by Tegan Maher
"Yeah, but as far as the guy she was talking about, he's far from the only good-looking man here," he pointed out.
Somebody knocked on my door, and I about jumped out of my skin. I had wards set around my property so nobody could just enter my space as they pleased. They were always in place, and the only other people who could cross through them by themselves were Colin and Blake. Plus, with Colin's wolf hearing, nobody should have been able to sneak up on us.
"Go to your room," Colin said, pushing from the couch in a fluid motion. He was quivering and I knew he was preparing to change on the fly if necessary.
"I'm not," I said. "At least not until I see who it is."
He gave a sniff. "It's a faerie," he said. "Your good, but you're no match for one of them."
"No, but neither are you. We have a better chance together."
He pushed in front of me as I walked to the door and I was a little irritated by the caveman tactics. Rather than argue about it, though, I let him glance through the peephole.
"Destiny," a voice called from the other side of the door. "It's Cyri. Open up. It's critical."
Cyri was a young faerie who was a regular at the tiki bar. She came down at least once every couple of months and we'd hung out a few times on my days off.
Tempest had jumped from her place on her pillow and was peering around the edge of the curtain on the picture window. "It's her," she said, nodding.
I pulled the door open and Cyri shoved past me, pushing the door shut behind her. "You need to leave," she said, grabbing my arm. "Ian O'Farrell is on his way here, and trust me—you don't want to be here when he and his guard arrive. I'm amazed the brothers haven't already been here. He's hell-bent on getting to the bottom of this, as he should be, but he's not seeing reason. Give him a day or two to calm, but for now, you and Bob need to go. Let Blake deal with him."
I gently pried her fingers from my arm, rubbing away the half-moons left there by her fingernails.
"First, how did you get through my wards?" I asked. If there was a loophole, now was a good time to know about them. "For that matter, how did you get past the resort's wards? This place is locked down tight."
She lowered her brows and scoffed. "Please. Yours are damned good, but not good enough to keep a faerie out if she—or he—is determined enough to get in. We use those level wards to hide ourselves as children when we're playing hide and seek."
That was ... not comforting at all.
"As far as the resort's," she continued, "we wouldn't have been able to breach those—we arrived this evening before he set them."
I nodded. At least those were secure.
“So who’s Ian O’Farrell and why should I care if he’s coming here?”
“She pulled in an impatient breath. “Ian O’Farrell is the king of Faerie, and though he’s usually known for keeping a calm head, he’s gone beyond the point of reason. Rumors from home have him out for blood, and the queen’s coming with him. Unlike the king, she’s not known for keeping a cool head. She’s demanding and entitled. Last time she went on a tear was when they were first married and she caught wind that he’d been cheating.”
“So was he?” I asked, thinking how pissed I was just because Blake had kissed another woman. And we weren’t even married yet.”
She lifted a shoulder. “If he was, he was keeping it under wraps. It’s common knowledge, though, that he was in love with another woman—a girl he’d grown up with—but his marriage was arranged when he was a babe.”
The concept was so archaic, I couldn’t believe anybody still practiced it.
There was still one problem. "Bob has Jolene and the kids, and they can't apparate," I said. "And the whole resort's on lockdown. Nobody can come or go."
She waved me off. "Aiden"—her boyfriend—"is there now. He's getting them out, and I've already spoken with Blake. He's meeting us at the north gate in ten minutes."
I pulled in a deep breath. Cyri wasn't prone to hysterics and, as a faerie, I trusted she had a better feel for things than I did. I wouldn't walk away from a fight, but I wasn't stupid, either. She'd just walked right through some of the strongest magic I had. If she could, then I'd hate to see what a king could do.
"Okay, then," I said. "We'd already planned to go to—"
She held up a hand. "Don't tell me. Or Blake either, for that matter. If we don't know, we can't be compelled to tell. Just go."
Colin's duffel was still sitting by the door, so I conjured a small bag for myself. Anything else I needed, Mia would have. He picked his up and I took a second to reinforce my wards around as best I could.
