Pink Princess Fairytini (Fairy Files #2) (10 page)

“What exactly
were
her orders?”

“To see you safe,” one of the men said. He turned and faced his colleagues. “I see her and she’s safe. I’d say that’s good enough.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “We’ll escort you to the portal.”

It was evening, the hot sun setting, when we got back to the faun village and the night club we’d entered that morning. “Here’s our stop,” I said. “We won’t see you three around.”

The fairies nodded and walked away without another word, leaving me and Frost at the door to a nightclub and a treasure trove of gossip.

Being good at small talk is all about the other person
. –Chloe Frangipani

I don’t like people and I don’t care to hear their tiresome, sad stories
. –Althea Frangipani

There was no bouncer at the door, no one to stop me from walking in with Frost at my side. The DJ was already spinning and there were about ten fauns dancing. I wondered if they’d gone home at all or were still there from the night before. It took Frost a moment to realize I hadn’t gone straight to the DJ booth, but he caught up to me at the bar and didn’t complain when I sat on a stool and ordered a drink.

“Nice dog,” the bartender said, her eyes kind, her age somewhere around the middle. “Don’t see too many dogs around here.”

“Do you have a dog?” I asked.

“No,” she said, leaning her elbows on the bar top, settling in for a chat. “The only dogs we have here are the ones folks bring back from the Non, and I’ve never had a good excuse to go to the Non and get one for myself.”

“I got this one from a pound in Sarsaparilla,” I said. “He was just a flea-bitten, skittish thing when I adopted him, but he’s toughened up since.” I ignored Frost when he nipped at my ankle. “At least he had until I tried to take him into the forest here.”

The bartender nodded. “The shadows. You must have recently returned from the Non.”

“Yes, just yesterday, in fact. He’s never been afraid of shadows though. I’m worried Rubalia doesn’t suit him.”

The bartender shrugged. “Rubalia’s not suiting many anymore. There’s been strange happenings, and the more sensitive have chosen to leave.”

“What sort of happenings?”

The bartender looked around to make sure no one was listening. Satisfied, she leaned back in. “Take them shadows for instance. Some folks claim that anyone who touches one of them shadows is changed, possessed. Most folks avoid the forest these days.”

“Is it caused by the new queen? Has her reign caused the shadows to rise?”

The bartender stood, and began wiping the counter. I thought she wouldn’t answer. “Some say it’s the nightmare realm creeping over into our world, ready to take advantage of our weak rulers.”

“The nightmare realm?” But the bartender had walked away, and she didn’t look back.

I went to the floor for answers, dancing a bit and chatting with anyone who appeared sober. I didn’t get any more answers, just more stories about strange, dark happenings in Rubalia. Despite the homogenous group of fauns in the club, no one seemed bothered by the wings on my back, though I did get more than a few double-takes. Clearly, the absence of other species of fae wasn’t because of animosity between the different groups, but for some other reason. When I’d gotten everything I thought I could, Frost and I walked to the portal and crossed back over to the Non.

Frost shifted as soon as we landed back in the DJ booth in the night club in the Non. This time, I was prepared, because I turned away before I caught a glimpse of him naked. He was also prepared, because he tapped on my shoulder a moment later, dressed in the clothes he’d stripped out of that morning.

“Let’s go back to my office,” he said, glancing at his phone. “Vin’s waiting for us there.”

I nodded, wondering how we could explain that we were no closer to an answer about the missing kids. Though we had some idea why people might be leaving Rubalia in growing numbers, we had nothing to explain why the fae kids may have run away or been kidnapped. I hoped Vin had gotten more than we had.

I followed Frost out of the club and down the midnight street. People filled the sidewalks, laughing and tipsy, listening to buskers on street corners or going from one club to another. “You know anything about this nightmare realm?” Frost asked.

“Not really,” I said. “I guess during the last war some monsters crossed over into Rubalia from the nightmare realm. I have no idea what kind of monsters they were or where the nightmare realm is, though it must border Rubalia.”

He was silent for a few moments as we continued to walk, his gaze introspective. “And your mother,” he said. “If she can force you to live in a condo you hate, why doesn’t she just have you live with her in Rubalia?”

