Sionnach didn’t even glance his way, much less answer the question. “You will all follow the new rules or pay the price.”

A faery with a wicked grin said, “Why? I heard you were too injured to—”

At that Sionnach was off the roof and in a fraction of a moment had knocked the faery to the sand. The jacket from Sionnach’s lap dropped to the ground in the process.

As Sionnach pressed his arm to the faery’s throat, he looked over his shoulder at the crowd standing around them in a loose circle now. “I’m feeling quite fine. Good of you to ask. . . .”

The faery grasped at the sand near him, searching for a weapon and finding a piece of broken wood nearby. His fingertips grazed it, and almost immediately, he gripped it and swung.

Seemingly without looking, Sionnach caught the faery’s wrist and forced it to the ground. Then, he looked into the faery’s face and whispered, “Don’t.”

The faery nodded and released the weapon. As soon as he did so, Sionnach let go of him and stood. The faery scrabbled backward and sat so that he was leaning against a building.

“Follow the rules or move on.” Sionnach brushed the sand and dirt off his hands and knees, using the gesture to buy himself time to will away the pain that the moment of conflict had caused. Schooling his features into an approximation of a smile, he stood and looked around at them before adding, “We aren’t a court here. You can obey or move on. Your choice. But it might be good to remember that Rika supports my decision. She’s not hiding away in her cave anymore, and she is never going to be weak enough for any of you to defeat.”

Several faeries exchanged looks, as if they were debating trying Sionnach.

“I am the Alpha in this desert.” Sionnach kept his spine straight, still hiding the pain that was now flooding him, and doing his best to look unconcerned about another potential altercation. “Don’t doubt that.”

Then he bent down, grabbed his jacket from the ground, and slipped it on. “Obey the new rules if you mean to stay here.”

He tucked his hands in the jacket pockets and pulled the jacket closed before he walked through the crowd and away into the desert, consciously avoiding the sort of showmanship of the court fey or blurs of speed, opting for a casual stroll into the wide-open desert.