Arlo sent a car for them—even after finding out who Clíodhna's guests were. Once they were inside the tinted vehicle, Faryn lowered her hood.

Clíodhna studied her, specifically her black hair that hung outside of her beanie. "You don't look like a Morozko. Are you sure Clora Claus is your mother?"

Faryn tensed at the question. It felt a bit like a slap. But if she were honest, sometimes she wished Clora wasn't her mother.

Cassian sat beside her, and his thigh gave hers the barest brush. He probably didn't even notice he'd done it. He had spoken with Arlo after Clíodhna had, verifying the Leprechaun wasn't leading them into a trap. He hadn't given them any indication how Arlo sounded on the phone, if he seemed pleased or annoyed that the Fata was in his city.

"She's my mother." Faryn touched a strand of her hair. "My brother has red hair." Inherited from Nick.

"But he has the gray eyes that your mother's line has."

She was not about to reveal what meager powers she actually had. It would only make her look more pathetic, but as far as she knew, Klaus had none of the Morozko powers. "I assure you, I am her daughter. As for my lack of powers, I suppose the magic rejected me." She shrugged.

"Or did you reject it?"

The car grew silent. Faryn's ears couldn't even pick up on Cassian or Peter breathing.

Clíodhna stared at her as if expecting an answer.

Faryn pursed her lips. "I guess I'm just more my father than my mother." Whoever he was.

The car drove across the bridge that connected the city to the palace. Water flowed out from the palace and over the cliff, the sun hitting the water in just the right way to make it sparkle like gold coins were being carried away in the stream.

A fitting sight for the Midas court. The palace was covered in gold, spires stretching up to the sky, a boast of wealth.

Cassian hadn't asked Arlo on the phone if it were true that Ziva wasn't in Reyarney. If Clíodhna was friends with Arlo then it was likely she would know if Mother Nature was still in the city.

The plot of land the palace sat upon was a raised island. The only way onto it appeared to be the bridge. Unless someone had wings. She glanced at Cassian whose wings weren't out. Humans thought Elves and Fae to be the same species. Elves couldn't fly though, while plenty of Fae could.

Their driver brought the car around to the back of the palace and underneath a large rock wall that hid the entrance. The rock swept upward and over them as if it were an overhang at a hotel for valet.

Four steps led up to a gilded door where two Acurials stood. She immediately recognized the current Ratoncito Pérez. He had hickory-brown hair that hung past his ears and framed a face that was too handsome for anyone's good. There was a rosy tone to his white skin, and two shamrock green eyes looked out from that striking face. They zeroed in on her when she stepped out of the car.

The other Acurial was a woman who wore a long white dress, lighter than either the white of her skin or the feathered wings that sprouted out from her back. They were taller than their bearer, and gray fathers were mixed throughout the white. The grayed feathers were not a sign of age though. The woman's long brown hair was a shade lighter than Arlo's. Both were Thorine, but while Arlo was a mouse, the woman was a Pegasus. She must be Andromeda, Queen of the Pegasus. She did not belong to any court but resided in Reyarney.

As Arlo descended the steps, he adjusted the cuffs of his black leather jacket.

Clíodhna breezed past her, elbowed Arlo in the ribs, and gave the suspected Andromeda a hug.

Rubbing his side, Arlo approached Cassian, and they embraced each other with a clap on the back as they gripped each other by their forearms.

Even as Clíodhna pulled away from the woman, the Pegasus's eyes were narrowed. Peter gave her a nod, and she returned it.

The rat shifter stepped past Cassian and took Faryn in with his eyes. "This is the woman we've been hearing so much about?" His accent wasn't Irish but rather that of one from Spain where he'd been born and raised.

Faryn dipped her head. "Arlo."

The Ratoncito Pérez smiled at her as Cassian bowed to the Pegasus.

"Your Majesty," Cassian murmured. So she was Andromeda then.

Her sharp eyes landed on Faryn. "Your cousin is determined to find you and Claus. No matter the cost." Andromeda did not have a court to hide behind if Winter suspected her of being an ally to Faryn. She wasn't a part of Midas because she did not embody the values of the Midas court: wealth, money, and excess.

