“Josie, forgive me for sounding blunt, but why exactly did you contact me?” Freddy interrupted suddenly, and shifted awkwardly in his seat. His face was still beet red.
I was more than happy to get this meeting back on track. I hadn’t come here to talk about my sex life—or lack thereof.
Not that I didn’t like chatting with them. They both seemed so nice, so warm, and friendly. It was like a weird reunion with a long-lost family I’d never met before. I didn’t understand why Zeph was avoiding them, or why Eldrick had seemed so concerned about me meeting them.
“I need to know about the Fibbing Gate,” I said.
Freddy choked again. He glanced around, looking over his shoulder as though he were afraid someone might be eavesdropping. “How do you know about that? Did Zeph tell you?”
“No. In fact, he doesn’t even know I’m here. But like you said, the Singing Moon is getting closer. He doesn’t have much time left. I know my dad was researching ways to destroy Fir Darrig. I’ve been reading all of his findings,” I explained. “I’m not going to let Zeph die because of me. I’m going to destroy Fir Darrig unless he agrees to break the curse. But I’m not willing to chance it on an empty threat, so I need to know about the Fibbing Gate.”
“My, that’s a tall order.” Camilla looked worried. “Maybe it would be better if Zeph were here, too. It does concern him, after all. You know how angry he’ll be if he finds out we’ve been meeting with her in secret.”
I saw Freddy’s expression fall again. His emotions were so transparent; it was easy to figure out what he was thinking. Unfortunately, I had to agree with him. I seriously doubted Zeph would ever agree to meeting with them. He wouldn’t even talk about Freddy.
“Zeph isn’t interested in saving himself.” I sat up a little straighter. “He’s being a stubborn idiot, as usual. So it’s up to me. I know my dad was experimenting with ways of sealing away powerful faeries. The last thing written in his journal was about the Fibbing Gate.”
Once again, Freddy looked uneasy. He winced and leaned in closer, whispering. “Josie, it’s dangerous to speak of such things.”
“Why?”
“Because Nagroot has forbidden it,” he replied.
“Who’s Nagroot?”
“He’s is the Steward of the Seelie Court. He’s the one who … well, he forbade us from making a strike against Fir Darrig. He won’t allow anyone in the Seelie Court to act out like that. He holds to the old laws, which prohibit faeries from using magic against one another. If we try, then we are immediately treated as traitors and excused from the Court. That’s why I didn’t follow Zeph before. Once you’re excused from the Seelie Court, you’re doomed to live out the rest of your years as a rogue on the run—as an Unseelie.”
I took a second to process that.
“Nagroot is very influential in the faerie world, sweetie,” Camilla said quietly. “He’s quite old, and a sidhe like Fir Darrig—one of his descendants, in fact. There are even rumors he might even be sympathetic to Fir Darrig.”
“Shh, darling, don’t say such things.” Freddy was looking a little pale.
Camilla didn’t share his apprehension. “By now I’m sure he’s heard them, too. I, for one, suspect there’s some truth to it. We petitioned him to help us protect you when you were a baby, and he refused. He said there was too much bad blood between the two courts now. He doesn’t believe our differences can be mended by one human, even if that human is the vessel.”
“No, that’s not it,” Freddy interjected. Those words must have stoked his temper a little because I saw a flash of rebellious anger in his eyes that reminded me of someone. “It’s completely ludicrous. If anyone can bring peace to our world, it would be the vessel! He must know that. But now he’s got his greedy crooked behind in a seat of authority. He doesn’t want to let that go.”
“You may be right. But we all must acknowledge that the tension between Seelies and Unseelies has never been greater.” Camilla regarded her husband with a sad smile. “If we try to force everyone under one banner to fight Fir Darrig, other Unseelie might rally to him. We don’t want to make a monster into a martyr and start a faerie war in his name.”
Freddy rubbed his brow and gave a stiff nod. Unlike his brother, apparently he could listen to reason.
