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"Come on, you two. Reth knows the Faerie Realms better than you do. Jack, you didn't see where the people were; it might take you a while to find them, and that's time we can't afford to lose. And Reth's getting worse; being there might give him more time. "
Lend scowled, grabbing the car keys off the counter. "Fine. But I'm really getting tired of his stupid smirk and prissy clothes. "
Jack nodded. "And his voice that sounds like it'd even taste good. Really, it's overkill. Best to have only a few absolutely perfect traits-for example, my hair and eyes and sparkling personality-so you don't overwhelm. "
"Aww, are you guys jealous of how pretty Reth is? That's kind of adorable. "
"You know I could look exactly like him," Lend said, frowning darkly.
"Please for the love of all that is good and holy, never, ever wear Reth. That's the stuff of nightmares. "
That brightened his face a bit and he left me with a lingering kiss and a promise to be back with every loaf of bread we could carry.
"Well, go find your stupid faerie boyfriend," Jack said, lying down on top of the counter and drumming his fingers on his stomach. "I haven't filled my quota for pissing off the Dark Court yet this week. "
"We are going to blow your quota sky high. "
He held up a hand and I high-fived him as I walked past and out of the house toward the trail. Yet again. I should have invested in a dirt bike or something given the amount of mileage I was getting out of the path between the house and the pond.
A jumbo white van pulled up into the driveway and people piled out of it. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously when I saw that they were all werewolves. If this was another attempt by Anne-Whatever Whatever to try and get me away from the protections here, I was going to let the dragon eat each and every one of them.
"Evie?"
I did a double take. "Charlotte?"
My former tutor ran forward and threw her arms around me, beaming. She still had the same warm brown hair and warm brown eyes over her yellow wolf eyes, but the lingering sadness that had always been on h
er face before we got her out of the Center and reunited her with her sister was entirely gone.
"What are you doing here?"
"We're here to help David and Raquel. Some of us have scores to settle with IPCA. " Her smile was still in place, but it had a hint of iron behind it. I squirmed a bit inside, knowing that because of IPCA's old eugenics policies Charlotte would never be able to have kids.
I nodded. "I'm down with that. They're inside in the office, I think. "
"You coming with us?"
"Not this time. I've got a different errand to run. "
"Okay. " She reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear affectionately. "Be careful. I wouldn't want anything to happen to the worst Spanish student in the history of the language. "
I laughed. "No problemo. "
By the time I found Reth, he was deep in discussion with the banshees, their discordant voices chiding him for something or other. I hated to pull him away from getting chewed out, but it had to be done. Another faerie, all spring and mint green, was with him. After briefly explaining about the location of the dancers, she left to retrieve them. I wanted to send Reth because I trusted him more, but he didn't look good. I'd keep him with me so I could keep an eye on him. He wouldn't ask for help-not from anyone-but I'd be there no matter what.
When we got back to the house, Lend was already there with several grocery bags full of bread. Reth turned his head away as though the very sight of it was distasteful. "Even the food of this world is nothing but decay. "
Clearly he had never tried pizza, because honestly.
We linked hands-my ex-boyfriend, my boyfriend, and my former friend-then-enemy-then-friend and I-and walked through a door to see if maybe empty carbs were good for something after all.
Chapter Thirty-Six
BREAD BASKET CASES
Okay, yeah, this is freaky. " Lend's eyes were wide as he looked around, drinking in the Faerie Realms in all their Technicolor glory. Down in the village, people bustled about, laughing and playing. The mood was like a holiday. Every day in faerie-glamoured happy land was a holiday, which made what we had to do even worse.
Reth stood straight, alert, then relaxed, his shoulders slumping. "There are no fey here at the moment. I suggest you hurry. "
