40

Violet Miller and the Interview by Idiots

The Sprinkled Scoop turds were rolling out fall decorations already—Violet eyed a garland of brown leaves wrapping the office window as she and Mor entered the news building with their heads held high. Former colleagues of Violet’s turned their heads, and once they saw The Fairy Post owners, they couldn’t seem to look away.

Since Violet left, The Scoop hadn’t bothered to write a single article about all those women who’d turned up in the woods with no memory of how they got there. Not that there was much of a story anymore—there hadn’t been another victim in several weeks. Mor claimed it was evidence the Shadow Army had found Luc and had dragged him back to the land of his fairy people. It took a while for Violet to be able to breathe easy again, but there hadn’t been a single trace or sighting of the redhead, so she began to believe Mor was right.

Fil nearly spat his coffee when he saw them—first because of Violet, second because of Mor.

The tattooed assassin-fairy ignored the bumbling, gaping journalist sitting at his desk. He marched by at Violet’s side, emitting an invisible shudder through the room that seemed to make Fil sink lower into his seat. Mor hadn’t bothered to dress up for the occasion, despite Violet’s prompting. He fashioned a fitted black shirt that he may or may not have realized showed off the muscles he’d once used to snap his enemies’ bones with. Also, no tie, no blazer, no dress shoes. Not that he needed it—he seemed to draw attention just fine the way he was.

Violet, on the other hand, wore a sweeping black dress to match her boss, velvet red lipstick, smoky eyeshadow, and her sleekest pair of stilettos.

Cedric came promenading out of his office with a big, ridiculous, fake smile.

“Ah, you must be Mor Trisencor. And…” His face changed when his gaze darted to Violet.

“My lead journalist,” Mor said in introduction.

“I’m his secretary,” Violet corrected. “Also known as,” she glanced back at Fil who was still gaping at his desk, “the Secretary of Doom.”

Mor folded his arms and stood tall, dwarfing Cedric in his shadow. He took a slow, deliberate look around The Sprinkled Scoop office. “I thought this place would be bigger. It’s quite small,” he said. Then he turned to Violet. “Our office is at least seven times as big as this, don’t you think?”

Violet nodded. “Didn’t I tell you this place sort of felt like working in a closet?” she whispered to Mor loud enough for Cedric—and Fil at his desk—to hear.

Cedric let out an airy grunt.

“Anyway,” Violet slid a folder out of her purse, “this is a list of the dates we’re available to interview you for The Fairy Post. Feel free to get in touch. We’ll get back to you if we feel like it and can spare the time.” She handed the folder to Cedric who slowly took it.

With that, she turned and headed for the door, waving at Alice on her way by. Alice performed an awkward wave back like she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to greet her former coworker.

Mor shook his head in visible disappointment. “I really thought this place would be nicer.” He practically shouted it as he followed her out. “This office is painfully dull. No wonder we’re catching up to these fools in subscribers.”

The air outside was cool and fresh. Violet breathed it in as she descended the stairs of The Sprinkled Scoop office. “Let’s go get an iced ca-fae mocha at Fae Café!” she suggested, spinning to watch Mor trot down the stairs after her.

When he reached the bottom, he wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her against him.

“Hmmm.” He looked around the street for a second, then eyed Violet suspiciously. “You know the only reason you keep wanting to go drink those mochas is because they’re—”

“I know, I know. The coffee is enchanted or whatever.” Violet waved a hand through the air. She slid her arms around him too, clasping her hands behind his back. “I don’t even care. The coffee is so good. Sometimes I wake up thinking about the soft whipped cream and the dark nutty taste.”

Mor sighed and patted her on the head. “I’ve now learned that there are two different kinds of humans in this realm. Some are very difficult to enchant, like Kate. Others are very easily enchanted,” he said, then he lightly flicked her nose. “You, Violet, are the latter. Sometimes it makes me nervous.” He mumbled the last part as he turned her toward Fae Café and put an arm around her shoulders.

“I told the interns to come up with a new crossword puzzle this morning,” Violet said, changing the subject. “Remi seemed into the idea. Maybe we should make that her thing for the next few days.” She moaned. “What are we going to do when they go back to school in a week? Should I ask them if they still want to work with us some evenings? On weekends, maybe? I don’t know if I could start working on weekends though. Now that I’m living back home with Zorah, I feel like I see her even less than I did when I was staying in the cathedral. We’ve just gotten so busy.”

When Violet looked at Mor, she realized he was smiling. “What?” she asked.

Mor shook his head at first like he didn’t want to say.

“What?” She pinched his side a little, and he yelped, making a passing group shoot them a look.

