His hat had flown off, and he was sprawled in the grass, all beanpole length and a tangle of limbs, his red hair seeming to catch fire in the dawn. His face was blanched, and shock danced in his eyes.She paused before him, terrified that something inside of him had broken, whether in spirit or mind or body.“Rusty—” Her voice cracked, and she had to fight back a sob. “Are you well?”He lifted his head up to look at her, grinned like a madman, and then dropped his head back down.“Ouch,” he said. “I feel all sorts of strange.”“You look even stranger.” Stumbling to her knees before him, she grabbed him by his jacket lapels and hefted him up until he was in a sitting position, and then she crushed him to her chest in an embrace that would have impressed mother bears. She hugged him tightly, never wanting to let him go.And when he managed to wrap his arms around her in return, so much the better.Bromwyn laughed, feeling lighter than air. He was all right! They had survived the encounter with the fey, and the World Door would soon be closed and locked, and then they were free!For a year, anyway.She bit her lip as the wonderful floating feeling was replaced with a steel ball in her gut.
