A few weeks went by, and Nero spent most of his time in Willowbrook’s home. He wouldn’t let Nero go with him anywhere, and told him to stay inside and keep quiet. Nero wasn’t sure why. Maybe he was worried other Faeries might do something if they found out he was alone. He didn’t like it—he hated having to sit quietly.

When Willowbrook was there, they would just sit and talk. Willowbrook would tell him about the Faeries and life in Ombra, and Nero would tell him about Anzino. Willowbrook asked a lot of questions, and Nero was glad for his company.

There was one afternoon where Nero was feeling particularly restless. Willowbrook had been gone since since before sunrise, off planning some festival that was coming up. Going outside for a little while wouldn’t hurt, would it? He wanted fresh air and to feel the sunlight on his skin.

He went to the area behind Willowbrook’s house. It was full of tall flowers, and honeybees buzzed around quietly. He sat against the stem of one of the flowers and closed his eyes, basking in the sunlight.

“Are you a Human?”

Nero opened his eyes and nearly fell over. A honeybee was hovering close to his face, looking over him curiously.

“You scared me,” he said, letting out a long breath. “I am Human, yes.”

“Do you think it wise to be out in the open like this?”

“I’m already a prisoner of the Faeries. I’m just enjoying a bit of sunlight.”

“And they didn’t warn you against going outside? There are many dangers when you’re so small.”

“You’re small too.”

“True, but we still need to live,” it told him. “We have plenty of enemies of our own.”

“Really?” Nero couldn’t imagine anyone trying to harm a bee. “Like what?”

“Have you seen the weapon the Faerie Queen’s husband carries? It’s made from the stinger of a wasp. Fortunately for Aiken’s victims, his weapon doesn’t have any venom in it. Get stabbed by an actual wasp and you’re likely to die after being paralyzed.”

“I suppose I’ve taken being Human for granted,” Nero said. He had never really thought much about insects or anything like that before. “If I were my actual size, a wasp wouldn’t be anything more than a nuisance.”

“But… you’re not.” A loud buzzing came from overhead, and the honeybees started moving around frantically. “The wasps are coming. They swoop in to kill us and steal our honey.”

Nero jumped to his feet. Against the back of the house, there were old weapons and tools, and Nero grabbed a spear. He had to help.

“Go back inside, little Human,” the bee told him. “Don’t go rushing into your own death.”

“And leave you to yours? I don’t think so.”

The wasps swarmed around, pushing the honeybees around as they searched. When one came down close enough, Nero swung at it with the old weapon, knocking it out of the air. It tumbled into the dirt, but quickly got back on its feet and turned its attention to Nero.

“A Human?” It made a strange hissing noise at him, and Nero swallowed hard. “A more delicious treat than honey. I’ll kill you first.”

It rushed at Nero, faster than he expected. He swung his weapon at it again, managing to knock its two front legs out from beneath it. It didn’t fall, though, and grabbed the weapon. He used it to toss Nero back against Willowbrook’s house like he weighed nothing. The wood splintered behind Nero’s shoulders form hitting it so hard, and he cried out in pain before he hit the ground.

The wasp went after him again, and Nero struggled to his feet and scrambled to grab the spear he’d dropped. He didn’t have a chance to defend himself, though. The wasp used its wings to create a gust of air to knock Nero down again.

“You should have run when you had the chance,” it said, and Nero hissed in pain as it pinned his arms to the ground. “How can you protect the bees when you can’t even protect yourself?”

“Get off!” he demanded, struggling to pull his arms free. “I won’t let you hurt them!”

“You won’t let me?” It let out a sinister laugh, leaning down close to Nero’s face. “You won’t even be alive to see me do it.”

A sharp pain went through the center of Nero’s torso, and he was too shocked to even cry out. His eyes were wide, and he coughed up blood as the wasp’s stinger pumped him full of paralyzing venom. His body screamed in pain, flooding his veins like fire. The wasp laughed the whole time.

“I love to watch them die.”

“And I love watching wasps die!”

There was a bright flash in the sunlight, and the wasp’s head was sliced clean off. Its body collapses to the ground beside Nero, who just lay there while blood soaked the front of his robes.

What had he gotten himself into? Ever since his eighteenth birthday, he’d done nothing but suffer. Was that his fate? Was this the world outside of Anzino? Was he better of dying if this was all he had to look forward to, even if he somehow escaped from Ombra?