Camilla put a hand on his arm. Immediately, Freddy relaxed. “It’s bad enough we’ve already got so many fae willing to cast foul magic against one another. A war would make the rift even worse. So Nagroot will do whatever he believes he must to prevent it, even if it means behaving foolishly.”
I could see both sides of the argument, but without knowing Nagroot personally, it was impossible to decide who was right. Fortunately, it didn’t matter. “I don’t need his help or his approval. I’m not a faerie, so the laws don’t apply to me.”
Freddy and Camilla blinked at me in surprise. Then they both slowly began to smile.
“She really is like her mother,” Camilla said.
“It’s the red hair,” Freddy agreed. “You know what they say about redheads. Too much fire in the soul is bound to leak out somewhere.”
I blushed again. “So will you help me or not?”
They nodded in unison.
“Of course, dear.” Camilla patted my arm gently. “We’ll just have to be extra careful.”
I exchanged numbers and email addresses with Freddy and Camilla as we finished our meeting. Freddy admitted he didn’t know much about the Fibbing Gate, but he promised to send me any information he could find. He verified Eldrick’s claim that it was a very old legend—one that was generally taken to be more fiction than fact.
“It’ll take some time. But I’ll see what I can come up with,” he promised as they escorted me out of the bistro. “With any luck, I can at least figure out if the story is true or not. There has to be someone left who remembers. Or maybe there’s something in one of the older texts …”
“Just be careful, dear,” Camilla warned. “We don’t want Nagroot to catch on.”
“Or Zeph,” I added. “I’m pretty sure he would blow a gasket if he knew I was here.”
Freddy chuckled and patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry. If he finds out, you can blame it all on us. He already hates us, so it won’t make much difference.”
Despite his smile, those words reflected such a deep sadness my heart sank. It wasn’t right for Zeph to be so angry with them. He was being childish—again.“Oh my,” Camilla gasped suddenly. Her wide-eyed stare was fixed upon the door and her porcelain-perfect cheeks flushed.
Eldrick strode down the sidewalk wearing a long, black coat, his broad shoulders flecked with white falling snow. His bangs blew over his sharp eyes, and his steely gaze fixed squarely on me. As he crossed the street, standing tall and proud, every woman in a two-block radius seemed to turn around and gawk at him. Not even Camilla was able to resist ogling him, which earned her an elbow and sulky frown from her husband.
“It’s time to go home,” Eldrick announced in a firm, deep voice as he stopped right before me.
“You came to pick me up?” I smiled at him.
He curled a finger in my direction, calling me over to his side like a disobedient puppy. “You were taking too long.”
It didn’t bother me as much as it should have. I was so glad to see him, I skipped over to his side and looped my arm through his. “Better watch it. People are going to think you were worried about me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he scolded me. His silver eyes glanced at Freddy and Camilla dismissively, as though he didn’t think they were worth his time.
“Eldrick Dorchaidhe,” Freddy said his name like it was an accusation. “I can honestly say you are the last fae in the world I expected to see standing beside a human girl. Stepped down off your pedestal, have you?”
“Spare me the juvenile mockery,” Eldrick replied dryly. “Lest you make your inferiority more obvious to your wife.”
“Now, now
. We can be civil, can’t we? Behave yourselves in front of Josie. This isn’t an elementary school playground.” Camilla tried not to laugh, but she wasn’t doing a very good job. “Eldrick, it’s good to see you again.”
He nodded, but didn’t reciprocate her greeting. Instead, he pulled me out the door and down the street. I barely managed a wave goodbye.
“What was that all about?” I asked as soon as Eldrick let go of my arm. “Why did you come to get me? I was fine with them.”
“It’s getting late,” he insisted with a scowl.
“Not that late.” I glanced up at him, and I couldn’t keep from smiling. Maybe he’d never admit it, but I knew I was right. Eldrick had been worried about me. “Is Zeph awake yet?”
He shook his head.
I leaned against his arm, hiding from the biting cold of the wind as we walked home together. So, I’d known Freddy, Camilla, and Zeph when I was little. They’d been close family friends … and yet I didn’t have a single memory of any of them? That didn’t make sense. Surely I should have been able to recall something—any tiny detail. Especially if they’d spent so much time babysitting William and me.
