My aim should have been Wissen—it was. It had been. But a sense of queasiness made my flight unsteady. I slowed. Eventually, I came to a stop, my wings fluttering at my back. North of here was Wissen, but behind me was of a bigger concern.

I nearly fell from the sky but regained myself and turned to face the destruction I'd just left behind.

Wissen was a day away, half a day if I put in more effort to reach before nightfall. But I couldn't bring myself to move toward it.

Dread filled me. Each time I blinked, the princess's foolish grin plagued me with woe.

"No. I don't need the memories now." I did not want them.

My wings lost power and my human form plummeted. A tree branch caught me. I came to my senses enough to land on my feet, crouched down, elbows on my knees.

I couldn't go back. I had no reason to. When the ground shook, I felt even worse.

"Forgive me, Princess. But you must learn your place. You must."

From below the ground, Manoj cried out. The most solace I could offer was to pat my hand against the trunk of the tree. "Shh. You will tame her after this."

It was as I'd feared. Manoj, without a proper—constant feeding, had weakened.

No. I did not think he'd best the fairy queen, not once her life was on the line. Because it wasn't her Manoj demanded of me when he said, "Bring her to me!" He'd meant the child.

Somewhere, in this wide, big world, I had a daughter, and she was necessary to revive Manoj.

As I had no memory of her now, I did not mind the prospect of giving her over. Finding her should have been my only mission, but instead, I half hopped—half flew from tree to tree until the clearing I'd left minutes ago came into view.

The goblin paced, tearful and afraid as the ogres tried with little success to cut Wyrn's flesh open to retrieve the goblin babes. I thought to shout out and warn against this—the goblin babies could be injured this way.

Matax now wore the princess's fur coat. He was the most frantic of everyone there.

"We need a sharper blade. Find me one!"

"No," the goblin moaned, rushing him and entreating, "they're harmless, really. We can get them out. You don't have to kill them. Please."

Matax brushed the goblin aside and circled the large ogre writhing on the ground. A madness came over him as he even tried punching at the boils that moved to avoid his violence.

Each shifting of the babes below Wyrn's skin came with an anguished cry from the ogre in question.

"We'll kill them all." Matax jumped to his feet and ordered, "Get hot water!"

The violent way Wyrn began to tremble spoke of a creature nearing its limit. "Father...."

Matax hurried to him and took him by the hand. "Shut up and stop calling me that. "I warned you not to take him lightly. Stupid. You stupid...."

Eventually he fell silent, long hair hanging in his face.

The female ogre was in tears when she approached and told Matax, "We can reach the queen—heal her from here. But...."

Matax wouldn't regard her. He simply nodded, "But you'd have to let these goblin vermin feed unabated." Despite his very reasonable words, he shook his head. "No."

With a look of woe and regret, she said, "I'm sorry."

She hurried back to her ogres, leaving Matax to hold Wyrn's hand tighter, cursing, "Filthy ogres."

I sat on that tree limb, watching the fight unfold. Manoj struggled to hold the princess. The ogres formed a circle and chanted as they walked, calling her power awake. As they gained ground, the earth quaked, Manoj suffered.

Deep down, I did not know for whom I cheered. The very confirmation that the princess lived had my heart feeling full. But then I thought of Manoj. No. This was a good thing. A very good thing. Because even if she came back, she'd do all necessary to save her ogre husband—if not out of love or duty, then to avoid the wrath of Matax...his father.

This was all certainly interesting.

But then the prospect of meeting face to face with her again had me feeling sick. I'd killed her in a sense, forced a goblin to drop her below the surface where she could be eaten.

She'd surely hate me now, as she should. That would keep her safe from me—that distrust—but as I thought of our time together, and the eons of time we must have shared, so genuine and passionate enough to give us a child, my heart threatened to shrivel up and fall out of my body.

Regret.

I regretted it had to come to this but not my actions. For Manoj's sake, for her own sake, and even for mine, it had to be this way.

Manoj wailed and I held the tree with both hands. "Shh, Manoj. Release her. I'll subdue her again. You have my word."

"No!" Manoj had no intention of letting go.

But this wasn't just a half-dead fairy. It was a half-dead mother, and certainly a spurned lover, one armed with ogres and the power of healing. Manoj had to let go or face further injury.

"Please. Think of the power you're using up." I closed my eyes and promised, "I will subdue her and send her back to you with her powers adequately sapped. I'd given her to you without knowing she could escape. Surely, I've proven myself. Let her leave and I will champion your cause and defeat her on the surface."

The chants of the ogres grew as did the glow of their bodies. With each step, they gained ground. The tree that held me trembled and a rumble came with it. A split formed in the snow below, traveling until it met the clearing. The ground tore apart and a white light shot from it.

