“Thank you,” I whispered, feeling like a princess as she stood beside me while Pierce made his way to us, testing his hand and marveling that the burn was gone. His beard was back, and he looked like an older version of one of Jenks’s kids, the one with dark hair, dressed in the traditional tight trousers and gardening jacket. The jacket was loose since it tied in the back as well as the front, and he couldn’t manage it alone. It was the same fabric as my dress, but clearly masculine. His feet were bare, and they looked kind of thin. He even had a hat, perched rakishly on his head.

“Rachel,” he said as soon as he was close enough, his worry obvious. “Are you well?”

“I’m fine,” I said, wishing we could just get moving, then frowned at Ivy and Ceri who were whispering about how cute we looked. “I thought you might sound like Mickey Mouse,” I said as he came to a halt beside me.

“Who?” he asked, rubbing his new beard.

“Never mind,” I said, gesturing for him to turn around so I could lace his jacket up.

His neck went stiff, but he turned to show me the undone laces. Jih made an embarrassed sound as I tightened them, and I wondered if I was breaking a pixy rule by lacing up an unmarried man’s shirt. Rolling my eyes at her fluster, I tugged the last one tight and tied it off. “There you go,” I said, and Jih’s wings blurred to invisibility to make a silver dusting.

The light was suddenly eclipsed, and I jumped, startled when Ceri bent down to us.

“Jumpy little thing, isn’t she?” Jih said, and Pierce smiled slightly, startled as well.

Ceri patiently waited until we were all looking at her. “Jih will escort you to the stump and give you a good dusting,” she said, looking at us in turn. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” She stood, and skirts shifting, she walked to the stairs and went inside, the door slamming behind her in rebuke. I looked at Pierce, doubt rising. I wanted this, Ivy wanted this, but more important, Matalina had wanted this.

“After you, madam pixy,” Pierce said, and Jih darted off, gone in an instant.

“Jih!” Ivy shouted, and Pierce and I cowered. “Sorry,” she whispered as Jih returned.

“I wasn’t going to leave them,” she said, hands on her hips as she hovered over us. “I was just making sure it was safe for ground travel.”

“Where’s Rex?” I asked, fear stabbing through me.

“Inside.” Jih moved forward and then back. “This way. Mind the glass.”

Glass? I thought, cold, miserable, and worried about Jenks.