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“Good.” He bends his head and his mouth claims mine in a kiss that starts out feather-light and builds to a more insistent pressure. Tremors rush through my belly and center down below, between my legs. His lips dance across mine, until I part my mouth and let him in. I don’t know why this feels so right, but it does. I want more of the royal fae prince. So much more, and yet, there is so little time for any of it.
His groan ratchets up my need to an even greater level, and a matching moan leaves my throat. Somehow, we have ended up lying back, our limbs half-tangled on the couch amongst the cushions, and when I shift, his erection presses insistently against the softness of my abdomen, ensuring I am fully aware of the extent of his need. His need matches my own. Desire pools in all the right places and shivers traverse my skin where his fingers touch and caress.
“I want you, Maewen, but not here, and not like this. I want to ravish you properly, in my bed, in Faerie.”
“A bed fit for a prince?” I joke, because part of me doesn’t want him to stop what he’s doing. And part of me is revelling in his words. I want you, Maewen.
He laughs gently, the sound rippling through me. “A bed fit for a supernatural police inspector. A sexy, intriguing, prickly police inspector who deserves to be completely seduced by her prince.”
Oh, God.
“I want you, too,” I add, a little belatedly, but surely he can already sense that, given the burgeoning nipples in my breasts that are rubbing against him, and the damp heat between my thighs where one of his legs presses insistently against my mound.
My verbal offering sounds so inconsequential against his, but hopefully he can glean how much need he creates within me.
He raises himself up on one elbow and cups my cheek with his other hand. Laughter fills his eyes and lifts the corners of his mouth. “Ever the romantic, eh, Maewen?”
He leans down and presses a kiss to the tip of my nose. I arch up, trying to regain his lips, but he dodges away.
“No more tonight,” he says. “When the operation is over, and my mother has been stopped, I will take you back to Faerie and show you what I mean by slow and seductive. Would you like that?”
Would I like that? Of course, I would like that. I never thought in a million years that I would want to visit the place my mother hails from, nor anticipate being seduced by a sexy fae royal, but here we are. Life truly does move in mysterious ways.
“I would like that very much indeed, Rho.”
His satisfied grin speaks volumes, but then he slides off the couch and stands, leaving me faintly bereft. I like my own company, in general. I’ve never felt a compulsion to be with someone else so strongly. Until now.
“You can stay if you wish,” I don’t hide the hopeful note in my voice.
His smile this time is regretful. “No, my beautiful banshee. I have much to organize, to be ready for bait day.”
Bait day. That term again. It brings back everything that happened earlier, and I sit up and run a hand through my hair, pushing it back away from my face. “I’m so sorry it turned out to be your mother, Rho. You know what it will likely mean, when...”
I don’t need to finish. He knows that this can only end in death, for the perpetrators. Of course, he does.
“I know. She cannot be allowed to continue. If it comes down to it, I will wield the blow, to save others...” He shudders, and I jump to my feet and pull him into my embrace.
He wraps his arms around me in return, and we stand in silence for several moments, somehow drawing comfort from one another.
The calm before the storm.
“Farewell, my banshee. See you soon.” He kisses the top of my head and steps back out of my embrace. “There are protections on your apartment. You can relax here. No one will get in without a whole bevy of warriors turning up within seconds.”
Without waiting for my response, he casts a portal and disappears in a flash of silver light.
It is only after he’s gone that I realize he kept calling me banshee—his banshee—and instead of being annoyed by that, I actually like it.
***
I have never felt more ridiculous in my life. Oh wait, there was that one time I went undercover as a prostitute, when I had to wear a super-short skirt and high heels, and so much make-up I didn’t recognize the woman in the mirror when I was ready for the assignment.
Other than that time, I don’t believe I’ve ever felt more like a fish out of water than right now, walking into the fancy reception area of a luxury spa resort, arm in arm with two women who share my blood, but who I barely know at all.
“Relax, Mae, we don’t bite,” Indie murmurs in my ear.
Aleah just pats my arm on the other side.
I release a long sigh. “I know. I’m just worried about... well, everything. Keeping you guys safe, making sure we lure them out, catching them... I mean, what if he clocked that Tarrien is trying to play him? What if they don’t take the bait at all?”
I break off, then realize something. “You called me Mae.”
“Oh.” Indie stops, forcing all of us to stop with her. “Do you not like that? It just slipped out by accident.”
She seems as unsure as I am about this strange sisterly relationship. We’ve all been thrust into this situation whether we like it or not, and the only one who seems at all calm about it is Aleah. Maybe it’s all that clean country living out there in Hatton Grove. She’s not as strung out and running on nerves and adrenalin.
