I felt a little odd approaching the tent hidden within the woods, but my new friend insisted it would be safe and my curiosity wouldn't let me walk away. That and someone in the tent was cooking something that reminded me strongly of home. Even if I hadn't been directed this way, I'd still be tempted.

  No one could resist the call of a sprinkle cake after trying one, even if it did smell off-brand.

  “Pardon me,” I said as I peaked in through the tent flap. “Something in here smells delicious and I had to come investigate.”

  The collection of people inside eyed me suspiciously, but then I spotted a familiar face. It was the girl Claudia had spoken with back in January, when we were in the middle of finding the Jacks. Crystal. A witch with some sort of connection to the fae, who probably secured our invitation to the Jubilee. I could see the moment her eyes lit up with recognition.

  “You made it! Come in, come in. Where's your friend?” She asked. The others didn't seem thrilled with my presence but they accepted it when they saw I wasn't a total unknown.

  “Not sure, but she's somewhere nearby. I can go get her, if you want. Or we can talk about the weirdness that everyone outside is pretending isn't happening.”

  Looks were exchanged that I couldn't quite read before they reached some unspoken consensus. Someone moved to close the tent behind me while Crystal directed me to an empty seat.

  “This one of the friends you told us about?” One of the men asked Crystal.

  “Not specifically, but he's of the useful sort. We can trust him. He's with the Jacks.”

  “You're here to help, then?”

  “If help is needed, I will try to provide,” I replied. “Though that does depend on what you're asking for help with.”

  “The spring court is refusing to make way for summer, and its causing chaos on both sides of the gates. That's why they haven't been allowing any travel through the gateway and that's why communications have been cut off. The only ones who are being told anything aren't sharing anything with anyone.”

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  “Then how do you know this?”

  “Because even the mostly highly trained guards gossip sometimes, and one can hear all kinds of things if they listen.”

  “And what have these listeners managed to learn?”

  “Just what we have said, though other things have been learned in other ways.”

  “I get the feeling you won't be telling me these things until I agree.”

  “Indeed. Can't go spilling all of our secrets to someone who will just got and squeal.”

  “I have two questions before I agree to anything. What does it mean for the rest of the world if spring isn't giving way to summer? And what do you intend to do about it?”

  “The refusal to change can lead to instability, especially if the other courts decide to take action. We think that there is something untoward happening outside of the normal courtly drama, which is why it hasn't sorted itself yet. Maybe with your help, we can start to untangle things before they get too knotted up.”

  “Perhaps I can, though it depends on who is involved and if we can find a way to remove the problem without creating more. Fae politics are not to be messed with even in the best of circumstances.”

  “And we don't intend to. At least, not directly. It's more of working to defuse things a bit before they get messier, because it's already having repercussions in the surrounding area. If this isn't fixed soon, the problems will spread, and then…”

  “Our problems feed into their problems,” Maguire finished. “The rippling feedback effect.”

  “Exactly. So, are you in? Will you help us?”

  “I am willing to offer my assistance with the stipulation that if I need to draw a line, I will. We need to play this smart. Tell me from the beginning. What do we know for sure and what do we suspect? Then we can look at how we want to fix this.”

  I felt the magic tying around me as I spoke, and I could sense the loopholes I left in my phrasing. They hadn't permanently bound me to the agreement and they wouldn't be able to further bind me without my explicit permission. They seemed alright with it, though, because they laid it all out for me. All of the rumors and tidbits of information they had managed to gather, and the picture it painted wasn't pretty.

  No one came out and said it, but I got the distinct impression that rebellion might be on the horizon if the courts didn't transition soon. As far as anyone knew or was willing to acknowledge knowing, this had never happened before.

  Most of the group genuinely wanted to help, but I clocked at least two who were lying. They wanted to feed into the chaos and possibly push the courts closer to rebellion. I decided to follow them as we all grouped up to gather more information before taking our next step.

  Leaving them unattended felt like a bad idea.