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The location ended up being on top of a car park. They had it blocked off so that they could hold a farmer’s market. It was the first one in the season and that alone brought in a draw of people excited to check out the vendors and get yummy goodies.
Or at least that had been the plan. Cops were around, blocking pedestrians from going to the top level. They were waiting for backup to arrive so they could take down the mob. I made Berry wait in Judah’s car, not wanting to draw the extra attention. He was pissed, but he’d live, and I wouldn’t have to worry about law enforcement trying to take him away. Or giving me a fine because he wasn’t leashed.
“This is bad,” Judah muttered as he pushed through the crowd. People grumbled as they scowled at him, but he didn’t give a shit. I grabbed on to the back of his shirt and followed close. No way could I lose him now, he was my way in.
At the line of officers, Judah pulled out a special investigator’s badge. “The captain called me,” he said.
The officer didn’t seem to believe him and was ready to turn us away.
Judah smoothed out his voice and used a little compulsion as he said, “You will want to check in with your captain.”
The poor officer didn’t stand a chance against Judah’s strength. He was powerful for a fae born and raised on earth. If he had been in Faerie, he would have been in the higher ranks as a soldier. The young man grabbed his walkie talkie and whispered into it. A moment later, he nodded at us and we slipped through.
“The captain is fae,” Judah said. “His persona is nearing retirement age, but we already have someone younger ready to take on the role once he’s forced to retire.”
“They’re going to do that to him.”
Judah shrugged as he rested a hand on my lower back, claiming me essentially before all these men. “If we are long-lived, we have to be careful not to overstay in whatever identity we set up for ourselves.”
“What about you?” I asked.
“I still have a decade or so before people start wondering.” Judah came to a halt. “Shit.”
“What?”
He turned us, so that his back was to whatever had caught his attention and I was hidden behind him.
“What is going on?” I asked.
Judah sighed and looked down at me, swallowing. “I knew who you were the moment I saw you in the bar. And when you told me your name, it confirmed it for me.”
“What are you going on about?”
Judah didn’t say anything as he looked behind him and then back at me, frowning hard. “My boss. He has been looking for you for a long time. I was going to tell him about you, but then I ended up working for you and the magic won’t let me.”
“Who? Who was looking for me?”
“You have to know. From what I pieced together, you had what many people described as an epic love with him and his friends.” He rubbed at his jaw. “Definitely not a normal relationship.”
I bristled at his judgment. “I suggest you be very careful with whatever you say next.”
Judah realized his mistake and quickly backtracked. “No. No judgment from me. I couldn’t care less about others’ relationships.”
“Right.”
“Anyway, my boss has been searching for so long that all his employees know you. This is going to get awkward fast. I might even lose my damn job.” He kept rambling on, and I let him, a bit entertained about how awkward the situation was making this tough male fae. I leaned over enough to look behind him.
Foster was there, talking with a man in a fancy suit. They were both scowling, wild hand gestures were being thrown around, and Foster looked like he was about to murder someone. I gave the other man credit, he did well holding his own against Foster’s imposing figure.
“Foster already found me,” I finally said, putting poor Judah out of his misery.
“Wait. He did?”
“Yes. Not long after I arrived. It was that night I talked with you. I met with Alder and he sent me to another location. Foster and the other two tracked me down. He’s aware of the fae community now.”
“Damn. He is a legend. Go figure the moment you are back in the human realm, he finds you.” Judah looked amazed, and I was sure Foster was just put onto a pedestal. “Come on then, I don’t need to beg you to hide yourself then. And maybe he will stop giving me shit for missing some work.”
Relieved, Judah grabbed my hand and pulled me toward Foster and the other man. Foster’s gaze cut to mine as soon as we began walking toward them. It felt like he had some kind of Josie sensor and the moment I came near, he knew. His eyes dipped down to my hand in Judah’s and darkened.
“Shit.” Judah released me and put a little distance between us.
I snickered as Foster relaxed at that. Such a man. I didn’t fault him though. If it were me, I would have done worse.
“Judah, glad you can make it,” the second man said.
“Captain. This is Foster, my employer.”
