I trudged forward with my stuff. “Go with him if you want.”

Jenks rose up and down indecisively as if on a string, but when he heard the back door open and shut, he darted to me, flying backward as he fumed.

“What does he want?” Ivy asked mildly as I passed her.

“I’ve no idea.” I had none whatsoever, but I imagined that his claim of tending to Lucy was an excuse so I wouldn’t see him taking the steps in his cast. He could make it all right, but he lacked his usual grace, and I knew it bothered him.

“What happened?” I asked Jenks as I smacked my luggage into the wall in the hallway.

“The kids fought them off,” Jenks admitted, his dust finally starting to dampen as he followed me to my room. “Them and that fairy girl.”

He had almost spat out the last, and I elbowed my light switch on to see his face screwed up in a nasty expression. “Belle?” I asked, remembering that Sidereal’s daughter had remained behind to watch me. It smelled stale in my room, and leaving my garment bag and overnight case on the bed, I propped the narrow stained-glass window open. Night sounds, the scent of marigolds, and the singing of pixies seeped in. Hands on my hips, I sighed, glad to be home.

“She has a name? You knew she was here?” Jenks yelped, a burst of dust lighting my perfumes.

“Well, yeah.” I took off my jacket and hung it on my bedpost. “Didn’t you? Jeez, Jenks. She’s been here for months.”

He fumed, his wings drooping and his tiny features cross as I needled him. Relenting, I tugged my closet door open and hung up my garment bag. Unzipping it, the smell of clean fabric spilled out. “Everyone is okay, right?” I prompted, wondering if I should be more concerned.

“Yeah…,” he admitted. “But…”

“Then relax.” I pulled the beautiful dress from the bag and hung it at the back. “Bis!” I shouted, sensing him up on the steeple. He probably couldn’t hear me, but he’d come anyway.

“You don’t care!” Jenks exclaimed, twin pixies rising in my dresser’s mirror. “We were attacked and you don’t care!”

“Of course I care,” I said, then shut the closet door hard enough to make his dust shake. “But I’ve been trapped in a plane with you for five solid hours. No one is hurt, and you need to chill!” He was scowling at me, and I lowered my voice. “Let me catch my breath, okay?” I pleaded.

A small scraping at the lintel brought my attention to the ceiling. It was Bis, his ears pricked and expectant. He hadn’t been his usual self during the few days we’d spent recovering on the coast before flying home. There was a hesitancy between us that hadn’t been there before, a feeling out of new responsibilities and expectations.

Neither of us knew what being bonded meant, but I sensed where he was most of the time, and he knew where I was. And since we couldn’t ask Al or Pierce what my responsibilities were to Bis and his to me, we’d just have to figure it out as we went along. Him teaching me how to line jump wasn’t an issue anymore, so maybe the question was moot.