Chapter Two

 

“No, absolutely not.” Declan charged into the tavern’s courtyard. His eyes were on the reporter, and he looked like he’d call that hidden guard of his at any moment. “Her Grace is not to be bothered by reporters. There will be a party at the palace and all of the proper questions will be answered then.”

Said bothersome reporter rolled his eyes and walked away. I was pretty sure he was going to write something about the dullard the prince had married. If the tabloids worked in Faery the same way they worked in my world, they didn’t need to actually talk to me to write the story. Neil and I exchanged a glance. We hadn’t figured on gossip rags in our medieval adventure land. If they had them, Neil would probably get a subscription. Declan turned to fix Mara with his steeliest gaze.

“I thought I warned you about my brother’s wife. You cannot let her out of your sight for a moment.” Declan shook a finger at the blonde.

“You did, Your Highness. I am so sorry.” Her head was down, and she listened carefully to everything Declan said.

“She will burn the town down before you blink. And do not count on those guards of hers because they will help her light the fire. Think of them less as guards and more as accomplices.”

Lee shot Declan the bird, but Neil just smiled. I couldn’t argue because they actually were my accomplices. We’d run many heists together over the years. Sarah, too. Lee was new and the only heist we’d run had been hard on him, but Zack was actually kind of awesome. I found Zack and his butt kissing annoying, but in the field he was a perfect partner. He never argued with whoever was in charge. All in all, they were a damn fine crew. Sure they sometimes ran away for months at a time because they were mad at my husband or on some occasions had actually shot me, but other than that they were totally solid.

“Now that we are here in Faery,” Declan continued as he looked at Lee dismissively, “perhaps a more formal guard can be found. I would not want my sweet sister without a truly responsible guard. I would be a careless host if I allowed anything to happen to her.”

Lee sat up, and his eyes were on Declan. My wolf had excellent instincts. The reporter had been no real threat, but my brother-in-law certainly was. It was no great love on his part for me that had Declan wanting to surround me with his trusty men. Declan was certain I was carrying a child who could save his kingdom. Just weeks ago he’d vowed to do anything to protect the baby, including make me a prisoner if it came to that. I’d kept that conversation to myself, though Lee and Neil had been there at the time. Lee had begged me to let him kill the man he thought would take away my baby. I was willing to wait to see if there even was a baby to take.

My guards were the only ones who knew about the conflict with Declan, and I was trying to keep it that way.

“I told you, brother, Zoey’s wolves do a fine job,” Dev said, making his way toward me. A crowd followed him, but they gave him some space now.

Lee relaxed back down into his chair. He’d gained a lot of respect for Dev after our time in Colorado, and he preferred for him to handle the politics of the situation.

Dev’s mouth tugged up in a lopsided, crazy sexy smile, and my heart skipped a beat. “They’ve kept her alive this long, and that’s saying something for them. I think they will be fine for our stay here. Besides, Zoey is used to them and they are used to her ways. A royal guard would be far too confining.”

Declan’s eyes narrowed, but he held his tongue. I suspected he was planning on his brother’s stay being a permanent one. He was smart and knew now was not the time to argue. He had attempted to convince Dev to leave his retinue behind. Declan had argued that we should use the time in Faery as a sort of honeymoon for just the two of us, but Dev had been insistent on bringing all of our household. I was happy I hadn’t been forced to fight with him. If Declan had the two of us on our own, he would find some leverage to try to keep Dev here. I just hoped it wasn’t my child. I feared if I turned up pregnant, Dev might actually agree with his brother, and I would find myself a permanent resident.

Dev crossed the space between us and dropped a kiss on my lips. I went up on my toes as he deepened the embrace and slid his tongue into my mouth, turning up the heat. Dev was a big fan of the PDA. I might have been embarrassed, but I was far too busy trying to climb up my husband’s body to notice.

“There’s a sight I know well. Good Prince Dev is back and already seducing a beauty in my courtyard,” Ross said as Dev released me and looked up at the satyr. I saw happy recognition in his green eyes. “You work faster now, Prince. You didn’t even have to buy this one a drink.”

Dev laughed and held out his hand in greeting. “Ross, you old scoundrel, I assure you this one cost me much more than a flagon. I paid for this one in sweat and blood and expensive footwear.”