His question surprised me and brought me to an abrupt halt. “She said it isn’t safe. The people need time to learn to accept me.”

“Right,” he said. “Except she’s not the sort to do anything based on what makes others comfortable or safe. It seems like she’s playing some sort of game, maybe playing both sides.”

“The Non and Rubalia? How’s that work?”

He shook his head. “I haven’t figured it out, yet, but I will. I will make sure you’re safe.”

I grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face me. “I appreciate everything you do for me, but it’s not your place to make sure I’m safe. I’m not your problem.”

“You’re not my problem,” he said, not quite meeting my gaze. Then he dropped his eyes to mine and the intensity there, the heat of his gaze, made my heart skip a beat like a stupid teen in a romantic comedy. “You are my solution.”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving me bewildered, but unwilling to ask for an explanation. I was afraid of what he might say.

Vin sat across the desk from Harvey back at Frost’s office, the two of them in deep conversation. She smiled when we walked in, but didn’t stop talking. Harvey looked exhausted, but happy. He gestured for me to come closer and I went to him, thinking he had something to show me. He grabbed me and pulled me into his lap, wrapping his arms tight around my waist and nuzzling my neck. “I missed you,” he whispered, his breath hot against my skin. It felt wrong somehow, flaunting our relationship in front of Frost and Vin, and I pulled away to stand next to him. He didn’t let me go. He kept one arm around my waist as I sat on the corner of the desk closest to him.

I’ve just never been a fan of PDA or a touchy-feely person, but I knew it would hurt him if I pushed him away again, so I let him hold me, his arm heavy and too hot. “What happened while we were gone?” I asked, ignoring Vin’s smirk at Harvey’s hand on my hip and Frost’s tight jaw. I swear the wolf was going to grind down all of his teeth if he didn’t stop clenching his jaw.

“Missella claims she doesn’t know anything,” Vin said. “She says she brought all of her spies back to Rubalia to prepare everyone in case there’s another war.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said. “Doesn’t she need her spies to let her know if a war’s brewing?”

Vin nodded. “Yes, which is why I know she’s hiding something. I tried to get information from a couple of rebels I know, but I was always just a spy, I didn’t interact with the rest of the group very often and they didn’t want to talk to me.”

“What about Mercury?”

Vin shook her head. “They might talk to him, but he’s pretty deep in with the drugs and he can’t leave that without blowing his cover.”

“Is he finding out anything there?”

Vin nodded, looking suddenly weary. “The last time I talked to him, he was. Some humans do develop magical powers as long as they’re taking the drug, but once they stop, the magic stops. And the drug has some pretty nasty side effects, death being just one of them. When I spoke to him this morning, he said he needs to not see me for a while. Some that he works with used to work for Missella and he doesn’t want them to think he’s still working for Missella if they happen to see us together.”

I nodded, unsure why he couldn’t just say Vin had also left the movement, but not wanting to cause trouble. “Why did the others leave Missella’s movement?”

“One, like Mercury, fell under the suspicion of the faun and fairy kings, and fled here. He needed work and dealing drugs was a good option for his skill set. The other thinks Missella is wasting her time, that there’s always been corruption and fighting in Rubalia, and there always will be.”

Based on what I’d seen in Rubalia, I suspected the ex-rebel might be right. “What do you think of that?”

She studied me for a long moment. “A history of corruption is no reason for us to give up, to stop trying to make things better.”

“Okay,” I said. “So you’ve just got hints that Missella might be up to something. Did you hear any mention of the nightmare realm? Because we found some pretty creepy shadows in the forest, and heard gossip that it might be the nightmare realm creeping into Rubalia.”

Harvey released me and crossed his arms over his chest as Vin shook her head. “I heard something about a nightmare realm,” Harvey said. “Thought it was the mad ravings of a drug addict at the time. You telling me it’s real?”

I filled them in on what we’d learned in Rubalia, and Harvey paled just a touch. He was putting on a brave front, but he still hadn’t quite accepted all of this fae and fairy stuff. “The guy was drunk or high, but he said he left Rubalia because the nightmare realm was going to take over and make Rubalia its territory. He even mentioned a name, Ludwiggia, the queen of the nightmare realm who wants to expand her territory and her power. He said the missing kids are being stolen by her minions, to fight on her side. I thought it was all nonsense at the time, but now …”

I looked at Vin. “Is that possible? Could people from the nightmare realm have come here and kidnapped kids?”