Mor swept in front of her, stopping her from walking. He put his hands on her shoulders, the traces of a smile lingering. “Violet,” he said, his brown and silver eyes glowing.

Violet fought a weird chuckle. “What’s gotten into you?” she asked.

Mor bit his bottom lip then released a sigh.

“I’m just happy. That’s all,” he finally said. Violet felt herself melt, and he laughed like he somehow knew her temperature had changed. “I’ve enjoyed working alongside you more than I ever thought I would. And um…” He looked off all of a sudden, scratching the back of his head. He closed his eyes like he wouldn’t be able to tell her his next thought if he was looking at her.

Violet raised an eyebrow, wondering what in this world could rattle him so much. A second ago, in The Sprinkled Scoop, he’d been a vision of intimidating strength and power.

Mor pursed his lips, and his eyes flashed open. “I’ve accidentally made you my mate,” he blurted. “Unalterably.”

“Oh.” She blinked a few times. She didn’t get it. “A… mate?” she articulated. It felt like he was describing something from a wild animal documentary.

His gaze dropped to the sidewalk. “It just means I really can’t lose you now. It will absolutely destroy me if you leave. I just needed you to know.”

Without another word, he took her hand and led her toward Fae Café. For the entire walk, Violet couldn’t come up with a thing to say, but she bit down on her lips to keep herself from smiling. She wanted to ask questions, but the more she thought about it, the more she put the pieces together on her own. Maybe fairies didn’t know how to say, “I love you.”

It took nearly the whole journey for her heart to settle.

When they reached the café, Violet turned to Mor before they went in. “You’re not going to lose me, Mor. I’ll never run away,” she said.

She couldn’t believe they were really exchanging these words. They hadn’t exactly been dating in the typical sense for the last few weeks, but the heart-fluttering tension between them every day had been so potent, Violet could hardly stand it. It was a miracle she hadn’t burst yet from sheer joy. Mor had spent three days at her bedside while she’d suffered through the nausea and light-headedness of weening herself off her cold iron supplements. And once she was better, he’d hardly been able to stop touching her hand, tugging her closer, whispering against her ear even when it wasn’t necessary to do so.

Mor’s face broke into a smile as he reached past Violet for the door. “Well in that case, you can have my gray sweater,” he said.

Violet chuckled as she stepped into the café and was instantly met with the warm, alluring fragrance of coffee. She spotted Lily behind the counter.

“I made muffins!” Violet announced to the crew of Fae Café as she drew a container from her oversized purse. Across the storefront, Shayne perked up in his seat by the fireplace. He slapped a book shut, eyeing the container, and followed Violet to the counter where she slid the muffins toward Lily.

A few morning customers were around, talking quietly or reading. Violet salivated at the sight of their lattes and mochas.

At a bistro table, Cress and Kate were talking about Kate’s wedding dress. Well, Cress was talking. “No taffeta! Only silk or satin, maybe with an organza or chiffon overlay. Swarovski crystals are a must, or real diamonds; nothing cheap. Perhaps a sweetheart neckline and a puddle train as well, with plenty of rouching in the bodice,” he stated while looking at a scribbled list in his hand. Violet would have thought the turquoise-eyed fairy was joking if he didn’t look so serious.

Across the table, Kate stifled an eye roll and took a sip of her coffee. “I’m just going to wear whatever’s on sale off the rack,” she said when she was finished.

Cress dropped the paper to the table. “You will not do that. You are marrying a Prince of the North Corner of Ever.”

Shayne peeled the lid off the muffin container and sniffed the potent aroma of still-warm blueberries. “You can marry me instead if you’d like, Kate. I won’t fuss about your dress,” he called back and shot her a wink.

“You’re such a flirt,” Lily muttered at Shayne.

Mor suppressed a smile as he rounded the counter. He took a large mug from the cupboard and began making a hot drink Violet desperately hoped was for her.

Shayne settled his dreamy blue gaze on Lily. “And you’re such a stiff statue, Human. I bet if you stood perfectly still on the street corner, other humans would walk past you and think you were part of the streetside decorations.” He lifted a muffin from the container and peeled off the cup.

Lily cast Shayne a look. “Do we need to take this outside, Assassin?” She seemed to be only half joking.

Shayne grinned. “I’d love to. I do know your real name, after all. You don’t know mine.” He reached across the counter and stole a small plate from a pile then placed his perfectly peeled muffin in the centre, setting up his snack with care.

“Just because you read a few books on how to trap and kill fairies doesn’t make you stronger than us, Human,” Cress declared to Lily from his seat as he flipped through his book of wedding notes. Kate inconspicuously slid a novel out of her sweater pocket, opened it below the table where Cress couldn’t see, and began to read.

