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queen’s most gracious hospitality ever since. It would be an honor to defend you on this quest, Shade.”
    He bowed his head, as her name rolled of his tongue, making her heart flip. His presence was intoxicating. He didn’t seem to drop any glamour at all. She ripped her gaze away from him, she was sure her face was an unfavorable shade of scarlet red. Shade kept wondering if he had any glamour on and if her feelings were caused by his magic.
    “And last but not least, Ewan,” Ilarial said, waving her hand at the husky quiet man, who sat at the other end of the table. He happened to be seated next to Sary. Ewan was large man, with big hands, and burly hair all over. His squared jaw was busy chomping hard on each bite of food. His thick, black and greasy hair was slicked back, and stroked his shoulders. He was large and didn’t seem like someone you would want to fight with in a bar. “He is part giant and human and very strong. He would be the one you would want next to you in a fight. He has been almost everywhere and will be your guide to the land of the Santirans. I believe he’s the only one who has even been there.”
    The husky man gave a slight nod to Shade and continued shoveling food into his mouth. He had polished off two plates already. He wasn’t bad looking, just rough around the edges.
    Shade sipped her juice, realizing how exhausted she was. She wished to see her mother, sister and brothers. What would they be doing? Brisa, what would she think when Shade didn’t show up at school in the morning? She slipped her cell phone out of her pocket and looked at the time. It was eleven pm. She had ten missed calls from her mother, and three from Brisa. She began dialing her mother’s cell when Ilarial placed her hand on the phone and shook her head.
    “No calls will work from here, Shade. I know you fear for your mother, but I will take care of her. She will be okay, and I can weave a spell to help her believe you will not be gone long. I can make her believe you have been at a friend’s house, maybe? And the rest of your family too, they will not notice you are gone, I promise. I also promise to you there will be no pain for them. Time works differently here in the faerie lands than they do in the human mundane world. You will not be missed; I say that in a good way, though.” Shade swallowed hard with a nod. She obviously had to trust these people. She saw no other way but to do what they asked of her. “Ilarial, about the voices in my head, what do I do with them? Can you make them go away? Can I learn to control them? I feel like banging my head against the wall sometimes when they won’t stop. They make me go where they want, and if I don’t listen they become intolerable. They’re the ones who led me to Jack and subsequently to you and this strange world. I can’t live like that. It’s distracting and I feel like a slave to it. What if they tell me to not go on this journey, or go somewhere else? I am powerless to ignore them. What if they drive me insane?”
    Ilarial nodded, thinking hard about Shade’s words. She sighed and seemed to come to a decision. “Follow me; you will sleep in my quarters tonight. I will give you a potion that will help you control the voices, it will aide in blocking them out when you want to; it will also help you listen to them when you’re ready to. Having more control over The Voices will help you develop your own powers. You will be able to decide your own fate, while you are still so young and untrained. If you practice, in time, you can learn to use them for your own benefits. This is a difficult task, but I will help you. Will you agree to this?” Shade nodded and felt a weight lift off her shoulders. Finally, there is someone who could help her after all these years. She just prayed that it would work.
    Ilarial led her back through the branches of tunnels that led to her own chambers. She made up a bed in the second room. She then motioned to Shade and