by Lexi Blake
I’d only been in Faery for a few hours and yet my world already seemed so far away. Just this morning I’d sat in our condo in Dallas reading through the materials Louis Marini had sent for me. He’d sent me all the information he had on the artifact he wanted me to track down while I was in the sithein. He also sent a cell phone with instructions to call him when the job was done. I was worried I would never be able to make that call because, as clients go, my current employer sucked. His info was crappy and he only had the vaguest idea where the Blood Stone might be. Everything he knew was based on vague rumors. He was expecting a miracle, but I needed to pull it off if I wanted Daniel alive. My payment for this job was the client not killing my hubby.
Louis Marini ran the world my husband lived in. He was the head of the Vampire Council. He was also the man who had attached a device to my husband’s heart and had the detonator on a remote he carried with him. One push of that button and Daniel would be gone.
So I was going to find that stone.
“Well, Ross, I might have to take you up on that offer.” I said, flirting just a little. “I think I’ll definitely be spending some time here. There’s nothing I like better than a good tavern and some hot gossip. I’m interested in the history of this place. After all, it’s important to Dev.”
“We can help you there,” Loran offered with his gravelly voice. “I’ve forgotten more about this sithein than most people remember. I remember when we left the Earth plane.”
Loran just might be my new BFF. I knew the gemstone Marini was interested in had disappeared around three hundred years before. According to Marini’s intelligence—and I use that term lightly—I was searching for a medium-sized, blood-red jewel. It once decorated the crown of the last Vampire King and had gone missing from the vamp stronghold in Paris. He’d tracked the stone down to the sithein through some earthbound faeries who had seen the stone at the palace, but that was years before. “Well, I would love to hear some of those stories. I’m married to a Fae now. I should know something about the sithein.”
“Come by anytime.” Ross winked my way, a gleam in his eyes. I was certain he would love to entertain me with stories and perhaps ply me with ale. I wondered how close Ross was with my husband.
“Aye,” Loran agreed. “You can find me in the gardens most of the time.”
“I would love to visit with you.” Sarah got to one knee to get eye level with the gnome.
He nodded with a knowing grin. “Aye, I thought you would. Ross might only see that lovely face of yours, but I know a witch when I see one. Come by and I’ll teach you how to grow herbs that will make your spells spark.”
“Very nice,” Mara was saying as she joined us with a shake of her blonde head and a condescending stare she leveled at the group. “It’s nice that you are greeting the local color, Your Grace, but if you would not mind, there are some others who would be interested in meeting Prince Devinshea’s new bride.”
I could totally read between her lines. There were people with more money and power and we should be talking to them. I didn’t like Mara but I suspected the feeling was mutual. When she’d first gotten a look at the lot of us, she assumed Sarah was the new bride. I guess I shouldn’t blame her. Despite her eclectic choice of hair color, Sarah was much closer to what Mara would have expected. Sarah was tall and lithe with an angular face that belonged on a magazine cover. I shouldn’t blame Mara for the mistake but I did.
“I think Dev’s handling things just fine,” I replied, looking back at him.
He was laughing at something the woman in front of him said, and I was sure he just oozed charm. He was the nerd who got to go back to his class reunion as a multimillionaire playboy. He was enjoying playing the conquering hero. I wouldn’t have been quite so bitter about it if he’d included me. The minute we’d marched into this impromptu welcoming party, I’d been sent to the sidelines, watching him like a lovelorn teenager.
It made me realize how used to our ménage I’d gotten. If Daniel hadn’t been relegated to his coffin, I would be sitting in his lap and wouldn’t even notice that Dev was ignoring me. Danny and I would be talking about everything that was going on and I would more than likely be happy. I was completely spoiled, and I tried to remember that Dev had a job to do, too.
“I was just about to get Her Grace and her friends a mug of my finest ale,” Ross offered with a flourish.
“Thank god,” Neil said. “Bring on the booze. We could use it.”
