by Tasha Black
“Nice,” Miranda said.
“A couple of ground rules,” Tabitha said. “First of all, discretion is key here. Secondly, you can’t tell people who you are. If someone recognizes you, we’re out of luck. Rosethorn Valley protects its own. As far as anyone knows, you’re just a friend out from the city. Got it?”
“You know I’m from the town next door, right?” Miranda asked. “I’ve been to this pool before. Chances are pretty good someone here will know me.”
“Let’s hope not,” Tabitha told her. “It will be much easier for us to lay low if people aren’t wondering why we’re hanging out together.”
Miranda was beginning to wonder exactly why they were hanging out together.
But she had to admit that Tabitha had a point, so she nodded instead.
“Good,” Tabitha said. “Let’s keep a sharp eye out for anything out of place.”
“We’ve sure got a beautiful day for it,” Sara said.
She was right. The sky was deep blue above, without a cloud in sight. The birds were singing, and the tall trees that surrounded the little club were so lush, they almost looked tropical.
They headed through the gates to the little booth by the pool where Tabitha turned in her membership card and signed for two guests.
Miranda had been here once or twice over the years for swap days and birthday parties. As a kid, she’d belonged to the neighboring Tarker’s Hollow swim club, which was wide open, with huge pools, slides, swing sets and a massive campus.
But this place was very different.
Rosethorn Valley’s swim club was like a hidden gem, its smaller pools and tennis court tucked away in the tiny valley between the creek and the cliffside.
The creek itself was very much a part of the place. It ran parallel to the pools, with little bridges leading between the tennis court and pool and to the stone steps carved into the hillside that led to the changing rooms.
Massive trees on the hills that surrounded the place made the pool feel sheltered, but also guaranteed that the water was iceberg cold during most of the day.
Miranda followed Tabitha and Sara as they headed past a collection of Rosethorn Valley’s senior citizens, who were sunning themselves on lawn chairs around the deep end of the biggest pool.
Sara threw her bag on one of the picnic tables and sat down to put on sunscreen.
“Can I borrow some of that?” Miranda asked.
“Sure,” Sara said, handing it over.
Miranda slathered on a healthy amount. Her fair skin had always been super sensitive.
“Are we looking for anything in particular?” she asked.
“We couldn’t see much,” Sara said. “But I caught a glimpse of the stone stairs over there. At least I think it was them. We really have so little to go on.”
“Let’s swim first,” Tabitha suggested. “It will clear our minds.”
“Sounds good,” Miranda said.
They headed over to the crystal-clear water.
Tabitha dove right in, barely making a splash, and began swimming laps.
Sara stepped in gingerly and quickly went under, coming up with a little yelp. “It’s so cold,” she said, with a sheepish expression.
Miranda braced herself and dipped in a toe.
“Dear Lord,” she muttered.
But there was no point delaying the inevitable. It would be better to freeze than to sweat.
She stepped down and slid underwater.
The cold invaded her body, momentarily taking her breath away. She shivered once, then began to adjust.
“Invigorating, right?” Tabitha said enthusiastically, already finished with her first lap.
“Sure,” Miranda agreed, earning herself a genuine smile from the other woman.
“Come on, let’s get our exercise,” Tabitha said. “The guys are coming later with a ton of food.”
“Sounds good to me,” Miranda said.
They swam laps for a while in the late morning sunshine.
It had been forever since Miranda had gotten exercise that wasn’t meted out by a machine in a stale indoor gym. The pull and stretch of her muscles in the cold water felt amazing.
When she got tired, she flipped over and did a lazy backstroke.
The tall trees put a border around the blue sky above and Miranda had the same sense of happy quiet she used to feel as a child, walking around Tarker’s Hollow under the tree canopy.
A sort of benevolent magic seemed to protect this place from too many dark days. It was an abomination to think of monsters invading, stealing away its ephemeral peace.
“Oh boy, here they come,” Sara said, rousing Miranda from this train of thought.
She righted herself in time to see the three fae kings striding toward the pool.
Separately, they were each magnificent.
Together, they were a revelation.
The sun had just reached the pinnacle of the sky, shining its rays at last on the glittering water and burnishing the men as if the sun itself admired them. They were all lean muscle and long hair, smiles and easy confidence.
Miranda felt like she was watching a commercial, but for what she could not imagine. Not that any product would have a chance at holding anyone’s attention with them in the frame. The men were beautiful and larger than life.
The older ladies around the deep end were unabashedly lowering their sunglasses to have a look, and the whole Rosethorn Valley Swim Club seemed to hold its breath as one.
“Hello, Miranda,” Bron called out in his deep voice.
The ladies around the pool let out their collective breath in a sigh.
Miranda gave a little wave.
Bron beamed at her.
Tabitha and Sara headed out of the pool and back to the umbrella-shaded picnic table, where the guys were already unpacking items from bags and a cooler.
