30 Minutes Ago
The camera feeds cut out one at a time, the talking reporters disappearing from the screen. The main feed returned to the news anchor who claimed they were having technical difficulties. The newsroom tried to contact someone on the scene to tell them why all the feeds cut out.
Kate fiddled with the sleeve of her sweater as she and Greyson watched from the café bistro chairs. She hadn’t been able to form a clear thought since the assassins left. There was no cell in her body that would survive if something happened to Lily.
“You think…” Greyson released a nervous hiccup. “You think your boyfriend can really save her, Kate?” he asked.
“I know it seems crazy to have sent the baristas, but they’re good at… certain things,” Kate said.
Neither of them looked away from the TV, even when the broadcast went to a commercial break.
“That doesn’t sound crazy,” Greyson said after a few moments. “I know there’s something off about them—it’s super obvious. You don’t have to tell me what it is. I’m just glad they’re here for this.”
Kate didn’t object to his observations, but she didn’t explain, either. “Yeah,” was all she said.
Lincoln and Tegan shuffled in through the café door and hung up their coats. “Sorry we’re late, we were watching the news! Grey, Lily is totally on the…” Lincoln stopped when he realized the news was on the TV. He slid into a bistro chair without another word. Tegan snatched a cookie and slid into the opposite seat; eyes glued to the screen as the feed flipped back to the ‘live on the scene’ reporters.
The restored news feed showed police officers emerging from the surrounded building. Kate breathed a sigh of relief when she recognized Cress in Officer Riley’s uniform. Lily was in his arms, and Kate could have cried.
“See?” she said to Greyson. “I told you they’d…”
Coldness crawled up Kate’s back. A faint shadow appeared of someone standing beside her.
“Wow!” Tegan said through a mouthful of cookie. “Where did that guy just come from—”
A cold hand grabbed Kate’s arm, and she was yanked backward against a hard chest.
“Hey! Not cool!” Greyson shouted and leapt from his chair.
Kate tried to pry the cold fingers off as a chilling voice whispered in her ear, “I’ve enjoyed watching the North Prince follow you around, Human. That’s what us fairies do. We watch. We wait. And then, when no one is looking, we grab what we want.”
The last thing Kate saw before she vanished was Tegan and Lincoln springing from their chairs and the look of horror on Greyson’s face.
Light and colour burst into being around Kate, sharpening into the lines of a new place. She gasped as she was dropped onto clean white tiles.
The air felt cooler.
The late afternoon light was replaced by artificial light.
The smell was different.
She looked up in dismay at a wide, curved staircase she didn’t recognize. Tall crystal windows with red silk curtains lined an enormous lobby, a giant chandelier hung overhead, and silver-and-brown-eyed fae stood around the room. They sneered as Kate stood and turned, taking them all in. She was in someone’s home. It looked like the mansion of a wealthy family. She didn’t want to imagine where that family was now.
Her mouth was too dry to speak. She watched the fae with black hair walk to a row of chairs at the side of the room. He grabbed one and dragged it back, filling the space with screeching echoes. It left marks on the tiles.
He tossed the chair toward Kate. “Sit, Human.”
Kate sank into the chair. She pictured her baristas trying to enter this place, certain they’d be driven into the ground with this many Shadow Fairies. She clasped her trembling hands, trying to sort through her foggy memories.
“Bonswick,” she whispered. “That’s your name, isn’t it?”
Instead of answering her question, the fae looked her over with shameless interest. “I’ll never get it,” he said. “A prince who had everything he wanted falls for a helpless human insect. What a tale for the legend books.”
The fae—Bonswick—grabbed the armrests of Kate’s chair. His mouth came provocatively close to hers and curled into a wicked smile. “What’s worse, Human? To be able to do nothing to save yourself, or to be viewed as an insect on the shoes of the fairy gods?” he asked. “Or both?”
“You think I’m an insect?”
“Yes. You are unworthy to exist.”
Kate held his gaze as she slid a hand into her pocket. “That’s sweet of you.”
His smile widened as he dragged his thumb across her bottom lip. “You speak like a sarcastic fairy female. Perhaps that’s why he doesn’t think of you as a human.”
“Maybe.”
Kate tore the medallion from her pocket and smacked it against his cheek.
Bonswick ripped himself back, kicking her chair over as a sizzling sound filled the room. The medallion clattered to the floor, and his hand slapped over his pale cheek.
Kate crashed to the tiles and rolled from the chair. She winced and licked her lip, tasting blood. Through her fluttering lashes, she eyed the closest window, half-hidden behind a fae body. It was cracked open an inch; icy air slid through.
Her hair was grabbed, and she was yanked to her feet. The fae bent her head backward to expose her throat, his silvery eyes grazing over it like a hot string running along her neck.
