Chapter 11

T here was a market beyond the gate, a colorful cobbled courtyard of stalls filled with music and delicious smells and surrounded by majestic thick-limbed trees. The evergreen canopy drooped to provide cover from a sky heavy with storm clouds fit to burst.

But the chill was kept at bay by several fire pits that spat and crackled, blasting heat around the courtyard.

Half-blood fae milled about, trading and chatting. Some sat at round picnic tables eating and drinking. They looked human until examined closely, and then I caught the flick of a tail, the silver glimmer of wings, or the tip of a blackened talon. Most were dressed in winter wear, but a few males were topless with dark brown slacks so tight that they didn’t leave much to the imagination.

“Bloody hell,” Edwin said.

Holly let out a low whistle.

“Satyrs,” Merry said in a hushed tone. “They can charm the pants off anyone when they play their chosen instrument.”

I squinted my eyes and caught the impression of hooves where their boots should be.

“I’m assuming we’re not talking about the instrument between their legs?” Padma said.

“You assume correctly.”

As interesting as this all was, we were here to see whoever was in charge. “We need to find the pavilion.”

I strode toward the nearest stall, slowing my pace as the stall owner raised his voice at his customer.

“I said four coppers and a silver, and you know it.”

“You never said anything about silver,” the patron said.

“You calling me a liar?” The stall keeper’s stocky form expanded even further, and horns sprouted from his head.

The guy, unperturbed by the display, waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, put your horns away, you fool.” He rooted in his apron pocket and dug out more coins. “Take it. Your mead is worth it.”

“Damn straight it is,” the horned fae huffed.

They must have felt me staring because they both looked over at me.

“You don’t belong here,” the horned guy said.

“I know. We have an audience with the high clan leader. We’re looking for the pavilion.”

The guy in the apron answered. “If the pavilion knows you’re coming, you’ll find it. Just follow the moss road over there.” He pointed behind us where the metal gates should be, but when I looked, the gates were gone and in their place was a road coated in vibrant green moss.

“What the…” Padma shook her head. “This place is making my head hurt.”

“Let’s just get this over with,” Edwin said, leading the way.

Merry lingered for a moment, her heart in her eyes as she took in the market once more.

“You coming?” I nudged her lightly.

“Yes, yes, let’s go.”

Stepping onto the path was like standing on an escalator. I wasn’t sure if we were moving or if it was, but in the next moment, we were standing at the bottom of a set of steps leading to a white pavilion dusted with frost and hung with holly heavy with bright red berries.

“Wow,” Holly said.

It certainly was. But then, what did we expect from the home of the fae trapped here? Faerie was closed off, and those that had made it out before the fae world had been quarantined had done their best to replicate their home here in our world. Most purebloods and half-bloods lived in the Evergreen, a densely forested area to the south of the city. But there were other smaller communities like this one.

“Do we just go in?” Holly asked.

I shrugged. “I guess so.” I took the lead this time, climbing the steps into the spacious structure. One moment I was in the pavilion and the next I was standing on a plush green carpet in a stone room lit by wall sconces, facing a muscled monolith on a bronze throne.

I blinked at the impressive male, all oiled pectorals and biceps, and…that face…Those eyes.

“Hey, don’t I know you?” What was his name? We’d met at the Cosmic Stars club. He’d been the bouncer there and…Shit, shit, shit.

He grinned. “Hello, Orina.”

“Crush!” I exhaled, relieved that I’d remembered.

“You will address the high clan leader by his given name!” a liveried guy to my left ordered.

“It’s all right, Tom,” Crush said. “She’s with the Order.”

“But your grace, we must?—”

Crush gave him a flat look, and he pressed his lips together and made a zipping motion.

“You can leave us,” Crush said, and Tom’s eyes rounded. “I swear to the moss and the stone, if you ask me if I’m sure, I will lose my shit.”

Tom bowed quickly and backed out of the room through a side door.

Crush relaxed in his seat and rubbed his hand over his chest, making a face. “I fucking hate this stuff.” He grabbed a towel from under his seat and wiped his skin. “No use, I’ll need to shower it off. Anointing oil, every fucking time I take the throne for an audience.”

The knots in my belly immediately eased. “You’re the clan’s high leader?” Why had I asked that? I mean, it was obvious.

“Crushale Highcrag at your service.” His grin was disarming. “Crush for short.” He climbed off his throne and grabbed a shirt from behind it, which he pulled on before running a hand over his shorn head. “Sorry about that; they’re big on the pomp and ceremony here. Follow me.”

