Part 3 of the 3-part "Bindings." Timothy Hunter risks everything to save Faerie from the Manticore's conjurings, but the scant magic Tim has learned may not be enough to save his life.
Tamlin reminisces on his life as a human, before he was seduced by Titania and brought to live in Faerie, a realm which is now falling apart. In the form of a falcon, he seeks the source of the destruction.
Tim plays hide and seek with the Manticore, in a dangerous game with high stakes. He is spurred on as he sees others who lost against the Manticore, and are now taxidermied specimens in his collection.
Tim finds a picture of a manticore in the library and realizes what he is. The Manticore finds him and explains more about how he is removing extraneous objects, like the unicorn, from reality. He explains that he wants to show that things like the unicorn aren't real, aren't magic, and are just hoaxes--by "disproving" them, he takes their souls and removes them from reality.
The Manticore leaves, saying the game hadn't yet begun, and that he'd be back. Tim talks to the stuffed unicorn specimen, consoling himself.
The Manticore returns in its beats form, and bites Tim, but the unicorn comes alive, inspired by Tim's feelings for it, and stabs the manticore book page, killing the creature. The unicorn leaves.
Tim walks off, dripping blood from his hand. The drips of blood turn into flowers on the ground, and soon all of Faerie is blooming again. It was the Manticore that was draining it.
Tamlin finds Tim, who is fainting. He knows the Manticore's bite is poisonous. As Tim passes out, he sees the figure of Death.
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