She shrugged. “No one really knows what the monsters from the nightmare realm are capable of.”

“But they crossed over into Rubalia before, right? There’s got to be someone who remembers something about them.”

“Yes,” she said. “But who? And why would they talk to us?”

“Knuffington might know,” I said. “I’ll take him out to lunch and pick his brain.”

Harvey yawned, and I realized he must be exhausted. “Why don’t the rest of us get some rest,” I said. “There’s nothing else for us to do in the middle of the night, anyway.”

“Sounds good,” Harvey said, rising to his feet. “I gave a description of the missing kids to the folks at the precinct, so you’ll have us humans looking for them, too.”

He didn’t meet my eyes when he said humans, and I knew he was still weirded out about me being so very different from him. “Thank you for all of your help.” I laced my fingers through his and waited until he met my eyes. Affection warmed his gaze. At least he still liked me, even if he hadn’t quite figured out what to make of me.

“Of course,” he said. He bent and placed a soft kiss on my temple. “I’ve got to get some sleep, mind if I crash at your place? It’s closer than mine.”

“Of course not.” I started out the door with him, Vin having already left.

“Chloe,” Frost said. “Could I talk to you alone for just a moment?”

“I’m sure there’s not anything you need to say to me that Harvey can’t hear,” I said, annoyed by his curt tone.

“It’s okay, Chloe,” Harvey said. “I’ll wait for you outside.” I ignored the pang in my chest, as I realized he probably didn’t want to hear any more fae stuff.

Frost sat on the edge of his desk and faced me, silent until Harvey had gone and closed the door behind him. “You need to prepare yourself,” he said. “If these creatures from the nightmare realm are creeping into Rubalia with the plan to take over, they will want to destroy anyone who can threaten their claim.”

I stared at him for a long moment, waiting for him to go on, not wanting to accept what he was trying to say.

He sighed and raked a hand through his thick hair. “They’ll go after your mother, your grandfather, and they could very well come after you.”

Something clicked in my brain. “You think that’s why my mother wants me in the Non?”

“Maybe,” he said, but he didn’t sound at all certain. “Just…be careful.”

I nodded and turned to walk out.

“And Chloe, if you’re going to make this work with Harvey, you’re going to have to tell him you hate all the touchy feely stuff in public.”

I spun, angry that he’d read me so easily, that he was butting into my relationship with Harvey. He probably assumed we were doomed, that Harvey was too good for me. “I love the touchy feely stuff, Frost. Especially when Harvey’s the one touching me.”

Frost didn’t flinch and his face revealed no emotion. “You can’t pretend to be someone you aren’t, Chloe, not if you’re in this for the long-term. You need to be honest with him.”

On some level, I knew my anger was irrational, not just because Frost was butting in where he shouldn’t, but because I thought I was doomed to fail with Harvey. On some deeper level, I felt that there was something wrong with me and I needed to change to suit Harvey. He was already being forced to handle so much, I could handle a little public display of affection. “I. Love. His. Hands. On. Me,” I said. “Any time, any place.”

Frost shrugged and turned away. “Fine. I was wrong.” He crossed to sit behind his desk and I was hit with the overwhelming urge to tell him the truth and ask him what was wrong with me. But I doubted he could help me. I’d been born and bred twisted when it came to love and that’s just the way it was.

“The gatekeeper,” Knuffington said. “He keeps records and he’s seen it all. He was there for the war in Rubalia. If you can get him to talk, he’ll have the answers you need.” We were having lunch at Poinsettia and sweating, because the air conditioner had broken and the fans just weren’t keeping anyone cool when the humidity was high and the outside temperature was almost in the high eighties.

“If I can get him to speak.” I didn’t want to think about what it might take for that to happen. The last time I’d gone to ask for information from the dragon, he’d required a cup-full of my blood in exchange. He’d implied he wanted more than that. Sex, to be exact.