“Amen,” Sarah seconded.
My face flushed, but I nodded and tried to look happy. I wouldn’t touch the ale but I didn’t want to make a big deal of it. I looked at Neil and he winked. He would make sure my cup got emptied. He would do it on the sly and maybe no one would ask those questions I wasn’t ready to answer.
“I do not think this is the best idea, Your Grace.” Mara looked down her patrician nose at me. “This is not the most reputable of establishments. You are a member of the royal family. I understand that you grew up outside Fae society, so you must allow me to lead you. You should not be associating with bar owners.”
“Yeah, I’ll mention that bit of wisdom to my husband tonight.” My favorite place in the world was Dev’s nightclub, Ether.
Ross and Loran walked off to get us drinks, and Mara took a moment to look at our little group. We had dressed the part of a royal retinue.
Well, not all of us. Lee had told Declan to stick it, and he was wearing comfy jeans and a T-shirt. My boobs were practically falling out of my dress, so I admired my wolf’s bravado.
It was Lee who got the brunt of Mara’s disappointment now. “What good are you? I was informed you are the head of Her Grace’s security and yet you allow strange men to accost your charge?”
“If I beat up every weird creature who hit on Zoey, I’d never get any rest.” Lee never actually opened his eyes. His head was back, with his Rangers ball cap pulled over, shading his eyes. His feet were in scuffed-up boots he’d propped on the table. He appeared to be the perfect slacker, but all I had to do was whisper and my wolf would be at the throat of whatever threatened me.
Mara huffed and turned back to me. “I was surprised to hear you do not have a social secretary. I will make sure one is assigned to you as soon as we reach the palace. You will have two hours before your meeting with our glorious queen. Please make sure you wear the dress Prince Declan has chosen for you. He took time out of his busy schedule to ensure that his dear sister-in-law will look her best. I will send a maid to help you.” She said that last bit like she wasn’t certain I would be able to dress myself.
I shook my head because I could feel the noose tightening. Every extra person they put on me was someone I would more than likely have to shake later. “I have a maid. There’s no need to send anyone.”
“I’ll make sure she’s properly covered,” Sarah promised, sitting back down at the table. “I’ve been dressing Zoey for a long time.”
It was true. She often picked my clothes when Dev didn’t do it for me.
“See that you do.” Mara looked back down at the notes she was carrying. “I will consider you to be in charge of her wardrobe. She has fittings arranged with the best dressmakers in the kingdom. Prince Declan set them up himself. Please see that she makes the appointments.”
Sarah frowned because she knew that getting me to stand still while someone poked me with needles might be difficult.
Neil was up and standing in front of me before I registered that someone was coming our way. He placed himself strategically in front of me but kept his body relaxed. He wouldn’t give me a reason to panic unless he thought the situation was serious, but he also wouldn’t let anyone he didn’t know get too close to me.
“Trouble?” Lee asked, yawning.
“I’ll let you know,” Neil replied.
Neil and Lee had settled into a nice partnership. Neil did all the energetic running around with me while Lee paced himself, waiting for something bad to happen before interrupting his nap. I
was happy they seemed to get along well since the two were polar opposites. Neil was a flaming homosexual and Lee was a manly lone wolf. It could have been a combustible concoction, but Lee treated Neil like a little brother and Neil lapped up the attention. It was a good thing since Neil’s own brother was a nasty bastard who Daniel had killed earlier this summer.
“Your Grace.” A young man with dark hair and a paper and quill greeted me with an arched brow. “I am with the Royal Examiner. I have a few questions for you.”
Mara shook her head and tried to shoo the reporter away. “No, no, no. Her Royal Highness was clear. Any interviews with Prince Devinshea’s new bride must go through the palace. Her Grace does not speak our language and needs a translator.”