“Jerk.” I gave him a strong elbow to his midsection that he pretended not to notice as he shook his friend’s hand.

“Now, my sweet wife, you know it’s true,” he chided. “My last gunshot wound is barely healed. Since I met Zoey, I’ve been beaten, kidnapped, drugged, stabbed, thrown bodily into more walls than I could imagine, and shot. Just a few weeks ago I was almost eaten by ravenous wolves.”

“Don’t forget you were offered up as a black sacrifice to a demon lord,” I reminded him. It was when I knew I loved him.

His eyes went soft with the memory. “How could I forget? Good times, sweetheart.”

Ross’s violet eyes were large. “You have some stories to tell, Prince Dev.”

“Oh, Dev, we could tell him about that time we killed the weretiger.” Neil laughed, leaning forward. “It was right after we met Dev. We were running a heist and a demon was on our trail. The demon decided to play nasty. He sicced a weretiger on us in the middle of a downtown parking garage. Dev was the best bait ever. He’s faster than you would think. I was surprised he survived.”

Mara sighed and looked down at Dev as he settled onto a bench and pulled me into his lap. I snuggled close to him, feeling safer than I had all day.

The royal employee shook her head. “Your Highness, you must remind your retinue to treat you with more respect. They should always address you as Your Highness or Your Grace or at the least Prince Devinshea. We must observe the proprieties or else just give over to chaos.”

Dev frowned and his hands pulled me tight. He regarded the woman seriously, but kept his voice low. “Understand this, Mara, I have bled with these people. I have fought, died, and been brought back with and by these people. They are my closest friends and confidants. They will call me whatever they like so long as they call me friend. You will show them respect.”

“As you wish,” Mara said, but it was all for show. The minute Dev took his eyes off her she regarded us all with contempt.

I wondered if it would be this way with my mother-in-law. The Seelie court was apparently a rigid place with formalities and rules galore. My friends and I weren’t big on rules.

“Besides, I never kept the best company when I was younger,” he stated and a cheer went up. “And I had all the more fun for it.”

“She said I shouldn’t consort with bar owners,” I whispered, cuddling close to my favorite barkeep.

Dev threw his head back and laughed. I noticed everyone watching us. All eyes were on him, but he didn’t seem to care. He grinned down at me and stared lecherously at my cleavage.

“But you like bar owners,” he said, his voice deep, and I knew he was thinking of some of the things we’d done on his bar. “I sometimes think you married me for all the free booze.” He glanced back up at the satyr who was putting cups on the table. “Speaking of booze, it’s been too long since I tasted this ale. It’s the best I’ve ever had and I cannot duplicate it to save my life. Believe me I’ve tried. Ross, as one barkeep to another, you must give me your recipe.”

Ross shook his head and crossed his arms over his magnificent chest. “That’s one thing I will never share with anyone. Keeps you coming back for more. So you own a tavern on the Earth plane?”

“Dev owns several,” Sarah offered. “It’s a nightclub. I haven’t been to the others, but the one in Dallas is awesome. The place is packed every night. It’s the best music and the best bar in town.”

Dev picked up the flagon that should have been mine and offered a toast. “I learned from the best. I spent much of my youth in this tavern drinking and picking up women. The picking up women part may be over, but the drinking never ends.” Dev proceeded to prove his point by taking an obscenely long drink. He sighed as he emptied the large mug in a single drink. “So good, Ross. Please, if you don’t mind, I’ll take another. My partner doesn’t believe this is the best beer he’ll ever taste, and I have to prove it to him. Forgive me, lover, I’ve stolen your beer. Make that two, Ross.”

“Just the one, please,” I interrupted with a shake of my head. “I don’t think I’ll be drinking today.”

Dev frowned, and I noted Sarah’s eyes narrow suspiciously.

“Are you not feeling well, my goddess?” Dev asked, concern in his eyes.

“I am sure Zoey is simply nervous about meeting our mother,” Declan offered. “I think it is a mark of her burgeoning maturity. She is a wife now. She has to present herself differently.”

This was one of those times I would love to roll my eyes and get drunk just to piss off my brother-in-law. I didn’t point out that I had been a wife for several years and marriage hadn’t cut down my consumption. Actually marriage to Danny had refined and refocused my love of vodka. It wasn’t being a wife that was curbing my drinking, but the thought of being a mom definitely was. I saw Dev bought Declan’s explanation, but I wasn’t so sure Sarah was sold on it. She studied me carefully, her brown eyes making connections I would, no doubt, hear about later.

