Cultivated gardens and lawns stretch down a hill toward a high wall on one side and a creepy-looking forest on the other. The scene has a super HD quality as if 3-D glasses enhance my eyesight. I can count every brick in that distant wall, and it must be at least six hundred yards away. What the hell did Alexei do to me?

I push the thought aside and turn to Laasya, who’s watching my examination of the mansion. My chain swings and clinks as I point to the outside. “The wall around the grounds only goes as far as those woods. Aren’t you worried about prisoners escaping through the trees?”

Laasya’s eyes widen with surprise. “You can see the woods?”

I frown. “Why would I not be able to see them? It looks like you’ve got Fangorn from Lord of the Rings at the end of the garden.”

She laughs. It’s a cute laugh, a sort of snorty giggle. “Yes, that’s their nickname. They’re the Border Woods—a protective barrier around the Fae forest to keep out unwanted visitors from the Faelands. The mansion was purposely built beside them. They’re invisible to most. People without the sight only see the wall.”

“The Faelands?”

Laasya puckers her mouth as she ponders. “Think of it as another country, but a country only certain people can access. With different species and, um, different physics.”

Different physics? I give her a look. “What kind of creatures?”

“Well,” she says as if preparing for my reaction to her answer. “There are hundreds of creatures who live there, but it’s governed by the Fae.”

Fae? I let out a long sigh. “You mean fairies, don’t you?”

Her smile borders on a grimace. “Yeah. I know it’s hard to take in when you’re new to all this, but don’t worry. You’ll soon take the supernatural world in your stride.”

I shake my head. Bloody fairies! As if vampires and witches weren’t enough.

As we march through one of the heavy double doors dividing the corridor into sections, I can’t tear my eyes away from the dark clump of trees. Not an attractive escape route. The disfigured giants look gnarled and unnatural. They leer over the pristine lawn as though intent on corrupting it. I can’t imagine them being invisible.

“Not a place for a picnic,” I mumble. The sight feels somehow repugnant and fascinating at the same time. The Flame circulates through my body, excited, wanting to tug me closer.

“No, definitely not a Sunday lunch venue. It’s enchanted. Only those with Fae blood can pass through safely. Anybody else who enters without permission will never return.”

Okey-dokey. Don’t go into the dark woods, Mickey boy. Not the way out.