Miranda followed them. By the time she arrived, the whole surface of the table was covered in packages of hot dogs, hamburgers, and buns, as well as every conceivable spread and sauce imaginable, including Worcestershire sauce, pico de gallo and marshmallow fluff.
“Wow, you guys really went all out,” Tabitha said, arching an eyebrow.
“We were both hungry and curious,” Tristan replied.
Tabitha smiled up at him and Miranda could see the love they shared was even warmer than the midday sun.
Dorian had an arm around Sara’s shoulder as they surveyed the varieties of hot dogs to find the right one to grill first.
Miranda felt a pang of aching loneliness.
“Which of these do you like best?” Bron asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
His warm touch sent a shiver of awareness through her.
“Oh, uh, I love a good burger,” she said.
“Me too,” he chuckled. “That’s one thing you get right in this realm.”
She couldn’t resist glancing up at him.
His green eyes danced as he smiled down at her.
She thought maybe he’d be vegetarian, since he was so into protecting nature. But one glance at his muscular physique was enough to make her forget about that idea. You didn’t get a body like that from kale smoothies.
“Shall we fire up the grill?” Dorian asked, looking uncharacteristically cheerful.
“Let’s do it,” Sara replied.
The process of cooking was drawn-out. The kings were very interested in the grill, but impatient with their own limited abilities, which ultimately led to more than one hot dog bun fight.
As the first of the meals came off the grill, she thought that pretty much the entire population of the kiddie pool had crowded around to see what shenanigans would happen next.
Bron offered meals to the kids and Miranda was shocked to find that the parents around the pool weren’t a bit taken aback. They all waved their kids on to take food from these enormous, boisterous strangers.
By the time the six friends were sitting down at their own picnic table again, half the people at the pool we
re eating the food the fae kings had shared. Some had even politely added the weird extras to their burgers and dogs.
“This is delicious,” Tristan decided. He was eating a burger that, as far as Miranda could tell, was just a bun full of pickles.
“The fluff is very sticky,” Dorian complained, scowling at his burger.
“I told you not to use so much of it,” Sara scolded. “A little bit goes a long way.”
“Well, I think the pico is great on a hotdog personally,” Tabitha said. “Miranda?”
“Delicious,” Miranda agreed.
Everything about the day had been delicious.
They all got back in the pool for a game of volleyball with some of the other swimmers. And for a while, Miranda didn’t think about work, or monsters, or out of control magical powers.
For a few hours, Miranda just had fun.
8
Miranda
Miranda packed up her things as the crowd at the pool dispersed.
The sun was setting, and there had been no sign of anything out of the ordinary. She guessed that made the day count as a loss for them, but somehow it didn’t feel that way. Miranda thought she’d actually gained quite a bit. For the first time in a long time, she had spent more time talking to real friends instead of buried in her work.
She dreaded the number of messages that must surely be waiting for her, but she was determined not to think about that until she had to.
Just then, a tinkly song began to play, breaking her out of her thoughts.
“Oh my God, the ice cream truck,” Sara breathed.
“Does anyone have any cash?” Tabitha asked, sounding panicky.
“No,” Sara moaned.
“I do,” Miranda said, grabbing her bag. “Come on.”
They dashed past the lap pool.
“No running,” a young male lifeguard called out to them.
They slowed to a speed-walk, and made it across the little bridge over the creek and back to the parking lot as quickly as they could.
Miranda pulled a wad of cash out of her wallet.
“I’m really glad you’re here,” Tabitha said, putting a hand on her wrist.
“You just want ice cream,” Miranda teased.
“Well, yes,” Tabitha admitted. “But seriously, it’s been a nice day. Thanks for deciding to help us.”
“My pleasure,” Miranda replied, feeling more relieved at the gesture of acceptance than she would have thought possible.
They let all the little kids go in front of them while the men checked out the pictured offerings on the side of the truck. Then they all chose their treats and headed back to the pool at a leisurely pace.
The sun had sunk below the hillside and the sky over the pools was painted a beautiful pink.
Sara and Tabitha were deep in a discussion with Tristan and Dorian about something going on at the museum.
Miranda found herself hanging back to admire the blooming rhododendrons on the hillside.
“They’re very hardy,” Bron said approvingly.
She turned to find him looking over her shoulder at the rhododendrons.
“And they’re travelers,” he told her.
“How?” she asked, wondering how something with roots in the ground could travel.
“Look,” he told her, gesturing toward the hillside, where an army of rhodies stretched up toward the cottages on the twilit hillside above.
“Each plant expands,” he told her. “Eventually, they move together to form their own jungle.”
“I guess it’s just a matter of watching them over time,” Miranda said thoughtfully. “Even if you can’t actually see them moving.”
“Time moves differently for me,” he murmured, gazing fondly at the rhododendron. “I can see her moving if I choose.”
The idea was incredible to Miranda.
She wondered what she would do with her time if it were limitless. Would she still be constantly on the go, or would she find the time to sit and watch flowers bloom?
“Careful,” Bron said, moving close.
Her own time did seem to slow as he reached out his hand to touch her face.
