The Wood Queen by Karen Mahoney

shoulders, drawing her against the warmth of his body. His thumb moved against her upper arm, an absent-minded caress that felt both natural and comforting. Donna leaned her head against his chest and listened to the steady beating of his heart. She took a deep breath and pulled away.
    “So, what exactly is an elf curse? I always thought that’s what was wrong with her. I mean, I didn’t know for sure and I didn’t know what to call it, but it was clearly something fey-related.”
    Xan gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Assuming that we won’t talk too much about how I can divine fey curses …” He let his voice trail off and offered her a crooked, apologetic smile. “Yeah, I suspect your mother’s under theinfluence of an elflock. That’s how Aliette keeps her people alive.”
    “Wait … what?” Donna resisted the urge to glare at him. This wasn’t his fault , she reminded herself. “What do you mean?”
    Xan actually looked surprised; surprised that she didn’t know something that was clearly so obvious to him. “You know that Aliette’s sort of a succubus, right? I mean, not so much with the sex part, just the part where she uses human souls to keep the elves alive in the iron world. I thought that was why you were so worried about Navin when they took him.”
    “But what does Aliette need the elflocks for ?” Donna pressed. “There were a lot of them on that belt she was wearing.” She shuddered at the memory.
    “Her power is the only thing keeping the elves alive,” Xan replied. “Remember what she said in the Ironwood when we rescued Navin and Maker? Her people are dying, cut off from the Elflands’ true home within Faerie. The wood elves are gradually turning into something like wraiths—that’s why she wanted the elixir. She was hoping it might help in some way.”
    Horror was making Donna dizzy, but she forced herself to focus on what Xan was saying. “Do the alchemists know about this?”
    Oh, who was she kidding? Of course they knew. They knew all about the dark elves and about the Wood Queen. It was just Donna who didn’t know anything. She was such an idiot.
    Xan held both her shoulders and shook her. “Hey, you didn’t ask to belong to a group of liars. You can’t control what those bastards choose to tell you—”
    This time she pushed him away so hard he stumbled. She threw a quick glance at her mother and tried to keep the panic at bay. “Don’t turn this into an ‘us against them’ thing. This is about my mom!”
    “I know that.” A muscle flickered in his jaw, but to his credit he didn’t betray any other reaction to her outburst. He held up his hands as though calming a potentially dangerous animal. “I know. We’re on the same side, Donna.”
    “Stop making it about sides.”
    “Stop being so fucking childish,” he snapped.
    So much for not reacting , Donna thought nastily.
    They glared at each other, and in the growing silence between them all Donna could hear was the beep of hospital machinery and, above that, the sound of blood rushing in her ears. She felt the tattoos shift beneath her gloves, almost as though they were alive and reacting to her emotions.
    What on earth put that thought in her head? She shook herself and was relieved to feel her tattoos settle down.
    Her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. God, I don’t mean to be such a bitch …”
    Xan’s lips curved into a comforting half-smile. “You’re pretty good at it, though, so that’s something to smile about.”
    “Shut up,” she said, but without any real conviction. She met his eyes, grateful that he was giving her an easy out. He deserved better than her unloading her fear and frustration all over him.
    Xan gave her a speculative look, but all he said was, “The elves can’t really survive in the iron world; not for long periods of time, anyway. It’s Aliette’s power that helps them hold their glamour when they do venture across the border from the Elflands.” His expression was