolled as her eyes peered at Elsa's tan legs and washboard abs. The girl's full head of glossy black hair looked too smooth to be real and that brilliant smile, no doubt, cost a fortune.

"You don't like any of my songs?"

Nora jumped as Hayden's voice spooked her. Low murmuring thunder rolled over the clouds outside as the half jinn stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He used a smaller one to roughly dry off his hair as he grinned at Nora sitting on his bed still wearing the towel.

Nora felt her throat dry up. Her eyes moved over Hayden's bare chest and perfect tattoo of the hummingbird. He had a small scar on the left side of his stomach she hadn't noticed before. It made him look real, like she could reach out and touch him and hold him.

But as Hayden walked up to her, Nora's eyes fell back down to her phone screen. She quickly shut it off, the image of Elsa laughing while a wave splashes against her body was the last thing she saw.

"What's wrong?" Hayden asked.

"Nothing," Nora lied.

Hayden knew the gut wrenching anger running through her wasn't just nothing. He put his finger under her chin and tilted her head back to look into her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Hayden asked again.

"Nothing," Nora pushed his hand away and stood up.

Hayden didn't bother stepping back as she yanked the shirt off the bed and turned to face him.

"You got a text," Nora said, trying to appear casual.

"From?" Hayden asked.

"I don't know," Nora shrugged. "I didn't check."

Hayden raised his hand and his phone flew to his palm. He quickly checked the text in question and understood why Nora's mood had suddenly soured. What he had initially thought to be anger was fresh innocent jealousy. Hayden didn't know why knowing Nora was jealous made him feel as if he was thirty feet tall. Didn't this girl know he belonged to her?

"Do you want me to explain or am I too late?" Hayden asked, closing the text and tossing the phone back on the bed.

"Explain what?" Nora asked.

"The text," Hayden smiled.

"Why would you explain it to me?"

"Because I don't want you getting any wrong ideas."

"Why would I be get-" Nora couldn't finish as Hayden stepped forward and grabbed her hips.

Her phone fell out of her hands as they landed on Hayden's chest, feeling his skin buzz and warm up from her touch. Nora gasped, making Hayden's control slip as he gripped her hips and pressed her to his hard body.

"She's just someone I used to know," he said, looking into Nora's eyes. "She means nothing to me."

"I don't care," Nora lied, her throat tightening.

"You don't?" Hayden lowered his mouth and brushed his lips over the edge of her face.

"No," Nora's nails raked down Hayden's chest.

Her breathing grew shallow as his lips traced down the side of her face and then to her neck. The towel around her body was starting to come undone as Hayden pressed her tightly to his body, not leaving any space for a single breath to pass between them.

"Nora," Hayden spoke her name as his lips sucked on the curve of her neck.

Nora's eyes closed as her body began to tingle. She breathed in his scent as her hands made their way to his wet hair and she tugged on the strands. Hayden lifted his head and placed his hand against her face. His long fingers slid into her hair as he pulled her near and claimed her mouth.

As the events of the day vanished, leaving Nora wanting nothing but Hayden's touch, she kissed him back with an urgency that surprised them both. Hayden walked her back to the bed and guided her down against the pillows as he yanked her towel out from between them. Nora could feel her body already curving up to meet his touch.

"You're who I want," Hayden said as he began to move down her body, leaving a trail of kisses.

Nora's body responded with each kiss on her skin. She gripped the sheets as Hayden's hands explored her curves and eased her mind. He spread her legs and slid his hand up to the spot between her legs, making Nora's mouth fall open. Her head rolled back as Hayden rubbed her before sliding his finger inside.

Each sound she made had Hayden losing his mind. He moved back to her lips, keeping his fingers inside of her. Nora opened her eyes and peered up at him as he loomed over her naked body. She reached up and touched his face, guiding him to her lips.

"Nora," Hayden called to her as they kissed. "I have to tell you something."

"Now?" Nora asked as he pulled back.

"Yeah," Hayden said. "Look at me."

Nora opened her eyes. Her toes curled and her legs tightened around Hayden's hand. She bit down her bottom lip as he gave her what she needed.

Nora threw her hand over her mouth to hide the squeal that made its way to her lips. Her cheeks burned bright red as her body erupted into fireworks. She tried to hide her face in the pillow but Hayden wouldn't let her. He nudged her with his head and kept her right in front of his gaze. He watched her as she reached her high and then simmered down back into her body beside him. Her brown eyes gazed into his as her breathing tried to return to normal.

