Lupi 04 - Night Season

allergy to certain metals, you see. Particularly iron and steel.”
    Cullen nodded. “It’s that trace of sidhe blood, no doubt. Most of them aren’t troubled by cold iron—that’s a myth—but a few are allergic to it.”
    â€œWait a minute,” Cynna said. “Trace of sidhe blood? Ruben?”
    â€œI saw it in his magic,” Cullen said, “after in-blooding the elements, when my vision was heightened. Traces of violet and black. The violet’s uncommon, but it was the blend of it with an iridescent black, like flecks of mica, that clinched it. The only place I’ve ever seen that is in sidhe magic.”
    â€œA metal allergy,” Cynna said slowly. “That’s going to be hard. Steel is everywhere.”
    Ruben nodded. “Even being around large amounts of steel may be debilitating for me, which will prove a challenge. But primarily I must avoid touching it. The healer is unfamiliar with aluminum, so she can’t say whether that’s included on my ‘do not touch’ list, but I suspect it is.”
    â€œAluminum? Your chair. Ruben, your chair has aluminum and steel!”
    â€œYes.” He looked embarrassed. “I had a strong feeling I should be at that meeting with the gnome, if you remember, when we expected him to give Mr. Seabourne the shield spell. It turns out that was my first precognition utterly about myself. I wasn’t needed for the mission, but I did need very much to come here. Being forcibly separated from my wheelchair has probably saved my life.”
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    I T took the gnomes another two weeks to build the gate. It was a small one, only large enough for two to go through at a time. But it was permanent. They left at the start of the Dawning.
    They were escorted to the new gate by three of the councilors, a troop of the guard, and Tash. She wasn’t recovered from her wound yet, but she’d informed the healer she could mend just as well sitting in a carriage as lolling around in bed.
    Gan accompanied them, tricked out for the occasion in a new dress. This one was silk in an eye-popping combination of reddish orange, cinnamon, and fuchsia. The chancellor’s medallion hung from a shortened chain around her neck.
    She waved a lot at the people they passed—some of whom were waving or pointing at her. “Sometimes it’s fun, being important,” she confided to Cynna. “Sometimes it’s annoying. You’ll remember about the chocolate? And to tell Lily Yu she can visit? And you and Steve Timms and Cullen Seabourne will come see me sometimes, too, right?”
    â€œI’ll remember,” Cynna said, and kissed the top of her bald, orange head.
    They went through the gate in pairs. Cynna and Cullen went last, at their request. The last thing Cynna saw of Edge was the sun rising over the river, making sky and water dance with color.
    The first thing she noticed about being home was wet feet. The management of Fashion Center mall had finally gotten around to fixing their fountain.
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    T URNED out the gnomes were wrong about all the time slippage happening between the other realm and Earth. They’d left Earth at the very end of February, and their adventures in Edge had taken just under four weeks. When they returned, Cynna’s breasts felt heavy and tender and she couldn’t button her jeans anymore. And it was the middle of June.
    â€œMissed the cherry blossoms,” Cynna said, shaking her head.
    â€œThey were beautiful this year,” Rule assured her.
    The two of them sat at the big, round table in the kitchen at his house three days after the big return from Edge. Lily was working. Cynna had planned her visit to avoid Lily; she’d told Rule that and that she needed to discuss clan business with him. That had surprised him.
    He was drinking coffee. She had a tall glass of orange juice. It was a cloudless day, and while they exchanged the kind of nothing-talk friends do, she kept looking out the window at all the sunshine. She didn’t think she’d ever take sunny days for granted again.
    â€œI don’t wish to rush you, but I do have an appointment in about an hour,” Rule said at last.
    â€œI’m having trouble jumping into this,” she admitted.
    â€œIs it about the Lady?”
    â€œNo! Well, not really. Not yet, anyway.”
    â€œThe ashwa ?”
    Cullen had told him about ashwa and what it might mean for lupi—the