“No, but she’s a fae in the prime of her life, and she’ll be able to withstand the exchange of forests for the bleakness of the city far longer than he.”

“And her child?”

“Is now in his thirties, and in training to become fiosaiche when his grandfather eventually dies.”

“So it’s a position that’s handed down?”

Jackson nodded. “But generally to the male of the line, not the female.”

“So she was training because there were no sons?”

“Yes. But to become fiosaiche is to forgo children.”

“He obviously didn’t.” Nor did Makani, for that matter.

“Makani was conceived before he stepped into the position. I have no doubt Hava will have done the same now that he is undergoing the training. As for Makani—she also stepped away from training simply because she wanted to spend more time with her son than the position would have allowed.”

“Huh.” I concentrated on the road for a while, and eventually asked, “Do you have any problems with working with her?”

He shook his head. “She’ll be an asset. Not to mention easy on the eyes.”

“Remember the no-touching rule.”

“Oh, trust me, I’m remembering. The swimmers are aching at the mere thought of it.”

I grinned. “They will get relief. Eventually.”

“I’ll probably explode before then.” His expression was gloomy, but amusement teased his lips. “At this rate, I’ll have to take matters into my own hands, and that’s a very depressing thought.”

I chuckled softly. “I’m sure you’re more than capable of such an action, even if it is a very foreign one for you.”

He sniffed, a sound that somehow managed to be disdainful. “The point is I shouldn’t have to.”

My amusement grew, but I resisted the urge to reach across and pat his leg in sympathy; not only would that have been dangerous, given the speed we were going, but also because I knew he really was sexually frustrated. I could feel the heat of it running through the back of my thoughts, a river of desire that could so easily sweep me away if I wasn’t very careful.

And, right now, with everything going on, we really couldn’t afford that happening.

If he heard that particular thought, he didn’t reply to it. Maybe the reality of it simply depressed him too much. I drove on into the night. Luckily there didn’t seem to be any cops about, but even if there had been, I wouldn’t have stopped. The need to get back to Rory, to see what was happening, was beating fast and strong within me, and while I was now close enough to know that he wasn’t dead, that didn’t mean he wasn’t injured or close to that state.

I needed to know. Needed to get there and find out.