Something came with it. When the fairy queen paused midair, her wings now twice the size of mine, my eyes closed on their own and I crouched up, thankful.

I hated myself for feeling such relief. Manoj did as well.

"You—"

"I will not betray you," I assured him. "Please remember your patience."

The low rumble to follow spoke of defeat as Manoj begrudgingly mended the land. "Bring her to me."

But what he needed was a cull, a big one. Even the tree upon which I crouched lamented. Manoj resembled something old and feeble and that put all immobile creatures of enchantment in a state of panic. And when their confidence waned, their power to protect themselves did as well.

No. This was not just some strange family feud about a fairy king refusing to tend to his work. This spoke of disaster. And I needed this blasted fairy queen to understand that.

I jumped from that tree, no longer caring that I was their enemy. I gave little thought to the fact that I'd just injured her husband, and not just slightly, but in a massive way from which he would never recover without my help. Instead, I marched toward them, genuinely angry at their selfish, feeble-minded little thought process. Today it was a few humans encroaching on the land, tomorrow it was all our very lives.

"How dare you?" My voice boomed, startling them from their frantic caring for Wyrn who still cried out in the snow. "Each time you break through the soil without digging, you scar the land. Hasn't anyone ever taught you that?"

The kilt, having grown to match this human size, boxed against my knees as I walked. I was more than ready to beat them all into submission.

From the crowd tending to the ailing ogre, one head popped up. The princess. Even from this distance, as I'd not yet arrived, the murderous glint in her eyes caught me much like a freshly discovered prey.

She took flight and shot toward me so fast, I almost didn't manage to grab her by the arm and fling her up to avoid her strike.

"You'll undo what you've done!" she ordered.

I, looking up at her, folded my arms. "I will do no such thing. And I can do no such thing," I boasted, "until I have my power returned."

Our fight stopped with the wail coming from Wryn. All the baby goblins gathered along his temple, pulsating.

While flying above, though furious at me, the princess debated another strike but eventually hurried towards her ogre and landed. She tried to hold his face, but nothing soothed him.

He wasn't the only one in tears—the helpless goblin watched on.

Trembling, it turned to regard me, looking for help or at least some assurances.

It was the goblin, and not the others why I approached. When I finally pushed Matax aside and knelt by my victim, everyone gave me room.

"Wyrn?" I said, tapping his face. "Look at me. I will give you a strike in your gut. You will think only of that. Do you understand? The babes will go anywhere with activity. So do not think of your head. Think of this."

I flicked his bare stomach, but nothing happened. With that, I sighed and stood. This would look terrible but what choice did I have? I stomped down on his stomach, and everyone gasped.

Many had curses at the ready, the princess as well, but that died away when the lumps below his skin rushed to his gut rather than his forehead. What I feared were the goblins taking his eyes. But mentioning it and having him focus on that would only bring it to fruition faster.

The princess still crouched. Tears filled her eyes as she begged me, "Please help him."

I longed to comfort her but that was a problem. That was the only problem here. The me of before—the me who loved her—protected her from everything. And that had to stop.

"I cannot and will not help him. You and I need to talk."

Under her lashes, she gazed at me then commanded her ogres, "Get him."

Two brutes grabbed me from behind, locking my arms in place.

Fool. I had been foolish. I understood her intent immediately as she stood, ready to return my memories. I suspected I taught her how to do this. It was her only talent, but it would not serve her now.

"Is this the best idea?" I warned her.

Like myself, now at a human size, her clothes had grown to match her new form. One thing I noted—she wore her wings prouder than ever instead of locked away.

"Hold him still," she commanded.

And though the ogres held my physical form, they did not control my power of speech, something equally as cunning as my might.

"Should you return my memories, I will know you all and understand you. I might even regret what I've done here but you doom your husband in doing so."

She paused in her advance.

I had her attention, so I explained, "I love you—the me that you erased—loves you, and I was willing to do everything necessary for you. Everything but allow you pain. Know this and understand this. Should I not gain my power with no hinderances—be they physical or emotional, there is no rest for you and your kind. Not even for us. You ignore Manoj. You think him incidental. Well, woman, he is the source of our power. If you turn me against him yet again, I cannot wield enough earth magic to undo this plight Wyrn faces.

"Furthermore, you've locked my magic. Well, it needs a bloodlust as fuel and obviously, a man looking to undo himself has not a speck of it. Granting me my memories again will bring you little peace. Even less so when I'll stand before you inert and useless. Best if you think your lover dead and understand that you have a bigger problem looming over you and the me of now is your best shot at solving it." When she lowered her hand, she still looked unsure, so I told her, "Keep your memories. You'll soon be able to bury them with this ogre if you're unwise."