Page 17 of Welcome to Fae Cafe
The fairy Prince tapped a forefinger against the handle of his fairsaber as he realized how difficult this would be. His human target was the finest actress he had crossed in his twenty-two faeborn years of life. Even those she cared for were being fooled into thinking she was some delicate, weak thing who needed help, instead of a lethal assassin who killed fairies.
Cress moved deeper into the darkness, deciding he wouldn’t get answers by waiting around on Kate Kole’s balcony if not even Officer Lily Baker knew her secrets.
His stomach growled. “Hush,” he commanded it as he walked.
The feasts of the North Corner called him home. It seemed like an eternity had passed since he’d tasted blossom syrups, sweet bell corns, and rose dough. Perhaps he wasn’t built for peasant life, or human life. He’d been out of the Four Corners of Ever for less than a day.
The night frost in the human realm smelled different than the frost in the North. It was clear, empty, and carried only the memories of the branches it coated. Cress followed the air’s fragrances until he smelled one that was familiar. His feet came together.
“Queensbane,” he cursed.
He turned.
The silhouettes of three faeborn males filled the shadows across the street. Shayne’s crossbow glimmered silver in the moonlight, but the rest of the males were concealed by the dark.
They must have guessed they’d been discovered because the triad emerged from the shadows and met the Prince in the empty road.
Mor’s brown-silver eyes were hard, his lips thin. Dranian looked angry, but that was nothing new. Shayne looked like a fieldpup ready for an adventure. His bare faeborn feet were blueing from human frost.
“What,” Cress began through his teeth, “in the name of the sky deities are you three doing here?”
“We’re saving your faeborn life, Cress,” Shayne said, swinging his crossbow up and resting it on his shoulder. “Why else would we have broken a sacred fairy law?”
Cress looked to Mor, who said nothing.
“How did you get across the gate?” he asked anyway.
“We bound our fate to the success of this quest, Your Highness,” Shayne told him, and Cress’s blood turned cold. “You can’t fail now, or we’re dead. That was our agreement with the North High Court when they allowed us to cross and aid you.”
Mor had not blinked for several minutes. His gaze hadn’t moved from Cress in that time, either.
“Lucky for you, a few of the High Court members wanted justice for Whyp.” Shayne shrugged, and his crossbow slid off his shoulder. It nearly toppled to the road before the fairy caught it again.
Cress ran his hands through his horrendous, terribly short hair that barely covered his pointed ears. “I failed to learn the human’s real name.”
“Great. Well, we need to find it, or we’ll all suffer the death of traitors,” Mor said, speaking for the first time.
A tall lantern flickered down the road as a few tense faeborn heartbeats passed in silence.
“We will follow all the rules while we are here,” Cress finally said, pointing at his brother assassins. “No witnesses to fairy acts. No mentioning our realm or our Queene. No unnecessary tricks on the humans—”
“Do you think we don’t know the rules?” Mor said through his tight lips.
“—and absolutely no lying. We don’t need to fight extra curses for trying to fool humans with falsehoods.”
“Careful, Your Highness,” Shayne warned as he ran his thumb over the sharp edge of his bow. “You’re getting a bit bossy.”
Cress’s jaw slid to the side. “Am I?” Sarcasm.
Shayne sighed. “How about a kiss?” he suggested, flicking his white hair from his eyes. “You said you don’t have her real name. So, take her will instead. Maybe she willwantto die for you if you ask her to.”
Dranian made a repulsed face. “You cannot ask the Prince of the North to kiss a human!” he growled.
But Cress folded his arms and tapped a finger against his bicep. “Shayne, you were the only one of us who spent your childling years at an academy. Did they teach you the six dangers of the human realm in your lectures?”
Shayne nodded. “Of course. Humans conspire differently than us. They will try to trick us into eating bread,” he promised.
Cress quieted to think. “We should learn who the human assassin answers to if we can,” he said. “I want to know if she was told to kill a member of the Brotherhood by a higher master, and how she was able to outsmart a fairy. I want answers.”