"I love you," Hayden said.

Nora stilled, her pulse rising and her eyes dilating.

"I need you to know that," Hayden continued. "I don't need you to say it back. I just need you to know that I am head over heels for you."

Nora laid, speechless. She stared up at Hayden as he pulled the covers over her body and kissed her forehead. When he climbed off of her and off the bed, she sat up straight, holding the covers to her chest.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"I'm going to change," Hayden said. "Do you want me to get you a shirt?"

Nora didn't reply. She sat watching him move around the room as he pulled on a pair of shorts and brought her the black shirt she had picked out earlier.

How could he act so normal?

After throwing Nora into a head spinning, heart throbbing, overwhelming storm, how could he be so normal?

"Do you want me to play something?" Hayden asked, climbing into bed beside Nora.

Nora shook her head. She wanted to tell him her own raging heartbeat would be just fine keeping her up all night. But instead, she pulled on the shirt and laid back against the pillows.

Hayden turned off the lights and laid back beside her. He placed his arm behind his head as they both stared up at the reflection of the rain on the ceiling.

"No comment?" Hayden said in the dark after a while.

Nora turned her head to look at him. She pulled the sheets up to her chin and shook her head.

"Okay," Hayden sighed.

Nora counted to a hundred in her head, seeing how long it would take her to take her eyes off of Hayden. But as she reached one hundred and ninety four, she gave up and moved her head over to his chest. The grin on Hayden's face was lost in the dark, but Nora felt his pulse quicken. He moved his arm around her and kissed her head once more.

"Good night, Nora," Hayden said.

"Good night," Nora said, listening to his heart beating.

_______________________

That night Nora couldn't sleep.

No matter how close she laid beside Hayden, the worries in her head wouldn't die down. She spent hours staring at him as he slept beside her. Keeping in mind the fact that he could sense her emotions, Nora took long deep breaths to keep her heart rate down and not wake him.

A few times her anxiety almost woke him. But as soon as he began to stir, Nora ran her hand through his hair and kissed him gently to lull him back to sleep. Hayden held her to his chest all night as if she would run away if he moved.

At first Nora didn't want to be anywhere else in the world. She managed to get a few minutes of sleep before her brain randomly fired up snippets of her messed up life to torture her. When she couldn't take it any more, Nora carefully climbed out of bed and pulled on her jeans.

Moving her pillow into Hayden's arms, Nora tip-toed out of the room and closed the door behind her. The whole house was asleep and silent as she made her way to the kitchen for a bottle of water. The rain continued outside with thunder and lightning. Nora feared if it conuted for much longer, all the colors would be washed away.

As she made her way into the kitchen, the light over the dinner breakfast table caught her eyes. Nora paused by the door and looked inside to find Heyder sitting by himself with her mother's journal and a bunch of sketches around the table.

"Come in," the jinn said, looking up when he sensed her.

"I'm sorry," Nora apologized. "I just came to get some water."

"Why didn't you just send Hayden down?"

"He's asleep," Nora frowned. "I didn't want to wake him."

"What about you?" Heyder asked, putting down the sketch he was looking at. "Couldn't sleep?"

"No," Nora shook her head.

Heyder slowly nodded. He let out a long sigh before pushing his chair back and climbing to his feet. Nora watched as the jinn made his way into the kitchen and pulled out the milk from the fridge.

"Sit," he said to her, motioning to the bar stool by the counter.

Nora made her way over to the stool and climbed on. She looked over her shoulder at the sketches on the table as Heyder poured the milk into a sauce pan and put it over the stove.

"That's Hayden," he said, seeing what Nora was looking at. He waved his hand and the sketches flew over to the counter.

"These are beautiful," Nora said, admiring the portraits. "Is this Mrs. Heyder?"

"Yeah," Heyder nodded, looking at the picture of Maya.

"She still looks the same," Nora said. "Did you draw these?"

"Yeah," Heyder grabbed a mug from the cupboards.

"They're really beautiful."

"Thank you," Heyder smiled. "Here you go."

"Wh-what is this?" Nora asked, looking at the cup of warm milk the jinn set down in front of her.

"Warm milk and honey," Heyder said. "It's supposed to help with sleeping."

"Thank you."

"It used to be Hayden's favorite," Heyder smiled. "But Birdie would never touch it."

