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stretching. “I think I’m done with this for the afternoon. I’m going to go bake some cookies.” “That’s your answer to everything.” “Better than your answer to everything.” She made an exaggerated stabbing gesture. “There’s a reason I don’t go through as many pairs of jeans as you do.” “Brat.” “Proud of it.”
“We greatly appreciate you joining us to dine this evening.” “I wasn’t given much of a choice,” I said. “I think this is technically an abduction. I want to speak to your manager.” The corner of his mouth twitched upward as he tried and failed to suppress a smile. “You’re about to have dinner with him. I’ll be sure to pass along the fact that you dislike his company.” “I can handle it,” I said. “How’d he rope you into this, anyway?” “He made a reservation,” said Jason mildly.
Tybalt took a step toward me. He was wearing a white button-down shirt and brown leather pants. Most of his pants are leather, either because he likes it, or because he knows how much I like it. Not the most comfortable material in the world, but the things it does for his ass should be illegal.
“Most of the dresses May thinks would be suitable wouldn’t survive five minutes on me. Lace and blood are not friends.” Tybalt sighed. “Are you so determined to bleed on our wedding day?” “No, but I’m also a realist, and blood is going to happen,” I said. There was a breadbasket on the other side of the flowers. I pulled it toward me. If this was a dinner date, I was going to have a pretzel roll. “I mean, at least we know no one’s going to kill me with a little casual stabbing.”
“We both lived, and you told me you loved me, and I was smart enough to get out of my own way and tell you I loved you back. We’ve navigated so much already, what’s one little quest that you can’t help me with? We’ve got forever, you and me. We’re going to be together, and we’re going to meet our kids, and they’re going to be amazing. There’s no way they could be anything else.” “And your mother will never be anywhere near them,” said Tybalt. “Not ever, not once,” I agreed. His grip on my hand began to loosen. “They’ll grow up surrounded by Torquills and Cait Sidhe and my weird collection of
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“I’m a cat,” he said. “Being unforgiving is a part of my job description.” “Well, then, Mr. Cat, I hope you’re not too dedicated to your work.” I reclaimed my hand. “I like it when you forgive me.” “Fickleness is also a part of my job description,” said Tybalt.
The next time the door opened, it was Jason returning with our dinners, which he placed in front of us before withdrawing from the dining room. I picked up my fork and steak knife. Tybalt watched. I raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” “You have a knife. I find it best to pay attention when you feel the need to arm yourself.” I stuck my tongue out at him and commenced cutting up my steak.
“Karen called and told me she’d seen you going with me in a dream, which means it definitely happens. Tybalt has to stay here and keep kinging, Raj can’t come, Walther will literally laugh in my face if I ask him to go on another wacky, potentially fatal quest right now, and I’d leave Quentin if I thought he’d let me get away with it. You’re literally unkillable—even more so than I am, since I can die, I just get better. You can’t die.” “Why does that being a selling point make me so uncomfortable?” “You’re smarter than we look.” “Damn right I am.” May stood. “Okay, so what’s the game plan
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“Yes, I know Luna’s mad at me,” I said, heading for my dresser. “It doesn’t matter. This has to be done, and she can be mad at me while I’m there just as easily as she can be mad at me from a distance.” More easily, maybe. I’ve been told I’m an irritation that lingers, but everyone who said that was mad at me at the time, so I don’t know if I can call them objective observers.
“Awesome. I appreciate it, buddy.” Technically, the prohibition on saying “thank you” doesn’t apply to fae animals. Technically, pixies are considered animals, but they have their own magic, customs, and society. It seems safer to assume everything in Faerie is fully capable of understanding me and holding a grudge if it decides it wants to.
“Come on. We need to go ruin Quentin’s date.” “He won’t thank us for that.” “His manners are too good for him to thank us for anything,” I said. “But if I don’t get to have a nice time with my boyfriend, neither does he.” “See, this is why I don’t have a boyfriend,” chirped May, following me down the stairs.
“Or if you find yourself in danger of a type you cannot navigate on your own.” “Oh, come on,” I protested. “I call for help when I need it! I’ve gotten so much better about that over the last few years. I hardly wind up ambushed and alone at all these days.”
“It’s nice to have something to do, is all,” he said. “Things have been sort of slow recently.” “You realize you’re saying you’d prefer mortal danger to having time to go out with your boyfriend,” I said, disbelievingly. Quentin shrugged. “It sounds weird when you say it like that.” “It sounds weird no matter how you say it! What are you going to do when you have to go back to Toronto and become High King? Start the Hunger Games?” “Maybe,” said Quentin. “I’ll have to do something.”
