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I’m happy to be off the night shift, but the purple bags under my eyes say I still haven’t quite adjusted to the change.
My mind wanders while I brush my teeth, and I wonder if it’s time to start taking vitamin D capsules. I’m not…
Well, yeah, actually. I’m in a full-blown bout of Seasonal Affective Disorder.
The Winter Fae and her crew never returned. There are precisely zero Winter Fae outside of their mainland anymore. The borders have been closed on both sides of the world. Whispers spread in the corners of this city about the dangers of Northerners. People say that if you see one, it is prudent to give up all sense of decorum and run for your life.
Based on what I have seen in the news, I am sure they are right, but I am confident that my Winter Fae was different. My heart picks up speed, and I decide that it might be time to start partying again. I never even had this woman, and yet I am dreaming of her.
This is a problem.
There is no one in my world who is so authentically themselves. There was something in her that my soul recognized over a hundred quick meetings and small touches. I don’t know the details of her life, nor she mine, but I am sure that if we could only be given the chance to get to know each other, we would recognize each other for what we are: Two parts of the same whole.
Summer Fae aren’t as outwardly violent as Winter Fae, but I know her darkness has a purpose. I like that.
Even if I am wrong about everything else, at the very least, I can say that every person she brought with her was a disgusting creature. Of that, I am sure.
* * *
It’s8:48 p.m. on a Friday, and I am staring one of Hell’s sentinels in the face.
I make the mistake of voicing my thoughts about the nameless woman to Adam, who now thinks I am insane. He and his new boyfriend, Marcus, have taken it upon themselves to set me up with every eligible female they know. Just because they, an Angel and a Daemon, have somehow found love despite the odds, now they think they’re experts in the matter.
It has been a very long and painful process. Mainly for the females. I got set up with two Were Women, one human, and an Autumn Fae with orange hair and green eyes. Each is funny and generally fantastic, but I am… not great. Within fifteen minutes of meeting each one, I know it won’t work. I am not in the headspace to be what they need.
They are lovely women. But they don't have dark skin, long black hair, and scrawling white tattoos on their faces. They aren'ther.
It’s adding to my seasonal depression, but I think the couple has finally given up. Now I am free to make my own terrible decisions.
Hence my choice to sit across from Marie. Completely sober. She has shown up for this date. She brought me to Vitta Bella in midtown. It is trendy, with floating candle votives lining the walls and sparkling under the glass ceiling. Foliage is everywhere, creating cozy spaces for each table to eat in privacy. It is the nicest place I have been to since moving here nearly two years ago.
Her sin-red lips curl up as she glances at me while reading the menu. She’s selected a dark-green velvet dress with pointed shoulders, a plunging neckline, and a train that trails several inches behind her. She looks like she belongs in the Vampire Realm, toying with thralls and playing with mortals.
It’s a spectacular dress; she has worn it to commemorate a significant change.
On the other hand, I am wearing a simple button-up with my gray suit-pants from work. We are seriously not on the same page, and I wonder if she even notices.
Her arms slide forward, and the smell of roses and amber assaults my olfactory senses. The gold edges of the menu glint in the candlelight.
One of Marie's elongated canines slips out from her bottom lip. “I still can’t believe you are here. My friends were sure you would never say yes.” She bites her lip, and I swallow hard. This feels wrong. Desire swims in her eyes. I feel nothing for her. “It seems you are ready to play with fire.”
I’d much rather play in the snow,I think, and huff out a single laugh.
“What is so funny?” she quirks a red brow.
I shake my head. “Nothing, sorry. Just a stray thought,” I say quickly as I hold out a hand apologetically.
She purses her lips in a way that is probably supposed to be sexual. “Am I amusing to you?” Sensuality drips off of every syllable.
“No, I was just thinking of some… thing.” I almost saysomeone, but Marie is the jealous type. I don't want to cause a scene in the middle of this full restaurant.
But it might be too late for that.
Marie's eyes narrow. “Why are you here, Nate? After all this time, why did you finally say yes?”
I inhale sharply. I didn’t like being called Nate. Acid pools in my lower stomach as I try to craft a response. “Because I thought it was time to give it a proper shot.”
“Give a proper shot to what, exactly?” She swirls a long black fingernail around the crystal wine glass in front of her as the waiter set down the stuffed-lobster appetizers we’d ordered.
