“Right. You’re inside now. Take your picture.”And get out, were the unspoken words thatfollowed.
Anderson waved his arms at the living area. The biggest T.V. I’d ever seen hung on the far wall between twin windows. Several leather sofas were clustered around it, along with a few armchairs and neon-coloured bean bags. An antique rug covered that corner of the floor. It was pretty cozy. But it wasn’t what I had come here tosee.
“Wicked.” I held up my phone and snapped a pic. “Mind if I use your toilet? I downed a pint before rowing out here. For moxie. I need a wee.Bad.”
Anderson let out a low growl, but gave a nod. He pointed at a hallway on the opposite end of the room. “Three doors down to your right. But make it quick. We have some Pack business to attend to, and we can’t have any cats lurkingaround.”
My ears pricked up. Pack business. That soundedpromising.
I shot Anderson a grateful smile—fake, of course—and scuttled out of the room. Another dimly-lit hallway stretched out before me. This one hadn’t been renovated like the rest. Rust clung to the sagging walls. Lightbulbs flickered like something out of a horror film. The stench of dirt and salt swirled through the cramped space. I wrinkled my nose and ducked into theloo.
I kept the door cracked but flicked on the lights. And almost gagged. Mildew spread across the cracked linoleum and a yellowish gunk filled the sink. The toilet lid was shut. I had no intention of opening it. No telling what I’d findinside.
Instead, I pressed a hand against the doorframe and turned my pointed ear toward the hallway. I slowed my breathing, focusing on the distant murmur of voices. My enhanced fae hearing sparked to life like a rush of adrenaline through my veins. Everything around me dimmed. The feel of the rough wood beneath my hands faded until it was a dull shape against myfingers.
“We don’t welcome fae here.” The voice was rough and familiar. Anderson. A chill went through me. I thought I’d convinced the alpha of my story. The last thing I wanted to do was vault out of the window and plummet into the churning water below the fort. I’d done it once before, and it hurt likehell.
Another voice spoke up in response. Smooth and melodic with a heavy Scottish accent. “I was told you’re willing to sell to any bidder, regardless of their supernatural origin. If not, I’m happy to take my moneyelsewhere.”
I let out a tiny exhale. So,thatwas the fae. Not me. I could tell by the strange otherworldly tremor of his voice. Shifters don’t sound like that. Neither do vampires. Humans especiallydon’t.
Which begged the question…why was another faehere?
I turned my attention back onto theconversation.
“No, no.” Anderson cleared his throat. “Just tell me what you’re after, and I’ll see what I cando.”
“A cauldron,” the faeanswered.
I wrinkled my nose. Like, a sorcerer’s cauldron? What would a fae want with one ofthose?
Anderson let out a low whistle, and I winced. High-pitched noises never felt great when I had my enhanced hearing turned up to maximum. Like nails against chalkboard, only ten timesworse.
“The name of this cauldron happen to be what I think itis?”
“Mostlikely.”
“So, it’s true then,” the alpha replied, voice gruff. “The Scotland fae are plotting against the Morrigan. You lot want to steal hercrown.”
A finger of ice slipped down my spine. The corners of my vision went dark. The Morrigan was the Queen of the fae.MyQueen. If someone was plotting againsther…
“I’d rather not share what I plan to use it for,” the fae crisply replied. “Can you find it for me ornot?”
“This may take some effort. And time.” I heard the scribble of a pen on paper. “This is my quote for myservices.”
My heart thumped as my brain whirred with this new information. I understood Anderson’s operation here now. He found things and delivered them to the highest bidder. It wasn’t an illegal operation, unless the objects themselves were inherentlydangerous.
And it sounded like this cauldronwas.
I needed to find outmore.
Just as I pressed myself closer to the crack in the door, light splashed on the rusted hallway floor. I sucked in a breath and stepped back but not before a pair of black boots followed the light. Twin ominous shadows stretched out behind them. I dragged my eyes up. A fae unlike any I’d ever seen stood beforeme.
He was impossibly tall with jet black hair and eyes that matched. The angles of his face were sharp and strong. Slim but well-muscled, his black shirt clung to him like a second skin. Power radiated off his body and curled toward me, wisps of his magic lingering against myneck.
I found it hard tobreathe.
He smirked. “Lost?”
