I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was that set my instincts to tingling, telling me these women were more than they seemed. They looked normal enough, dressed for a night out with their friends, dressy-casual but not plain. Their hair and makeup perfectly done. The overall effect said they cared about their appearance but weren’t really looking to attract a guy.
They were all older, late thirties to mid-forties. They looked like moms or work friends who’d decided to meet up and leave their husbands and kids behind.
The one nearest me looked uncomfortable, continually fiddling with her drink as the other two watched the room with cool gazes.
That was it. That was what was bothering me. They might look like middle-aged women out for a night on the town, but studied the room with a soldier’s focus, noting the exits, the possible threats in the room. Civilians just didn’t do that.
The blond looked up just then, catching my gaze in the mirror. I didn’t jerk or look away as I sipped on my martini before allowing my attention to wander away.
I ignored the desire to look back, knowing her focus was still on me.
Caroline helped with my deception, leaning over and saying,“Ha, I knew it.”
I smiled at her and nodded.“Is she still looking at us?”
Caroline flicked her hair over her shoulder, glancing in the mirror casually and then around the bar.“Yup.”
“You’ve gotten good at that move,” I said in approval.“Time was you would have given up the game by staring straight at her.”
She gave me a crooked smile.“I’ve been practicing.”
I looked at her and arched my eyebrows. On the tip of my tongue was the question of why that was. I didn’t ask it.
Dahlia placed another lemon drop in front of both of us. I blinked at it, surprisedI’d already finished the first one.
“What do you think?” Dahlia asked, the barest flick of her eyes toward the women telling me what she was really asking.
“Interesting clientele you have today,” I said.
Dahlia leaned on the counter and gave me a small smirk.“Rumor has it that the High Fae are looking to make alliances. They’ve made known their intention of establishing a presence in the city.”
“And the witches can help with that?” I asked.
They weren’t Fae. They were too good at pretending to be human for that, and they lacked that extra something that most of the humanoid Fae had— something that compelled you to get closer to them and worship at their feet.
Dahlia lowered her chin in a small nod.“The witches don’t have as much raw power as the Fae, but because of their affinity for nature magic their powers are compatible. Together, they might be enough to establish a barrow here. It would be the first one of this modern age.”
“And that would be bad?” I made the sentence a question.
The corners of her eyes wrinkled.“The master of the city certainly seems to thinks so.”
So that answered why the Fae would want the witches as allies, but what did the witches get out of it besides a chance to stick it to the vampires?
Caroline’s eyes moved between the two of us. She leaned forward and stage whispered,“What’s a barrow?”
I paused. That was a good question.
We both looked expectantly at Dahlia who rolled her eyes.“The pocket realms the Fae establish are usually called barrows. If they were looking to settle a contingent here, they’d wish to create a place of magic that conformed to their whims. A barrow would give them that ability.”
I glanced in the mirror again, making sure my gaze didn’t linger on any of them too long. They were huddled together in what looked to be an intense conversation.
The one who’d seemed uncomfortable before, looked up and at me before ducking her head back down.
So, they suspected my interest on some level. They definitely weren’t stupid.
“I imagine they’d like to use the Fae for their own purposes.” She gave me a darkly significant look before moving down the bar.
I discarded the notion that they could be after me, particularly. I didn’t recognize any of the women. That meant it probably had something to do with vampires as a whole.