Lily scowled. “You just wait,” she mumbled as she hung up a washcloth. Dranian came out of the kitchen behind her and swept through the café, so graceful and silent that Violet wasn’t sure anyone even noticed him.

Shayne’s grin widened. “I’ll wait forever, ugly Human. You know I will,” he said to Lily.

Mor slid a piping hot ca-fae mocha across the counter to Violet and flashed her a smile. Violet took the drink, beaming in return. She turned toward the open table beside Cress and Kate just as Shayne bit into his muffin.

Violet walked away to the sound of Shayne choking. She heard a pronounced spitting sound. She smiled and took a sip of her mocha as she reached her seat, not looking back.

“What sort of crossbeast feces is this?!” she heard Shayne whisper to Mor.

Mor’s low, quiet voice of warning sailed to Violet’s ears. “You are going to eat that, and you are going to pretend you love it, or I’ll slay you where you sit,” he articulated to the white-haired fairy.

Violet shoved her mocha mug against her mouth to drink again so she wouldn’t laugh. If Mor would just be honest and tell her that her muffins were disgusting, she would stop making them, and he could stop forcing everyone to eat them. But as it was, Mor hadn’t admitted the truth yet, and therefore, everyone they crossed each day would continue to suffer.

“Kate and I will be living upstairs after the wedding. I’m invoking the human right of dibs,” Cress announced to the whole café—even the customers.

“You can’t call dibs on my apartment,” Kate murmured too quietly for it to be a real objection.

Cress ignored her and pointed around at the other fairies with his pen. “So, all of you need to find another place to live.”

Dranian broke his silence by bumping a table by the fireplace. “How are fairy assassins supposed to find a place to live among humans?” he asked Cress. His eyes seemed notably horrified for someone who hardly ever showed facial expressions.

Cress shrugged like it wasn’t his problem. “Mor did. Go live with him,” he said.

Dranian pointed at Mor and growled, “I will not sleep in that dark, infested cathedral ever again!” he promised.

“Of course you won’t,” Mor said. “You’re not invited. I wouldn’t let you live with me if you paid me.” Mor took a long, slow drink of his latte without breaking eye contact with Dranian.

Shayne laughed, picked up his muffin, and sauntered over. “Here.” He passed the muffin to Dranian like he was consoling him with it. Dranian took it with strange emotional gratitude and shoved it all in his mouth.

Violet waited for him to react. She struggled so hard to suppress her smile that her face hurt. But she didn’t know what to do with herself when Dranian chewed the thing and swallowed it without batting an eye.

“Mmm. That was good,” the fairy said in his monotone voice, and Violet’s smile fell.

“Should we be roommates then, Dranian? Split our coins to pay for a box of space where the rest of the humans in the apartment building will be lucky to have us?” Shayne asked him.

Dranian growled under his breath and plunked into the nearest bistro seat.

Shayne sat across from him. “I’ll make you pancakes,” he lured, leaning toward Dranian with a grin. “And I’ll soak them in human sweet syrup—”

“It’s called maple syrup. Wow, this is Canada for goodness’ sake—get it right,” Lily interjected as she carried over a coffee and sat across from Violet. She flashed Violet a smile to say hello. Mor followed and slid into the seat beside Cress. He leaned a little to take a snoopy glance at Cress’s wedding notes.

“—and they will be delicious, and you’ll never want me to leave,” Shayne continued without missing a beat.

Lily set down her coffee and turned to Shayne. “It seems like every time you talk, you’re trying really hard to convince someone to want you.”

Shayne released a loud laugh and dramatically swung around in his seat to face Lily. “Have you noticed I don’t bother trying with you? I don’t want everyone to want me, Human. Only people I like.”

Mor snorted a quiet laugh, and Violet saw Kate kick his foot under the table.

“I like you, Shayne,” Violet said. “I think I’ll bake you your own batch of muffins.” She took a long drink of her mocha as she let that settle in. She stole a look at Mor, whose eyes had rounded a little. Still, to his own demise, he refused to object and admit that her muffins were crap.

Kate finally closed her book beneath the table and slid it back into her sweater pocket. “Is anyone tired of talking about wedding plans?” she asked.

“I am,” Lily admitted. “I think you guys should just toss your plans to the wind and let everything fall where it may.”

“That would be fun,” Kate smiled.

Cress released a loud sigh. “You shameless hoes,” he said, shaking his head—Violet nearly spat her mocha. Cress pointed between himself and Mor with his pen. “You humans could learn a thing or two from us fairy folk. Planning is the key to success, whether it be for an event, or an assassination, or anything really.” He clicked his pen and scribbled another note. Mor nodded at his side, leaning again to see what Cress was writing.