The man paled and stepped back, thinking they were in a sticky situation now. I bet the two of them worked closely together in keeping the fae community hidden. Foster wasn’t supposed to know about it, so a lot of it had to have been behind his back. But now he was there too.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
Foster scowled and glared hard at Judah. “Filling in on a job.” He tilted his head over to a crowd of people apart from the one gathering on the other side of the police line, but all very human. They looked scared.
“Ah.” That made sense. The way Judah stepped back from Foster, afraid he was going to swing at him, I had to gather that it was supposed to be Judah who had responded, except he was with me instead.
“Captain Brown, let me introduce you to a special consultant of mine. This is Joslyn Naevana.” There was a hint in his voice that the captain was instantly able to pick up on.
I smiled. “Hello.”
The captain did look like he was up there in age. Made me wonder how long he had been in this role to look like that. Sharp gray eyes looked back at me, something dark in them shimmering. His pale skin was sagging around the cheeks, looking thin, and while he was in shape and looked good in the suit, he still looked like he’d struggle chasing after anyone young and fit. Though, I doubt he’d have any issues. Captain Brown was doing well in keeping his glamour up to date.
“Foster is aware of our community now,” I said.
Captain Brown tried to stare into me. His magic probed at me briefly, but the moment I narrowed my eyes in warning he backed off.
“Very well. It makes this easier then.”
“What is going on?” Foster asked, looking between all three of us, frustrated.
“The fae are acting up at the farmer’s market. If we don’t subdue them before help arrives, then our community is going to be exposed. They’re like little whelps unable to hold themselves back. And they are pissed.”
Captain Brown turned and walked away. We followed, heading to all the action. I could hear them now, the muttering. Magic swirled through the air, and I had to hold in my temptation to draw it into myself.
“The fae are erratic,” Captain Brown said. “Too similar to junkies having a breakdown. The only difference is that they have magic, making them dangerous. We will need to bring them to jail to cover this up properly, but I don’t want them in there if we can’t get them under control.”
We went around a stall set up and abandoned. Down the row, on the other end were three men. The stalls around them had been food stalls, but not anymore. The three of them had destroyed them.
I understood Captain Brown’s apprehension right away. The three were currently making work of another stall, tossing everything after giving it a bite or a lick. Their glamours were barely holding. The smaller guy had a long lizard-like tail, scales going up his neck and over his face. Every time he sniffed at something, his true form flashed.
“Bullshit. This is bullshit,” the tall lanky one muttered. His form wasn’t as horrifying as the smaller guy’s. In fact, I didn’t see much difference, meaning he was decently powerful. If anything, all that was different was that he was taller and skinnier, almost skeletal.
“It has to be here, right? Right?” the third man said. He was stockier, his skin gray when his glamour wavered.
“What has to be here?” I asked, getting their attention. All three whirled to face us, expressions dark. The fact that we could sneak up on them proved how out of it and desperate they were.
“Who the fuck are you?” the tall one asked. They moved from out of the stall, practically stumbling over the rubble.
I took the lead, the other two easily deferring to my high position. Foster tried to move to stand with me, but Captain Brown stopped him. Foster couldn’t move further without making a scene and adding unneeded aggression to an already tense situation.
“My name is Joslyn Naevana. I demand you answer me. What do you think you are doing? Are you aware that you are about to expose our community to humans?”
“Do we look like we care?” The stocky man asked. He looked me over slowly before grinning slyly. “Maybe you have it.” He took in a deep breath. “You do smell good.” A forked tongue came out and licked his lips. “All that magic. Care to share her sweetness with us?”
“How did you become addicted to Faerie magic?” I asked.
“Addicted? Don’t make us sound as weak as those humans. We simply want what is owed to us. Nature magic isn’t as potent. But Faerie magic. That’s the good stuff.” The stocky man moved closer, his two friends flanking him.
Were they idiots? Did they not see how outnumbered they’d be?
“Share some of your magic with us, and we’ll talk. We will be more than willing to talk.” The small man snickered.
I curled my lip in disgust. “Or you can just go to jail.”
Two of them hissed at me. The tall guy threw magic at me instead. It was weak and flimsy. I was ready to take it as my own, when I realized too late that it wasn’t aimed at me. Foster grunted and fell to his knees, holding his stomach.
Captain Brown was at his side to help him, Judah blocking Foster from the fae.
Me? I saw red.
Pure rage flowed through me. The air whipped around with it. “How dare you hurt what is mine? Do you know who I am?”
