Page 26 of My Faire Lady

“Does she know you’re talking to me about this?” I say.

He scoffs. “If she knew, she’d kill me.”

Even more proof that she wants nothing to do with me. “I think it’s best to leave it alone, then.”

Studying me, he shoves his hands into his pockets and stares out at the quad. “How’s your sister?”

I lift a brow. “Kelsey?”

A slight blush creeps into his face, but it’s gone long before I have a chance to comment on it.

He nods. “You might need to ask her if she wants to join you here on the weekends.”

“Why’s that?”

A curl falls against his forehead, and he tilts his chin toward my shoppe. “Because you might need the help.”

I peer around the trunk of the tree and suck in a sharp breath.

There’s a line, at least a dozen deep, waiting outside my storefront.

11

Icup Eelroy’s tiny hand, his skin a pale blue as he forces a weak smile. A female sprite sits by his cot and presses a flower to his lips, encouraging him to drink the nectar. His throat bobs on a swallow, and I leave him to rest, my feet heavy as I cross the infirmary to the door.

“See,” Dryden says, floating above my shoulder. “I told you.”

The end of my braid tangles in the chainmail at my neck, and I pull it out, tossing it over my shoulder. “How do you know it’s her, though? Lottie doesn’t have magic, or we’d feel it.”

I purse my lips, holding back the rest of the truth. There is a subtle shift in the air when Lottie steps onto the land, but it’s certainly isn’t magic. Whatever it is, I haven’t sorted that out yet.

“I followed her through the forest,” the sprite says. “She saw me.”

My eyes widen. “She what?”

He brushes off my concern with a wave of his hand. “Humans see me all the time. They just convince themselves they’re imagining things, and when they leave the faire, they’ve forgotten all about me. But that doesn’t matter right now.” He shakes his head, and his tone grows weighted, serious. “Scarlet, why is Eelroy sick like this?”

My mouth dries. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, I’ll figure it out.”

“Well, the moment that human of yours showed up, he awoke. Weak, but awake. That’s no coincidence. Whatever is going on, she’s making it better.”

The door swings open, and Jeremy comes in, pulling his helmet from his head. He gives me a strained nod, curls matted against his head.

In two weeks, there will be a full moon, and I have no idea how the unstable magic will affect his werewolf form. Or if he’ll be able to control himself.

Unless I can fix the magic by then.

“I’ll figure something out,” I say, inching closer to the exit. “In the meantime, let me know if anything with Eelroy changes.”

Dryden presses his lips into a thin line and dips through the air, rejoining Eelroy’s side. None of them look at me directly, nor do they say anything outright, but I feel the weight of their expectations across the breadth of my shoulders. The responsibility I’m not sure I have the strength to hold. Biting down on my cheek, I hook a finger under the visor of my helmet and tuck it under my arm as I step out into the midday sun.

My armor taps together, echoing as I make my way to the shoppes. At this morning’s joust, the first two rows of the stands were nearly full, even if most showed up only to cool off in the shade.

But at the second joust, the stands were half full.

And now, with two hours before closing, bodies crowd the packed paths. Pirates, people with clocks and gears secured to top hats, more fae than I can count, and witches with pointed hats and billowing capes.

Mildly insulting, but I’ll let it slide.