Rika didn’t back away from them despite the sudden rock shower. The rocks hurt, but not enough that it made her react. After years of carrying snow and ice inside a body not created for such things, it took far more than rocks to cause her to wince.

Jayce, however, couldn’t see the faeries. All he saw were rocks falling. He called out from the ground where he was now kneeling, “Be careful.”

“I’m fine.” She scowled pointedly up at Maili. “It’s a little unstable up there. Maybe it needs to be knocked down.”

“Do you really think you can ‘knock down’ all of us, Rika?” Maili’s smile grew wide with glee, no doubt thrilled to finally get Rika’s temper stirred. “I’d love for you to try. . . .”

Undaunted, Rika smiled at her just as she’d smiled at Keenan earlier; today, she wouldn’t object to a challenge.

Maili stilled, unaccustomed to seeing Rika ready to fight, but she didn’t move toward Rika. As she had so many times, the solitary faery postured and antagonized, but she never actually started the competition she seemed to want.

Rika mouthed, “You’d lose.”

“C’mon, Rika. What’s say we have at it? Just us . . . and you,” Maili said.

If she were truly strong enough to challenge Rika, she wouldn’t need to surround herself with faeries who toadied for her approval. A true contender for Alpha should be able to act as an individual, should be strong enough to be truly solitary. Maili only played at being a legitimate challenger.

“Rika? Do you see something up there?” Jayce asked from behind her.

Rika held Maili’s gaze and said levelly, “Nothing important.”

Then she turned her back to Maili and the rest of the faeries.

“You’re making a mistake,” Maili called. Rocks and a fine cloud of sand showered down around Rika.

Rika ignored the faery and the debris, looking instead at Jayce, who had taken off his bloodied shirt, baring a well-defined chest and sculpted abs. The shirt he’d had on was balled up in his lap, and she forced herself to look at the bloody clothing instead of at his bare skin. She had to remind herself that he’d already bled because she was interested in him. She’d caused that. No good came of faeries wooing mortals. When she’d been mortal, a faery’s attention had cost her everything. Now, she’d already cost Jayce pain.

She kept her expression blank as she calmly walked to Jayce’s side and handed him the rucksack.

He looked at the sand in her hair and on her skin and shook his head. “You’re a strange girl, Rika.”