Then again, she did face down two abominations with only a stick and a little silver knife, so she can’t be as laid back as she seems.
“My dad used to call me Mae,” I admit to Indie, before adding, “I don’t mind if you call me that. Or you, Aleah. I kind of...like it.”
Aleah pats me again, and then unlinks her arm from mine and steps forward to the registration desk. She rings the bell for service, and then turns back to us.
“Try not to worry so much, Mae.” Her smile is genuine and wide. “Luc and Tarrien know what they’re doing. Rhodri, too, I believe. He seems...nice.”
There’s a wealth of question in that last sentence, but I don’t have any answers for her. I’m attracted to Rhodri, without a doubt. Physically, his body sings to mine in a way I haven’t ever experienced before. I can’t see how we will ever have something long-term, given he is destined one day to rule Winter Faerie and my life is firmly seated here in the human world. And yet, he isn’t what I expected when he first materialized in front of me only a few short days ago, and I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with the emotions he evokes when I’m around him.
Aleah is correct. He does seem nice. Remarkably so, given his mum is a complete nutter who is going around killing people left, right, and center, and his dad, from the sounds of it, doesn’t have the balls to lead.
I smile awkwardly at the banshee girls, and then the moment passes as the reception staff arrive to take our registration details.
The resort is situated on the outskirts of Melbourne, in the low mountain range to the east. A large sweeping driveway lined with tall eucalypt trees and smaller tree ferns, leads to a large manor-style house with a grand pillared entrance. The reception area is instantly soothing, with piped music playing gently in the background and muted lighting creating an ambience that oozes relaxation.
I had no idea the mage who runs the humble little shop in the city where I got my charmed ring also owns such a luxurious enterprise. Or perhaps, the shop is the side business and this majestic place is the main attraction.
I will have to pay more attention to Topaz, next time I drop in to recharge my opal charm.
Indie, Aleah, and I are all staying overnight in the same suite. It’s one of the things I absolutely insisted on. We do this together, we stay together, and none of us branch off and make ourselves an easy individual target. We might be dangling bait in order to catch a very big fish or two, but this bait is alive and kicking and determined to fight back as hard as we possibly can.
“Oh, you’ve chosen the Deluxe Pamper package with the Magical Booster. And, to start, a mani-pedi. What a delight for you all.” The receptionist beams at us. “You’re going to leave here so relaxed you won’t know what to do with all that joy. You will love it, I promise. Your first treatment starts in an hour—just enough time to settle in to your suite and sample the wine and chocolates we’ve laid out for you. Enjoy your stay, and please don’t hesitate to call reception should you need anything at all.”
The woman clearly has no idea why we are really here. I’m aware that, after Rhodri arranged things with Topaz and her cousin Amethyst, the latter briefed a select handful of her staff. She had to, in order to allow my team to step in and ready themselves undercover as staff members. I made the decision to remove most civilians from the scene, so, apart from a small handful of genuine staff mixed in with SUDAP members, the only customers at the moment are the three of us, plus a couple of female SUDAP staff who volunteered—rather eagerly, I might add—for the task.
Rhodri’s warriors will be on hand, too, although they will remain hidden until needed. An on-call magical army, so to speak.
The prince himself is shadowing a member of my team. He made that fact non-negotiable, and as much as his assumption of being in charge annoys me, I’m grateful for the extra set of hands.
I was concerned at first that Rho’s presence would jeopardize things, given how well-known he is to all winter fae, and obviously, to his own mother. A glamor apparently won’t work either, not on his mother. But, given it is now common knowledge that Tarrien is working under his command to try and keep the banshee-hybrids safe, it doesn’t seem out of character for Rho to actually be here, after all.
We have prepared as much as we can. There are plain-clothes police officers stationed outside and in the facility. Though I’ve never met the queen nor Tarrien’s father, others have provided detailed information about the extent of their powers, and Rho cast an image so we would all know exactly what they look like.
I’m concerned in particular about Indie. When she saw the image Rho cast, she developed a fit of the shakes. She gives the impression of having a tough exterior, but she must have been through hell when she was captured and held by the queen.
Her experiences at the hands of Rhiannon and Targon are nothing short of horrific. The fact that she is here today, supporting this operation and allowing herself to be used as bait alongside Aleah and me, is testament to an inner strength that is admirable.
I have never reached out to try and find any of my siblings, and until now, I never questioned that decision within myself. I’ve done everything in my power to tamp the fae side of my heritage down. Banshee, in my mind, has always equated to violence, and destruction. Death. I wanted nothing to do with that.
Now, studying Aleah as she accepts our room key from the receptionist, and noting the determined set of Indie’s features as she picks up her overnight bag from where she had placed it beside her feet while we waited, I realize I may have been a bit hasty.
