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“Leila is quite amazing isn’t she?” Lord Linus pulled his cellphone out of a pocket in his trousers and swiped it open, proudly showing his display screen—a photograph of Leila eating a pretzel the size of her head. “I took this yesterday—she’s too cute. She has my boldness, you know, but that kindness in her is all her mother. And her step-father—he’s probably why she turned out not at all like a proper fae and more of a decent human being.”
I set my hands on the desk, unsure of how I was supposed to respond to that kind of judgment on his own people. “Okay?”
“At any rate.” Lord Linus put his phone away. “If you run into trouble while my darling daughter is away, I’m your contact for the Night Court. Naturally, we should exchange phone numbers.”
My shadow instincts prickled in my gut, so I was already suspiciously eyeing Lord Linus when Ms. Booker politely interjected.
“Excuse me but, Chloe, you should be aware that in exchanging contact methods with Lord Linus, that will be considered an open invitation for him to contact you wheneverhewishes. A dangerous thing considering this.” Ms. Booker gracefully gestured to the packed foyer.
“Ah,” I said, thankful again for my innate suspicion. “And who, might I ask, are they?” I blinked when one of the fae nobles used their flash, blasting me in the face with light.
Lord Linus turned around. “Ahhh, yes. They are my unofficial reason for being here. In addition to aiding my daughter with the Night Court, I also run the Night Court Tour Bus. We mostly visit Timber Ridge in northern Wisconsin, but I’ve been attempting to expand our offerings. We’re experimenting with a tour that focuses on places of interest within Magiford.” Lord Linus flashed me a charming smile that was extra enticing given it had more warmth and laughter than any fae usually displayed in a lifetime. “You, I believe, will make that list.”
“Even though I’m a person, not a place?” I asked.
“Yes.” Lord Linus tapped his fingers on the desk. “The only known shadow is simply too good a marketing line to miss out on. Isn’t that so, Night Court?” he asked his Court.
They responded with murmurs and more pictures.
“—would be an excellent addition to the photobook I’m making. I can put her picture next to the one I took with the werewolf in Timber Ridge!”
“—must share this with my cousin in Europe. She will be positively green with envy.”
“So!” Lord Linus turned back to me, his cellphone in his hands once again. “Might you share your phone number?”
Not so easily swindled, I straightened my shoulders. “I’m afraid I must defer to my employer on whether your tour bus can stop here. The bus itself might be considered a nuisance on the street.” I glanced at Ms. Booker, but she merely raised a penciled in eyebrow at me.
I shifted my weight back and forth on my flats, surprised she hadn’t chimed in with me. “Wouldn’t this be disruptive to our regular customers?” I asked her in a lowered voice.
“It’s your shift,” Ms. Booker said. “And your reputation.”
Ah. She’s leaving this up to me since the Night Court is already friendly with me. I might be able to turn them into an outright ally. Lord Linus is the better target to focus on than Queen Leila since she’s busy as the fae empress.
My stomach churned. I didn’t think the Night Court was dangerous—tricky, yes, self-serving, yes, but they wouldn’t hurt me with Leila as their ruler. But these were issues I never thought I’d deal with—this was a league on par with Noctus’s.
But. At least that means I’ve seen this before.
I made my shoulders square. “How often do you hold these tours?” I asked.
Lord Linus’s eyes gleamed. “Oh, only occasionally.”
“Once per month?”
“Hmm,” Lord Linus shrugged.
“Once per week?” I guessed.
“Bravo,” Lord Linus said. “No wonder you were able to take down Darina and Harel—I hope you tore Harel’s ruddy cape. It was sogaudy. Yes, once per week.” He settled into place, apparently done testing me. “I’d want to know your schedule so we can drop by when you are here.”
“And?”
“And, pictures are required,” Lord Linus said. “Leila has gotten everyone into social media. They’ll want to take pictures of you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I need to be able to complete my work.”
Lord Linus glanced back at his fellow fae, who had progressed to taking pictures of Book Nookery’s decorations. “Surprisingly, theycanbe patient if it means getting what they want. But you’ll have to decide if you want to charge anything. The Northern Lakes Pack charge a mint for wolf photos.”
I pressed my lips together as I thought. “The Northern Lakes Pack is famous for owning multiple businesses and a Pack LLC. They have a way to collect the funds and report it for taxes. I don’t. However…” I glanced at Ms. Booker, who was the picture of elegance as she adjusted her coat. “I’ll only take pictures with paying customers,” I decided. “As long as they buy something—anything—from Book Nookery, they can get a free picture.”