Granted, a lot of my memories from back then were hazy, and most of them had been drowned out by the pain and sorrow of losing my family members one by one. I didn’t even remember my mother’s voice. I only recognized her face because I had seen it in photographs. I remembered more about my big brother, William, but he had passed away when I was in fifth grade. He was already in high school by then, so we hadn’t spent much time together.
I let out a sigh. There had to be some other explanation—maybe something Freddy and Camilla, or even Zeph, hadn’t told me.
“What’s wrong with you?” Eldrick asked.
“Nothing,” I lied. “I’m just restless. All we can do now is wait and see what Freddy can find out. I hate waiting.” Okay, so that wasn’t all a lie. I did hate feeling like I was just sitting on my hands.
He slipped his arm out of my grasp and planted a hand on my shoulder. I wasn’t sure what to make of it at first, especially when he gradually pulled me closer to walk with his arm around me. “Humans are always impatient. Perhaps that is due to your short lifespan.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re so charming. It’s hard to believe you’re still single.” I was being sarcastic, but apparently, he didn’t pick up on that.
“Yes, well, my social standing amongst my kin makes it necessary for me to be highly selective when settling on a mate. My father has many children, but so far I am the only one he has recognized as a legitimate heir.”
“Riiight,” I laughed. It was hard to imagine someone as chronically serious as Eldrick falling in love—his smile alone was as rare as a total lunar eclipse—but kissing someone? That was impossible to visualize.
“We should continue your studies,” he continued. “You seem to have several spells memorized accurately enough, it’s time for you to attempt to use them.”
“You mean like a test run?” I swallowed hard. I wondered how angry Zeph would be if I accidentally set the apartment on fire. Maybe we should stock up on fire extinguishers first.
We were nearly back to my street, within sight of the last intersection where we had to take a turn, when Eldrick suddenly went tense. He moved like a blur, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me against his side.
“Hey, what’s the—”
“Hush.” His eyes narrowed into dangerous silver slits. Standing so close to him, I could feel every hard muscle in his body. His nostrils flared, as though he were scenting the air.
Eldrick’s harrowing stare fixed upon an alleyway directly across the street from us. The two tall buildings on either side cast heavy shadows, making the alley pitch black, so I couldn’t see anything in it. What was happening? Were they invisible? Or hiding in the dark?
I glanced both ways, but there was no one in sight in either direction.
“Behind me,” Eldrick commanded. A low, rumbling growl came from somewhere deep in his throat.
I scrambled to duck behind him and clung to his coat. My whole body was trembling as I peeked around his arm.
Across the street, a pair of gleaming ice blue eyes winked to life in the darkness. I watched, breathless and terrified, as a huge white wolf came striding out of the alleyway. Its head raised and ears pricked forward as it watched us, black nose twitching. What was a creature like that doing in the city?
A blast of frigid wind cut right through me and I sucked in a sharp breath. Those eyes—where had I seen them before?
Eldrick’s growling grew louder.
The white wolf let out a snort, snapping its jaws. It turned its head away as the air around me seemed to grow colder.
Eldrick spread his arms out, his shoulders hunched aggressively and his teeth bared. He tilted his chin up slightly in a challenging gesture, his jawline hard.
A wide, toothy grin spread across the wolf’s mouth. “Hello, big brother. I see the rumors are true. Enslaved to that human whelp? How pathetic.” It spoke in a soft feminine voice.
Eldrick didn’t move.
“You should let me have her. One bite and I’ll solve everyone’s problems—even yours.”
I cringed and squeezed the back of Eldrick’s coat tighter. I’d heard that voice before somewhere. But where?
“Touch her and I will do far worse than one bite,” Eldrick rumbled. “Walk away, Lumi. This is your only warning.”
My heart stopped. Lumi? The woman from the fair?