"They're very different from each other."

"Oh yeah. For sure," Heyder laughed.

"But it's admirable how much they care for one another," Nora wrapped her hands around the warm mug. "Especially Birdie. Despite being younger, she's very protective of Hayden."

"We all are," Heyder said.

"Is it because of....." Nora slowed. "Of the fey and jinn in him?"

Heyder nodded. He lifted a sketch of his children and wondered when he had done the piece.

"Mr. Heyder?" Nora spoke up after a small pause. "Who's Maaz?"

Heyder left out a long heavy sigh and put down the sketch. Nora watched him neatly stack the pieces as he took his time picking out words carefully.

"Maaz was the man who raised me after my mother died," he said. "I never knew my father. Growing up at court, he was all I had to show me the ropes."

"I'm sorry to hear about your mother," Nora said kindly.

"It was so long ago," Heyder shrugged. "I don't even remember what happened to her."

"Earlier you said Maaz was relentless...." Nora said slowly. "And Hayden once said he wasn't a friend."

"No," Heyder shook his head. "Maaz is not a friend. Not anymore."

"Why not?" Nora asked.

"Because he wants to kill Maya and Hayden."

Nora flinched, her hands tightening around the warm mug. Her face paled and her stomach turned.

"W-why?" She asked.

"The Tyveer court swore to protect jinns from feys," Heyder explained. "When Maya got her magic and then Hayden was born, they were the very thing the court could not allow to exist."

"Then how...."

"Before Hayden was born, I killed their sultan and took the crown," Heyder said calmly. "For my son and my wife."

Nora unwrapped her hands from the mug and placed them in her lap. She leaned forward with eager eyes to hear more. Heyder almost smiled looking at the curious little thing.

"Maaz was not too pleased, as you may have figured already," he continued. "He broke away from court along with others who were against me being sultan."

"And they want to harm Maya and Hayden?"

"Yes," Heyder nodded.

"Because he's half fey?"

"Yes."

"But he's also half jinn," Nora said. "Doesn't that mean anything to them?"

"Our history with the fey is long and complicated," Heyder sighed. "The elders would never allow our blood to fix with them. And by nature, it's not supposed to happen."

"Then what about Hayden?" Nora asked. "How is it possible for him?"

"It took years," Heyder said. "Can you already know, he's not perfect. But he's alive."

"How?"

Heyder looked up at the girl, "I'm not sure I should be telling you all this. What if you run back to the guardians and tell them all."

His words made Nora frown, "I would never...."

"I know," Heyder rolled his eyes. "You love my son too much."

"I..."

"It's okay," Heyder laughed. "You don't have to explain anything to me."

Nora shut her mouth and took a sip of her milk.

"Hayden gives up his energy," Heyder said.

"What?" Nora lowered her mug.

"Every few weeks he goes to see Gemma or Clare," Heyder continued. "When the energy in him starts to build, he goes to see them and they drain him."

"That doesn't sound too good," Nora's heart began to hurt. "What do they do with the energy?"

"Give it to others," Heyder said, looking at his rings. "Witches who didn't inherit enough magic, vampires who are too weak to make the transition, mermaids who can't figure out how to shift."

"Does it help?" Nora asked.

"It has kept him alive for this long," Heyder said.

"How much do they take?"

"As much as they can without killing him."

Nora's heart contracted in her chest. Her throat tightened and her leg ached to run back upstairs. She couldn't believe Hayden had never told her any of this.

"You know, Nora," Heyder spoke slowly, making sure the girl heard every word. "If the fey get to him, they won't spare him."

Nora bit back the whimper in her throat and dug her nails into her palm. She stared at the jinn as he stared at his son's sketches.

"They'll take everything from me," Heyder said. "My wife, my son, my daughter."

"We won't know if they are the sam-"

"When jinn babies were born under the fey reign, the newborn would have to be kept hidden," Heyder said. "Fey women believed newborn jinn blood helped with retaining their youth."

Nora paled, "That can't be real."

"Female jinns were abducted from their homes and forced to have babies," Heyder continued. "The newborns were then taken and sold to the highest bidders. Sometimes the mother wouldn't even know what her child looked like. Was it a boy? A girl?"

"Stop, stop," Nora shook her head, covering her ears. "I've heard enough."