“Of course I speak the language.” Were they so worried I would screw up a few simple questions that they were willing to lie about my language skills? I was almost certain Declan was behind that particular royal edict. He didn’t seem to have a ton of faith in my abilities, but then I had given him trouble every chance I got. I turned back to the reporter, my stubbornness threatening to get the best of me. How hard could it be to answer a couple of questions? “What do you want to know?”
The reporter gave Mara a triumphant smile, and I guessed they were old adversaries. He turned back to me and he was all business. “The rumor is that Prince Dev finds himself in an unusual ménage a trois with you and a vampire. Could you please give us some details on how you manage to keep two men satisfied?”
I felt my face heat as Mara leaned in. “The Royal Examiner is a tabloid. We tend to avoid commenting,” she explained in a condescending tone.
I said the only thing I could think of. “No hablo Inglés.”
Chapter Two
“No, absolutely not.” Declan charged into the tavern’s courtyard. His eyes were on the reporter, and he looked like he’d call that hidden guard of his at any moment. “Her Grace is not to be bothered by reporters. There will be a party at the palace and all of the proper questions will be answered then.”
Said bothersome reporter rolled his eyes and walked away. I was pretty sure he was going to write something about the dullard the prince had married. If the tabloids worked in Faery the same way they worked in my world, they didn’t need to actually talk to me to write the story. Neil and I exchanged a glance. We hadn’t figured on gossip rags in our medieval adventure land. If they had them, Neil would probably get a subscription. Declan turned to fix Mara with his steeliest gaze.
“I thought I warned you about my brother’s wife. You cannot let her out of your sight for a moment.” Declan shook a finger at the blonde.
“You did, Your Highness. I am so sorry.” Her head was down, and she listened carefully to everything Declan said.
“She will burn the town down before you blink. And do not count on those guards of hers because they will help her light the fire. Think of them less as guards and more as accomplices.”
Lee shot Declan the bird, but Neil just smiled. I couldn’t argue because they actually were my accomplices. We’d run many heists together over the years. Sarah, too. Lee was new and the only heist we’d run had been hard on him, but Zack was actually kind of awesome. I found Zack and his butt kissing annoying, but in the field he was a perfect partner. He never argued with whoever was in charge. All in all, they were a damn fine crew. Sure they sometimes ran away for months at a time because they were mad at my husband or on some occasions had actually shot me, but other than that they were totally solid.
“Now that we are here in Faery,” Declan continued as he looked at Lee dismissively, “perhaps a more formal guard can be found. I would not want my sweet sister without a truly responsible guard. I would be a careless host if I allowed anything to happen to her.”
Lee sat up, and his eyes were on Declan. My wolf had excellent instincts. The reporter had been no real threat, but my brother-in-law certainly was. It was no great love on his part for me that had Declan wanting to surround me with his trusty men. Declan was certain I was carrying a child who could save his kingdom. Just weeks ago he’d vowed to do anything to protect the baby, including make me a prisoner if it came to that. I’d kept that conversation to myself, though Lee and Neil had been there at the time. Lee had begged me to let him kill the man he thought would take away my baby. I was willing to wait to see if there even was a baby to take.
My guards were the only ones who knew about the conflict with Declan, and I was trying to keep it that way.
“I told you, brother, Zoey’s wolves do a fine job,” Dev said, making his way toward me. A crowd followed him, but they gave him some space now.
Lee relaxed back down into his chair. He’d gained a lot of respect for Dev after our time in Colorado, and he preferred for him to handle the politics of the situation.
Dev’s mouth tugged up in a lopsided, crazy sexy smile, and my heart skipped a beat. “They’ve kept her alive this long, and that’s saying something for them. I think they will be fine for our stay here. Besides, Zoey is used to them and they are used to her ways. A royal guard would be far too confining.”
