Miles, the leader of the New Orleans branch of the Order, called first thing Monday morning with a request that both confused and interested me.
The Summer fae had requested a meeting with the Order, but Miles couldn’t spare any of the essential members to go see what they wanted.
Since I was not considered an essential Order member, I’d been assigned the task to figure out what they could possibly want.
Tink was passed out in the living room next to Dixon, so I didn’t bring him along with me. Granted, I could’ve woken him up, but the fae treated Tink like he was some kind of golden calf to be worshipped, and Tink’s head was already overinflated, adorably so.
So, that’s where I found myself Monday morning, staring at the beam of sunlight that shone through the large windows of the office inside Hotel Good Fae, keeping the room nice and toasty despite the chilly March temperatures outside.
That’s what Ivy called this place, and it did remind me of a hotel—a really glitzy, mammoth hotel. To humans and even to the Winter fae, Hotel Good Fae appeared to be nothing more than an abandoned power plant on St. Peters Street.
Based on the old maps I’d found in my mother’s past research clutter, I suspected all the strange markings of places that couldn’t or shouldn’t exist were more well-hidden communities.
This might not be the only one.
Hotel Good Fae was a massive structure set up a lot like a hotel. Several stories tall with hundreds of rooms on each floor and sprawling communal areas outfitted with multiple cafeterias, theaters, shopping, gyms, and even space for a school of sorts, the compound had the ability to house thousands of fae. The Order had no idea exactly how many fae lived in this place, something that I knew disturbed Miles and the other Order members.
The kind of power and magic the Summer fae used to glamour the building was astonishing.
It was a good thing they didn’t want to feed off humans and seemed to like us, because if not, we’d be so screwed.
Then again, I knew that Prince Fabian fed, supposedly on willing humans who knew what he was, because he didn’t age and was capable of extraordinary actions. I assumed that his brother, the Prince, fed too.
Tugging on the neck of my chunky cable-knit sweater, I was beginning to think I would melt in this office before anyone showed up. The sweater had been perfect for when I was outside and it covered the bruises on my neck, but now I was sweltering in it.
If Ivy hadn’t been in Florida with her husband handling some kind of super-secret mission, she’d be here, sitting in the Hotel Good Fae, acting as the liaison between the Order and the fae. Not me. She was better at handling these types of meetings, and right now, the best needed to here, because things between the Summer fae and the Order were tense.
I found myself staring at the long, narrow desk in front of me as I waited, smoothing a blonde strand of hair back into the ponytail. The surface was free of clutter. Just a large desk calendar and computer monitor. An iMac. My desk at home looked like maps and books had thrown up all over it. I couldn’t even see the top of my desk, let alone use the keyboard to what was definitely not an iMac.
I used one of the guest rooms upstairs for my office, which was perfect, because I could close the door on the room and pretend that a hoarder didn’t live there.
Nervous energy filled me as I dropped my hand and ran my fingers along the neck of the sweater. My throat was still tender and I knew it probably would be for a couple of days. At least the weather was cool enough to wear a turtleneck.
Got to look on the bright side.
Pressing my lips together, I dragged my gaze from the empty desk just as I heard footsteps outside the room. I dropped my hand. Seconds later, the door opened.
The Summer fae known as Tanner strode into his office. His real name was totally unpronounceable, as were the names of most of the fae who lived here. Almost all of them, including the woman behind him, had adopted human sounding names. Even the Winter fae did that, because I doubted Tobias had been that bastard’s real name.
Tanner drew up short when he spotted me sitting there, as did the female fae called Faye, who was carrying a file. Odd reaction considering when they saw me, I looked like I normally did, no wig or heavy makeup. No façade.
I was Brighton today even if I… I didn’t feel like her.
I only saw the mask Faye and Tanner wore for a second before the humanity seeped away and I saw them in all their fae glory. The only thing that hadn’t changed was their hair. Both were dark haired, but Tanner’s was salt and peppered, proving that he was aging like a human while Faye was younger, her hair a deep flaxen color.
“Ms. Jussier.” Surprise colored Tanner’s tone as he crossed the room and stopped in front of me, offering his hand. “I am surprised to see you.”
“Brighton,” I corrected him as I glanced at his outstretched hand. The moment of hesitation didn’t go unnoticed by Faye. The shrewd female cocked a dark eyebrow. I took Tanner’s hand, shaking it as firmly as humanly possible. I didn’t even know why I hesitated other than just being weird—and I was weird. A lot. “You know you can call me Brighton.”
He squeezed my hand affectionately. “Goodness, Brighton, I haven’t seen you in ages. I’m… I am so sorry to hear about your mother and for what happened to you.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been in this office or to Hotel Good Fae, but it was before the attack.
“Merle was an amazing and unique woman,” he continued, his tone and pale blue eyes full of genuine sorrow, and I wasn’t surprised he said that. He and several of the Summer fae had attended her funeral. “She is greatly missed.”
The next breath I took got stuck in my throat. I pulled my hand free, placing it on the velvety arm of the chair I sat in. I opened my mouth, but found that I couldn’t speak as sorrow and anger threatened to rise up and smother me. I couldn’t let that happen. Not here.
Clearing my throat, I pushed away the messy emotions and focused. “Thank you. My mother enjoyed knowing you.”
“She did?” Tanner chuckled as he stepped back from me and turned to his desk. “Your mother was a hard woman to win over.”
“She had… trust issues,” I explained, shifting in the chair. “But she trusted you. Both of you.”
As crazy as that sounded, it was true. Mom actually liked Tanner. I thought she might’ve been developing a crush on the fae, which sounded absurd considering what she had been through, but she really did like Tanner.