Cyri reached out for me, but I shook my head. Apparating with somebody else always made me sick. Poor Colin was turning green at just the idea, but he couldn't do much about it. He picked up his bag and took my hand as Tempe jumped onto my shoulder. I nodded at Cyri, closed my eyes, and said the words. When I opened them, we were standing at the north gate alongside Cyri, whose purple hair shone silver under the moonlight.
Within a couple of minutes, Aiden arrived with Bob and one of the kids, then they both went back Jolene and the other two. Finally, Blake popped in and didn't waste any time—other than to scowl a bit at Colin—opening a small, glowing hole in the invisible barrier.
Without a word, Bob and fam stepped through, and Colin, Tempest, and I followed. The door sealed shut behind us with a sizzle, and all we could see when we looked back was a solid cliff. That's how it was meant to be in order to keep out unsuspecting humans. Now we were off-grounds and could go wherever we needed to. There was a
I turned to Bob and Jolene, who looked worried and had the kids pulled tight against them. "Where do you guys want to go?"
Jolene worried her lip for a minute. "Where are you going?"
"Abaddon's Gate, and I think it'd be a good place for you to go, too."
Bob and Jolene glanced at each other and nodded.
The kids whooped with delight. The Gate offered all kinds of goodies for kids—candy shops, magic stores and shows, flying carpet rides ... you name it. Plus, there would likely be other Bigfoot families there, too. There always were, and that would make it easier for them to blend in. I didn't like the idea of my friends being vulnerable.
"You have the cash for a hotel, or have you spent it all on mustache wax?" I asked, trying to relieve the tension.
It worked because Jolene laughed and Bob glowered at me. "Ha-ha," he said. "We're good. You girls spend a ton on hair goop, nail stuff, and skin creams, yet a little tin or two of mustache wax is cause for bankruptcy."
Jolene snorted. "A tin or two a week you mean."
Colin slapped him on the back as he examined the results of said wax. Bob's 'stache was back in fine form, so he'd obviously worked on it since he'd gotten home. "It looks great," he said. "Ignore them. They don't get the relationship between a man and his facial hair."
Colin himself liked the scruffy look.
Cyri's sense of urgency had rubbed off on me, and I was anxious to get away from the resort.
"Okay," I said, "we can debate men's facial fashion when we get there. But we need to go."
There was a portal that opened straight into Abbadon's Gate just a few yards away and I started moving us in that direction.
Once through the portal, Jolene gave me a hug. "We have some family I've been wantin' to visit anyway, so that's where we'll be. You take care, and call if you hear anything or need anything, you hear?"
I hugged her back. "Same here. I'll give y'all a call tomorrow evening."
We watched them lumber down the sidewalk, people clearing way for them as they went.
Stupid faerie went and got himself killed on our watch, and we were the ones who had to wait out daddy’s temper and mama’s wrath. What a pain. Turns out the universe had things under control, though.
CHAPTER EIGHT
RATHER THAN WAKE MIA in the middle of the night, we decided to get a hotel room at the Dusty Dragon. Despite its name, it was a cute B&B-style pl
ace, except it was in the middle of town. The beds were comfortable and the owner, a cheerful brownie named Ingrid, answered the door within just a couple minutes despite the time.
"Destiny! Come in," she said, smiling and opening the door wide. "You're in luck; we only have one room left, and from the looks of you, you need it." I'd known her from when she used to work at a coffee shop across from Mia's store, and she'd always been good-natured and generous.
Tempest yawned from her place on my shoulder, and Ingrid's face went soft. "Aw, little one, you look tuckered out. Are you hungry?"
No matter how tired Tempest might have been, she was never too tired to eat. She jumped from my shoulder to the floor and looked up at Ingrid, using those luminous blue eyes and her overall cuteness to her advantage.
Ingrid clucked her tongue. "Don't go usin' that innocent expression on me. Ole Ingrid maybe be soft but she's not dumb. You're a fox, and I'll not be forgettin' that anytime soon." Though she was trying to be stern, she failed miserably. "C'mon then. We'll find you some scraps."
