Worlds Behind

Searching for redemption in the shifting realm between the human and fae worlds, not-so-reformed fae steward Athelas seems likely instead to find death, dismemberment, and deadly magic . . . Exiled, excommunicated, and with a bounty on his head, Athelas is lying low in Seoul for exactly one reason: he has a wedding to attend. Whether or not he's welcome is another matter. Luckily for Athelas, several bodies have turned up with their soft insides gnawed out, whether by magic or Behindkind-and the latest of those bodies is at the very wedding hall he has been staking out. The Behindkind investigators suspect one of Athelas's housemates: YeoWoo, a gumiho with a thirst for revenge and an even greater appetite for soft underbelly than Athelas. To buy herself time, YeoWoo barters alibis with the suspiciously quiet fae sharing her house, but to remain free, she must find the real murderer. By joining the investigation, Athelas has exactly the chance he needs to prove that he is now a repentant, changed, and selfless fae, bent on atoning for former deeds . . . no matter how many Behindkind and humans he has to cut through to confirm that impression.

When is a curse not a curse? How does a house become a prison? Why is a reformed murderer the only hope for a far-too-easily injured boy? Athelas has always been opposed to having a small, possibly-cursed Australian boy in the kitchen. When that small boy disappears, however, and Athelas's housekeeper Camellia strongly encourages him to do something about it, he finds himself wavering. YeoWoo wants nothing to do with the disappearing Harrow, cursed or otherwise. Caught up with her own investigation and preparations for revenge, she would prefer her housemates to remain unseen and unheard. Entirely absent is even better. But Athelas and YeoWoo have something in common: they both tread warily when it comes to their housekeeper, who runs the house with a tea-scented, magic-laced rod of iron. Camellia holds the key to Athelas's pretensions of reformation being accepted-and blames him for Harrow's disappearance. And she is determined to save Harrow, no matter what it takes. Life as a reformed murderer would be so much easier if the process didn't include so much . . . reformation.

Athelas never wanted housemates. Now he has three: the gumiho for whom he provided an alibi, the tea-wielding housekeeper who poisoned him, and the young human who might pose the greatest danger of all. All of Athelas's training tells him to kill small, soft things before something else does-or worse, before he grows fond of them and then something kills them. He should at least know better than to worry about the revenge-bent gumiho who is drawing the attention of every high-ranking Behindkind in Seoul Between. Hot on the tails of the gumiho who slaughtered her family, YeoWoo instead stumbles over the battered and broken body of a merman who knows just a little bit too much about her quarry. It should be simple to keep Marazul both alive and useful, but although YeoWoo is successful in the former, the latter is a different tail. YeoWoo has always taken what she wanted in blood and force. Athelas has always gained what he needed by deception and manipulation. With their usual methods failing at every turn and the investigation swiftly becoming deadly, it's time to make a few changes. Athelas has begun to fear that if he does change, his life will forever spin out of his control . . .

The world Between is full of dangers, shadows, and reflections. Athelas knows the dangers, is one with the shadows-and has finally encountered a reflection that could be just a bit too much like himself for comfort. The house master has come back. Nobody will quite say who he is, or why he owns the house. And to Athelas's growing irritation, no one will talk about the oddly powerful influence the house master seems to have over Camellia. YeoWoo knows exactly who and what the house master is, and she knows exactly how much danger Camellia is in. The question she can't quite seem to answer is: How much safer is it to put Camellia into Athelas's power than to leave her in the house master's power? There are nightmares skulking in the corners. Pieces of curse lingering beneath the couch. And soon Camellia will have to make a choice between two evils. To add insult to injury, the teapot has gone missing...

Revenge. Restoration. Romance. A few deadly wishes. The Glass Elder wants wishes. Three, to be exact. Athelas wants a way in, and those wishes may well be that way-but giving the Elder what he wants means putting Camellia in harm's way. It also means that YeoWoo will have to choose between trusting Athelas one last time and taking a bite at suddenly hot revenge that could swiftly go cold if she misses her chance. Now that revenge is within reach of her teeth, will YeoWoo manage to tear out one last, bloody heart? Can Athelas put aside his own ends for long enough to protect all those dearest to him from threats outside, and from himself? Can a family that began in blood survive one too many wishes and a far-too-wily Elder, or will the world as they know it fall apart into the chaos of wishes-gone-wrong?