“What did he want? A second chance at a job?” Parker asked.
“He wanted to know if he could rent the space for a private client,” the woman said. “I told him no. After the glitter incident, I’ve been a lot more careful about letting people borrow the key. I told him that, and he offered to go talk to the people next door for me.”
“Did he?” Parker asked. “Talk to them?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“But he went through the back door to talk to them,” Parker said. “He didn’t go around?”
“No.” She looked over her shoulder toward the back wall. “Is that significant?”
“Maybe.” Parker smiled. “Can we use your back door, too?”
She looked between them, clearly unsettled, but then nodded, gesturing for them to go down the hall.
The door looked normal enough. A push bar opened it, and Parker pressed through, walking into a narrow storage alleyway. Nick followed, the yoga instructor holding the door open for them, frowning across at another open door.
“It’s right there,” she said, indicating the open door.
“How long was he at the fae escape room?” Nick asked.
“Not long. It was strange—he used to go over for hours, leave his car taking up space in our lot, but he was only there for twenty minutes, maybe thirty.” She shook her head.
“Nick,” Parker said in a low voice. “Time.”
Nick was very aware that every minute they spent on this was another minute that Gile didn’t have, that his boss would be wondering where he was. Parker headed into the open door, Nick only a step behind him.
Inside was another narrow hallway, the mirror image of the Downward Dog’s. The walls pulsed with light, translucent and vibrating with voices and music.
“What is this place?” Nick asked.
“Magic Kingdom Escape Room,” Parker said.
“Is it really fae?” Nick asked.
Parker shot him a look over his shoulder, and for a moment, Nick worried that they were both about to see the new Summer King or get trapped in some Far Realm dungeon.
Parker made a face. “Yes. Whatever magic is being used to run the place, it’s fae. Acacia told me about it recently, and it’s been on my to-do list.”
“Hey! How did you get back here?” someone demanded. “I, the Queen of all that is Green and Good in the Far Realm,demandyou leave my court at once!”
She was short, and her purple hair was twisted up, her pale skin rouged in gold. Her dress was made of what looked like flowers, each petal intricately painted.
Nick expected Parker to immediately plant himself between Nick and the fae, the way he always did, subtly making sure that fae could never focus on Nick long enough to wonder if they could kidnap him.
Instead, Parker leaned back, arms crossed. He made a face. “What do you think, Nick?”
“Well, despite the fact that she wanted to kill me, Lilacina wore it better,” Nick said.
“Don’t let Acacia hear you say that.” Parker grinned. “She’ll tear your eyes out and wear them as earrings.”
Nick made a face. “Parker, she wouldn’t. That seems a little more Hannibal Lecter than Acacia likes.”
Parker raised an eyebrow, clearly indicating that he thought the new Summer Queen would happily do that and more. “Either way,thisis just a pale imitation, and let me tell you, I know a lot of fae royals who really, really dislikepale imitationsof their glory. It’s a whole thing. Grimm has a whole section on what happens when you piss off the fae. Trust me, it’s not pretty.”
The woman’s eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry! I just work here! Oh, god, are you two from the Far Realm? They warned me about working here!”
“SAPD,” Nick said. He took out his badge, flashing it. “We’re here because we heard that Cayo Durkavic came by the other day?”
