It really wasn’t a question, and I felt awful. “You are,” I pleaded. “Just . . .”

“Just not tonight,” she finished. “It’s okay,” she said around a sigh, her gaze distant, as if looking at the future. I couldn’t tell if she saw me there or not.

“It’s not okay,” I said softly. “It stinks.” Jenks was dusting a sour green in the corner, as far from me as he could get. He looked capable and ready, but I knew he would freeze tonight, and so did he. “This isn’t what I wanted,” I whispered, and his dust flashed silver, even as he refused to look at me.

“But this is where you are,” Ivy said, and my shoulders eased. “Go with Quen. I’ll watch Nick. All of us will,” she said, her voice hard with warning and Jenks clattered his wings at her. “He’ll be here when you get back, dead or alive.”

I was smiling, though something was dying in me. “You guys are too good to me.”

“Only because you made me so,” Ivy said, her eyes glinting with unshed tears.

The weirdest feeling of anticipation filled me, seeing them both there in my kitchen, willing to let me go, knowing that I could do this, and trusting me. “Oh my God,” I said, eyes swimming. “You are going to make me cry!” I sniffed, then moved about the kitchen, gathering everything up that I wanted to take—magnetic chalk, pain charms—it wasn’t much, and I stifled a swift pang of worry. I snatched my cell phone at the last moment, tucking it in a back pocket after making sure it was on vibrate.

“Ivy!” Quen shouted from the living room. “Get back out here and watch Nick, or I’m going to kill him myself!”

I smiled, giving Ivy a hug as Jenks hovered over both of us. “When I get back, we are all going to go out and do some serious vigilante work.”

“Ivy!” Quen bellowed. “I’m counting to three!” He couldn’t leave Nick, and he didn’t want to trust himself to bring him back to the kitchen.

“Thanks. For everything,” I said, and Ivy touched my arm before she turned and left the room. My smile slowly faded as I looked at Jenks, who was dripping an angry dust. It still felt like good-bye, but that was okay now.

“See you at sunrise,” he said, then turned, almost flying into Quen, the elf irate stomping into the kitchen.

The two of us alone, Quen stared at me, and I shrugged. “I’m not going to lie to them,” I said, and his eyes narrowed.