The next time the same opportunity arose, I’d be ready to capitalize on it.
“Not if you come willingly.” The fae behind the leader patted the circles of rope that hung off their hips.
The leader grinned. “You have two options. Agree to use the rope, or I can bind you with magic. Can’t promise I won’t slip up on the magic from time to time, though.” His voice dipped suggestively, and I readied myself.
When his gaze predictably traveled to my cleavage again, I sprang into action.
I flipped the table in the leader’s face and leapt high into the air. Two powerful roundhouse kicks took out the spriggans behind him.
The moment I landed, the leader had recovered, tossing the table to the side, and was preparing to attack. But he hadn’t been counting on my pixie friends.
Dee and Dum were already on him, attacking his baby-smooth face with their tiny fangs.
The spriggan screamed bloody murder, and all around us, the tavern erupted into chaos. Fae, all of them male, ran at us. Punches were thrown, magic released, and curses spat, but my girls and I showed them what was up. In just over a minute, every single patron in the bar was lying on the ground, either passed out or moaning.
“That didn’t go as we’d hoped,” Dum said, biting her bottom lip as she cast a glance around the room.
“Not at all,” Dee remarked as she kicked a man in the eyeball when he tried to rise. “We should get out of here. I doubt anyone will be eager to take us on again, but it’s still best if we put some distance between us.”
I agreed, but I also refused to leave without sustenance.
Taking charge, I marched down a long hallway into the kitchen.
There was only one guy there, singing to a tune coming from a strange bird who seemed to be able to play songs. He was a massive man, his back turned to me as he stirred a pot of mussels. A platter of sliced bread and at least three dozen shucked oysters sat next to the stove, ready to be taken out to customers.
“Hey!” I shouted over the bird. “We need some food to go.”
The man turned.
He looked nothing at all like I expected. Then again, who would expectanyoneto have a tattoo of a hammer on their cheek?
“You’ll get served when I’m ready,” the cook said.
My arms crossed over my chest, and I leveled him with my gaze. “Go take a peek at your dining room—my handiwork. Then you can reassess what you just said to me.”
The cook arched a brow, but I didn’t budge. I was young, but I’d learned from the best, and knew exactly how intimidating I could look. Few people took me on, and the ones who did were idiots like the spriggan.
As expected, after only a few seconds of standing my ground, he dropped his spoon into the pot and lumbered over to the door. One peek later, and the cook, who belatedly introduced himself—‘Eddie Carpenter at your service’—provided us with a sack of sandwiches and, at my request, a few golden fae apples to go.
“Thanks, Eddie,” I said, leaving the kitchen. “See you around.”
“Hopefully not,” he remarked.
“You have good instincts, my friend.” I toasted him with the to go bag, and left the Oyster House.
Chapter 5
“You two didn’t mention that those teeth shred the heck out of food.” I watched, captivated, as Dum devoured her fourth hunk of meat with all the grace of a ravenous wolf. The girl might be tiny, but dang. I’d hit my limit a half hour ago. The pixies, on the other hand, were still going strong.
“We don’t like to advertise that our table manners could use work.” She flicked away a tiny shred of meat from where it had landed on her breast.
I laughed. I hadn’t wanted the two around at first, but I’d changed my mind—a little. If I had to have guides, at least they were badasses and provided good comedy.
We fell into silence as I huffed up a mile-long steep hill. Although I was fit, the hours of travel had definitely started to take their toll. By the time I got to the top, I had to stop and place my hands on my knees to catch my breath.
At least there’s a view.
A short distance away, the dense vegetation of the forest broke, and a city rose behind it.