“That was for Mor,” she rasped, throat bobbing.
His warm breath rushed over her when he laughed. “Queensbane,” he whispered. “Maybe I can understand after all, Human.” He tossed her back toward the chair, and Kate landed in it with a thud that echoed into the tall ceiling.
A poorly timed laugh tumbled from Kate’s mouth. She tried to stop, but it bubbled out faster than she could control it, her nerves turning her self-control to mush.
The fae grabbed her hands. His nails dug into the flesh above her knuckles and turned her last chuckle into a shriek. He pinned her like that until Shadow Fairies brought rope and wound it around her chest, tying her arms down to the chair.
“Laugh all your wishes away, Human. I can make you miserable while I wait for the illegitimate Prince to come hold up his end of our bargain,” Bonswick said. “And I assure you, you’ll wish you’d never met me after he’s gone.” He tore his nails out, and Kate gripped the armrests, fighting to not release a sound.
Greyson’s face had been horrified before Kate vanished. Lily had just been a hostage on the job. Neither of them would be okay if Kate didn’t make it back. It was the first pulse of fear that paralyzed her into the chair.
Yet, still, she hoped he wouldn’t come.
As the hour trickled by, Kate watched the large wooden entrance doors, willing them to stay closed. The fae spat on her as they passed and whispered lullaby-like songs that made her want to get up and dance. Her feet moved, and she tried to stand, but she only lifted the chair along with her, and they all burst out laughing.
Shadow Fairies blew her kisses, and icy wind flitted over her skin. She shivered as a prickling sensation pulled her flesh tight. She’d never felt a menacing cold that struck so deeply into her bones. Her knees shook as she tried to catch her breath.
Lily’s voice entered her subconscious through the haze. She imagined her friend telling her to try and figure out where she was, to gather clues and find an escape route. Kate glanced back at the cracked-open window. Her head was growing heavy, and her thoughts spun. If she’d been brought here by normal humans, she might have stood a chance at outrunning them in a sprint. But there was no way she was going to escape a pack of fae, especially ones that could disappear and reappear in front of her.
She squeezed her eyes shut when one of them sang again. A tear escaped, running down her dry cheek as she tried to block out the sound. The sweet, horrifying tune trickled over her flesh and into her ears like a hot ribbon. She’d never heard anything like it. She never wanted to again.
The singing ceased, and whispers filled the room. A familiar touch of warmth pressed her cold skin. Kate’s eyelids were sticky when she peeled them open, and through her dizziness she saw a blurry silhouette of someone walking toward her in a police uniform.
She shook her head. She wanted to tell him to stop.
Bonswick sliced through her ropes with a dagger. He grabbed a handful of Kate’s shirt, wrenched her from her seat, and threw her forward.
Cress caught her. He wrapped a warm arm around her frozen body, and he pressed his mouth to her ear. She could feel his heart through her numbness.
“Katherine Lewis,” he said so quietly, Kate almost didn’t hear the words, but her body went rigid involuntarily, “I want you to walk out of here without looking back. And I want you to go live a happy life.”
Just like that, Cress released her.
Kate found her feet moving—one in front of the other. A sound escaped as she realized she couldn’t stop, nor could she turn her head right or left to see if he was okay.
Mor, Shayne, and Dranian stood in the lobby, doing nothing but watching the things Kate couldn’t see with dismal faces. Dranian shook. His sharp breathing turned desperate. His lashes fluttered as he crumpled, trembling—Shayne caught him before his knees smashed to the floor.
Kate couldn’t stop. She passed them and walked toward the grand entrance with a sob, eyes ahead to where a well-aged woman with a pink scarf and a fancy coat waited outside the open doors with a long, serrated sword in her grip. Her opal earrings reflected the glorious entryway lights.
“Come, fairy goddaughter. I’m only here for you.” Freida extended her hand, and Kate found herself taking it.
“Don’t let them take him, Freida, please,” she begged. “Please, I’ll do anything. I don’t want them to take him.”
“What’s done is done. The rest of your Brotherhood allies are only here to see the Prince of the North Corner off. They will leave this place as soon as he’s gone.” Freida marched down a wide set of snow dusted stairs. She pulled the scarf off her neck and wrapped it around Kate, even though it did nothing to stop Kate’s shivers. “You’ll stay at the Yarn & Stitch overnight with us until the Shadow Fairies are gone. After that, you can do what you like, Kate Kole.”
“I don’t want to go to the Yarn & Stitch—”
“Too bad. The Prince has made us a bargain, and we’d like him to keep his end of it,” Freida said. “We must keep you with us until he’s gone if we wish for him to stay silent about our hiding place.”
“But…”
“Just come. It’ll all be over soon,” Freida said.
Kate swallowed.
This was it. There was no going back.
This was goodbye.