A rush of something fills me. It is not affection, but perhaps it could be termed as a burgeoning like for the two of them. I am interested to get to know these women better. I want to understand who they are and where they came from. Even if that means facing what I’ve always avoided before—my own past.
Indie and Aleah are banshee, but they are also human, and they have both found a way to deal with their hybrid heritage without letting it destroy them. Is it possible, that I might be able to do the same?
The receptionist directs us through an archway toward a set of elevators. We are staying on the second floor, chosen because it will be close enough to ground level for someone with supernatural strength to climb easily, if they want to come after us.
They just won’t be expecting what awaits them, inside the room.
Sheer decadence greets us as we enter. My eyes boggle a bit as I stare around the room. The lounge area is bigger than my whole apartment, and I shuck off my shoes just inside the door and sink my toes into the softest carpet I’ve ever experienced.
“Wow,” Aleah says, her mouth hanging open.
“Fuck me,” Indie adds, and at that we all burst into fits of laughter.
I can’t believe I’m standing here giggling like a schoolgirl, but it feels...nice.
“I’m a bit scared to put my scummy old things down amongst all this magnificence,” I admit. “I guess there must be a lot of money in magical witchy day spas.”
Crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling at strategic points throughout the space, and the walls are adorned with a textured wallpaper in soothing grays, blues, and creams that perfectly match the pale gray carpet. The blue stripe in the pattern reminds me of Rhodri’s eyes. I shove that thought aside.
“I have been here once before,” Indie says. “But only for a treatment, not to stay over. It was a birthday gift from my assistant, Dreya. As far as I’m aware, the treatment rooms are all on the ground floor. I never ventured up here.”
We advance into the suite and explore, each of us claiming one of the three bedrooms for ourselves, and then reconvening in the lounge area. We sit on a large cream sofa in front of a glass coffee table laden with wine in an ice bucket, fluted glasses, and a platter heaped high with delicious sweet treats.
“When they said chocolates and wine, I didn’t quite imagine that.” Aleah stares at the platter.
“Me either,” Indie says. “I assumed a peppermint chocolate on our pillow.”
Which reminds me...
“Bedroom doors stay open tonight,” I say, and the other two nod.
“Damn straight. No way I’m being dragged off by that evil bitch queen again,” Indie says.
Aleah frowns. “We want them to come for us, I get that. But what if...well, in my experience those abominations are pretty quick. Will your team be able to get in here in time, Mae?”
I smile reassuringly, though on the inside I’m just as nervous as she sounds.
“We’re well protected. Rhodri has his warriors standing by in some folded pocket of reality or something. I don’t quite know how it works, but they are very close, and ready. He gave me this”—I lift my hand and show off yet another ring that almost matches the opal charm—“and I just need to twist it and call him. He’ll be here almost instantly. My own team are dotted throughout the facility as well. There’s no way of knowing exactly how or where an attack might eventuate, so we decided my team would be on lookout duty and Rhodri will bring in the heavy hitters if we need them.”
I can’t actually believe we’re going ahead with this at all, but the case has been bubbling along for as long as I can remember and at this point, I’m willing to try almost anything to bring it to a head.
“Plus, we have our fae protective suits,” I say. “Which reminds me, we should probably don those now.”
Rhodri provided us with three almost-transparent body suits that are gossamer-thin, practically invisible to the human eye. But he said they are made of extremely fine chain mail that will afford some protection for my sisters and me when we wear them. They cover our neck and torso, and extend down each leg to the knee and down each arm to end around the elbow.
Each suit is fitted with a tracking device, which Rho assures me will work in the unlikely event one of is actually snatched and taken away.
I gave him a look when he mentioned the tracking device, but on reflection I realize it is a good idea.
The more I am drawn in to the ways of the fae, the more I realize how little I actually know. My own fault, for being so obstinate, but as an officer of SUDAP—an organization that deals in supernatural crime—it is an oversight I am going to have to rectify, and soon.
Indie, Aleah, and I retire to our rooms and then re-emerge decked out in the strangely light and airy fae body suits beneath our normal street clothing.
I bend down and touch my toes, and then straighten, jiggling about a little. No restriction in movement, which is great. I only hope they are as effective as Rhodri insists they are.
Aleah still looks worried, and even Indie is chewing all the red lipstick off her bottom lip. I smile encouragingly.
“Let’s have some chocolate, girls, and head downstairs for our first treatment,” I say. “We need to act as if we really are here for a sisterly get-together, in case anyone is watching and reporting back to Tarrien’s dad. So, chocolate first, and then we get to pretty up our toenails.”
And then, we wait for the enemy to strike.
