“Hi, Coconut.I don’t mind a good scratch.”
Mike lifted his head.“Coconut?”
Corvin’s face flushed red, and he shot Theo a wide-eyed, guilty look.Well, that was one way to give their secret lunch date away.
“Because…I have a Pineapple Mike.You, you know.When we combine into one, we make glorious piña colada, which sounds really off when I say it like that.”
Mike let his head drop onto Corvin’s shoulder.“I think I like it.”
Corvin petted Mike’s chest.“Good.Excellent.We can have them at the wedding.The drinks, that is.”
Laurette turned toward them with uncanny speed while Theo dug Carl’s clothes out of his bag.
“Did you say wedding?A wedding?Lovelies!”
“Umm,” Corvin said.
Laurette narrowed his eyes at Corvin.Carl caught the bundle of clothes Theo tossed him—not too easy since Peter wouldn’t move out of the way and kept maneuvering himself between them.
“A real, full-on wedding?”Laurette said.
“Uuuhmm.”Corvin blinked at him.
Laurette tilted his head.“Did I hear wedding?”
Corvin cleared his throat.“Did you… I mean, did you maybe want to come?”
Laurette clapped his hands and bounced on his toes.“Oh, if you’d want to have me, I’d be sodelighted!I love a wedding.Did you know I can officiate?I have all the human certifications too.And the wardrobe!I mean, I’m a bit out of practice, but just in case you need someone to help out.Just something to keep in mind.”
“My mom’s doing most of the planning,” Mike said.
“We’ll let her know.Also about this whole mess.”Corvin gestured around the kitchen.“I can’t believe we’re in Faerie.Can’t believe there is a Faerie.”
Peter had relaxed now that Carl had pants on.“We should get all of you back home.”
Theo was looking forward to being back home, but that wasn’t enough to dispel that nagging feeling, that sense of something wrong having happened here that shouldn’t have, which had stuck to him ever since Cloudtree had taken him upstairs.Or maybe even earlier than that.
Theo turned to Cloudtree.“Hey, if you’re coming, now’s probably the time to grab what you want to take with you.From upstairs, you know.”
Cloudtree froze before nodding in slow motion.“Yes, I… Yes.”
Peter was suddenly very close when he asked, “You went upstairs?”
“Yeah, for the pokers, and—” Which was when Theo took a real look at Peter.He seemed pale.Or paler than usual anyway, and he had dark rings under his eyes while his lips looked about ready to crack.He’d never seen anything like that in Peter.Theo put a hand on his shoulder.“Are you okay?”
Peter smiled at him.“Almost, dearest.I’ll be okay when you’re back home.”
“Yeah, but you look—”
Peter brushed a quick kiss across his lips.“Dearest.I’m well, you’re well.Corvin and Michael are well and have found a rather unusual couple’s name.There is nothing to worry about.”
“Exactly.”Laurette pulled on the silver chain he’d put around the older Fae’s neck, the one who was bleeding from his shoulder and arm.“We’re going to have to drop these off first.”
Cloudtree inhaled sharply.“You mean to drop them in the well?”
“Huh.”Laurette cocked his head.“There’s an idea.But no.I’m thinking of dropping them with one of the Elven lords whose property borders this one.We’re related, so I suppose they owe me.I’m having trouble keeping track of who owes who what, to be quite honest with you, it’s all rather tedious and boring.But I don’t see them minding taking in these three for trespassing.”
The older Fae, the stepfather, snorted.“The only trespassers are you!Elvish scoundrels and human pigs!You intrude—”
