I let the first one to reach me buy my first drink—a shot of the strongest liquor on the shelf.
I’ve seen him here before, and he’s handsome enough, with dirty-blond hair and a vine-like tattoo creeping up the side of his neck. He’s a little short for my liking, but today isn’t about finding a mate. It’s about losing myself in someone else for a few hours.
This fae seems as good as any.
I toss back the shot, the liquid fire burning a path down my throat to my stomach.
“You look like you’re on a mission to forget,” he muses with a smirk.
“I am.” I order another shot, and his coins slam against the bar top at the same time as the glass. “I don’t suppose you know anyone who’d be willing to help me?”
“I’ll help you.” He shifts closer to whisper in my ear. “Help you right out of that dress. As good as that silk looks on you, it’ll look even better on my cottage floor.”
Sounds like we’re skipping the preamble. Good. I don’t care to hear about his occupation or his plans for the future. Hell, I don’t even care to know his name.
I smile back, a thrill singing down my spine as I down another drink. “Is your cottage nearby?”
His smirk grows. “Just down the lane.”
I’m about to request a third and final shot when a butterfly flits between us, making me think of green skin, careful, calloused hands, and dark eyes that sparkle like onyx jewels.
My new companion’s smirk falters, and he swats at the butterfly, knocking the poor creature to the ground.
My smile vanishes.
He lifts up his boot and?—
I shove him back, straight into one of the high tables. “Don’t you dare! Let it be.”
When he rights himself, he’s not smirking anymore. He scrubs his hand down his waistcoat, his nose wrinkling as he watches the poor butterfly struggle to crawl away. “Calm down. It’s just a fucking bug.”
A bug that wasn’t hurting anyone.
Looks like it isn’t going to work out between us. I scoop up the butterfly and set it on one of the window boxes outside the pub.
When I return, I meet the gaze of a different fae, one with blue eyes and a slightly crooked nose. Not as handsome, but at least he’s taller than the last fool.
When he smiles, there’s something about his teeth that bother me, but I can’t put my finger on it. They’re straight and white, so it’s not either of those things. They’re just...they’re too flat.
It’s a ridiculous reason to discount someone. Still, I cannot help but turn away.
It’s all shallow, isn’t it? The smiles, the laughter. None of it feels any deeper.
This is what I thought I wanted, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Instead of ordering another drink, I turn and head for the door.
No one tries to talk me out of it because deep down, no one cares to know me either.
20
“Be careful where you set your foot. Even sturdy ground can fail you.”
— Surviving the Unseelie Lands, Author Unknown
Iconsidered going home after the pub, but there was someplace else that I wanted to go more. By the time I reach the top of castle hill, I’ve completely burned through my buzz from the shots I inhaled.
Avoiding the wide main doors, I head instead for the gardens, strolling straight up to Maddox’s wagon and knocking on the door before I can talk myself out of it.