Miranda felt the warmth of his rough thumb against her mouth.
He leaned closer still and pulled his thumb back to his tongue, tasting the drop of ice cream she realized he had scooped from her lips.
Blood rushed to her cheeks and she was suddenly aware of every cell in her body, reaching, straining toward the King of the Wilds.
A whistle sounded and she nearly jumped.
“That means the pool is closing,” Bron said sadly.
“I guess we should go finish packing up,” she said.
As they made their way past the lifeguard station where they’d been yelled at for running, Miranda overheard a young female lifeguard muttering to herself.
“I can’t believe he just left,” the girl said. “Didn’t bother to clean up the pool noodles. Didn’t even turn in his whistle.”
Something about that struck her as odd. The lifeguards at these local pools were mostly students who took the job very seriously. It was a coveted opportunity.
Leaving without checking out would have been unheard of back in Miranda’s day. Maybe things had changed.
She walked over to where Sara and Tabitha were divvying up the leftover sauces as Dorian and Tristan folded towels and stuffed them into beach bags.
“Did anyone see anything at all today?” Miranda asked Tabitha.
Tabitha shook her head. “I guess it wasn’t here. Or at least it isn’t here now.”
They had walked past the lap pool and were headed for the bridge when another lifeguard came jogging in from the parking lot.
“His car is still here,” she yelled.
Tabitha and Miranda exchanged a glance.
“So where is he, then?” the other lifeguard called back.
“Who knows?” the first one yelled. “He said something about fireflies earlier. Maybe he went for a walk.”
“Will o’ the wisps,” Sara whispered to Tabitha, stopping in her tracks.
“Sorry, folks, we’re closing up,” one of the lifeguards told them.
“Oh, of course,” Sara said.
“Sorry,” Miranda added.
They headed for the parking lot.
“We’ll move the cars and then walk back in and hide in the tennis court before they lock up,” Tabitha whispered.
Miranda nodded and they marched off en masse.
It was only when they reached her car that she realized she was willingly going along with an evening of breaking and entering to look for a monster in the dark woods.
All while wearing a bathing suit.
This was not how she thought her day was going to end up.
But when Bron smiled down at her as he opened the car door, her doubts faded away and she was filled instead with excitement at being part of an amazing adventure, and a steadfast determination to find the young lifeguard who was missing.
“Let’s do this,” she said, and Bron gave her a wink that made her insides do a little flip-flop.
9
Bron
Bron’s heart pounded and he struggled for control.
Whatever was happening with Miranda, it was driving him mad.
He was beginning to realize he wanted more than to bed her, but he couldn’t imagine what more there could be for them.
She’s mortal, she’s mortal, she’s mortal…
But it didn’t seem to matter. He adored her. She was as sweet as ice cream, and the idea of seeing her in danger again terrified him.
It certainly hadn’t mattered for his brothers.
“Get in, Bron,” Dorian hissed from the passenger side of Sara’s car.
“I’m going with Miranda,” he decided.
She nodded and he moved around and got in beside her.
“Do you think the lifeguard is in danger?” Miranda asked.
By the gods, he did not want to admit his fear, but the folk coul
d not lie.
“It is impossible for us to know for sure,” he told her.
She glanced at him.
“But yes,” he admitted. “I do think he’s in danger. It will be good if we can get back there quickly and try to find him.”
“Good idea,” she said, nodding.
She was very brave. Injury at the hands of one of these monsters could be fatal to her. Yet she was ready to fling herself into danger to save someone she didn’t know, and help people she had just met.
“Hopefully, we can find it quickly,” she said. “Do you have an advantage? Being… who you are?”
“That depends,” he told her. “All living things are known at least a little bit to me. But it is the simpler side of nature that is most mine. Plants, animals, and… other simple creatures.”
“You were going to say humans, weren’t you?” He could see the little dimple on her right cheek. She wasn’t angry.
“Yes,” he admitted. “Though you are not entirely under my rule.”
“That’s good news,” she said, quirking an eyebrow.
“Your kind has more complexity, generally,” he said.
“But not always?”
“Not always,” he agreed.
She was silent and he could hear her unasked question hanging between them.
“You are more complex, Miranda Cannon,” he told her gruffly. “You do not belong to me wholly.”
Not yet.
“But I do a little bit?” she asked.
He wasn’t sure whether she thought that was a good or a bad thing. But he had no time to puzzle it out. She was pulling the car over behind Sara’s.
They got out and joined their friends.
“This way,” Tabitha said, heading for a ditch on the edge of the road.
“Are you sure?” Sara asked.
“I used to sneak into the pool sometimes in high school,” Tabitha said over her shoulder.
Sara’s eyes widened and Miranda tried to hide her smile under her hand.
“What is funny?” Bron whispered to Miranda as they followed Tabitha into the ditch.
“Even in Tarker’s Hollow I knew all about the Barnes family,” she whispered. “They’re kind of… proper. It seems wild that Tabitha ever snuck into a pool.”