Page 111 of Veil of Blood and Bone

Then her disease made it harder for her to make snow angels and to build igloos out of drifts from the plow.

It isn’t fair.

Movement flickers from the street and my nostrils flare.

Wren separates from a cone of shadow cast by the lamppost at the corner. My brows furrow together in a deep V. The man’s still wearing a black T-shirt and jeans.

Another gust of wind pelts the side of the Victorian.

Through the swirl of snowflakes comes a second form, freakishly tall. Skin tinged the color of the world, a light blue, his hair long and ashen like coal. Even from this distance it’s impossible to ignore the pointed ears and the sharp teeth.

A gasp strikes like a flint and stalls behind my tongue. I jerk up to my knees, my forearms resting on the frigid sill.

“What is that?”

The man-creature lopes closer to Wren, his spine curved. His head reaches the top of the lamppost with a few inches to spare.

I can’t look away.

The male is awful, unnaturally lean and slender. And his skin...

Without the bulk of the troll, I can’t categorize this being. Surprise widens my eyes when Wren walks out to meet him. When Wren wraps his arms around the man’s chest. The two embrace, the dark Fae dwarfed by the male’s longer limbs.

And when they pull back, their mouths move, snow obscuring their features.

Tonight, the streets are conspicuously empty of life. Even the lights inside the cafe are muted and dim. Is it natural? Or has someone purposely worked a spell to keep the crowds away?

I’m too far to make out their words. Fascination keeps me watching the two.

And when the blue-skinned man scans the street for the fifth time, I duck down to stay out of view. Paranoid?

If they are, they should have picked a better spot for a conversation. The weather is no dependable shield.

What kind of covert, duplicitous shit are they saying?

I flip the window lock shut, grooves dug in my fingers. Wren is clearly comfortable with these creatures. He watched the troll attack.

What if they aren’t here for me, but because of him?

A dull ache spikes between my eyes. Stupid.

I was stupid to trust the three of them, and stupider yet to invite them into my home. I know nothing about them. If they were human, I’d run a background check.

But try finding information on a vampire thousands of years old. Or a dark Fae. Or a fucking raven shifter. Those kinds of things won't be on the first page of an internet search, I guarantee it.

Wren had called himself something, though...

I glance at Audra, sleeping peacefully in her fort of blankets with the fabric tucked up to her chin.

Unseelie? Is that what he’d said?

What are the chances my best buddy Google will have some straight up facts for me? It never hurts to do a quick browse. The library is not going to help, and tromping outside in a snowstorm isn’t high on my list of priorities.

Leaving Audra, I head to the ancient laptop positioned on the console and pull it free. It takes a second to warm up but the screen flickers to life.

I carry it into the bedroom, fluffing the pillows into a comfortable wall. “All right. Let’s see what we’re working with.”

I type out a few keywords that don't sound absolutely insane and my heart thuds painfully when I press enter.