I reached out, running my fingers along the surface of the crystals as I searched for anything resembling a doorknob. There wasn’t one, but one of the crystals nicked my index finger, bringing a bright, quick bead of blood to the surface. “Ow!” I yelped, yanking my hand away. Quentin stared at me in obvious disbelief. “You get stabbed like it’s the hot new thing, and that’s what makes you show some self-preservation?” “I wasn’t expecting it!” “Are you usually expecting to get stabbed?” “When we’re out in public, yes.”
. “Quentin! Do you have your short sword with you?” “You came to get me while I was on a date. Do you normally bring weapons on your dates?” “I bring weapons everywhere. Tybalt wouldn’t know what to do with me if I didn’t.” Quentin made a soft scoffing noise that I could only interpret as “adults are weird.”
“At least this time we’d be able to see where we were going to land before we hit the ground,” said Quentin, with forced brightness. “That’s something, right?” “I think May lacks structural integrity as it is. We’d wind up carrying her home in two pieces, and I don’t know how we’d stick them back together. It’s weird enough to be walking around with her while she doesn’t have a middle.” “You think that’s weird, try not having a middle,” said May. Quentin looked alarmed. “Don’t say that to Toby! She might actually try it.”
Quentin hesitated. “Won’t she be able to take me over if she is awake? Daoine Sidhe can’t argue with her.” “If she tries to tell you what to do, I’ll punch her in the throat,” I said solemnly. “You’re my squire. I’m not going to share.” “Trust Toby to punch the unstoppable force of chaos,” said May. “You know she’ll do it.” “Yeah,” said Quentin uncomfortably, and started walking again.
“You’re not my Fetch anymore,” I corrected. “You’re my sister. Sisters are invited, but they’re not required.” A small smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. “All sisters?” “Well, maybe not all sisters,” I said. “I think August would be something of a liability right now. And that’s compared to you, the gutless wonder.” “I still have my metaphorical guts,” she protested, swiping at me as she pushed herself away from the tree.
“I think Toby’s allergic to subtle,” said Quentin. “It makes her break out in hives or something. There’s not another good explanation for why she is the way she is.” “Quiet, you,” I said. “We’re in mortal danger right now. This isn’t the time to be mean to me.” “We’re pretty much always in mortal danger. When is the time to be mean to you?” “How about next Tuesday?”
The Luidaeg groaned. “So you gave the failure what he wanted most in the world—you gave him proof his friend was still out there to find—and you gave him the identity of our prince in hiding at the same time. Good show, October. Sometimes I wonder how you haven’t gotten us all killed just yet.” Her words stung all the more because I knew they were true. The Luidaeg can’t lie. She can be sarcastic, and she can omit things to force people to fill in the blanks themselves, but she can’t tell an outright untruth. It can make conversations a little fraught sometimes, especially since I know that
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“I should never have allowed her to go off without me, whatever the little dream-walker said she saw,” said Tybalt, slowly taking his hands away from my face. He didn’t move away; I could still feel his presence, warm and close and comforting. “She always gets herself into trouble when I’m not around.” “Be fair to yourself, kitty-cat,” said the Luidaeg. “She gets into trouble when you are around. She gets into trouble like my father is paying her for it.”
“Elf-shot, May still sleeping, Quentin kidnapped, half of Goldengreen enchanted, and you’d call that ‘okay’? My love, we need to buy you a dictionary.” His voice was slightly muffled by the fact that he was speaking into my shoulder, but he at least sounded amused enough that I probably wasn’t in any real trouble.
“I need two favors, and I am willing to pay for them if you feel it necessary.” She raised an eyebrow. “Are you, now? I’ve never met anyone so eager to fall into my debt. What can I do for you, October, daughter of Amandine, returned once again from beyond the borders of death? The night-haunts must curse your name every time you deny them, and dream of the day their bellies will be full.”
Simon was kissing Patrick. They were still holding hands, but they were closer together now, their bodies pressed tight, like they were trying to make up for lost time. Dianda was beside them, one hand resting on either man’s shoulder, keeping their circle complete. Dean and Quentin had moved a little way down the beach, heads together, talking quietly. Dean still looked uncomfortable, but I suppose “hey, kiddo we want to open our marriage and include the man who just turned you into a tree” was a little awkward for everyone. “This is better,” I said, and it was. It really was.
“No Shadow Roads unless someone is trying really hard to murder us,” I said. “This dress doesn’t have a back, and I’ll freeze.” “You do realize that by saying this, you’ve all but guaranteed someone will attempt to murder us in a way that suits your definition of ‘trying really hard,’” said Tybalt.
