“Yeah.That goes on the list of precious things I’ve carelessly lost, along with my virginity, youthful optimism, and moral compass.”
He made a snorting sound and she grinned over at him.It wasn’t an actual laugh, but close.“You don’t strike me as the sort to mourn her virginity.”
“Not in and of itself—and certainly not the ensuing hijinks—but I didn’t care for the manner of losing, thus the ‘careless’ qualification.But enough about me.We really need to discuss the fact that you’re a sorcerer and probably a rogue fae.”
~19~
A Spot of Sparkle
That shut himup for a full minute.And yeah, that had been a little over-the-top dramatic, calling him a rogue fae, especially since that was only a thing in stories.At least, Cha was pretty sure of that.She’d never heard of anyone meeting a real rogue fae, nor did she have any idea why they’d go rogue in the first place, since being full fae put you at the top of any heap anyone could pile up.Still, she’d gone with that instead of saying “you probably have enough fae blood to qualify for citizenship in one of the realms,” as that didn’t sound nearly so good.
“Rogue fae, seriously?”he demanded, looking down his long nose, currently wrinkled in regal disgust.“Have I tripped and fallen into some sort of serial melodrama?”
Yeah, okay, she deserved that one.“Aren’t you just a little ray of pitch black,” she grumbled anyway.“You know what I mean, what with the sparkly blue magicking.”
“Should you be saying those things aloud?”he shot back, pointing a long finger at the path-box.He had a point.Discretion had never been her strong suit.
Rather than admit her error, she went on the offense.“You’re ducking the question.And withholding pertinent information.”
Another long silence ensued that would’ve been fraught, if Cha had the personal depth to experience fraught-ness.As it was, she hummed one of the tunes that had been playing back at Giant Jo’s, once again considering that she should buy one of those magic music boxes to listen to on road trips like this.Maybe with her earnings from this job.Of course, with the earnings from this job, she and Katu wouldn’t need to go on long ventures anymore.
“Is that why you came back for me?”the prince finally asked.“Because you figured I had something to contribute?”He waved a hand suggestively in the air, blue sparking from his fingertips in the vague shape of a fireball.
“That and your pretty face.”
“If you want information, you have to give information,” he chided.“Only true answers.”
That was his problem if he thought that wasn’t the truth.She shrugged.“I had a feeling.”
“Clairvoyance?”
“Nah.Just human intuition.A hunch, nothing magical about it.”
“You have fae blood if you’re a ley rider.”
She slid him a look.“I see what you’re doing here, back to discussing me.Of course I have to have fae blood to be a ley rider, though I’m a bit surprised you know that.”
“I’m not an idiot.”
“No, but you are oddly ignorant of certain realities of peasant life.”
“Can you be out of contact with your partner for a short time?”
Taken aback by the sudden change of topic, she raised her brows at him.“I assume you could reverse whatever you’re planning to do at a moment’s notice?”
“Yes.”
“More precisely, the moment I give you notice?”
“Yes.”He sounded impatient to have to repeat himself.
“I don’t know…” It sounded like a bad idea.
“You can trust me.”
Cha barked out a laugh.“Oh, no, my princely purple hitchhiker.I can see myself doing all kinds of questionable and filthy things with you, but trust is whole ’nother kettle of blueberries.”
“You would bed someone you don’t trust?”
