“Well…not if it had presented itself…”
His chest shook as he laughed silently.
“Who are the people—or fae—tracking down and killing the creatures that get through?” she asked. “We couldn’t find any information about them, or any evidence that creatures had crossed at all.”
“Ah. That.” He let out a slow breath as though relaxing and looked out to the side. “The Celestials almost always handle the creatures that get through. Creatures aren’t cunning like fae or crafty like humans. They are simple and unable to trick the Celestials, who have a magical means of tracking them. They are found very quickly, in most cases, and destroyed. The people in the hotel that night, chasing you around—they were employed by me. Humans will do a great deal for a little gold. They would not have hurt you, and if they had, I would’ve killed them gruesomely in front of all their peers, a fate they were well aware of when they took the job. I wanted to see how resourceful you could be. It turns out, very fucking resourceful. I was impressed, both by your escape and by your fighting the shadow wraiths on the ground level. I was not as impressed by the chances you took on that balcony.”
She shook her head. She should’ve known.Fucking fae.
“I didn’t realize I had a choice,” she grumbled.
“Even those without a choice often succumb when they meet insurmountable odds.”
“Yes, they do. Which is why I am sitting in front of you on a horse walking me to my doom.”
He huffed out a laugh. “Yes, good point.”
She watched the trees pass as they plodded along, nothing much changing in the landscape.
“I don’t understand the logistics of this place,” she said after a bit of silence. “You have to take a portal marker to get here, I know.”
“Yes. The markers are spread out over the human world and, once activated, transport anything within their sphere to this place or one like it.”
“So how is this still considered human lands?”
His puff of breath flowed over her shoulder as he took a moment to collect his thoughts on that. “It’s a way station of sorts. It’s like walking on a beach before one goes into the ocean. It is still technically human lands because it operates like they do. Mostly. It has similar trees and animals. It lacks its own magic.”
“But motorized vehicles don’t work here.”
“No. Nor do technology and electricity. I can only imagine that is because the gods created this place, and while it doesn’t have its own magic, it is created by magic. It remains as it does because of magic. But I’m not certain. I doubt anyone is. If someone is lucky enough to be granted an audience with a god, the last thing on their mind is how the human side of the barrier works.”
She supposed that was true. “And on the other side of the Faegate? Is there no portal taking you to your lands?”
“No portal, no. The fringe leads directly into the wylds. If you can make it through those, the beauty of Faerie will open up to you. It is unlike anything you’ve experienced before, Daisy. You’ll hate yourself for how much you’ll love it.”
“If you can make it through the wylds, you said. I’ve read that it is dangerous for humans, but I didn’t realize it was for fae as well.”
“It is usually death to humans unless a Celestial grants them passage. Before you ask, that only happens if a court permits a visit. You are being abducted from the human lands and smuggled through, and I got through unlawfully. If the Celestials capture us, we’ll both be killed.”
“They let me go after I met you outside of that apartment.”
“You were an innocent bystander then. Now you’ve helped me acquire chalices and let me claim you. It’s different.”
She twisted to look at him and narrowed her eyes at the smug twist of his lips. His gaze dropped to her mouth, and hunger flared. The answering growl arose in her body, and she quickly faced forward again, flushing.
“I don’t believe you,” she said, wrestling with her composure. “I may have kissed you, fine, but I didn’t know what I was doing. Their killing you would absolve me of that burden. And helping you acquire the chalices? Please. They can read minds better than you can. They’ll know my intentions. They’ll also know I do not desire passage through the wylds but want to go home and forget I ever met you.”
“Oh you’ll never forget you met me.” His hand slid forward, running over her thigh.
Desire burned within her. His body pressing against hers was a delicious heat. His groin pushed against her butt, hard and hot and ready.
She once again picked up his hand by the wrist, but this time, she flung it away. “Maybe not, but I’ll be glad once my dealings with you are over. A human—a Chester, no less—has no business messing with a fae.”
He leaned his head closer, his mouth grazing her ear. She closed her eyes as an explosion of butterflies filled her stomach.
“You are so much more than a mere Chester,” he murmured. His breath washed goosebumps across her skin. “So much more than a human. You have the radiance of a god.”
Fuck, he was charming. It was unsettling.
