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Something was not right about the fey in front of her. Where there should have been light, she found only stormy darkness. The unbridled passion, the tapped mischief that glowed from all faerie folk blazed dangerously like uncontrolled fire in the recesses of his eyes. He spoke to her as if lecturing a child. His voice was chipper, but the words that poured from him were sinister. He threatened Hale in that soothing, pretty way that the queen often used. Hazel pressed her lips together and frowned, feeling a pang of concern for Hale despite the lingering discord that stretched between them. If the court were to try to apprehend him, a mess of bloodshed would be sustained on both sides. Just a whisper of a fey attack would send Hale off the handle. She resolved not to mention Luca’s threat to him for everyone’s sake. It would be easier to protect Hale if he wasn’t puffing out his chest and preparing to meet the Queen’s threat with a message of his own. But her inability to confess Luca’s warning only erected another obstacle at her feet. How could she convince Hale to cut loose without stressing the imminent danger he was in? Any advice she had to offer would not be accepted freely. He had less respect for her than Luca and the queen did. 

“Hale won’t be an issue anymore. I can promise you that. There doesn’t need to be any needless violence between the faerie and the hunters. He knows not to hunt in the forest, and he would never even think about taking down one of the Seelie. Last night was a mistake; he got too caught up in making sure he took those Unseelie down before they harmed more people. You can hardly blame him for it.” She hoped that maybe she could appeal to the strange knight, but as soon as the words crossed the threshold of her lips, she knew that it was futile. Luca extended his willowy fingers to trap a lock of her hair. She jumped, but did not move from him even when he touched is lips to the curly strand. When he spoke again their faces were close; the warmth of his breath stirred across her face with each word that left his mouth. Uneasiness once again flooded her stomach; her heart began to beat an unsteady pace. It was his intention, she knew, to disarm her, strip her of her confidence. She knew it and yet could not stop him from doing it. He smiled at her as though she were a plaything and dragged his hand up the underside of her throat. Her body tensed against the pleasing sizzle of magic that trailed behind his touch. A fog settled over her mind, she found herself glancing at his lips and wondering if they tasted like sunshine. Falling into the illusion of a fey’s touch was too easy, and the very reason why humans allowed themselves to fall prey to the fey time and time again. Luca forced her chin up; Hazel commanded herself to focus. She stared defiantly at him. It was a transgression for the fey to allow their influence to flow unblocked onto an unwilling human; surely even he must know that. 

“What are you talking ab—?” She softly demanded when Luca dropped her chin and warned her of another intruder. Shaking off the leftover residue of his influence, she followed the faerie’s gaze until her eyes came upon Ash. What lovely timing; an overbearing knight and a hunter crossing paths, there was no way this could go wrong. “It’s not Hale, but you need to leave. Tell the queen that I accept her offer; check up on me later if you must, but go.” 

Hazel turned her back on him before he could accept or deny her command. She trotted across her yard, cracking sticks and twigs beneath her feet in her haste to keep Ash a reasonable distance from the knight. “Ash,” She greeted warily, doing her best to conceal the suspicion behind her eyes. Was he here to finish what Hale had started? But Ash didn’t seem the type to willingly inflict more suffering upon Hazel. They rarely spoke, in fact had conversed only a handful of times whenever she needed something repaired in her bug, but he had only ever been reasonable and kind to her—very much unlike his partner. The skepticism broke; she would at least give him a chance to say his part before she treated him like a malefactor. "What can I do for you?” Her mouth turned up in a smile that hid away the lingering anxiousness Luca had imparted her with. Sinis, who had until then been clinging to her shoulder like a bat, leaped from her shoulder and trotted off; apparently he didn’t see their new visitor as a threat.