I threw open the door and let Sorrel in, surprised when he pushed past me with so much energy I could practically feel the agitation rolling off of him.  He was trying to stay calm, though, likely for Claire who was smiling at me over his shoulder.

I shut the door behind him, following a little more cautiously as I nudged the baby swing and tapped his arm.

Sorrel blinked, then placed Claire in the swing and switched it on.

“Sorry,” he said hoarsely, rubbing a hand through his hair.  “Today has just been a lot.  I don’t even know – I might need to see if Nathan and Miles can look after her for a bit.”

He sank into my couch, putting his head in his hands.

This was not the Sorrel I was used to.  I hesitated, then sat next to him, trying to figure out what words of comfort to offer or whether I should attempt to pat his shoulder or something.

“My cousin and her family were attacked and killed by the construct,” Sorrel burst out.

I froze.  This wasn’t good.

And then it got worse.  “Ren was there – he saw their kid die.  He – he turned dark fae.”

That was really, really bad.  Dark fae – dark fae were terrifying, incredibly powerful creatures with nearly unlimited destructive power but no control over themselves.  They lost themselves when they transformed into dark fae, and once turned it was essentially like the person had died.  There was no redemption for them, only the mindless destruction of dark fae.

Ren – I had met him several times now.  He seemed friendly, nice, always beaming at the sight of his husband.  I might not be able to express it, but I felt immense grief at the idea of him being gone so unjustly, not to mention the horror that his family was going through.

But then Sorrel said something impossible.

“Riven stopped him – he turned him back.  I know, I know – it hasn’t been done before.  Somehow he did it anyway.  He said he showed him his soul – they’re soulmates – and Ren recognized it, which reminded him of his own self.  Maybe.  We hope.  He’s unconscious now, but we don’t know – we don’t know what’s going to happen.  We’re in totally uncharted waters here, and we haven’t got a clue how to deal with this, plus we’re trying to keep the whole thing super secret to make sure that no one misunderstands and tries to kill him, thinking he’s an uncontrolled dark fae when he’s not.  Despite – despite being turned dark fae.”

He looked at me with tortured eyes, apparently unaware that by telling me all this, he’d broken the whole thing about this being kept secret.  Not that I would have said a word to anyone, not when the life of one of Sorrel’s family members would be at stake.

“You’re good with assessing unknown situations,” his eyes were almost pleading with me.  “Do you – do you have any ideas?”

I took a moment to consider.  “Riven says Ren regained himself?  And isn’t dark anymore?”

“He says Ren recognized his soul and his ‘gold’ magic, as he calls it – that’s how he sees fairy magic normally – is back.  That it’s not all dark magic anymore.  But it’s not all gold, either, so I don’t know what that means.”

I hesitated.  “Then I would say two things.  First, I don’t know that you have any options other than waiting to see what happens.  Like you said, this is new territory.  But second, have faith in Riven.  Unicorns know things instinctively and know magic better than anyone else – if he thinks Ren is no longer in danger, then I’d believe him.”

Sorrel almost sagged with relief.  “I want to believe him,” he murmured.  “I do, he’s never lied about stuff, and his guesses have been spot-on repeatedly.  It’s just hard when it’s such uncharted territory.”

“If evidence speaks in his favor, then all the more reason to believe him.”

Sorrel took a deep breath, then another, trying to stabilize himself.  “We’re all helping Riven keep watch,” he said quietly.  “I need to get back soon and help – we don’t want Riven to be alone through this, plus he’s my baby brother, but I need to figure out about Claire.”

An idea crossed my mind.  I hesitated for a long moment, not sure it was a good idea, but….  “What if I watched her for you?”

Sorrel looked almost as surprised as I felt about the idea even having entered my head.  “Are you sure?  Taking care of a baby is a lot of work.  Nathan and Miles have some experience, at least.  They see her regularly at the daycare.”

“I’m not working, so I have all the free time in the world,” I pointed out, really wondering why I was trying to talk him into this.  “And while I haven’t taken care of a young child before, I do have the ability to research and apply what I’ve learned quickly.  I can simply pretend it’s a mission and can guarantee I’ll have her in one piece still when you come to get her after Ren wakes up.”

Sorrel laughed at my attempt at humor, his laugh a little strained, but still, he laughed.  “You have my number, I’ll give you Nathan’s and Miles’ numbers as well for good measure.  If you have any questions, call us.  I may not be able to come over if I’m on duty there, but I’ll talk you through anything.  And – thanks, Elizabeth.  It helps to know she’ll be somewhere safe.”

He ended up making a quick run to his house to get more of her stuff before leaving me, alone, with a less than one-year-old fairy baby, wondering what I’d gotten myself into.

I looked at her, then sat in front of the rocker swing.  “I’m trying to help your dad,” I informed her, “since he’s going through a tough time right now.  Your grandparents and aunt and uncles, too.  So let’s both try to make this work, okay?”

She gave me an almost toothless smile and happily babbled something in response.

I took that as agreement and decided it was time to get to work researching how to look after a baby.