Smothering a laugh, Dani smirked, “Lay off. He was just trying to warn us.”
Rolling my eyes with a huff, I went back to watching the guards from the edge of my vision. The small group of four had entered the tavern halfway through my conversation with Dani and calmly made their way through the crowd. The men laughed lightly amongst each other as they walked up to the bar with shoulders proudly thrown back. Mab’s soldiers had always had an ungodly amount of confidence, they walked through all the nastier parts of Tir Na Nog free of fear. Believing themselves untouchable because nothing could possibly be worse than the woman they worked for. Oh, how wrong they were.
The boy whipped his head back and forth between us before anxiously whispering, “What’s happening right now?”
“Relax, they’re not here for us.” I replied, keeping an eye on the soldiers.
“What do you mean they’re not here for us? You’re the most wanted fae in the realm.”
My lips curved into a smug smile, “I know.”
“What she means, Puck, is that they come here for shits and giggles. To flex their muscles a bit, show off to the Outerland women. Whispering promises of bringing them over the wall before fucking ’em and leaving ’em.” Dani informed him, signaling a nearby waitress.
“That’s- That’s messed up.” The b- Puck stuttered.
A waitress rushed over, fluffing her short red bob, “What’ll it be?”
“I’ll take a sugared ale, Babes.” I answered, admiring her full figure with a quick smile before turning my gaze back on the men in purple. Distractedly, I heard Dani and Puck giving their orders to the cute waitress.
Even though I knew the men weren’t specifically here for me, that wasn’t going to stop me from keeping an eye on them. Beside’s one of them looked vaguely familiar, like I had seen his face somewhere once before. Pastel green hair buzzed down to a stubble showed off a baby face that hadn’t come into the sharp bone structure of an adult Fae just yet. Since he looked to be about the same age as Puck, who was around twenty in human years and seven hundred in fae, I couldn’t have known him. He wouldn’t have been born, let alone old enough for our paths to cross before I was sent to Slykhelm. Chalking it up to paranoia, I swung my eyes back to my companions as the waitress stalked off temporarily blocking the strange boy from view.
“Don’t feel bad for the women, Puck. Feel bad for the men.” Dani laughed, throwing her arm along the back of the booth behind him.
“Why?”
I grinned, showing off two rows of pointed teeth, “Because sometimes they make it back to base fine...and sometimes they’re missing their dicks.”
We laughed loudly at Puck’s nauseous expression just as the waitress came back around. Sugared ale sloshed over the rims of the mugs as she slammed them down before scurrying away to another patron. Still chuckling, I reached out and pulled the mug to my lips for a large gulp. Dani snatched up her own, eyes still twinkling with mirth as she took a deep sip. Feeling much better than I did since waking up earlier that night, I closed my eyes and soaked in the taste of the ale. I hadn’t had sugar since before prison and it tasted even better than I remembered. In large amounts, sugar was the only thing that could inebriate a fae and it made everything after Slykhelm just a pinch easier.
“Macha. What happened to your wrists?”
“Huh?” Forcing my expression to remain relaxed, I opened my eyes and raised my wrist like I didn’t know exactly what she was talking about. “Oh, that. Got a little wild with a Banshee last night.” I winked.
Dani eyed me for a moment before a slow smile took over her features, “Good to see prison didn’t change you a bit.”
If you ignored the way I woke up with a scream lodged in the back of my throat almost every night, scratches on my body from the nightmares or how I made sure I could easily exit every room I entered, then, “Not a bit, Babes. Not. A. Bit.”
Grinning, she roughly patted Pucks shoulder. “I told you, Puck. Macha’s the strongest fae I know.”
Was, I corrected her in my thoughts. I was the strongest fae you know.
Golden eyes narrowed on pink ones, “I never said to the contrary.”
“Right. So, who is he? Cause he talks like a noble.”
“Can I just say that for being in a very urgent situation, you both are very relaxed.”
“Not our first time in an urgent situation,” Dani said. “But he has a point, we should get down to business.”
Raising a hand, I swirled a finger, “Do your thing then.”
Shrugging off her cloak, Dani revealed a white tunic lined with green along the edges that highlighted her cocoa colored skin. Raising her hands to chest level with palms facing the ceiling, her eyes twinkled at her use of magic. The air around the table shifted from it’s still position to start whipping around our little group. Effectively trapping all sound inside without alerting everyone around us that we had something worth keeping a secret.
Fae magick was complex in a way that other supernaturals wouldn’t assume. While regular Fae wielded one ability, royals tended to wield up to two or three but every ability was only as strong as a Fae’s will. When it came to power it was based on the Fae’s will, a regular Fae could create devastating earthquakes while a royal could barely levitate a stone. Being Seelie or Unseelie also determined which kind of magick you’d be able to bend to your will. Seelie couldn’t bend air, water or metal to their will to save their lives, just like we, the Unseelie, couldn’t bend fire, earth, or animals to ours. Well, I thought as I willed the wooden table to warp beneath my finger tips, at least we shouldn’t be able to.
“Isn’t this kind of redundant? I mean, you already spoke openly about helping Macha escape from prison.”
Removing my fingers, the wood immediately reverted back to its original shape. Giving Puck an indulgent smile, I answered for Dani, “We didn’t say which prison and I’m almost a hundred percent certain that we’re not the only ones that’ve ever said that in here.”
Having my complete attention, he seemed to freeze up like a Sprite in a flower ring. Golden tan skin dusted red from his fleshy cheekbones down to his neck before he straightened his shoulders and said, “Of course. I was just joking.”
“Of course.” I purred.
Dani lowered her hands to the table, “You want to start or should I?”
“You, and for the love of the Divine start with him.”
“Okay. Okay.” Fingering a curl, she huffed out a quick sigh, “After I freed you, I met back up with Calvin in another earth state and established a travel pattern. But when we arrived home, her soldiers were already waiting for me. Said you escaped from Slykhelm and wanted to ask me a few questions. Cal tried to intervene but got knocked out for his troubles-”
I snorted in amusement, cutting her off.
“What?” Dani snapped.
“Did I say something?” I snapped back.
“Bitch,” She stressed with narrowed eyes. “Anyways, they were taking me to one of Mab’s army bases when Puck showed up out of nowhere and rescued me. I thanked him with gold and went to leave except he wouldn’t accept it. He said the only form of thanks he’d take was if I took him to meet you. I didn’t want to get stuck with a life debt to some kid, so I brought him along. Although, we’re late because he needed to travel home for a few days to attend some family thing.”
“So, basically you brought some random Seelie boy to come meet me and you don’t know why?” I asked calmly.
Taking a sip of ale, she shrugged, “Yeah, pretty much.”
“Your concern for my safety is overwhelming, Babes. Truly.” Turning to face the boy who could very well be an assassin sent by Mab or worse, a representative from Oberon. I raised a brow, “Well, you’ve met me. What do you want?”
Puck perked up, “I want to help you dethrone Mab.”
“Why?” I questioned, willing one of my rings to melt and reshape itself into a thin knife beneath the table.
“Because I know the story is wrong.”
Story? “What story?”
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