The three fae stilled, realizing things were about to go very, very wrong for them. I stalked toward them, not hearing what the men at my back were yelling. I didn’t care.
All I saw was Foster’s pain as he was on his knees. No one—not even fae—was allowed to put my man on his knees. Only I could.
I snarled. “What makes you think you are worthy of touching my things?” I asked them. I gathered my reserve of magic and lifted my hands. To make it more potent, I added in the magic that gathered in the air
Gasps surrounded me as I claimed the magic. From experience, I knew it felt like all the air in their lungs was stolen. I didn’t care. They could suffocate. It’d be a mercy for the hell I was about to give them.
I raised my right hand higher, fingers stretched out. Then I made a fist. The magic crashed hard on top of the three fae. They cried out as their legs crumpled underneath the weight, forcing them to the ground. They forced Foster to his knees, so I returned the favor—threefold.
I stalked toward them, keeping the pressure on them. They strained to stand, causing them more pain.
“W-who are you?” the smaller man stuttered. I zeroed in on the fool, placing my finger on his sweaty forehead. As soon as contact was made, my magic zapped through him. His body convulsed before he collapsed.
Hovering over him, I whispered, “I am Queen.”
The other two began screaming, fighting to get away. It was pointless. I touched the small man, taking in his magic. He’d be empty for a very long time. Might as well be mortal until he found a way to regain his strength.
I did the same exact thing to the other two, ignoring their begging, knocking them out, and claiming their magic. I stopped, staring down at the three unconscious men and felt absolutely nothing. They became nobody the moment they hurt Foster. It’d be so easy to reach out and snuff out their lives. They were garbage and Faerie despised garbage.
“Joslyn?” Judah was at my side. “Are you okay?”
“Problem solved,” I said in lieu of an answer. “They won’t be able to use magic for a long time.”
“And their glamour? Will it hold?”
“It’ll hold.” I looked down at my hands. “I made sure it did. I left just enough magic to keep it and it will only be used for that.”
I took in a breath, preparing myself and turned to face Foster. He was standing, hand on his stomach still. There was some blood seeping through his t-shirt, creating a dark spot against the pale olive-green shirt.
“Is it bad?” I asked. As I regained back my thoughts and emotions, I couldn’t look at Foster. I glanced at the three fae laying on the ground, motionless, then down at my hands. Being a queen gave me a lot of power and I had just flexed that now. But for a human, what I did was pure cruelty.
There were other ways to subdue them, but the moment they had hurt Foster, I had jumped to the most severe option, wanting them to hurt for hurting what was mine.
“It isn’t,” Foster said in a neutral voice.
“Right. Okay. Captain, it is safe to detain them for however long you wish.”
“They will be taken care of.”
“Good. I will take my leave. I do not wish to be attached to this incident.” I tried to move away, but Foster grabbed my arm.
“Josie.”
“Later, Foster. I have some work to do if I wish to keep this from happening again.”
“Josie.” His voice was harder. “Look at me.”
Unable to stop against his command, I did so. Something in my expression pissed him off.
“Fuck.” He pulled me into his chest.
“Your wound.” I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let me.
“I’m fine. It isn’t as bad as you think, only a scratch.”
“Scratches do not bleed like that,” I said into his chest.
“A deep scratch. Won’t even need stitches. I’ll clean it and slap a huge bandage on it. I think I still have those pink power ranger ones you bought me a long time ago.”
I snorted as the stress inside of me receded. “I doubt it.”
“Want to bet on it.”
“I need to find a way to keep this from happening.”
“It can wait. Bring me back to the hotel, Josie. Play doctor. I promise, I can make a good patient.”
“And that is my cue to walk away,” Judah said.
“Help me with these guys,” Captain Brown said. “Backup arrived. This is going to be a bitch to explain.”
“Josie.” Foster pressed his forehead against mine, his nose almost against mine. “Let’s go back. Take a nap. Heal up. And this afternoon, we will regroup and try to find a solution to this clusterfuck.”
“Fine.” I pushed him away, or tried to at least. He didn’t budge until I stopped. His point proven—that he was strong—he pulled away.
“You aren’t scared of me?” I asked, my voice coming out smaller than I wanted.
“Never. You’re my Josie. There is nothing to be scared about.”
I wished I could believe him.