He stared up at the rats of sunlight that broke through the tall grass and flowers, but he didn’t feel the warmth on his skin. He didn’t feel anything. He couldn’t breathe. Tears ran down his face, his vision blurry while the honeybees hovered around him. The sunlight became blocked as someone knelt down next to him, but Nero passed out.

When he woke, he was still outside, and he was still paralyzed. He couldn’t open his eyes to see, but the feelings and sounds around him told him that he’d been moved somewhere else. He lay in a cool bed of moss, and it was soft and comfortable. Warm rays of sunlight hit his face and bare chest. Where had his shirt gone?

He could feel that his torso had been bandaged, and his whole body still ached, but not as badly as it had when the wasp had stung him. What had happened? He could hear the quiet murmur of running water too. Where was he?

After a few minutes of trying, Nero finally managed to open his eyes. He could move his fingers and toes too—the wasp’s venom was finally wearing off.

He was laying in an open area where the ground was all covered in moss. There was a small brook that ran through it, and a short waterfall that hardly made any noise.

Prince Willowbrook was sitting on a rock at the water’s edge. He was tearing apart different leaves and crushing them in a bowl, adding small bits of water from the brook. Was he the one who killed the wasp?

Nero closed his eyes again and let out a small sigh. He was so tired, and he felt so weak and defeated. He needed to get stronger. Maybe he would go back to trying to obtain magic power. He’d been so convinced that he didn’t really need it, but he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Willowbrook went to where Nero lay and sat beside him. His color was improving, and he was breathing more regularly. He let out a sigh of relief.

He peeled back the leaves he’d used to wrap up the wound, revealing the large injury to his stomach. The area around it was still red and inflamed, but it was improving. Most of the area around it was bruised too.

He applied the medicinal poultice from the bowl to Nero’s wound, and Nero’s eyes shot open before he screamed in pain. He writhed and thrashed, trying to push him away.

“Nero, stop! You’re going to open the wound again.” He grabbed him firmly by the wrists. “Calm down—it’s only medicine for the wound.”

Nero was trembling, and Willowbrook’s eyes went wide with shock. Nero had grown dangerously thin. His ribs were sticking out, and he felt like he might break his arms if he held them any tighter. Why hadn’t he seen it? Nero was wasting away in Ombra.

As the pain subsided, Nero let out a long breath, and his body relaxed. Tears ran down his face as he looked up at Willowbrook, his eyes full of pain.

“Willow… I don’t want to die here.”

“I’m not going to let you die here,” he told him firmly.

“I never should have left Anzino. I want to go home.”

Home… Nero started to sob. He had left Anzino and his family behind in such a terrible way. He’d treated them horribly. How could he make up for any of it?

“You will go home someday. I promise.”

That night, Willowbrook sat with Nero at the table, which was covered in many different types of food and drink. Nero gave him a curious look.

“What’s all this?”

“You’re starving, aren’t you?” Willowbrook asked, eyeing Nero’s sharp collarbone. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Nero lowered his gaze and clutched his stomach. Why hadn’t he said anything?

“I don’t know… I mean… You’ve already shown me enough kindness. I didn’t want to—”

“Letting you waste away here isn’t kindness,” Willowbrook said, a hint of anger in his voice. “You have just as much right as anyone here to be strong and healthy. Food isn’t scare in Ombra.”

“But—”

“Nero.” Willowbrook stood, and Nero recoiled. He kept his eyes lowered to avoid Willowbrook’s hard stare. “You want to get out of Ombra someday, don’t you?”

Nero just nodded. He was afraid to say anything else that might anger him.

“If you don’t care of yourself in this realm, you won’t survive when you return to your own. I’ve never seen it happen, but I’ve heard stories of Humans dropping dead or turning to dust when they leave the Faerie Realm.”

Nero’s eyes went wide, his breath catching in his throat. Leaving Ombra could kill him?

“So, eat,” he told him, sitting back down and pushing a plate of food towards Nero. “Keep yourself healthy and strong, while I try to get you out of here.”

He took a deep breath, staring at the plate of food. He hadn’t really thought much about eating, really. There were so many other things on his mind all the time—food just never seemed to take priority.

“Eat,” Willowbrook repeated, his voice firmer this time. “If you want to get out, you need to listen to me. I won’t deprive you of anything.”