A Faerie's Secret (Creepy Hollow Book 4) (29 page)

“Do you think he’s here?” Gemma asks once we’ve all acquired a drink and have positioned ourselves near tall glass windows that cycle through displays of various exotic locations around the world. “Lucien, I mean. Or do you think he’s hiding somewhere in one of his other rooms, relaxing in a bathrobe while all these people party it up at his expense.”

“Well, I have no idea what he looks like,” I say as I raise my glass to my lips. “So I won’t know if I see him.” I take a sip of my layered drink. The colors—pink, purple and orange—mix together the moment I tilt the liquid into my mouth. When I lower the glass, the layers immediately separate. “Mm. Tastes like sunrise,” I say.

“Sunrises don’t have a taste, silly,” Gemma tells me as she eyes the floating jelly spheres in her colorless drink.

“But if they did, they’d taste like this.”

“Mine tastes like medicine,” Perry says. A tray floats past us, and he places his half finished drink on it.

“Perry, you can’t put it back!” Gemma says, sounding as horrified as she did when he fist-pumped the air in front of the whole lobby.

“I just did. Come on, dance with me,” he says to Gemma as the music changes to something with a lively beat.

“Oh. Um … but what about—”

“I’ll be fine,” I assure her as she looks hesitantly my way. “You guys dance. I’ll find you just now.” They disappear into the crowd of dancers, Perry doing some kind of wiggle that’s no doubt meant to embarrass Gemma. I think they’d be cute together—except that Gemma has a crush on someone else. I wonder if Perry knows about that.

I walk around the edge of the room, sampling food and looking at the framed designer styluses displayed on the walls. A solid gold one, a diamond-encrusted one, a wooden one with intricate embossed patterns. In a glass display case, I see one with dozens of butterfly wings wrapped around it. I wonder if any of them actually work, or if they’re for display only.

“Hey, pretty lady,” an elf with spiked white hair and various facial piercings says to me. His eyes rake over me before he adds, “Can I get you a drink?”

“Uh, no thanks.”
Creepazoid.

After receiving several more offers—not all of them as tame as the first one—I keep moving without meeting anyone’s gaze. I wander around carved pillars and between groups of fae before I find a section of the vast room where the light is dimmer and several spheroid chairs, each open on one side, hang from the ceiling. I settle into one made from woven branches, grateful for the privacy is provides around me. I lean back against the cushion and sway gently in the seat. I wonder if Gemma and Perry are still dancing, or if they’re looking for me. Since these hanging chairs are as private as it gets in this room, I should probably take the opportunity to pull up the bottom of my dress and find my amber. I lean forward.

And that’s when I hear his voice.

Chase.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

I freeze, listening intently, but it’s definitely Chase. His voice has that deep, self-assured tone I’ve quickly become familiar with. A thrill races through me—
he’s here!
—which I attempt to stamp down immediately. I peer between the woven branches, swinging my seat slowly around until I find him. He’s standing with a woman beside one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, a clear one that provides an excellent view of stars glittering against a dark sky. He looks delicious in his well-tailored but understated suit—no feathers, sparkles or ribbons for him—and the woman looks equally elegant.

Did you seriously just use the word ‘delicious’?

Shut up.

I push aside my internal argument and notice that the woman is the same one I saw when I traveled back to the scene from Chase’s past. Her hair is shorter now, sleek, dark waves resting on her shoulders, but it’s the same person. Confident posture and alluring smile. She looks fabulous in a form-fitting red dress and black lace gloves that are prettier than mine.

I don’t like her.

“Are you sure he’s coming?” she asks before taking a sip from her drink and surveying the room over the rim of her glass.

“Yes. He went to great lengths over the past two days to secure himself an invitation.”

“Are you going to tell me how you know this?”

“No.” Chase pushes his hands into his pockets. “You don’t want to be part of my team, so you don’t get to know my sources.”

She pouts. “You know I don’t play well with others.”

“And yet you always agree to help me when I ask.”

She looks away, and I can barely hear her when she says, “You know why.”

You’re eavesdropping
, I tell myself.
You’re definitely eavesdropping.
But I got here first, and it isn’t my fault they’re speaking loudly enough for me to hear. I shouldn’t have to move, should I?

“Do you really think he’ll tell me what he’s after?” the woman asks.

Chase turns and looks out the window. “You’ve convinced many men to tell you many things. I have no doubt you can make him talk.”

A sly half-smile stretches her red lips. “You’re right. I do have an exceptionally high success rate.”

Chase chuckles. “Thank goodness for that. There doesn’t seem to be any other way of finding out what Saber’s after.”

Saber? Oh shoot. I do
not
want to run into that man again. I might not have his bangle anymore, but he’s probably still furious with anyone involved in stealing and destroying it. I’m sure he’d be happy to take revenge if the opportunity presented itself.

“And if he won’t tell me?” the woman says to Chase. “Then what? Perhaps you should move on to something else. This particular project has consumed far too much of your time.”

“You know who he’s working for,” Chase says, crossing his arms and turning away from the window. He casts a glance across the room. “Undoubtedly the most dangerous man we know. I can’t
move on
if I know he’s planning something.”

The most dangerous man?
My thoughts turn immediately to Draven. He’s definitely the worst threat our world has faced. But he’s gone. I know Olive has her doubts, and there was that enchanted storm everyone was worried about, but Vi and Tilly—the two people who were actually there for the moment all the history books gloss over: the moment Draven was stabbed with a special weapon—seem to think he’s gone. And didn’t someone say the storm was caused by two faeries dueling each other?

“What about the Guild girl?” the woman asks. “You said she might be able to help you.”

Guild girl? That’s me!

“Yes, but working with someone from the Guild probably wouldn’t end well for you and me.”

