by Rhys Ford
Rykoff sighed. “I suspect he is part of the disappearance of a prince of the summer court, and I am honor bound to ensure the prince’s safe return and bring the person responsible to justice.”
That didn’t sound good. Hugh didn’t know anything about how fae politics worked, but it sounded like a fairly serious thing to kidnap a prince.
“And no one else believes he kidnapped the prince? That’s why you’re here alone?”
Rykoff’s jaw tightened. “The queen believes the prince left of his own volition and will return when he is ready.”
“How long has he been gone?”
Rykoff slumped against the tree, looking more defeated than Hugh had ever seen him. He hadn’t even appeared this resigned when Hugh had bested him at the truck stop and he’d been too weak to stand.
“Eleven years.”
Wow. As cold cases went, that was a hard trail to follow. “And you think this rogue has something to do with it because….”
“The prince would never leave for this long if he had a choice. We know he is still alive, but we cannot track him. That is highly unusual. And as for why I believe Ambrose has something to do with it—he used to be one of the prince’s most trusted advisors. When the prince went missing, Ambrose was the one who came to the mortal realm to find him. He returned with news that the prince was dead, but fae royalty have a way of detecting when a line dies out. The prince is the eldest child. If he was dead, we would know. The light for the Harlow line still burns brightly. It has not died out. So Ambrose must be up to something.”
“And you want to be the one to find out what that is?”
“You make it sound vulgar. I take no pleasure in it. I don’t seek to curry favor with the queen or win a higher place at court. If the prince is being held captive here, I will free him. If he has chosen to stay, I will respect that. But with Ambrose involved, I think it has to be foul play. He has laid low these last few years, after his fall from grace with the court. But my informants tell me he’s gathering strength to take over the throne. He’s here to gain some sort of power, and I need to stop him.”
This was like a fairy soap opera. Rykoff might say he wasn’t in it to prove anything to the queen, but there was definite reverence in his voice when he spoke of her and the prince. There had to be more to the story than Rykoff was sharing.
“And you have no idea what this power play is? Or where he might be?”
Hugh still had contacts from his time working for the Greater North American Supernatural Council. If Rykoff had any solid leads, he could help him run them down. The sooner this rogue was back in the fae realm the better, both because he didn’t want Rykoff hurt and because Hugh wanted to salvage his summer vacation and be able to hunt down killers and feed without feeling guilty thinking about Rykoff fighting this guy on his own.
“I know where he will be tomorrow. He has a meeting with sprites in Buffalo.”
That definitely wasn’t good. The political inner workings of the fae might be unknown to Hugh, but he was well-acquainted with those of the sprites. The ones who operated out of Buffalo were particularly nasty. Likening them to the mob wouldn’t be out of place. Sprites dealt in information and ley-line energy, since water was often a conduit for both. And that was even more true of the sprites who operated out of the Great Lakes. Ley lines ran throughout them, and all that power converged in Lake Erie. It was like a cauldron where the energy swirled together before passing through Niagara Falls into Lake Ontario.
There was a reason Lake Erie had one of the highest concentrations of shipwrecks in the world. It was the underwater base of operations for the Great Lakes sprites.
“Then let’s get going. It’s a long drive to Buffalo.”
Rykoff shook his head. “I will portal there. I don’t want to bring you into this. Besides, I don’t even know where the meeting will take place.”
“I’m already in it,” Hugh said. “And I know exactly where they will be. The sprites have a base of operations at a coin laundry on the banks of Lake Erie in Buffalo.”
Rykoff’s look of shock was almost offensive.
“I didn’t always work in an insurance call center, okay? Before Ruby I worked in supernatural diplomacy. You’ll need to tread carefully with the sprites. They won’t appreciate you busting in on their deal, and you do not want them as your enemy.”
Chapter Eight
“OKAY, LET’S run through this again,” Hugh said as he pulled away from the gas pump and headed back to the interstate. They’d been driving for three hours and were no closer to having a plan of attack than they’d been when they left the park in Detroit.
“Your man Ambrose is headed to negotiate with the sprites because they have information that will help him overthrow the queen. But we don’t know what that is or what he’s got that they want in exchange for the information.”
Rykoff made an annoyed noise. “I’ve told you everything I know. You know more about the sprites than I do. What do you think they want from him?”
“They deal in information and power. They’re also thick in the underbelly of illegal substance trafficking.”
“Drugs?”
“Among other things. They do a fair amount of transporting human drug shipments because it’s lucrative, but what the council has its eye on them for is selling black market potions and rare ingredients.”
Rykoff stared out the window. “Like the kinds of things you might find in the fae realm.”
Hugh opened the bag of Twizzlers he’d picked up inside the gas station, ignoring the exaggerated gagging noise Rykoff made in response.
Hugh was fully aware he had lost control of his life, hence the Twizzlers. If he was captaining a road trip to a third-rate industrial town to thwart a power-hungry fae’s meeting with sprite kingpins, he was damn well going to do it while eating Twizzlers and Combos.
“I’d say that’s a good guess as to what he’s bartering. The sprites don’t suffer fools—he has to know that. They only entertain serious petitioners, and the price of their assistance is steep. He must have something valuable if he could get an audience with the Niagara sprites.”