A soft chime whispered in the air, sending chills over my skin. As quickly as it had appeared, the creature shimmered and changed, changing from a wolf into a beautiful young woman—the same one that had tried to abduct me at the fair.
My pulse raced and my throat seized up. I couldn’t stop myself from shaking.
Lumi stood up slowly, the wind catching in her long white hair. Lithe and lean with skin like freshly fallen snow, she looked nothing at all like Eldrick. The only thing about them that was even remotely similar was the cold, ruthless way they were glaring at one another.
Lumi smirked as she adjusted the collar of her white leather jacket, her piercing gaze still fixed on me. “She reeks of fear.”
Suddenly, Eldrick took a step toward her with his lips drawn back in a snarl. Cool chills tingled across my body as his form wavered, threatening to change.
Lumi jumped back with a yelp, landing in a defensive stance with her eyes wide. She flashed me another quick glare, clicking her teeth before disappearing into the darkness of the alleyway again.
The chimes in the air went silent.
“I-is she gone?” I whispered.
Eldrick let his arms drop. His body relaxed, but the fury in his sterling eyes didn’t lose any of its potency. “For now.”
“That woman … is your sister?”
He nodded slowly.
“Is she working for Fir Darrig?”
His lips scrunched. “I’m not sure. Lumi has been very loyal to her mother in the past. But, if Fir Darrig is recruiting other Unseelie to his cause … then I suppose it is possible.”
“W-what if you hadn’t been here? Oh god, what if she’d attacked us?” My knees went weak.
Eldrick seized my arms to steady me. “I am here.” His expression was stern as he moved to take my hand. “Let’s go.”
Zeph still wasn’t awake when we got home—which was a relief. It gave me some time to calm down. If Zeph found out where I’d been and that Lumi had tried to kidnap me again … I shuddered.
I was still trembling as we walked through the door. Eldrick hovered around me, silent and grim-faced as I hung up my coat and scarf. It was warm in my apartment, but the memory of Lumi’s chilling stare still made me shiver.
Cooking always soothed my nerves. It kept my shaking hands busy and my mind focused on something else. I took my time making vegetarian lasagna, broccoli salad with cranberries and raisins, and crescent rolls glazed
with cinnamon and honey. It made my whole apartment smell heavenly. Eldrick hovered over me, trying to taste everything to “ensure its quality.” I had to chase him off with a wooden spoon.
I figured the smells would wake Zeph up and bring him staggering into the kitchen, bleary-eyed and ready to eat anything he could get his hands on. But after setting the table and letting everything cool off for a few minutes, he still hadn’t appeared. My still-panicked brain immediately jumped to terrible conclusions.
Leaving Eldrick sitting at his place at the table, I crept down the hall and opened my bedroom door. Zeph was sound asleep in my bed, buried under all my blankets. When I pulled back the comforter, I found him curled up on his side, hugging one of my pillows to his chest while wheezing loudly.
I smiled. My beautiful, scruffy, mess of a man.
I eased down onto the side of the bed and began running my fingers through his hair. He twitched, but didn’t wake up. His eyelids flickered like he was dreaming.
There were so many things I wanted to ask him, and so much more I wanted to tell him. He needed to forgive Freddy. Whatever had happened in the past, he needed to let that go. His little brother was obviously in pain, struggling to deal with their estrangement. Couldn’t he just swallow his pride for once? Just for the sake of family?
I knew better than to bring it up, though. He’d probably growl and curse, call me a few names, and say it wasn’t any of my business. He would be right about that. I had no right to get involved. Despite the fact that he rarely acted like it, Zeph was a grown man. He could take care of his own business.
“Hey.” I rubbed one of his tattooed arms. “I’m about to ask a stupid question, are you listening?”
He made a deep, groaning sound and tried to hide his face against the pillow.
I bent down and whispered, letting my lips brush his ear, “Are you hungry?”
A violet-colored eye popped open to stare up at me. He groaned again, and looped an arm around my neck to drag me down into the bed with him. “What did you make? It smells really good,” he murmured sleepily. “Just like you.”
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