She glanced up at us. "The bedroom's the last on the right, upstairs by the bathroom. Go put your bags away, and I'll fix you sandwiches, too."
My stomach rumbled. I hadn't eaten anything since a quick grilled cheese at lunch and one of Ingrid's famous sandwiches would be fantastic. She always used just the right meat-to-toppings-to-bread ratio.
By the time we were settled for the night, it was almost three and when we woke, the sun was cutting through the shades at an angle that told me we'd slept late. Tempest was curled up on the pillows between Adam and I, and both of them were still sleeping.
I got up and went through the morning routine, trying to be as quiet as possible. I shouldn't have bothered. With Colin's werewolf hearing and instincts, I'd barely made it to the bathroom before he was awake. Tempe, on the other hand, was still snoring.
The smell of frying bacon was enough to tease her awake, though. We dressed and went downstairs to find Ingrid hard at work in the kitchen. She smiled when I poked my head in the door.
"Come in," she said, motioning to the huge eat-in family kitchen. "I heard you movin' around and started brunch. The other guests told me in advance they were going out for breakfast this morning so it worked out in your favor." She winked. "Isn't often I get to sleep in a little these days, so I'll take it."
There was already a selection of fresh muffins and fruit on the sideboard, and cinnamon rolls were cooling on the counter. I plucked a strawberry muffin from a basket then poured a couple cups of coffee, handing one to Colin. Ingrid always had been a good cook, and I'd been glad to see her get the B&B. She'd deserved it.
"Good lord," I said, realizing how much food there was. "You're cooking enough food for an army!"
"Werebears," she said, laughing. "They'll want snacks when they get home, and the muffins will be fine for tomorrow morning." She glanced up from stirring pancake batter as I bit into the muffin. "How's the muffin?"
I groaned and chased it with a sip of coffee. "Amazing as always."
Colin had gotten his own, and we took seats at the table. After she poured a few pools of batter onto the griddle and pulled the bacon from the oven, she turned to us.
"So I hear there was some excitement at the resort last night." She raised a brow and crossed her arms.
"Yeah," I said, wondering what she'd heard. "I tripped over a body when I was taking the trash to the dumpster last night."
"That's part of what's goin' around."
"Wait," I said, pausing with my muffin halfway to my mouth. "It's going around already?" I don't know why I was surprised.
She huffed a sardonic breath out through her nose. "Course everybody knows. A faerie prince takes a knife to the back at the most popular paranormal vacation destination on the planet? That's pretty big news. Plus, if you remember, my sister works in housekeeping there."
I'd forgotten about that. Word was probably all over by that point.
"What else have you heard?" Colin asked, peeling a banana.
"I heard the prince wasn't exactly on good terms with a certain member of the bride's family. And that they're tearin' that resort apart to find whoever killed him." She glanced over her shoulder at us as she turned to flip the pancakes. "They're not happy you left, either."
"I don't figure they are," I said, "but I wasn't sticking around so an off-his-rocker king could pilfer through my melon, either. I don't blame him for feeling that way, but I'm not gonna be within easy reach until he gets a handle on himself and comes his senses, either."
"I feel bad for Blake," Colin said. "I bet he hasn't slept a wink since last night."
He was probably right, and a twinge of guilt twisted through me as I thought of the good night's rest I'd just gotten. Speaking of ...
"I'm surprised I slept as well. Not so much as a whisper of a bad dream or insomnia just hours after I trip over a dead body." I cast her a sideways glance, brow raised.
"That'd be because I slipped some of my grandmammy's sleep elixir in your tea last night," she said without shame.
"You roofied me?" I asked, my voice an octave higher than usual.
She waved her spatula at me. "Don't get your knickers in a wad. You looked a mess when you got here, black circles under your eyes. Course I roofied you."
I sighed. She'd mothered me since I first met her right after I moved here from Georgia. Mia, too. She didn't have any kids of her own, so she'd adopted us. Grumbling wouldn't do any good, and truth be told, she'd done me a favor.
"That's okay, I guess," I said, unwilling to go as far as thanking her for drugging me.
