My eyes widened. “I spiedon you. Andyou knewI was spying on you. I hardly think that’s a great review of my spyingabilities.”
“I only knew you were a spy because you were my mate.” He shook his head. “You were actually fairly convincing with your sob story about being alone your entire life. About being a solitary fae. If I hadn’t felt that mating bond snap between us, if Saoirse hadn’t seen you coming…I wouldn’t have known what you were, Moira. I wouldn’t have known you were here as a spy instead of a fae inneed.”
I pressed my lips together. “I’m reallynota good spy. You know I prefer to use my sword. Is there some reason none of the rest of you can doit?”
They all exchanged uneasy glances, and Saoirse cleared her throat. “We have reason to suspect that some of the local vamps are involved. And they know all ofus.”
Warin twisted my way and gave a nod. “The vamps here in Edinburgh aren’t like the ones down south. These still feed on innocent humans, and sometimes kill them. Our team here has stepped in more times than I cancount.”
“So, you need someone the local vamps won’t recognise,” I said slowly, and then frowned. “But I was here at the Court only a few weeks ago. I got fake initiated andeverything.”
A flicker of irritation went through me at the memory. I still hadn’t forgotten about that whole Sluagh dungeon thing, even if Lugh had been in those eerie tunnels with me the entire time, unbeknownst tome.
At the time, I’d thought it was a test to determine whether or not I belonged in the Court, how desperate I was to joinit.
In reality, Lugh had been playing a prank on aspy.
Fae. Sometimes, we were arseholes. Not that I blamed him. I probably would have done far worse thanthat.
Lugh gave a quick shake of his head. “That means you’re recognisable to the fae of this castle, but the vampires have no bloody clue who you are. You weren’t here long enoughfor…”
He trailed off into an awkward silence. Wincing, I shifted on my feet. Saoirse coughed into her hand, and the trio of warriors suddenly seemed intently interested in the hilts of theirswords.
I needed to steer the conversation back onto the mission, and fast. Spying on this human was pretty much the last thing I wanted to do, but I’d come all the way to Edinburgh. Plus, Uisnech was counting on me. Might as well get this thing done. The sooner it was over, the sooner I could head home toLondon.
The sooner I could get away from Lugh and our perilousfate.
I sucked in a deep breath. “Fine. I’ll do it. What exactly is theplan?”
Saoirse’s expression brightened, and she turned back toward the whiteboard. “Brilliant. What we need you to do is head to A Knight’s End and ask the bartender about an ad you saw online. Real casual-like. Get as much info as you can. Try to figure out how many supes have joined his team and when they plan to make a move against Lugh’sspear.”
“Right.” My heart thumped. I could do this. Easy peasy. No big deal. All I had to do was ask a few questions, and then I could head back down to London and go back to my comfort zone of hiding from my dreaded fate with Lugh.Thiswouldn’t be the day that I ended up taking his life away fromhim.
Speaking of the devil, Lugh chose that moment to shoot me a piercing gaze, one that brought a heavy dose of magic along with it. My breath caught, and I almost stumbled back. Tendrils of slick power curled around my body. My knees trembled. A part of me hated it—I was a strong, badass, capable fae—but another, much deeper, part of myself wanted to rush across the room and launch into hisarms.
“You’ll go tonight,” he said in a low, dangerous voice. “And then Uisnech will escort you backhome.”
The magic that curled around me vanished into wisps of invisible smoke. A hollow ache took its place, leaving me with nothing more than brutal memories of the moments we had shared. I’d get this done and get out of here, sure, but I’d be leaving a part of me behind onceagain.
And Lugh didn’t even seem tocare.
4
Unfortunately,I had to leave my sword at the castle. At first, I voiced—very loudly—my many objections toward this. Last time I’d forgone the sword, terrible things had happened. But the team made excellent points. I, Moira Talmhach, was playing a very particular role tonight, and that role was this: I was a rogue fae on the run from the king on the hill. I’d been living anywhere I could find. If I had a weapon, it wouldn’t be a fancy golden sword. So, a couple of pocketknives were all Ihad.
I stood on the cobblestone street, staring up at the pub’s sign that swung in the light winter wind. The “no occupancy” display was lit up in the window, and every table in the pub was packed. There were a couple of empty stools at the bar itself, manned by a familiar bearded bartender covered intattoos.
The streets were fairly quiet, though a few passersby strode past me on their way home or to a less-crowded pub. I knew I looked alone and a little lost, but I was anything but. The rest of the team was strategically placed throughout the area, watching from windows or lurking beneath lamp posts, pretending to wait for the next bus. Lugh waited back at the castle, protecting his spear just incase.
With a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and pushed inside. The little bell jangled loudly as I entered the warmth of the packed pub. The bartender glanced up, but barely gave me notice as he turned back to the pint he poured from the tap. I minced my way over to the bar and slid on top of astool.
After a moment, he shot me a quick look. “What’ll youhave?”
“Just a water, thanks. I’m here to talk to you about yourad.”
At that, he stiffened and finally settled his eyes on me. His face remained impassive, but emotion churned in his eyes. Then, he flicked his gaze around the room before sliding a coaster across the sticky bar top. “Sure. When it’s a wee bit quieter. Why don’t you have a drink while you wait? It’s on thehouse.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he was already halfway through pouring me a pint before I could voice my objections. “I’m not really here forthat—”