A faint smile crossed Faye’s face. “And we consider that a great honor.”
Nodding, I wished that the bitter, razor edged ball of emotion that now sat heavily on my chest would just go away. It was time to get this meeting underway. “I can tell you weren’t expecting me. Ivy was unable to make it. She’s with—”
“Prince Fabian in Florida,” Faye finished, standing a few feet from me beside the end of the desk. “We are aware that Ivy isn’t available, but we thought they’d send… someone else.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I kept my face blank as Tanner sat behind the desk. “I’m sorry, but Miles is busy with the new recruits.”
“I imagine he does have a lot on his hands.” Tanner smiled, and he was always smiling politely. It was like his face was permanently fixed that way. “But we expected someone… higher up.”
Heat crept into my cheeks as my hand on the chair became rigid. They knew. I glanced between the two fae, feeling the warmth travel down my throat. They knew that Miles had sent me in for the meeting, because, in all honestly, he was too busy to deal with Tanner and, at the end of the day, didn’t really care enough to pull any of the members off the street or out of training. That was why I’d been sent in, because in Miles’s eyes, I had disposable time.
I wasn’t remotely essential.
I lifted my chin. “I can assure you that I, like every other Order member, has been born and raised within the organization. In reality, I’m more knowledgeable about anything that has to do with the Order than Miles.” I wasn’t being a braggy-mc-bragster either. That was the damn truth. That was my job at the Order. The researcher. The reader. The studier. I was the Willow in an army of Buffys and Angels. “I can assist you with whatever it is that you need to speak with us about.”
“I’m sorry,” Tanner was quick to reply. “I didn’t mean to insinuate that you couldn’t handle this. It’s just that….”
“What?” I lifted my brows, waiting.
“You’re uncomfortable around us,” Faye stated plainly. “Which I can completely understand with what happened to you—”
“What happened to me is irrelevant.”
Faye’s gaze softened just a little. “I can smell your anxiety. It reminds me of woodsmoke.”
Now my face was on fire. Was it truly that obvious that I was anxious? “You can smell my anxiety?”
Faye nodded.
Well, that was something I never knew and that was somewhat creepy.
“And you’re gripping the chair like it’s some kind of lifeline,” Faye pointed out. “It’s like you’ve already forgotten that two years ago, we fought beside the Order and pushed the Queen back into the Otherworld.”
Tanner tensed at the mention of the Queen. Couldn’t blame him. I’d never seen the Queen, but from what I heard, she was a whole bucketful of nightmares.
“That we lost many good fae that night,” Faye continued. “And it seems you’ve also forgotten that the biggest betrayal did not come from us, but came from within the Order.”
“I haven’t forgotten.” How in the world could I? Betrayal had come from the top of the Order, starting with David Faustin. He was the head of the New Orleans Sect, keyword being was, and his betrayal had spread throughout the Order like a virus, infecting nearly everyone. Those within the Order who hadn’t died at the hands of the not-so-friendly fae, the Winter fae, had done so at the hands of those they’d trusted.
I exhaled roughly as I eased my grip off the arm of the chair. “I….” I started to apologize but stopped and decided to be as bluntly honest as Faye. “I was raised to hunt fae and taught that there was no such thing as a good fae. And yes, there were some members of the Order who knew of your existence, but the majority of us didn’t know that the Summer Court had escaped into our world after the war with the Winter Court, and were just trying to live their best lives as human. If anyone had suggested two years ago that there were good fae out there, fae who weren’t feeding on humans, I would’ve laughed straight in their face.”
Faye’s jaw hardened, but I wasn’t done. “And you know damn well the Winter fae, those still loyal to the Queen, far outnumber you all. Two years, Faye. That’s all I’ve had, all many of us had to come to terms with the idea that not all fae are evil incarnate. So, yes, the fae make me uncomfortable. Just as I’m sure we make you uncomfortable.”
“Of course some of you make us uncomfortable, considering there are still some Order members who want to kill us,” Faye shot back.
“I think what Faye is trying to say this whole time, is that we have a fairly serious issue, and we’re worried that your… uncomfortableness may get in the way of helping us resolve this issue.” Tanner folded his hands on the desk. “That is all.”
Okay. Wow. This was getting awkward. “May I be painfully honest?”
“Of course.” Tanner sat back.
“Besides Ivy and Ren, there is not a single member of the Order who isn’t uncomfortable around the fae or may be somewhat prejudiced by all their years fighting fae who want nothing more than to enslave mankind and destroy them. Even Ren isn’t exactly going to be rolling out the red carpet, and his wife is half-fae,” I said, holding their stares. “So, if you’re worried that my uncomfortableness is going to be an issue, then you are going to have the same problem with any Order member besides Ivy. Either you tell me why you wanted a meeting with the Order or you wait until Ivy gets back. Your call.”
“It’s not just that we make you nervous.” Faye tapped the file on her denim-covered thigh. “It’s also that we scare you.”
My head snapped in her direction. “You do not scare me.”
“Is that so?” she murmured.
“That’s so. And just to clarify, the anxiety you’re sniffing isn’t because of you two. I’m just an anxious person ninety percent of the time. You guys make me uncomfortable, but you do not make me anxious or scared. There’s a Mississippi River’s worth of difference between the two.”
A measure of respect filled Faye’s eyes. Not much, but I saw it.
“Well then, we will make do, won’t we?” Tanner said.
Slowly, I turned back to him, thinking he sounded like he had as much faith as I did that Tink wouldn’t create a mess by the time I got home. “I guess so.”
“We needed to speak with the Order because we’ve been noticing a disturbing trend.” Tanner took the file Faye handed to him. “Over the last month, several of our younglings have gone missing, and we fear the Order is involved.”