He ducked through an arch into a corridor that led to a cozy sitting room area dotted with large sturdy-looking armchairs and a huge sofa that could probably fit all five of us on it. There was one window hung with thick winter drapes, but the view kept shifting between forest, mountain range, and lakeside.

Crush headed to a side table housing a golden jug and a couple of goblets. “Make yourselves comfortable then tell me why you’re here.”

I slipped into the nearest chair. “I could ask you the same question.”

He poured a drink from the golden jug. “I’m a Highcrag, last of the troll bloods on this side of the veil. The only royal blood this settlement of fae has, and so I get to rule.”

“So you’re what? Like a king here?”

“I consider myself more of an intermediary. I maintain the peace between the seelie and unseelie clans that have formed here. I’m not sure how things were in faerie before the evacuation, but the unseelie and seelie divide seems to work the best on this side of the veil. My word is law when they can’t agree on a path.” He took a glug of his drink, then offered me the jug. “Do you want some?”

“What is it?”

“Honey milk.”

“I’m not a fan of honey.”

“I’ll have some please,” Merry said. “I haven’t had honey milk for…well, ever.”

His gaze dipped to her and lingered. “You’re the clanless half-blood? The one raised by humans?”

Her cheeks colored, and a hint of steel entered her gaze. “They were fantastic parents.”

Crush exhaled. “I didn’t mean to offend you.” He handed her a goblet of milk. “Here. Drink. It’s good.”

The hard look left her face as she accepted the goblet and drank. “Mmmm.” She licked her lips and his gaze dropped to them briefly. “That’s good.”

He topped up her goblet. “I’m glad you like it. You’re welcome here any time you want to be among your people. You don’t have to pick a side no matter what they say.”

“I don’t?”

“Not in my domain, you don’t.”

She blinked sharply and dropped her gaze. “Thank you.”

I had no clue what kind of prejudice Merry had come across because of her upbringing, no idea how the politics of the fae trapped in our world were. But it was easy to gather that Merry had been forced to live outside of it all and that she desperately wanted to be a part of it.

He tore his gaze from her and back to me. “Now…what is it you wanted?”

I filled him in on the missing persons case and how our trail had gone dead just outside his gates.

His frown of concentration melted as I finished. “Your wendigo isn’t here, but I can explain why it might look that way. There are powerful wards on the park. Protection wards that nullify any other spells that might be cast near it. The effects extend for quite a radius.”

“Shit,” Holly said.

“What does that mean?” Edwin asked her.

“It means my tracking spell won’t work around here, which means if Diago did go missing in this area, then there is no way to finding him.”

“We can still search,” Padma said. “See if we can pick up a trail outside of the radius?” She turned to Crush. “How much of a radius?”

“No idea.”

Great, just fucking great. “Okay, let’s drive out some ways, keep the same trajectory, and see if we pick up anything.”

“Sounds good to me,” Holly said.

“Thanks, Crush. We appreciate your help.”

“Anytime.” He took another swig of his drink and studied me for a beat so long I was beginning to get uncomfortable before he spoke. “Look, there’s a celebration at my club Midsommer Nights on Silvercrest Moon in a few weeks. You should come.” He looked over my shoulder at the others. “All of you.”

“You own Midsommer?” Merry squeaked. “I’ve been wanting to try that place for…forever, but it’s invite only.”

“And now you have an invite,” Crush said. “It’s a vampire-free zone. Just good music and delicious food.”

“Fae food?” Padma arched a brow.

Crush chuckled. “Yes, but there will be regular food too, all clearly labeled. You’ll have a choice whether to partake.”

What did that mean?

“I’ll leave your names at the door if you decide to come.”

“Why?” I hadn’t meant to ask it, but now that I had, “Why are you inviting us?”

“Honestly, I’m fucking bored. This king thing is tedious as hell, and the club helps a little but…You guys seem to get into some interesting stuff. Seem like the kind of people that might need a hand now and then. People worth knowing.”

Wait a second…I canted my head and smiled up at him. “Are you saying you want to be friends?”

He chuckled softly. “Yeah, I want to be friends.”

“In that case, we’ll be there,” Merry piped up for us all.

We hadn’t found our missing person yet, but we’d made an ally, and I had a feeling that we were going to be needing as many allies as we could get before the year was up.