I snorted as we wound through the gambling tables back toward the stairs. We were only halfway there when the crowd surged. I didn’t get a chance to see what was happening before a big Fae with tusks protruding from his upper lip blundered into the two of us.
In a blink, Nathan’s hand was ripped from my arm. The crowd carrying me away.
Nathan shoved the Fae away, lurching toward me. “Aileen!”
Dozens of Fae cut off my view of the enforcer. The faint notes of a harmony swelling. Warmth kissed my body.
I blinked at the sudden difference in my surroundings.
“Nathan?” I asked, turning in a circle as a sinking sense of dread invaded.
There were no gambling tables. The crowd was also missing. In their place, Fae lounged on the settees and couches around me. They sipped from fancy cocktail glasses. A few held long, thin pipes, like those you might see in a hookah bar, that they inhaled from every once in a while.
The sweet, sickly smell that floated on the air made me light-headed.
“Someone is trying to fuck with me,” I realized.
Nathan was right. We’d sprung their trap.
sixteen
The Fae on thecouches peered at me with apathy. A woman with long blond hair that spilled all the way to the ground puffed on her pipe as she considered my presence.
Thankfully, no one got up to approach. The group seeming content to remain on their couches.
Who knew if that would last. Fae were mercurial creatures that were well known for their sadistic tendencies.
And here I was, a lamb in their midst.
Lovely.
Looking around, I took stock of my situation. I was alone and isolated. In hostile territory with no idea how to find my way back.
By now, Nathan would have notified Liam. They’d start a search, but their efforts would be hampered by the need to conceal the fact that I’d gone missing.
At least I was still in the barrow and hadn’t crossed over into somewhere more dangerous. Like the Summer Lands.
Keeping an eye on the Fae around me, I moved toward the edge of the room. Except for their brief perusal when I’d first arrived, they seemed content to leave me alone, returning to their leisure and forgetting about me.
Gasps and moans of pleasure soon followed. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of writhing bodies and naked limbs.
What was it about the Fae and exhibitionism?
A door to my far left beckoned, offering an escape from the increasingly uncomfortable situation.
Before I could make a beeline toward it, the occupants of a couch on the opposite side of the room caught my attention.
Connor sat in repose, his face cold and haughty. A sullen king stretched out along the couch, one leg bent and resting along the back cushions, his other foot on the ground. Drake rested between his legs, his head on Connor’s stomach as my brother idly played with his hair.
Just two dangerous men enjoying a nice break.
I saw the instant Drake spotted me. The way he half lifted from reclining, every muscle in his body tensing to alert Connor.
It was almost gratifying seeing the flabbergasted look on my brother’s face when his gaze landed on me. Shock and confusion followed quickly by concern.
I could empathize. I hadn’t expected to see him here either.
Last time I’d checked, his phone’s location hadn’t placed him anywhere near Freemont Street.
