removed one of the rocks.
“Fair nights and bright days to you,” Glira said with a twirl of her wings, and she was gone.
I stood up and brushed the dirt from my skin. “Well, that was certainly productive,” I muttered, my voice heavy with sarcasm.
“The Sidhe could kill Glira, if they found out what she just told us,” Molly said seriously, zipping up the front pocket of the backpack.
“She didn’t tell us anything!”
“She told you exactly what you asked, just not very straightforwardly. And that’s not her fault. It’s just in their nature to be like that.” Molly swung the backpack onto her shoulder again.
“There’s no way we can go to the Unseelie Court with no defense,” I protested.
“I don’t really have a choice, Tess. Did you hear Glira? They’re sending a knight to come collect me. I don’t think I’d win even if we tried to fight. And who knows what supernatural apocalypse we’d set off if we killed a Sidhe.”
“Can they even die?” I asked.
Molly shook her head. “I don’t know, Tess.” She took a step backward and sat down on the rock again. “Look, you don’t have to come with me. I know that you want to protect me, but….I might be safer if I don’t drag you into all this. You saw how Glira reacted when she realized I’d brought a strange mortal to meet her, and that’s after I’ve known her for over ten years. Think about how the Sidhe might react.”
“It’s a package deal,” I said firmly despite the quavering in my stomach. “They take you, they take me.”
Molly sat silently for a moment. “Well, then. You’d better set your mind to solving that riddle.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said mockingly. Then I pressed my lips together. “What they lack is what hurts the Sidhe the most. How in the world are we supposed to know what the Sidhe do and don’t have?” I wondered.
“Hm. Let me think.” Molly paced around the little depression, trailing her fingers over the trunks of the trees. She suddenly stopped, stock-still. “I’ve got it!” Her eyes widened as she turned to me and gestured grandly with her hands. “Trillow told me the story once, of a Seelie prince who loved a lady of the Dark Court. I don’t remember all the details exactly…it was a kind of Romeo and Juliet retelling, I think…or maybe Romeo and Juliet is a retelling of the Sidhe tale.” She waved her hand dismissively. “But I do remember that Trillow said the Seelie prince bled blue on the blade he used to kill himself, and the Unseelie lady cried sweet tears over his body.”
I frowned. “He bled blue. And she cried sweet tears.”
“Come on, Miss Riddle-solver, Lady of the Puzzles,” cried Molly impishly, dancing a little around the glade and ignoring my strange look.
I sat down on the rock and rubbed my nose. I always rub the scar on my nose when I think hard. I waited patiently, mulling all the pieces together in my mind, sifting them against one another. Then, finally, it all fell into place. I looked up. “Salt and iron. They can be hurt by salt and iron.”
“And why is that?” Molly asked, grabbing hold of a low branch and pulling herself up into a tree. She settled against the trunk, dangling one leg into the air.
“Iron is what makes blood red. So if the Seelie prince bled blue…that’s probably because they don’t have iron in their blood. And sweet tears…obviously, we’re taking this literally, but that means they don’t have salt in their bodies somehow. So, what they don’t have hurts them the most.”
“Salt and iron,” agreed Molly. “I remember that Trillow and Glira never let me put salt on any of the rewards I gave them…it was always sweet stuff, like chocolate or a teaspoon of sugar.”
“Then we need to find some iron and salt,” I said, starting back down the hill.
Molly leapt down lightly out of the tree and shifted the backpack on her shoulders. “Salt will be easy enough. But iron?”
“Any places around here that we
“Fair nights and bright days to you,” Glira said with a twirl of her wings, and she was gone.
I stood up and brushed the dirt from my skin. “Well, that was certainly productive,” I muttered, my voice heavy with sarcasm.
“The Sidhe could kill Glira, if they found out what she just told us,” Molly said seriously, zipping up the front pocket of the backpack.
“She didn’t tell us anything!”
“She told you exactly what you asked, just not very straightforwardly. And that’s not her fault. It’s just in their nature to be like that.” Molly swung the backpack onto her shoulder again.
“There’s no way we can go to the Unseelie Court with no defense,” I protested.
“I don’t really have a choice, Tess. Did you hear Glira? They’re sending a knight to come collect me. I don’t think I’d win even if we tried to fight. And who knows what supernatural apocalypse we’d set off if we killed a Sidhe.”
“Can they even die?” I asked.
Molly shook her head. “I don’t know, Tess.” She took a step backward and sat down on the rock again. “Look, you don’t have to come with me. I know that you want to protect me, but….I might be safer if I don’t drag you into all this. You saw how Glira reacted when she realized I’d brought a strange mortal to meet her, and that’s after I’ve known her for over ten years. Think about how the Sidhe might react.”
“It’s a package deal,” I said firmly despite the quavering in my stomach. “They take you, they take me.”
Molly sat silently for a moment. “Well, then. You’d better set your mind to solving that riddle.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said mockingly. Then I pressed my lips together. “What they lack is what hurts the Sidhe the most. How in the world are we supposed to know what the Sidhe do and don’t have?” I wondered.
“Hm. Let me think.” Molly paced around the little depression, trailing her fingers over the trunks of the trees. She suddenly stopped, stock-still. “I’ve got it!” Her eyes widened as she turned to me and gestured grandly with her hands. “Trillow told me the story once, of a Seelie prince who loved a lady of the Dark Court. I don’t remember all the details exactly…it was a kind of Romeo and Juliet retelling, I think…or maybe Romeo and Juliet is a retelling of the Sidhe tale.” She waved her hand dismissively. “But I do remember that Trillow said the Seelie prince bled blue on the blade he used to kill himself, and the Unseelie lady cried sweet tears over his body.”
I frowned. “He bled blue. And she cried sweet tears.”
“Come on, Miss Riddle-solver, Lady of the Puzzles,” cried Molly impishly, dancing a little around the glade and ignoring my strange look.
I sat down on the rock and rubbed my nose. I always rub the scar on my nose when I think hard. I waited patiently, mulling all the pieces together in my mind, sifting them against one another. Then, finally, it all fell into place. I looked up. “Salt and iron. They can be hurt by salt and iron.”
“And why is that?” Molly asked, grabbing hold of a low branch and pulling herself up into a tree. She settled against the trunk, dangling one leg into the air.
“Iron is what makes blood red. So if the Seelie prince bled blue…that’s probably because they don’t have iron in their blood. And sweet tears…obviously, we’re taking this literally, but that means they don’t have salt in their bodies somehow. So, what they don’t have hurts them the most.”
“Salt and iron,” agreed Molly. “I remember that Trillow and Glira never let me put salt on any of the rewards I gave them…it was always sweet stuff, like chocolate or a teaspoon of sugar.”
“Then we need to find some iron and salt,” I said, starting back down the hill.
Molly leapt down lightly out of the tree and shifted the backpack on her shoulders. “Salt will be easy enough. But iron?”
“Any places around here that we
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