I see. I don’t think the prince would like cheap.”“It will help you save on cost since I’m not going to be here for long. How about your most common material?”“I don’t think sheer and transparent clothing will hide those hickeys you have everywhere.”Mabel gaped at Alicia , who had said it so casually and was jotting studiously on a notebook.“Mabel …how about non-common material?”Her cheeks burned, but the older magic was unperturbed.“We have those too. Not as cheap, but then again, nothing’s cheap here. Us Winter magic spare no expense. Now, stretch your arms. I don’t know their length yet.”Alicia took measurements, never mentioning the hickeys again. Just as the measurements were jotted down, a bell sounded from a distance and cracked the ice on the walls. Mabel frowned, puzzled. Alicia’s hands went slack, dropping the notebook.“Alicia?” Alarm coursed through Mabel when the woman’s face turned ashen. “What’s—”“There’s another death in the court.”Mabel did her best to sound
“We can ask, not order. Later. I’m sure she’s with Yu now…”He trailed off when he glimpsed a figure out of the corner of his eye, flying in a frenzy. The pixie would have slammed against his head if he hadn’t sidestepped. He reached out to pluck the guy’s wings when Yu was about to hit a tree, gently redirecting him.“Yu, what are you doing here? What—”“Mabel. Help.”Fear coated Yu’s tone. It fed Brian’s enough that he didn’t bother to ask questions, already running until Yu was leading the way. Alicia followed behind them, a frown marring her lips. She gasped when they reached a clearing, but he barely heard her as he took in the cracked icy pond and destroyed tree barks.Traces of blood led out of the clearing, along with footprints. He quickened his pace, leaving the two behind and feeling sick to his stomach when the blood drops grew thicker and the tracks became sluggish. Then up ahead was the shoreline, which their court avoided as too many creatures liked to portal in and out
He kept himself distracted, even when Mabel remained in his mind. Then the investigation took a turn when the magic user’s body disintegrated into ash and a chain reaction occurred. One week later, he finally had substantial news for Mabel.“The magic user’s body disintegration caused all of his remaining energy to disintegrate, too, including the spells he placed on others.”“Emma?” she guessed.He nodded. “The energy wall inside him has been lifted. He confessed to more crimes and confirmed the magic user’s identity, as well as working with the man. After watching the magic user orchestrate two of the deaths, Emma also gave an account of how the magic user would have made the other deaths seem like accidents or natural causes.”“Teeth and being mauled to death, so we would blame other creatures,” she cited.“Yes.”“Why?”“He was offered a better position and more access to power.”“Which court?”“That’s the thing. He doesn’t know which court, only that it was a major court. The magi
“This is our entertainment wing. This room is for special guests.”“A whole entertainment wing?” Excitement flickered in her tone. “That sounds fun. The Winter Court is so strange. I expected formalities and prudishness, not parties and…”Her voice trailed off, the excitement freezing as she stood near the glass wall. He sauntered over to look and froze. The glass wall separated them from another room below, one where writhing bodies were visible.“Sexcapades. We have lots of rooms for those too.” And he had forgotten that those activities still happened, even in broad daylight. He cursed his carelessness, already fretting. He watched her swallow.“Sex rooms,” she whispered.There were men and women, all magic, some he knew well. They were in various states of undress, as well as sexual positions that ranged from just starting to get into it, already reaching their climax, or slumped in a state of sexual fatigue. He followed where her eyes were glued and landed on a couple on the floo
There was an accusation there somewhere, though Pearl managed to make it sound like she was talking about something fun. Henry’s frown redirected to Pearl, but the short woman didn’t care. When Henry glowered, Pearl responded with the same scathing look.“This is official business and you are—”“Welcoming my sister, who was gone for a while and probably needs all the care and rest in the world—”“I just need to meet up with the Council,” Mabel interjected, cutting off whatever argument she could sense was broiling. “Now, if it’s possible.”“We will escort you—” Henry started again.“I will escort her. You can escort us if you’re that suspicious.”Again, Pearl managed to make it sound light, but Mabel could feel the tension in the woman’s shoulders. So, she hooked her arm around Pearl’s and led the way herself, leaving the two men no choice but to follow. Gunther soon led the way, quiet and formal, the distance he put between them allowing Pearl to ask her questions.“Where have you be
Holy shit. Holy freaking shit.” Pearl let out an expletive, then a whistle. Ruby shushed her, but a small smile formed on the younger woman’s lips.“Holy shit indeed,” Ruby mused. “Who is he?”“A wonderful man,” Mabel said honestly. “A magic who defies what the books say about Fae folks and…everything.”Panic blossomed. Giddiness rushed at its heels and she took their hands, unable to stop her affection from flowing—and heavens, it was all Brian’s fault and she loved him for it too.“I have to go back,” she repeated, grinning when they did. “Oh, heavens. I made him believe I was fine leaving him when I wasn’t. I have a lot of explaining to do. What if they don’t accept me back? What if he’s moved on already? What if—”Pearl squeezed her hand firmly.“Mabel, calm down. Don’t panic. You got this. And if he’s moved on already, then he will find out what the Sutton siblings’ wrath is like.” But the smirk died from Pearl’s lips. “But let me tell you that going back to La Fleur is difficult
Alicia.”“Yes?”“Is there any way—”A booming sound cut off his words. A second later, the walls shook violently, and Brian sensed the incoming pressure before he heard the whistle. Then an explosion shook him to his core, even while he reached for Alicia and hauled her toward him. More explosions came, each one louder than the last until he could see nothing but darkness as the ceiling and walls crumbled around him. But his shield was there to cocoon him and his sister, preventing them from getting crushed to death.The last explosion was the loudest, buzzing in his ears. Silence followed, prominent and eerie. Alicia coughed.“Are you okay?”“If okay means alive, then sure. You?”“Same.” He scanned the darkness, trying to find cracks in the debris. “We need to get out of here.”“Let me take care of that.”Frost hit him in the back, then the soles of his feet. It coated his shield and formed a thick, solid block of ice, matching the shield’s shape so as not to disturb it. He felt Alic
By killing lunatics like you.”A blast of energy wrenched his soul, then battered him inside out. Screams ensued. Belatedly, it dawned that the pain was dimming and his vision was returning. Then it registered that he knew that energy deep in his heart, and that was enough to kickstart his fighting spirit and rouse him back to awareness. There was so much brightness at first, making it hard to determine which way was up, but a hand clasped his and Alicia drew closer.“Heads up, Brian,” she ordered.Alan stumbled into view, face purple and eyes bulging red. Before the man could reach them, Alicia lifted their joined hands—and instinct drove into Brian, prompting him to do the rest as he swung their hands forward. Their energy formed to ice, sharp and brilliant…slicing straight through Alan neck until the man’s head detached from his body and rolled to the ground. The body followed, crumpling with a heavy thud, and a stone clattered beside the bleeding form.Alicia bent over to examine