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“She is, as you say, ‘wrath-y’ enough. She is a queen. That is sufficient to lend teeth to whatever wrath she chooses to express.”
“I just got named a hero of the realm. Like, the actual title accessory pack kind of hero, not just ‘you do heroic things, gold star and try not to die.’”
“Instinct is a wonderful thing. It doesn’t care about the lies our parents told us, or the ones we tell ourselves.”
“I love you. Lying to you would be a mistreatment of what that love means.”
I wanted to protest that I didn’t intend to have any future dealings with the nobility, but as I was standing between my boyfriend the King of Cats and my squire the Crown Prince of North America, that would have been a little disingenuous. “I’ve done okay without any decorum so far,” I said. “I’ll take my chances.
“But the Fire Kingdoms will freeze before I allow you to babysit.” I snorted. “Shows what you know. I’m good with teenagers.” “Yeah,” said Quentin. “She hasn’t gotten me shot in ages.” “Aren’t you helpful,” I said, glaring at him. Quentin beamed.
At least my headache was almost gone. I always deal better with emergencies when I’m not actively in pain.
“I’ll text him with directions. You shouldn’t text and drive.” I rolled my eyes as I twisted back into my original position. “Okay, wow. Way to slide in a ‘safe driving’ PSA when I’m about to risk my life doing stupid shit.” “There are some stupid things you don’t have to do,” said Li Qin primly.
The Library smelled like knowledge, that strange alchemical mix that only came from combining old books, leather bindings, and care. Lots and lots of care.
“Sadly, ‘all those years’ were vital parts of your unintentional master plan. The Court of Cats will not be listed on those rolls either. We do not take part in the petty schemes of the Divided Courts.” “Like the census?” I shot him a venomous look. “Did I tell you recently just how good you are at not being even remotely helpful?” “Ah, but you see, I am exceedingly helpful.” He leaned in to kiss the top of my head. “As long as your aggravation has a safe target, you’ll keep focusing on your work, and not become too frustrated to continue. I am the most helpful thing in this room.” “I resent
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“I won’t do anything I haven’t done before,” I said. “That’s what I am afraid of,” he replied.
She always threatened to kill me like she meant it; when she threatened to kill him, it was like she was saying “I care.”
“If I may?” Tybalt leaned forward and tapped the collar of my shirt. I looked down at my bloody shirt, then back up again to him. “You need to change your clothing. Your house is five minutes’ drive from here. You will feel better if you’re not covered in someone else’s blood. I will feel better if you’re not covered in your own blood.” “I’d just like it if no one was covered in blood for a little while,” said Quentin.
“See, October, the Crown Prince’s association with you has done him good after all,” said Tybalt. “It has taught him to force-feed his elders, as they cannot take care of themselves.”
“The sea will rock their bones in the cradle of the currents,”
“Flirt later, flee now,”
“Don’t put yourself back in the box, darling, it’s not good for you,”
“I dislike the dead returning to life,” said Etienne, his shoulders slumping again. “It’s untidy and inappropriate.” “And that’s Etienne in a nutshell,” I said blithely. “Anything inappropriate should cease immediately, because otherwise it might disrupt the natural order in the course of killing us all.”
We used to have this really straightforward, sweet relationship, and now it’s like I’m afraid to be alone in a room with her.” “Growing up often comes at the cost of our heroes,” he said.
then we’re going to figure out what happens next. Hopefully, it involves punching. All this skulking around is starting to get on my nerves.” “It’s true, you’ve had few opportunities to bleed all over everything and ruin my best shirt.” “I can’t have ruined your best shirt every time.” “Ah, but you see, each time you ruin one best shirt, another must take its place, and your aim is impeccable.” Tybalt stopped walking.
Luna rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, you’re very sweet together, it’s lovely to see a relationship so stable. Perhaps if you’d pursued each other rather than ruining my daughter’s marriage, we wouldn’t be standing here now.”
“If it looks like he’s going to turn me into a fish again, you can gut him, okay?” I flashed a humorless smile. “As long as no one ever finds the body, there’s no reason for anybody to know that we broke Oberon’s Law.” “I am not sure whether I find this new viciousness enticing or terrifying,” muttered Tybalt. “Oh, trust me, sweetie: where Simon is concerned, this is nothing new.”
The cats didn’t reply. It didn’t matter that I was dating their King: they were still cats, and they had better things to do with their time than engage in a conversation with their pet changeling.
Words can lie. People can lie. Blood never can.”
The Luidaeg groaned. “You know, sometimes I miss the days when all I had to do was tell people to do something and they did it, out of fear that if they didn’t, their skeletons would be outside of their bodies.
“Don’t say a word,” I said, jamming the key into the ignition. “I wouldn’t,” said the Luidaeg. “Love is love. It’s rarer in Faerie than it used to be—rarer than it should be, if you ask me. If you can find it, you should cling to it, and never let anything interfere. Besides, he has a nice ass.” Her lips quirked in a weirdly mischievous smile. “I mean, damn. Some people shouldn’t be allowed to wear leather pants. He’s one of them. He’s a clear and present danger when he puts those things on. Or takes them off.” “And now you’re creeping me out,” I said.
She didn’t look like home anymore. She looked like the deep, dark wood where little girls and boys went to find wolves of their very own, the place that no one returned from. Her coloring was as fairy-tale extreme as ever, but it didn’t seem comforting or familiar: it was alien and garish, her lips too red for her skin, her skin too pale for anything that wasn’t dead.
I ached to throw myself into his arms and be held, even if it was only for a few seconds. But there wasn’t time, and touching me would have ruined his clothes—and also, I was more and more aware that the part of me that needed his reassurance was small, and weak, and frightened. She was the girl I’d been, not the woman I had finally become.
“Love you can spend like currency isn’t really love.
When he saw me, he laughed and said, “To the last, covered in blood. Now I know we’re on track to solving the world’s problems.”
My frown deepened. “You’re being flowery again, Tybalt. You know it’s a little hard for my non-Shakespearean-era brain to follow you when you do that, right?” “I do. But some questions are difficult for me to frame without becoming somewhat, ah, ‘flowery.’”