“Sweetheart, don’t be nervous.” Dev kissed my cheek, his hands smoothing over my hair. “She is going to love you or we’ll go home. I, for one, intend to drink as much as I can before having to face my mother.”

“He probably should,” Declan agreed with a nod. “I doubt Mother would recognize him sober.”

I glanced up where the shining white palace stood. It glimmered like a jewel in the distance. That palace was going to be my home for the next month or so. It was like something out of a faery tale but there was a reason for that. This was the place faery stories had originated. I had walked into a faery tale but I suspected it would prove to be more a Grimm’s tale than anything Disney would put out. I couldn’t expect a happy ending here, not one I didn’t purchase with blood and sacrifice.

“You’re unhappy,” Dev accused me softly, forcing my attention back to him.

I shook off my ominous thoughts and tried to smile brightly. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin Dev’s homecoming. It was all he had talked about for weeks. “No, baby. It’s like your brother said. I’m just nervous. I’ve never had a mother-in-law. Danny’s mom died when he was a toddler so your mom is my only hope for an overbearing relationship with an in-law. Declan aside, of course.”

Declan chose to ignore my comment about him. “I think you’ll find Mother easy to deal with. She wants one thing from you, Zoey. She wants you to make Devinshea happy. That, and of course, as many grandchildren as your body can handle. Trust me. The moment you prove your fertility, Mother will think you walk on water.”

Dev gave his brother a dark look but turned back to me. “Don’t listen to him, sweetheart. You make me happy and that will have to satisfy Mother for now. I won’t let her push you into anything. Our relationship is far more complex than that.”

“Prince Dev.” Loran walked out of the tavern with Ross, mugs of ale in his small hands. The gnome kind of waddled toward us with a big grin on his face.

“Loran, it is good to see you,” Dev replied. “The gardens look lovely.”

The gnome bowed slightly, pleased at the compliment. “I’ve had to work hard since you left. I managed to keep up the ones in town, but our fields are in terrible shape. You’ll have to walk the countryside putting things to rights. You’ve come back just in time.”

Besides his fertility powers, Dev was quite good with agriculture. Declan had told me once that when Dev walked barefoot through the sithein, he left a trail of green wherever he went. It would be interesting to see how his powers had grown with the taking of Bris into his body.

The gnome suddenly got to his knees and took a subservient position.

“That is not necessary, good gardener. I require no obeisance.” The words came out of my husband’s mouth but the voice wasn’t his. I looked up and stared into solid emerald eyes. I almost scrambled out of his lap but he anticipated the move, holding my waist tightly. Bris did not come out often but when he did, he liked to get his hands on me. He was always gentle but he loved to touch me and kiss me. I was scared of just how good he could make me feel.

“Bris,” I heard the Seelie whisper reverently among themselves. “It is the god.”

“Hello, my sweet goddess,” he said with a little smile. “Are they giving you a hard time?”

“Not so much,” I lied, trying not to look too deeply into those eyes. Bris had an effect on me. I suppose I should expect that a fertility god would be intensely attractive, but I found my reaction to him disconcerting. When he put his hands on me, I wanted to melt. It was the same as my reaction to Dev, only more intense. As he had said the night we met, he was Dev and something more.

“They are an arrogant people. They tend to dismiss anyone not like them,” Bris said quietly to me. “Give it time, and they will see you as we see you. We think you are the most beautiful woman here, and you should not doubt it.”

He leaned in and kissed me softly, his lips brushing mine, and suddenly I didn’t want to get off his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let his soft magic skim across my skin. Bris’s magic was like a warm wave that blanketed me. The world dissolved around us and I kissed him freely, opening my mouth under his and letting his tongue play against mine. I moved closer, wanting to meld with him, brushing our chests together, needing more. His hands were in my hair when I heard Sarah.

“Snap out of it,” she said sharply, and I came to my senses.

Sarah was a good girlfriend. We’d made a deal. She wouldn’t let me make an idiot of myself in public. I pulled back and Bris looked disappointed. I didn’t try to break free, but I wasn’t about to get lost in those eyes again.

