“I’m fine,” I said in as peppy of a voice as I could manage. Truth was, I was blown away. The Academy was one thing, but this...this was something entirely different. The city was huge, and there were so many fae. And this, I realized, was only a small part of them. There were dozens of other smaller villages within the Autumn Court alone, plus all the fae who lived in the otherseasons.
How had humanity gone so long without knowing all this washere?
Liam pulled a golden cloth from the satchel he’d strapped onto the horse. “Here. Wear this. It’ll keep you from standing out toomuch.”
It was a golden cloak, much like the one that Rourke alwayswore.
“What about you?” I asked as I slid the cloak over my shoulders. “Your hair kind of gives you away, youknow.”
He flashed me a grin. “I’m not trying to fit in. The easiest way to get information out of someone? Provoke them. Piss themoff.”
My mouth went dry. “I feel like there should be a better option thanthat.”
“Trust me, Norah. I’ve done thisbefore.”
And I didn’t doubtit.
Overhead, the sky was beginning to darken. As Liam led me through the bustling streets, he explained the different seasons of the fae. They were much like those in the human realm. Autumn was colder with crisp air and rattling leaves, the days short and the nights long. Winter, he said, was even worse, but I expected him to feel that way. He was Summer, after all. Anything but warm hazy days and short nights would seem torturous tohim.
We came to a pub called the Rotting Horse, a name that did little to instil a sense of ease in me. Inside, dozens of fae were sitting at long, oak tables, but it wasn’t the kind of raucous merriment that I expected from an establishment like this. They were calmly and quietly sipping their pints, exchanging murmuredconversations.
“Members of Viola’s Court often come here.” Liam leaned forward and whispered the words into my ear, and shivers coursed along my skin. He noticed my trembling, and he must have taken it to mean that I was cold. Because somehow, his arms were suddenly around me. He pulled me close to his chest. His body was so warm, like a radiator that had been left on for hours. Trembling, I had the strange urge to curl up against him and breathe in the scent of fire and rain. Here we were, in strange and potentially dangerous territory, and yet I’d never felt safer than I had in this moment. As if nothing in the world could go wrong, not when Liam’s arms were wrapped aroundme.
“All better now, darling?” There was an undercurrent of amusement in his voice, and it snapped me out of my strangereverie.
I pulled myself out of his arms, stumbled back, and hurriedly began to straighten my cloak. There was nothing wrong with it, of course, but I was suddenly in desperate need of something to do with my hands. Anything to distract me from Liam’ssmirk.
“The cloak will do, thanks. You don’t need to paw at me to keep mewarm.”
His lips quirked. “I wasn’tpawingat you. Don’t believe me? I’m happy to give you a true demonstration of what pawingmeans.”
My entire face flamed, which succeeded in doing two things. First, I wasn’t cold anymore. Second, Liam could see just how much his words had gotten tome.
“Like I said.” Liam winked. “Keep on blushing, my beautifulbride.”
“I’m not blushing,” I said through grittedteeth.
Liam ignored me. Instead of responding, he opened the door and ushered me inside the bar. Dim lights were strung up across the ceiling, and candlelight flickered on every table. A soft music whispered out from invisible speakers. It was an eerie type of folk music mixed in with a clanging piano that sounded out of tune. I tried my best not to wrinkle my nose. I definitely wasn’t afan.
“Care to sit?” Liam pulled out a chair for me at the nearest table, pretending as if he were some sort of gentleman, but I knew the truth. He was anythingbut.
Still, I followed his lead and settled onto the chair. It was hard and somewhatspiky.
“Now, what would you like to drink, darling?” he asked with a wink, speaking loud enough for his words to drift toward the tables aroundus.
I leaned forward and dropped my voice to a whisper. “Vodkatonic?”
I mean, it was the only drink name Iknew.
He let out a low chuckle. “I’m afraid that’s not an option. Don’t worry. I’ll find you something you like. Now, why don’t you drop back your hood and make yourself comfortable while I grab us a couple ofdrinks?”
I frowned, but I kept up my end of the bargain and obeyed, pushing the hood back from myface.
“Good girl,” he murmured. “Don’t want to hide that pretty face of yours, now dowe?”
In spite of every desire otherwise, my stupid face blushedagain.
As soon as he was gone, I began to look around the room. I didn’t get very far though because another fae male took Liam’s seat within seconds. With a sharp gasp, I scooted back in my chair. This fae was...well, he reminded me a lot of Rourke, only...somehow, this one was even moreunsettling.
