“Loyalty is an admirable trait, Zane’s mate. But no need to worry. Witches don’t interest me.” Glynda blushed even harder and sank in on herself, making me hate the fae twice as much.
If I didn’t need his help to rescue Kai, I would call Kenji and persuade him to share power so I could turn the fae into a pile of ash. It had worked on the demon, so I figured it would be equally effective on a stupid fae.
The Autumn Court probably wouldn’t miss him. I bet they all hated the prick.
“Don’t worry, she’s not into you either because walking red flags aren’t her type.”
Farris frowned. “Red flags? I see no red flags.”
Maverick pinched his nose and sighed like the weight of the world pressed on his broad shoulders.
“She means you’re an obnoxious asshole,” Zane explained with a smirk.
“Oh, in that case, I’ll take my leave. Silly me, I was told you needed my help. Clearly not.” He straightened his colorful coat made from a weird fabric that glittered in the light and turned toward the door.
“No!” I blurted, realizing I needed to be nice to the asshole fae or he wouldn’t help us. “I’m sorry!”
“If you’re truly sorry…” Farris cocked his head to one side, as if thinking. “Perhaps we can make a deal.”
Zane’s warning about doing deals with the fae echoed in my head. A reminder that fae deals rarely benefited anyone but fae. Ugh. I was so fucked.
“Raven, you are not making a deal with the fae!” Adam threw a furious look in Farris’s direction.
“Fae bargains are perfectly safe. Nobody will die.”
“No, but Raven might end up stuck with a deal that hurts her!”
“Then she needs to make sure she reads the small print.” Farris smirked. “The devil is in the detail.”
Rasmus and Zane whispered to each other while Adam did his best to deter me from negotiating with the fae, but what choice did I have?
Maverick said nothing, but I could tell from the way his eyes glowed and fur sprouted on his hands that he wasn’t pleased with the situation.
“You need to make sure you think everything through before you seal the deal,” Glynda told me while refusing to look at Farris. “The wording of a fae contract must be precise. If you make it too vague, you’re screwed.”
I thought about what we needed: access to the mer kingdom, specifically to rescue Kai.
My mates did their best to deter me, but I was a strong and determined witch. My merman needed me.
“I want you to get me and my mates into the mer kingdom so we can rescue Kai.” That was unambiguous, right? I failed to see how he could wriggle out of that request. “You can do it, yes?”
“So, to clarify,” he said after a beat, “you are asking for my help to use the fae portalintothe mer kingdom, where you plan to rescue your merman mate?”
“Yes.”
“Tell her what you want in return,” Adam snapped, still deeply unhappy about this turn of events. I prayed nothing happened to Willow and the other witches while he was here with me, or I’d never forgive myself.
“In return…” Farris hummed as he pretended to think long and hard about what he wanted from me. “A favor to be granted at a future time not yet determined.”
I frowned. “A favor? That’s very open ended.”
Farris shrugged. “It’s a seller’s market, little witch. I’d venture you need my help more than I need yours. I can leave if you’d prefer?” What an asshole. The bastard had me, and he knew it.
“We can figure this out, little mate,” Maverick said. “You don’t need to grant the fae anything.” But as much as I wanted to believe my bear, he was wrong. There was no way into the mer kingdom without using the fae portal. Farris had me over a barrel.
“Okay, fine. I agree to your terms.”
Zane grumbled and glared at Farris while juggling his knife. Rasmus said nothing, but I took some comfort in his silence. The vampires would have dealt with the fae over the centuries, so if he hadn’t spoken up, he must have thought this deal was okay.