“What did you just call us?” Kate glared across the table.

“Hoes,” Cress answered. He looked up and almost dropped his pen at the look on her face.

Mor didn’t see it though. “Hoes. As in bros before hoes,” he added, articulating so that she might understand. Cress’s hand flashed out to Mor’s arm, stopping Mor from continuing to educate all the stupid humans in the room.

Violet was astounded she wasn’t the first to squeak out a laugh. Shayne took the gold medal for not-keeping-it-together when he burst out laughing, tumbled from his seat, and turned into a basket case on the floor.

“Unreal,” Lily said, shaking her head and taking a swig of her coffee.

Cress looked at Shayne, seeming to wonder why Shayne had insight into this situation when he didn’t.

The café bell jingled, and a teenager with scruffy hair walked in. Cress stood immediately. He rushed to the teenager and said—not quietly enough, “Kate’s-brother-Greyson, what does it mean to call a human female a hoe?”

The teenager chuckled and looked at Cress like he was crazy. “Trust me, you don’t want know,” was all he said. The ‘Kate’s-brother-Greyson’ guy fixed his eyes on the coffee pot behind the counter and headed that way.

Violet smirked and scratched her knuckles. Fall was coming with its colder temperatures, and her hands always suffered from the dryness the most. She pulled her purse up onto her lap and dug inside for lotion, but her fingers bumped something small and cold instead. When she opened her bag to peer in, she had to blink several times to convince herself what she was seeing, and when it dawned on her, she blanched.

Dozens of small, cold pebbles filled the bottom of her purse.

She couldn’t move, couldn’t pull her eyes away from them. Seconds passed where she hardly heard the chatter around the tables until Mor piped up from his seat, “What’s wrong?”

Violet’s head snapped up—she squished her purse closed. She met his gaze and flashed him a smile. “Nothing,” she said, dropping her purse beside her chair. The sound of all the pebbles hitting the floor seemed to be the loudest thing in the room.

Shayne and Lily went at it again, bickering over some nonsense, but Violet’s hands wrapped tightly around her mug, her palms sweaty as she stared out the windows of Fae Café. A strange phantom wind seemed to seep in from the street and brush over her bare shoulders like a hand swiping along her flesh, and through the late summer heat, she shivered.

It was a fool’s hope. Violet begged the universe for it to just be a coincidence that pebbles filled her purse.

She shouldn’t consider it a sign. It wasn’t like it meant anything for sure—that he was back. That he was coming for her. That he’d gotten close enough to leave rocks in her purse like he wanted to let her know he’d been there. She hadn’t seen red hair close by. She hadn’t heard a sweet fox voice or smelled his fragrance in the air. The clouds hadn’t shifted; the wind hadn’t changed.

Yet, everything about the mysterious pebbles told her he was back.

She went home and got no sleep, imagining someone appearing at her bedroom window. After hours of restless tossing and turning, she got smart and closed the blinds.

Zorah made her toast with jam for breakfast, and they had a normal morning chat before work. Violet had finally told Zorah about The Sprinkled Scoop situation three weeks ago, and that she was now working for a new paper called The Fairy Post. So there were no more secrets between them.

Apart from the big one, of course.

For a moment, hope rose within Violet that maybe the pebbles were just that—pebbles. Maybe there hadn’t been as many rocks as she thought. Maybe a few had fallen in here and there over the months and she’d just freaked out when she saw them because of all that had happened. Maybe seeing a pile of rocks would always be a trigger like that.

She made it to the cathedral to find that Mor was gone. The interns hadn’t arrived yet, either. The doors had decided to shut her out today, so she sighed and walked around back. She climbed the ladder, scaled the roof, and made her way in through the bell tower, thankful to at least be in flat shoes this time.

She hung up her jacket and got the kettle going in the kitchen for tea. But when she turned around, she spotted a tiny gray stone resting on the kitchen island. Violet looked around. She couldn’t hear another soul in the cathedral. “Hello?” she called, clasping her hands tightly together.

When nothing answered, she moved for the island and lifted the stone, turning it over in her fingers.

“It’s just chance,” she muttered, annoyed she was freaking herself out so easily. She tossed it in the garbage, fixed her tea, and headed out of the kitchen. But she stopped short when she saw another pebble on the floor. Past it was another pebble. And another one after that.

Violet’s stomach dropped.

Two dozen pebbles made a neat path down the hallway, into the lobby, and around the corner toward the sanctuary. She swore they hadn’t been there a moment ago.

She didn’t realize her hands were shaking until she dropped her tea.