“Just you,” she says. “I’m not on your team, remember?”

“You’re connected to me. If the Guild girl chooses to turn me in, it won’t be long before they come looking for you.”

“Then use her without giving her enough information to be able to do that,” the woman continues. “Leave out details, or give her false ones. If she doesn’t know enough, she can’t do anything.”

Okay, I can’t sit by and listen while they talk about me like this. Here I was having ridiculous heart palpitations about the hot vigilante tattoo artist, and all he wants is to use my Griffin Ability. I swing my chair around and push myself up and out of it.

“That won’t work,” Chase says. “She knows too much already.”

“I see,” the woman says as I start walking toward them. She laughs, and the sound is enchanting. “How very interesting. You’ve managed to keep your secrets for years, and now one girl comes along and—”

“It isn’t like that.”

“Oh really?”

My feet come to a halt because I suddenly feel like this might be a conversation I want to hear more of. But I’m too close to them already and my sudden stop has caught their attention. Chase’s eyes widen in surprise. “Calla?”

I close the distance between us with confident strides, crossing my arms over my chest. “What a surprise to see you here,” I say.

“Indeed,” he says. “You look …”

“I look?”

“Older.”

“How lovely. Because every girl wants to hear that she looks old.”

He gives me a small smile. “I think you know that’s not what I meant.”

I turn my gaze to the woman, Chase’s flawless companion, who appears to be examining me with shock. She looks at Chase, then back at me. “Woman in gold,” she whispers.

“Excuse me?” I ask, although I’m pleased to hear her referring to me as a woman and not a girl. It makes me feel as though we’re on more of an even footing.

“Uh, nothing,” she says, then smiles, appearing to regain her composure. “I was just thinking of something Chase told me years ago. You’re the Guild girl, I assume?”

“Yes. And you are?” I’m aware I’m being rude, but I can’t help it. There’s nothing about this woman that makes me want to be polite to her.

“I’m Chase’s hair stylist,” she says, leaning over to run her gloved fingers through his hair.

Hair stylist. Right. And I’m a purple fire-spitting bunny.

Chase reaches up and calmly removes the woman’s hands. “Elizabeth,” he says. “Don’t you have somewhere to be now?”

She sighs. “Why do you always insist on calling me nasty names?”

“It’s
your name
,” he says. “It isn’t nasty. Now you need to find Saber and get him to talk.”

“Fine. If I must.” She smoothes her hands down over her thighs. “You two enjoy each other’s company,” she adds with a knowing smile. She sashays away while I try to figure out if I’m brave enough to ask Chase why I’m the only girl to discover any of his secrets.

“So, I’m here because of Saber,” Chase says before I can find my courage. “Why are you here?”

“Uh … didn’t I tell you?” My mind races to come up with a clever quip. “I live here. In Estellyn Tower.”

Chase’s expression doesn’t change. Probably because that was the furthest thing from clever and he can’t be bothered to reply until I give him a real answer.

With a sigh, I say, “My friend followed a clue and found an invitation. I figured hanging out with celebrity fae was a good way to end a bad day.”

“A bad day?”

“Just my mentor reminding me that nothing I do is good enough. Hey, did you also have to solve a clue and go hunting for an invitation?” Somehow, I can’t imagine Chase doing that.

“No. I have ways of getting myself invited to events without having to
hunt
for anything.”

“Of course. You hunt criminals, not party invitations.”

An amused smile touches his lips, but he says nothing.

“I know, I know. You won’t admit to anything. If you did, I’d be able to use it when I turn you in, right?”

“Calla—”

“You
know
I’m not going to do that.”

“And you
know
I’m not going to just use you for your ability, so what are you upset about?”

“I’m—” What am I upset about? Elizabeth, probably. Trying to convince him to use me, putting her hands all over him, remarking about a comment from years ago to make me fully aware they have some kind of history together.

“You should go home, Calla. If Saber sees you here, things could get messy.”

“And if he sees you?”

“He won’t. My charming companion is going to keep him busy.”

“Then he won’t be paying any attention to me, will he?”

“Calla, you—”

“Please.” I hold my hand up. “Don’t do that overprotective thing. I get enough of it from my parents and my brother. I’ve been kidnapped and locked up, I’ve been ridiculed and teased, I’ve faced dozens of opponents during unofficial assignments, and I’ve survived it all. I think I can take care of myself.”

Chase frowns. “You were kidnapped?”

“Yes. It isn’t something I—”

“Callaaa! There you are!” Gemma runs over, flings her arms around me, and squeezes me tight. Perry follows close behind, looking concerned.

“Hey, we’ve been looking for you for a while,” he says, “I think—”

“Oh my
gosh
,” Gemma says, hanging onto my arm and staring wide-eyed at Chase. “You’re the hot tattoo guy. And you’re standing
right here
. Know what? I’ve always wanted to get a tattoo on—” she giggles, then whispers “—
my butt
. Do you do butt tattoos? Please say yes. You’re the
best
tattoo artist in the whole world.”

“Um …” I cast a questioning look over Gemma’s head at Perry.

“I think she ate something weird,” he says. “She’s been like this for the past ten minutes.”

“Some of the chocolate bonbons have alcohol inside them,” Chase says, not looking the slightest bit disturbed by Gemma’s outburst. “Human alcohol, not faerie alcohol. It acts quickly on our systems.”

“That’s probably it,” Perry says. “She ate a whole load of different bonbons.”

“They were AH-mazing,” Gemma says loudly.

“I’m sure they were.” I pat her arm. “Perry, maybe you should—” I duck as a group of sprites flying in formation swoop over our heads before continuing around the room where they receive applause from most of the fae they fly over.

“This Lucien de la Mer guy provides the strangest entertainment,” Chase comments.