"Anytime," she said, pulling the rest of the bacon out of the oven.
We played the who might have murdered the prince game for a few more minutes, but when she slid the pancakes and fresh berry syrup in front of me, I was done talking. When Tempest reached for her sixth piece of bacon, I swatted at her paw. "Have some berries," I said. "All that grease is going to make you sick to your stomach, and it's bad for you."
Ingrid snorted. "I'm almost three hundred years old and have eaten bacon nearly every day of it. I'm not dead yet, so I dispute that theory."
Being from Georgia, I couldn't argue, if for no other reason than it would have been sacrilege. And for my mama, at least, that old eyes in the back of her head idea held true, so I wasn't willing to push my luck.
CHAPTER NINE
I HEADED OVER TO MIA's after we ate breakfast, and Colin went to talk to a few friends to see if he could find out anything.
The tiny bell above her door was spelled to induce a feeling of happiness—just a little dose—and it hit me as soon as I walked through the door. It was one of her more clever charms; she said it made her feel good to make others happy, and it also took some of the meanness out of those prone to it, so it was a win for her when it came to customers with a tendency to be difficult. They were happy, she was happy. Win/win.
She squealed and rushed forward to pull me into a hug when she looked up from a candle display she was putting together. "I didn't know you were coming!" she said, shoving me back to look me over like she hadn't seen me in years rather than weeks.
"I didn't know I was coming," I said. I explained what was going on.
"Oh, I heard about that but had no idea you were the one who found him. They must be keeping that under wraps. Of course, I'm sorta isolated here until I close up shop, so I only here what people tell me when they pop in."
"Yeah. It wasn't the best way to close out the night," I said, shuddering when a vision of Dain's lifeless eyes drifted through my brain. "And worse yet, I'm afraid a girl I met is going to be caught up in it."
I told her about Marissa.
She scrunched up her forehead. "That's kind of a leap. I mean, surely there were other vampires there that match that description."
"Yeah, maybe," I said. "But she seemed sweet. And she's had enough crappy things happen to her already. I hate to see one more added to her plate."
"Don'
t borrow trouble, especially when you have enough of your own," she said, casting me a concerned glance. "Come and let me show you what I've been working on. You're gonna love it, especially considering you work in the sun."
"Where's Calamity?" Tempest asked, raising her nose to the air and sniffing.
"She's upstairs. The door's cracked, so go on up," Mia told her. The words were barely out of her mouth before Tempe bolted up the steps toward the loft apartment Mia had above the shop.
I followed Mia to the back of the shop where she made her lotions, soaps, and other goodies. She handed me a white tube without a label.
"Smell it," she urged, her eyes alight.
Unscrewing the cap, I took a whiff. It smelled like peppermints and coconut, and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. Something ... green and fresh.
"What is it?" I asked, taking another whiff.
"It's a cooling cream," she said. "I made it with you in mind, but got the idea when mama sent me a Japanese mint plant for my birthday. It has mint and aloe for a cooling sensation, and coconut oil, ginseng, and golden serpent fern to help avoid sunburn. The coconut oil helps keep your skin moist, too, so bonus!"
I pinched my lips together, raised my brows, and nodded. "Not bad, cuz."
"Try it," she said, so I rubbed a little on the back of my hand. It did feel cool, likely because of the menthol in the mint, but it was nice.
"Most of the time, the fern, ginseng and mint are used in teas, so I made you a blend too, but I figured I'd make a cream so you could experiment. If nothing else, it smells good, feels cool, and will keep you moisturized."
I grinned, rubbing some more on my hands. "Thanks. I'll let you know how it works. Sorry I didn't bring you anything this time, but I had no idea I was coming."
She loved the beach but rarely got to go, so I tried to bring her something every time I visited. The last time, I'd spelled twin shells and made necklaces so that if she touched hers, I'd know she was thinking of me and vice versa.
"That’s fine—just seeing you is enough." She led me back through the shop and showed me some of her new products. She was always tinkering with spells and herbs to come up with new things and her imagination seemed endless.