His answering frown was long-suffering as he followed Thomas. I lingered behind, checking my phone messages.
A text from Caroline in answer to the oneI’d sent earlier that night asking if she’d found anything.
Nothing useful.
I could almost sense her frustration over the phone.
Keep checking, I typed back.
Will do. Let me know if you need me. My car can be used as a getaway vehicle and to run any would-be hunters down. It’s a twofer special,she typed back.
I huffed out a laugh before sliding my phone back into my pocket. I looked over the crowd, surprised to see most of them had thrown off their glamour.
I’d never seen so many Fae in one place. All types, some I recognized, many I did not.
The definition of what was Fae fascinated me. It didn’t seem to matter what species or type of Fae they were as long as a spook fit into their pantheon somewhere. The characteristics of what made someone Fae seemed to be loosely defined.
I spotted harpies in the trees, not a creatureI’d ever associated with the Fae, but who knows, maybe they were just here to play. It was the sort of out of control party that seemed to attract them.
Dryads frolicked through the clearing, their leafy hair and bark-like skin distinctive.
“Someone should have told me Wild Hunt was code for a rager,” I muttered, following slowly after Liam.
I’d dropped back a few paces which was why I was in a better position to notice the gnome, Tom, a man who had proven himself an enemy, as he ran through the crowd, deftly avoiding the High Fae present.
I don’t know what made me follow, but I turned on my heel and chased after him. I waited until we’d neared the edge of the crowd, grabbing the back of his jacket and using it to propel him into the trees.
“Hey Tom, fancy meeting you here,” I said.
He tried to jerk out of my hold. He almost succeeded, too. Gnomes were known for their strength, and Tom had the additional benefit of being wily as hell.
I managed to retain my grip, my newfound strength making it possible, where the old me would have failed.
“Let me go, you worthless fanger,” he snapped.
I did just that by shoving him forward. He crashed into a tree and bounced off it before aiming a baleful glare my way.
“Now is that any way to treat the woman who holds your fate in her hands?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.“The vampires are still pretty pissed about your interference in their selection. Just imagine what they’d do if I called one of them over here.”
Tom jerked his shirt into place, straightening it before aiming a fierce frown my way.
“Go on, do it. I know you’re just dying to see me torn apart,” he snarled.
“Don’t tempt me.”
The little bastard would deserve it if I did. He’d nearly gotten me killed the last time I saw him, not to mention his actions had resulted in Caroline being turned into a wolf.
It would be so satisfying to turn him over to Thomas. Unfortunately, there were several things preventing me from doing just that.
The first, was that I knew Tom wouldn’t be here unless he had a very good reason. He had several things in common with a cockroach. He liked to scurry around the edges and he had the enviable ability to survive pretty much anything.
The second was that despite what he thought of me, I was not a stone-cold killer. I had no wish to see the vampires exact their revenge on him for something that had turned out in their favor.
Tom’s grumpy face got even grumpier as I made a gesture for him to hurry it up.
A thought occurred to me and I cocked my head.“Is this about Jerry?”
His expression turned defensive.“What if it is?”
