Recognition softens her chiseled features, but she doesn’t quite smile. “Summer, what are you doing here?”
“Back-to-school shopping.” I lift my bags into the air almost apologetically. I have yet to buy a luxury item and not feel enormous guilt afterward. “I should be asking the same of you. Since when do you take the subway?”
Most Fae use the newly approved portals that loop through the city, and the powerful ones like my mother have their own private network of portals. The city finally passed the bill allowing that when they learned they can tax each portal for an exorbitant sum.
Something dark and fleeting passes over Eclipsa’s face, sending my unease into full blown alarm.
Slipping her Cartier sunglasses over her dark eyes, she hooks her arm in mine. “Not here. We’ll chat over tea. My treat.”
I silently kiss my dreams of an iced coffee goodbye before glancing at Mack. “Is this place friendly to mortals?”
Even though I have a mortal body, the ancient Fae laws are written in such a way that technically, I am now a Fae in every literal sense. Mack on the other hand is very much mortal.
Eclipsa turns to look at Mack as if just now seeing her. She shrugs. “They will be if I’m there.”
True to her word, when we enter the bubble tea café with darkened windows and red vinyl booths, the scattered Fae patrons stare at Mack and me, shift their attention to Eclipsa, and then look away. A few even quickly pay their tab and leave.
It’s times like this that I remember Eclipsa is an assassin famous for taking out the Winter Court’s enemies.
“Pick your poison,” Eclipsa barks, sliding two flimsy menus across the linoleum table.
Not the best choice of words, but I settle back in the booth and read over my options. After we order, Eclipsa removes her sunglasses, carefully folds them into a crimson leather carrying case with her initials, and leans forward over the table. “So, the warden let you out for the day?”
“It’s in the contract. I can leave the house for anything related to the school, my health, or basic necessities.”
“Wow. So magnanimous.” Her voice conveys the hatred I feel for Hellebore.
A faun server delivers our tea. The poor guy is shaking so hard that I worry he’s going to spill the drinks. And when Eclipsa takes a furtive sip from her glass and pales, the poor guy looks seconds from passing out.
I eyeball her drink. “You were kidding about it being poison, right?”
Honestly, one never really knows when it comes to the Fae.
Her glass clinks against the table. “Of course. The last antidote is wearing off, which means my stomach hates me right now.”
“Would you like another drink?” the server bravely offers, sweat dripping down his temples.
“No.”
“Perhaps—”
“Unless you have the antidote to the Bloodstar poison—which I highly doubt, considering one drop costs more than the real estate on this entire block—go away.” A rare note of compassion softens the acid in her tone. “I haven’t seen my friends in a while, so we’re anxious to catch up. But don’t worry. They love to tip, so you’ll be taken care of.”
Tipping Fae servers is frowned upon because, if not worded correctly, the gift can imply a bargain, but mortals always do anyway. Especially Mack. I once witnessed my bestie give a hot Dusk Court barista a hundred-dollar bill just because he smiled at her.
Eclipsa’s promise placates the server. Once he’s gone, her glittering gaze slides to me. “How are things? Any accidents?”
Translation: Have you killed or maimed anyone with magic yet?
Because my magic is raw and undiluted energy straight from its source—nearby Fae—it’s highly unpredictable. When I’m surrounded by lesser Fae with low level magic, I can control it.
But whenever I’m around powerful Fae like my mother, all bets are off.
“Not yet.” Ice chinks my glass as I take a long sip. “But I came close to incinerating my tutor, Diona.”
Whenever I feel the pressure that comes with being around those with powerful magic, I build a wall in my mind. Eclipsa’s meditation techniques plus our lessons over the summer help, but last week my mother dropped in unexpectedly from work. Before I could brace myself and erect the wall, her fire magic leapt around my fingers.
Thankfully, the tutor is ancient and half-blind, and I managed to put out the flames before she saw them.
“Well, that’s good.” Eclipsa arches a devilish brow. “That you came close, not that you almost murdered that ancient hoof-bag of leather and bones. Although that wouldn’t exactly be a bad thing to put her out of her misery.”
“So.” I sip my dragon tears tea, desperate to turn the focus away from my dangerous ability. “You were saying?”
One of Eclipsa’s angled silver-white eyebrows flicks up. Light shimmers off the lunar jewels just above.
“Why you’re here?”
The same shadow from before settles over her face. The effect highlights the rare half-moon bruises pooled beneath her dark eyes. “They stole another one.” My lips twist with confusion, and she glances at Mack before continuing. “The Darken’s axe fragment. Under orders from the Winter Prince, I was there waiting, but they . . .” She studies her French-manicured nails, toying with the tiny silver moon charms. “The thief evaded me.”
Mack snorts, covering her nose to keep from spraying us with tea. “You tracked them here?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Mack shrinks from the rancor in Eclipsa’s voice, but I know it’s self-directed. She hates failing at anything. “The network of portals the thief used to escape were woven with complex misdirecting spells. I thought I broke them all but now—” A bitter grunt escapes her lips. “I just don’t know.”
Seeing Eclipsa this way is jarring, and I swallow as dread fists in my gut. I push away my tea. “How many have been taken?”
Eclipsa’s eyes are hooded and unreadable as they lift to mine. “That’s five now. There are only two left.”
My gasp makes two deer shifters at the next booth jump. I watch them flee, a creeping sense of doom making the air feel heavy.
“Two more were stolen this summer,” she continues, her voice low as her wary gaze roams the café. “If we don’t keep them from taking the last two . . .”
Panic. War. Cataclysmic death. The supernatural apocalypse.
Oh, and the enslavement of my entire species.
I find Eclipsa’s eyes and hold her stare, my panic transforming into something I wasn’t expecting—courage. There’s no sense denying that the Darken is enacting his final plan, and I plan to be here, ready to stop the bastard. “How do we do that?”
“We have to unmask your dear fiancé before he steals the rest. Once he does . . . you already belong to him under Fae law so . . .”
“He can force me to raise the Darken.”
She gives a slow nod, and a chill shivers down my spine. “He’s been one step ahead of us this entire time. Tricking you into revealing yourself was a bold move. He thinks he’s already won. But he doesn’t know what I do.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re a badass bitch when fighting for those you care about. I can see that fiery passion raging in your eyes right now. It’s why I love you, Summer, and why I can’t lose you to that maniac. Do you understand?”