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“Bloom, that’s enough.”
She met him with a sidelong glance, but did not respond.
Dax took a moment to compose himself.
“I am here on fae-related matters. To deal with this Marius business. I had hoped we could at least clear the air a bit.”
“There is nothing to clear. I am sorry about your friends, or packmates or whatever. But I can’t just forget about my father. I never will. And I’m just sorry that you feel that your friends are more important than my dad.” Ouch. If only he could tell her the truth. But she wasn’t done yet. “You and I, it was just never a good match. Let’s leave it at that.”
“So, what do you want to know about Marius?” Mack said as he interrupted, looking between the two of them sternly. Focusing on Dax, he added, “I’m sure Dax is doing all he can to advance the investigation into your father’s… um,highly suspiciousdeath.”
Dax commanded his dragon to settle down. Shit, he commanded himself. He had always respected Mack. Back in the day, he knew him and his father respected one another. Same could be said for his father and Bloom’s. Beyond that he had no idea. He took Mack’s cue to get back on the topic he had come for.
“Can you tell me about what happened last night?”
Bloom opened her mouth for an instant, as if about to speak, but then closed it. Instead she shifted her feet and brushed her hair back, as she also seemed to be consciously refocusing on something other than their feud before finally speaking. “First, please realize that fae and shifters handle things differently, okay? Marius was acting really, well, crazy. And I trust the bar implicitly. If it felt the need to ‘port him out of here, I assume it had good reason.” She paused for a minute. “By the way it is also my faith in Ash, the tree spirit, that is making me give you the benefit of the doubt at the moment. If The Tree felt you were not sincere, it would have never let you in in the first place.” She paused for a moment, locking eyes with him, “So, now that I answered your question, could you please tell me where you found Marius?”
Another shock of electricity shot through him as they gazed at each other. But almost as soon as he thought he detected something pass between them, he felt her shut it down.
He sighed inwardly. “By the quarry, that’s where I found him. With no pants, by the way. Nice touch.” That last part he addressed to the room in general. “He may be lodging a formal complaint with the Fae Council, but that’s not really why I am here. I doubt that would come to much anyhow. He was definitely drunk, I can attest to that.”
“Well, that’s pretty funny, cause Finch and Nilsa were actually in the lounge right over there the whole time,” she said, pointing at the entrance to the other room. “It’s too bad they didn’t witness it, cause then he really wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.”
“So, they didn’t see any of this?”
“Nope, not as far as I know,” Bloom answered.
“Probably a blessing in disguise. They can be… challenging, to work with,” he said.“No offense.”
“Offense?” she echoed.
“Them being fae and on the council.”
“Oh, no, that doesn’t bother me. I get it. That’s not a fae-hater thing… They’re politicians,” she said, brushing aside his apology as unnecessary, while she picked up her long, dark hair and fanned her neck a bit, before letting the waves fall back down.
God, she’s so sexy.
“But back to Marius, there was something just…offabout how he was acting,” she continued.
“How so?” Dax asked, focusing again on what had brought him here, his interest piqued.
“Well…” She seemed to pause for a minute, remembering. “For one thing, Marius is hardly in shape, but he moved almost like a cat for short bursts.”
“Yes! That’s a good way to put it,” Dax agreed, comparing notes mentally. “He moved very quickly at one point, and at another seemed to create a little eddy of wind. I know fae have a magic very different to shifters, but I have never seen one display it openly like that. And never in conjunction with being so, um…drunk.”
“Yeah,” she was thoughtful again. “Yes, he sprang up on the bar, and when he jumped down it felt like he was floating or something.” She paused again, bringing her hand to her chin in consideration. “Mostly, he was just being a total ass. And when he tried to reach behind the bar to grab a bottle, that’s when the bar had had enough.”
“I can see how that ‘porting trick must come in handy alright,” Dax offered.
“It does, for sure,” she said, leveling him with her green eyes. “But you know, to me the biggest thing was that he was just not himself. It didn’t really become obvious until last night, but thinking about it now, he hasn’t been himself really since he got back from the west coast.”
“West coast?”
“Yeah, he was out there on business a few weeks ago.”
“Hmm,” Dax mused. “What do you mean exactly, ‘not himself’?
“I don’t know. You know Marius a little. Seen him around maybe? He’s a nice guy, but… uh, kind of boring. Ever since he returned from his trip, he has been more animated. Almost confident maybe? And since when have you seen a fae being so, like, um, extroverted? That’s not the right word either, but you said you felt he was off too, right?”
