“Yeah, but the fruit is good.”
“Lady Caith will see you,” Tadgh said stiffly.
“Lead on,” Wade said, snagging another piece of fruit from the bowl before following Tadgh down the hall.
The interior of the house was decorated in a monotonous beige color scheme that seemed out of place for fae. Cold, immaculate—kind of like the Unseelie Court and their fae or an Upper East Side housewife following the latest home décor trend, where nothing was personable. It made him want to let Lillian draw on the walls.
As depressing as the inside was, the back garden was incredible.
Tadgh led them out into a swathe of green and vibrantly colored foliage that looked as if it had been transplanted wholesale from Underhill. The trees lining the back fence were tall, their branches spread wide to block the view of the houses behind them. Flowers and bushes covered the earth on either side of the flagstone path that wound its way through all the greenery in a circular way to the small center grove.
Seated at an ornately carved wooden table beneath a pergola draped in flowering vines with butterflies fluttering about the blossoms was a fae who smelled strongly of magic and just the faintest touch of ozone. Wade would have cut through the grass and the plants, but Tadgh led them properly down the entire circular path. Since Riordan wasn’t in any hurry, Wade figured he didn’t have to be either. Once they reached the small grove, Wade realized the butterflies were actually pixies.
He scowled at the bitey little fae, snapping his teeth at one that got too close. “Don’t even think about it. Go annoy your friends with the swords.”
Riordan coughed and discreetly elbowed him in the side. Wade went where prodded, right up to that wooden table where Lady Caith sat, watching them with fathomless indigo eyes. Her hair was a deep magenta, twisted up in a braided crown atop her head and held in place by silver thread. Jeweled cuffs hid the pointed tips of her ears, and the fire opals that dangled from them made Wade’s fingers twitch with the urge to slip them into his pockets. They’d match his new ring nicely.
“Lady Caith,” Riordan said, inclining his head in a respectful manner.
Wade just waved at her. “Hey.”
Lady Caith set aside the book she was reading, flattening her hand over the leatherbound cover. She wore jeweled ringson every finger, and Wade’s attention lingered on the largest, shiniest diamond. Tadgh moved to stand at her back, attentive like a butler.
“You are a long way from New York City,” Lady Caith finally said.
“It’s not like you’re in Los Angeles.”
“This isn’t your pack’s territory.”
“Nope,” Wade said cheerfully before pulling out one of the wooden chairs to sit, ignoring the soft, slightly strangled sound Riordan let out. “We don’t want Boston. Never have, never will. New York City is enough.”
“We?” Lady Caith tilted her head, the dappled sunlight making all her jewels shimmer. “You speak for your pack that easily?”
Wade reached for Riordan and tugged on the other man’s arm, urging him to sit down. Riordan reluctantly did so, but only after a faint nod from Lady Caith. “I lost the draw this time around, so I was sent out.”
Despite the serene gaze she focused on him with, Wade knew fae were rather conniving. “And who are you in your pack?”
“I’m Wade.”
Lady Caith raised one finger and then dropped it in a gentle tap that was probably a louder reaction for her than if she’d done a full-body twitch. “I see.”
“Do you?” Wade leaned forward. “The Boston god pack reached out to my pack for help because they’re magically restricted from getting any within Boston. Riordan here is in sort of the same predicament. One of your people is taking hostages, which isn’t nice.”
“Niall is not one of my people.”
“Oh, good. You know who I’m talking about.”
“Niall is not welcome in my territory and holds no claim over mine.”
“I heard he stole a corner of it from you.”
Lady Caith’s dark gaze flicked to Riordan for a split second. “Fae politics are not meant to be shared.”
“Niall is indiscriminately targeting the leaders of the preternatural and supernatural communities. Wade offered a point of particular note,” Riordan said.
“And what would that be?”
“That you hold dominion over the fae on land in Boston, which makes you a target as well.”
