With a deep breath, I prepare myself, then follow him inside.
All sound diminishes the second we step into the building, and all I can see is a sea of shadowy faces with glowing eyes.
One or two shadows bear a set of sharp teeth, and then I’m met with a myriad of fanged smiles.
I make a beeline for the door, but then I crash face-first into a wall that wasn’t there previously. My skin turns as white as frost as horror finally sinks in.
I am trapped with no way out.
Tegwyn coughs for my attention, and slowly, I face the room. So many angry faeries, watching me from every darkened corner of the room. There is no way I am going to make it out of here alive tonight.
Now I am nothing more than a corpse faced with a murder of crows.
12
Tegwyn
Thepubpatronsdonot look pleased as I cast my gaze around, spyingseveral faeries—a hook-nosed goblin and a withered hag covered in warts.
A giant, his bulbous head nearly reaching the rafters, grits his underbite with a vicious snarl, while a pair of seedy-looking trolls show me their middle fingers.
Rather rude, if you ask me. Yet, the worst scowl comes from the ogre behind the bar.
They may be rough around the edges, but the folk here are decent enough—when they’re not tearing each other limb from limb, that is.
They’reRogue Fae, and like me, they live life on a knife’s edge.
They also despise humans, mostly because humans have been persecuting them for the last hundred years.
However, they won’t touchmylittle pet. Not while she’s with me.
Besides, she needed to get out of the mountain; it can’t be good for her to be cooped up inside a cave all day.
I lean in, whispering, “Stay close to me.”
“Oh, I plan to,” she mutters, hiding behind me like I’m the only thing in this world that could save her from these monsters.
We meander through the bar, and the whole time she keeps her head bowed, shoulders hunched, until we stop at a sticky table.
I place her in a seat, and she stares absentmindedly at a toadstool sprouting from a crack inside the rotten wood.
As I said, it’s a rough establishment.
A snail leaves a silvery trail at the back of Ivy’s chair, and I roll my eyes. “I’ll be back in a moment. Just heading to the bar.”
She whips her head around, gripping my wrist.“You’re not leaving me here, are you?”
A lump catches in my throat when I meet the desperate gleam in her starburst eyes. Maybe bringing her here was a mistake. These Fae would wear her skin like a coat.
“I won’t be too long. Just remember what I said—avoid eye contact. By the way, happy birthday. This was the surprise!”
The human female gawks at me, speechless. I try for what I hope is an encouraging smile, but she only looks even more confused.
“Oh. Thank you...”
I chuckle. “Remember, faeries may not be able to tell a lie, but they still have silver tongues. So, don’t go unintentionally accepting any more bargains, princess. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.”
Definitely the wrong thing to say.