“I apologize, good gardener,” Bris said with a sigh, turning his attention back to the gnome. “I came out for a purpose and got distracted by my goddess. I find her tempting. Now, you said the fields are fallow?”

“Aye, My Lord, that they are,” Loran replied soberly because gnomes took their gardens seriously. “Our crops have been weak ever since we lost our Green Man. One more season like this and we’ll have trouble feeding our people.”

Bris nodded. “Then this shall be our first task. Tomorrow we will tour the fields and decide what must be done to correct the problems. I shall make sure you have no issues with scarcity.” He turned to me again, and his eyes were hot. “Of course, we will also be performing some fertility rites. It’s another problem the Fae have been plagued with, and we must help. I’m looking forward to that, my goddess.”

“I just bet he is,” Dev said with a self-deprecating smile. He looked up, reassuring me Bris had gone dormant again. “Sorry, I told him he could handle the heavy agricultural lifting. He’s excited about making things green. It’s been a long time since he used his powers.”

I doubted that was the only thing he was excited about. “So, fertility rites?”

Dev looked sweetly sheepish. “Yeah, I kinda promised we’d be doing some of that. I hope you don’t mind but it is my job. You’ll love our temple, though. It’s beautiful and peaceful.”

“Is it going to be as…intense as the last time?” We had performed a fertility rite for a large group of werewolves, and the experience had been draining, to say the least.

“No,” he replied quickly. “This will be much simpler. I promise. I’ll handle everything. You just need to let me take care of you.”

Ross sat another beer down in front of Dev and looked at the coffin on the table next to us. “So, Prince Dev, has tragedy befallen your group? If someone has passed on, then allow me to offer my condolences.”

Dev’s smile became devilish as he drank his beer and eased me out of his lap. He crossed to the coffin and leaned against it. “He’s not dead. He’s just a lazy bastard. He didn’t want to walk all this way.” Dev knocked on the top of the coffin. “How ya doing in there, Dan?”

There was an angry blast like Danny had punched the coffin from the inside. “It’s fucking hot in here, Dev. Move this caravan along. This thing is almost dead.”

“See, he’s fine,” Dev said with a shit-eating grin. He held a hand out toward Zack. “You got the spare I asked you to bring?”

Zack produced the extra game system, and Dev quickly opened and shut the coffin, shoving in the needed item.

“He gets pissy when he can’t play his games,” Dev explained, winking my way. We had put together a “you have to spend several hours in a hot coffin” care kit for Danny. Danny and I had also done some fooling around in the small box because he said he liked my scent. It made him more comfortable when he could sense me near him. I was his companion, and we were connected on a basic level. He’d finally started asking me for what he wanted, and I worked hard to make sure I gave him what he needed.

Declan frowned and crossed his arms petulantly over his chest. “How exactly is the vampire doing anything in his coffin when you were supposed to make certain he was wrapped in silver chains?”

Dev didn’t bother to look guilty. He stared his brother down. “Well, he is my partner. Those chains are uncomfortable. They burn his skin. He’s also good at revenge. I wrap him in chains and I assure you he spends the entire trip coming up with some way to get me back.”

“Are we there yet?” Daniel must have been screaming because even I heard him.

“No,” Dev screamed back, not caring that his whole town was watching the byplay. “Suck it up, Donovan. I’m drinking.”

“That beer better be worth it, Quinn!”

“Would the man in the coffin like a drink?” Ross asked, confused because unlike the tabloids, he apparently hadn’t heard the rumors.

“Oh, he’d like one,” Neil explained. “He just has to wait until Dev’s blood alcohol level is up.”

“Working on it,” Dev said, finishing off beer number two. “Keep ’em coming, Ross. I have an ‘interview’ with my mother in a couple of hours, and I would like to be shit faced before I have to deal with that. If I work hard, Dan can be drunk off his ass too when we finally have to deal with the royals.”

I noticed Lee out of the corner of my eye. His head came up suddenly and he yelled. “Neil, six o’clock. Cover her!”

Neil was starting to leap as I saw the man on top of a building to our left. He drew back an arrow and sent it flying my direction.

I’ve had many people try to kill me before but this was my first assassination attempt. And I’d only been in Faery for a few hours. Yay, vacation!