"I'm sure your mother had her reasons for why she went to the fey and the guardians for protection," Heyder looked at the tiny girl. "We always do crazy things to protect the ones we love. Especially our children."

"Do you really believe that they will hurt Hayden when they find out what he is?"

"I can't lie, peanut."

"Why haven't they done anything yet?"

"Because their tree is dying," Heyder said. "These are common feys. Their magic comes from the Sajara and if there is no Sajara then there is no magic for them."

"So why can't we leave them alone?" Nora asked. "No, tree, no magic, no fey. They will die out on their own."

"Or they will get tired of hunting you and find another vestal," Heyder shrugged. "You guys are rare, but not extinct."

"If they find another vestal..."

"Vestal blood, sajara lives, magic grows, feys revived."

"And if the feys are back on their magic...."

"They will come after everything we both love."

The jinn's words made the broken pieces of Nora's heart rattle inside of her chest. She felt winded as she thought of Hayden upstairs holding her pillow.

I love you.

"How....how do we stop them?" Nora looked up at Heyder.

"Ali is still working that part out," Heyder said. "We're looking through the texts at court to see how the feys were stopped previously."

"But we need to find them first."

"Smart girl," Heyder chuckled. "I can see why you have my son wrapped around your finger."

"How do we find them?" Nora asked.

Heyder remained silent. He walked over to the sink with the sauce pan and washed it up. Nora waited for him to answer as he moved around the kitchen, avoiding her eyes.

"Mr. Heyder?" She called him.

"You don't like the milk?" Heyder asked, pointing out the mug.

"How do we find the fey?"

Heyder sighed and looked up. He stared at Nora for a long time before shaking his head and mumbling under his breath.

"Hayden will hate me," he said.

"No, he won't," Nora felt her legs grow numb. She began to catch on to the jinn's hesitation, feeling her body grow cold every passing second. "I can do this."

Heyder looked up and shook his head once more, "You're too important to Hayden."

"And he's too important to me," Nora said. "If I can help you keep him safe, then please let me."

"If anything happens to you, I will lose Hayden forever."

"But we'll both lose him if we do nothing," Nora's heart shook. "Please....this is what we all need. I need answers and you need to know where they are....kill two birds with one stone, right?"

"Nora," Heyder sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You can help me or I will do this on my own," Nora threatened.

"Excuse me?" Heyder asked in disbelief.

"I can take a plane to the guardians right now," Nora said. "They're waiting for me."

"If you do that then it saves me having to explain to Hayden what happened."

"But wouldn't Hayden want you to at least send me with some kind of protection?"

"Damn," Heyder laughed. "You're good."

"I know you want to do this," Nora pushed. "Think of Hayden and Birdie. There is no time to waste."

Heyder groaned before rubbing his face, "Alright, alright."

"Good," Nora said, taking in a brave deep breath.

Within minutes, the jinn and the young girl began to prepare for their secret mission in the dark. Heyder conjured up a necklace traced with his magic for Nora to wear at all times so that he knew where she was.

"Never take this off," he said, putting it on. "Understood?"

"Yes," Nora nodded.

"And delay giving your blood for as long as you can," the jinn guided.

"Got it."

"As soon as you know where they are, you take the necklace off and break the charm in half."

"Okay."

"It'll send me a signal and we will come and get you out."

"Got it."

"Alright," Heyder nodded. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," Nora nodded.

"Okay," Heyder held up his hand and summoned a portal. "To the town house."

"Thank you," Nora said, holding her breath as she realized it was her first time using a portal without Hayden.

"Off you go," Heyder sent her off.

He watched her step into the portal and disappear before the screen closed and he was left standing in his study. For a brief moment, everything was too quiet. Heyder could have almost believed he was standing alone. But when the shadow in the corner began to move and Ali stepped out, the illusion was broken.

"Hayden will raise hell in the morning," Ali said. "You shouldn't have done that."

"She wanted to go," Heyder said in his defense. "I didn't force her."

"Oh no, of course not," Ali mocked. "You would never force her. You just manipulated the poor girl with fey horror stories and projected your own fears for your family's safety onto her. She completely made this reckless decision on her own."

"What's done is done," Heyder's eyes darkened. "You and I have work to do. Nora will find the feys for us. But we have to know how to kill the fuckers."  

Oh boy....I can't wait for Hayden's reaction :/ 

Also I realized I have been spelling Shajara wrong lol ignore it, you know what I mean 
:P