She most likely only resided in the Reyarney because it was one of the only cities in Ireland that was veiled from humans. There were two other cities: Actinerium and Rhonium. But both of those were the respective cities of Clurichauns and Leprechauns.

"We don't plan to stay long." Peter placed a hand on Faryn's shoulder. "We came to see Ziva, but Clíodhna said she was no longer here.

Arlo frowned. "I'm afraid she left a while ago. What information you heard was outdated. She's returned to Antimonia."

Faryn's heart plummeted. That was the home of the Narcissus Court, on an island in the Mediterranean Sea. She had wanted to avoid Peter's court. Spring the Beauty lived on Antimonia. More than lived. She ruled over the island. She wouldn't let Faryn on her island, not when both her husband and daughter were members of Winter: Moroz and the Snow Maiden. Spring the Beauty would send word to Winter the moment Faryn arrived.

Peter's thoughts must have been aligned with hers because he said, "Harumi will be a problem."

Arlo rubbed his chin. "If you see Ziva first and she offers Faryn sanctuary, then Harumi won't be able to do anything to put her in harm's way."

Arlo led them inside the palace where everything had been plated in gold, as if someone had really come through with the gift—or curse of Midas's touch.

"The last I heard of you and Faryn," Arlo said to Cassian as he guided them down the halls, "you were in Nebraska."

"We had thought Perchta might be willing to help us," the lie rolled smoothly off Cassian's lips. "My mother was friends with the previous Perchta before she died." Cassian had never mentioned that. Was it also a lie? "But once we reached Sleet City we heard Ziva was here."

Out of the corner of Faryn's eye, Clíodhna stiffened as if something Cassian said had alarmed her. When she saw she had snagged Faryn's notice, though, she quickly relaxed her shoulders.

Faryn returned her focus to Arlo. "I'm worried about my mother." She adjusted her beanie. "I haven't been able to get in touch with her. I—Whoever took Nick, might want to do the same to her."

Andromeda came alongside Cassian. "Have you spoken to your mother?"

"No. I don't want her involved in this," he said as Arlo came to a stop before a door. After unlocking it, he pushed it open, revealing a bedroom where a fire crackled in the hearth. Leaving a fire burning unattended behind a locked door made Faryn uneasy but perhaps it was contained with magic.

Andromeda perched herself on a stool and angled her wings away from the fire. The bed, the end of which Arlo sat down upon, was covered in a black bedspread the shade of coal. The frame was the color of gold.

As Peter and Clíodhna each took one of the two black cushioned chairs, Cassian and Faryn would both have to remain standing unless they wanted to sit on the bed with Arlo.

The Fata crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow. "Do you always conduct business in the bedroom?"

Arlo grinned. "Yes. All kinds of it in fact."

Faryn chose to remain near Cassian as Arlo's green eyes simmered as they raked over her.

"Perhaps after dinner we could talk business," he said to her, and Cassian let out a low growl. Faryn's stomach twisted into knots at the sound, and Arlo's eyes shifted to Cassian. "That is unless you'd rather conduct business of your own."

Faryn felt her body flush, but Cassian said nothing.

"Arlo." Clíodhna drummed her fingers on her chair's armrest. "You know this is hardly appropriate conversation."

"Agreed," Andromeda said. "They need a way to travel to Antimonia."

Arlo stood from the bed and crossed the room to a small bookshelf; on the top of which were a decanter and a few glasses. As he poured the liquid into one of the cups, Faryn sniffed the air. Whiskey. "They'll take the train."

Faryn was grateful she wasn't drinking right then because if she had, she would have choked. "I can't take the train. Neither can Cassian."

Arlo nodded to Peter. "But he can."

Peter looked as if he was actually contemplating the idea. "We would need to make sure any cameras are disabled."

Arlo carried over the drink he poured to Andromeda. "I have a way to solve that." He looked at Faryn. "But only if you can convince that way that you didn't murder Claus."

Did the Ratoncito Pérez ever visit you?