Declan’s eyes narrowed, but he held his tongue. I suspected he was planning on his brother’s stay being a permanent one. He was smart and knew now was not the time to argue. He had attempted to convince Dev to leave his retinue behind. Declan had argued that we should use the time in Faery as a sort of honeymoon for just the two of us, but Dev had been insistent on bringing all of our household. I was happy I hadn’t been forced to fight with him. If Declan had the two of us on our own, he would find some leverage to try to keep Dev here. I just hoped it wasn’t my child. I feared if I turned up pregnant, Dev might actually agree with his brother, and I would find myself a permanent resident.
Dev crossed the space between us and dropped a kiss on my lips. I went up on my toes as he deepened the embrace and slid his tongue into my mouth, turning up the heat. Dev was a big fan of the PDA. I might have been embarrassed, but I was far too busy trying to climb up my husband’s body to notice.
“There’s a sight I know well. Good Prince Dev is back and already seducing a beauty in my courtyard,” Ross said as Dev released me and looked up at the satyr. I saw happy recognition in his green eyes. “You work faster now, Prince. You didn’t even have to buy this one a drink.”
Dev laughed and held out his hand in greeting. “Ross, you old scoundrel, I assure you this one cost me much more than a flagon. I paid for this one in sweat and blood and expensive footwear.”
“Jerk.” I gave him a strong elbow to his midsection that he pretended not to notice as he shook his friend’s hand.
“Now, my sweet wife, you know it’s true,” he chided. “My last gunshot wound is barely healed. Since I met Zoey, I’ve been beaten, kidnapped, drugged, stabbed, thrown bodily into more walls than I could imagine, and shot. Just a few weeks ago I was almost eaten by ravenous wolves.”
“Don’t forget you were offered up as a black sacrifice to a demon lord,” I reminded him. It was when I knew I loved him.
His eyes went soft with the memory. “How could I forget? Good times, sweetheart.”
Ross’s violet eyes were large. “You have some stories to tell, Prince Dev.”
“Oh, Dev, we could tell him about that time we killed the weretiger.” Neil laughed, leaning forward. “It was right after we met Dev. We were running a heist and a demon was on our trail. The demon decided to play nasty. He sicced a weretiger on us in the middle of a downtown parking garage. Dev was the best bait ever. He’s faster than you would think. I was surprised he survived.”
Mara sighed and looked down at Dev as he settled onto a bench and pulled me into his lap. I snuggled close to him, feeling safer than I had all day.
The royal employee shook her head. “Your Highness, you must remind your retinue to treat you with more respect. They should always address you as Your Highness or Your Grace or at the least Prince Devinshea. We must observe the proprieties or else just give over to chaos.”
“As you wish,” Mara said, but it was all for show. The minute Dev took his eyes off her she regarded us all with contempt.
I wondered if it would be this way with my mother-in-law. The Seelie court was apparently a rigid place with formalities and rules galore. My friends and I weren’t big on rules.
“Besides, I never kept the best company when I was younger,” he stated and a cheer went up. “And I had all the more fun for it.”
“She said I shouldn’t consort with bar owners,” I whispered, cuddling close to my favorite barkeep.
Dev threw his head back and laughed. I noticed everyone watching us. All eyes were on him, but he didn’t seem to care. He grinned down at me and stared lecherously at my cleavage.
“But you like bar owners,” he said, his voice deep, and I knew he was thinking of some of the things we’d done on his bar. “I sometimes think you married me for all the free booze.” He glanced back up at the satyr who was putting cups on the table. “Speaking of booze, it’s been too long since I tasted this ale. It’s the best I’ve ever had and I cannot duplicate it to save my life. Believe me I’ve tried. Ross, as one barkeep to another, you must give me your recipe.”
Ross shook his head and crossed his arms over his magnificent chest. “That’s one thing I will never share with anyone. Keeps you coming back for more. So you own a tavern on the Earth plane?”
“Dev owns several,” Sarah offered. “It’s a nightclub. I haven’t been to the others, but the one in Dallas is awesome. The place is packed every night. It’s the best music and the best bar in town.”