After enjoying a few days with the Fae, Paddy learned that they are planning a special ceremony just for him.

“That’s it, then?” Paddy blurted, disgusted. What Alastar was suggesting was more than he wanted to deal with. “You stole me away. Friended me. Trained me, promised me you’d help my family and friends, and now you tell me there are strings attached?”

“Not strings. Wings.”

“Oh, begging my pardon! That’s what I meant. Wings.” Paddy snickered and tossed a stone over the cliff. The pebble bounced against the boulders and disappeared. “So, off I’ll fly and help you win your battle, and then what shall I do with my wings when I go home?”

Alastar didn’t respond.

“What? I don’t go home?” Paddy pried for an answer, but he didn’t get one. Were the Fae suggesting he would change from a human being into a faerie forever? Was that how they kidnapped children? By luring them into something wonderful and then asking them to give up who they were? His admiration for Alastar was diminishing.

The music had begun again, and Alastar’s attention turned to the dancers. The female Fae had joined the soldiers in their jig, and there was much laughing and merriment. The meadow sparkled with joy. Paddy scooted against a lichen-covered rock. The celebration made him homesick. Everyone back home danced. All his friends, relatives, and neighbors would gather in the park, bring their favorite food and drink, and strike up a tune on their harps and uilleann pipes. Why, even this week a cèilidh was planned in Kilbritteny to raise funds for the Volunteers. He would miss the celebration if he stayed here. The money was going to be used to buy guns for the Volunteers.

Paddy moved restlessly. His duty was elsewhere, not with the Fae folk. This had all been a crazy mistake, and it was time to get away.

He hadn’t noticed that Alastar slipped away and joined the others. Nor was he aware when Periwinkle took the Fianna’s place. She surprised him when she interrupted his thoughts.

“Today was a good day, Pádraig,” she said softly. “We worked and played and loved one another. And now the sun leaves us in a symphony of color. What a beautiful sunset!”

Paddy was still in his memories, still wishing he were home with his mother and father and Ailis, and with Michael—his older brother who had left for America after the Great War, and whom he missed terribly. He opened his eyes but failed to see the beauty she spoke of.

“It’s not fair,” he said.

“What’s not fair?”

“Me being here while my friends at home are fighting to survive. Dying.”

“I’m sorry your people are at war,” Periwinkle said, though she didn’t sound sorry. “Humans are unkind to each other. The Fae cannot change their hearts.”

“You’re not a smidgeon better than they are, what with you robbing me away to fight your war when I should be home fighting mine.” Paddy breathed deeply.

“Give this careful thought, Pádraig. What we’ve given you is a far better choice than what you were facing. Should you return now, you’re a fugitive.”

His body stiffened. All the options were laid out in front of him and none of them were choices he wanted. “It’s my family I aspire to be with. That’s all. I just want things to be right,” he said.

Periwinkle took the hem of her robe and touched his eyes with the magic fabric. His worry left him instantly and strength returned to him. “Did Alastar explain your initiation?”

“About wings? Yes. That’s the problem.”

“Once you go through the ceremony, you’ll be with us in whole,” Periwinkle urged. “Then you will have no doubts.”

The dancing had ceased, but many of the Fae folk lingered. Some gathered around him and Periwinkle and listened to their conversation. They seemed to be drawn to Paddy’s sadness. They looked at him with sympathetic eyes.

“You have a home with us, whatever you fancy,” one Fianna said as he sat at Paddy’s feet. “I was a lad just like you. Lived in Limerick. We were well-off for the most part, busy as any family in the city. My sisters were all older and had little time for me. I was hardly a speck of lint on the windowsill until the Fae came and took me away. Scared to grow wings I was, but I couldn’t help but wish to fly, seeing how free the Fianna were. I could never be happier than I am now. I would wager the same be for you.”

“Why would you want to go back?” another boy wondered. “There’s no light in that world. Sunlight, but not the kind of light that lifts your spirits. Here we make our own light,” he said.

“We’re here for you, Pádraig,” a little girl faerie said. Her wings fluttered gently as she sat on his knee. “I hope you choose to stay. You will never have to hide in the thorny bushes again.”

“I like you being here, Paddy.” Tommy came to his side.

Tommy—of all the people in this crazy world, Tommy should have understood why Paddy wanted to go home. He was Paddy’s friend and knew his family. But Tommy was young and an orphan, and maybe he was put under a Fae spell of some sort, because he didn’t understand.

“You’re my friend, Paddy. You made things right for me when I was alone. I’d like you to stay.”

Paddy looked him in the eyes. It didn’t seem like this was the same Tommy at all.

“Let’s let Pádraig have some time to think,” Periwinkle said as she urged the Fae away. “This is a big step for him.”

Just then, a guard called out, interrupting the mood and startling everyone. “Lady Periwinkle! Come quickly! Someone has disturbed the gateway!”

Periwinkle turned her attention to the Fianna rushing toward her.