“And you think you will be able to get a meeting with them?”
“I don’t think I can get us a meeting, I have already gotten us a meeting.”
He’d let most of his contacts slide since leaving the council, so he’d been surprised when his 3:00 a.m. text to an old colleague had been returned within the hour. And not only that, she’d been willing to help him set up a meeting with the sprite elders.
After the dust settled from all this, he was going to make a point of reconnecting with his old friends. It would be nice to have a supernatural network again. Hell, now that there was no reason to hide the supernatural from Ruby, maybe he could work for the council again. From a self-serving point of view, it couldn’t hurt to rekindle his connections. He and Ruby might need help in the future.
He’d made it clear when he set up the meeting that he and Rykoff had nothing to trade, but apparently the sprites were willing to talk to them for free. Bizarre, but he wasn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth.
“I cannot explain why, but I am even more attracted to you at the moment.”
Hugh turned and grinned at him around the Twizzler that was sticking out of his mouth.
“Despite your taste in food,” Rykoff added.
“Sounds like a competency kink to me,” Hugh teased.
“Please take that thing out of your mouth. I can’t bear it,” Rykoff said. “And what?”
“A competency kink. Where someone does something well and it’s a turn-on. Me working my connections in the supernatural world gets your engines revving.”
Rykoff laughed. “I suppose. I enjoy seeing you take charge, even if I must protest your involvement.”
“Classic competency kink. Wait till you see me folding laundry or making dinner. It’ll blow your mind. I am eminently competent.”
As soon as the words left his mo
uth, Hugh worried he’d gone too far, talking about a possible domestic future. But Rykoff’s smile only grew.
“I’d like that. The opportunity to see you and Ruby together would be wonderful.”
Hugh had meant more than that, but he kept his mouth shut. It sounded like fae choosing to live in the mortal realm was a rare occurrence. They were nowhere near ready to have a conversation about that. He doubted Rykoff viewed what had happened between them as a one-night stand, since he’d made his views on intimacy and relationships clear. But that didn’t mean he was picking out wedding china either.
Did they even have weddings in the fae realm?
Hugh took a breath to center himself. One task at a time. They needed to figure out what Ambrose wanted from the sprites and how to stop him. Then they could talk about Rykoff meeting Ruby and what their future might look like, if they had one at all.
“Has Ambrose committed any crime that your realm can punish him for?”
“Rumors and innuendo only. It is my hope the sprites can give us information about his plans that will verify his intentions so I can convince the queen that he is not to be trusted.”
That might prove difficult, but they’d cross that bridge when they got to it. He almost laughed at his own water pun but caught himself. This wasn’t the time to introduce Rykoff to dad jokes.
“Okay, enough strategizing. If you were in the fae realm, what would you be doing right now? I’m curious about your life there.”
“Nothing this interesting.” Rykoff’s self-deprecating snort only piqued Hugh’s interest.
“No, come on. I’ve told you what I do. I sit in an office and take phone calls from angry people all day. What do you do? Surely fae have jobs of some sort. Or do you all just live off the land in tree houses or something?”
“We have jobs, Hugh. And homes. We don’t live in trees.”
“So what do you do for your job, then?”
“I’m a carpenter. I make furniture.”
An unexpected bolt of lust hit Hugh square in the chest. He’d joked with Rykoff about a competency kink, but this was his. He found men who created things with their hands fascinating. He snuck a glance at Rykoff’s, but they were smooth and unblemished. Nothing like the human carpenters or builders he’d dated. Supernatural healing was useful, but it also meant none of the delicious calluses he loved on humans.
“So you sell furniture in the fae world?”
“And the mortal realm. I have an Etsy shop.”
Hugh choked on the bite of Twizzler he’d been swallowing. “You have the internet in the fae realm?”
Rykoff snorted. “Of course not. But I have an iPhone. I portal to the mortal realm every few days to check for new orders and to ship the finished pieces. I had to put the store on hiatus while I’m tracking Ambrose.”
That opened up so many questions.
“Do you have electricity in your realm?”
“No need,” Rykoff said, holding up his palm. The air above it shimmered before it erupted into flame.
Hugh jerked in surprise, nearly letting the car drift into the other lane. “The fuck!”
“We don’t need the amenities humans rely on.”
Rykoff closed his palm, extinguishing the licks of fire like they were nothing.
“Can all fae do that?”
“No. Those who don’t have a fire affinity rely on candles or have others help them. As I rely on my brethren who have a water affinity to provide water when my well cannot. Those with air affinity conjure cool breezes to soothe us on warm nights. All fae have an earth affinity, naturally.”
“Naturally,” Hugh repeated, sounding as shell-shocked as he felt. “And all fae have another affinity?”
“We do. The affinity chooses its host in the host’s thirteenth year.”
Thank Christ. Hugh wasn’t the most attentive parent in the world, but he’d be gutted if he’d somehow failed to notice his daughter conjuring fire out of nowhere. It was like the parenting memes all over Facebook—don’t feel bad, the mom from E.T. had an alien in her house for days before she noticed. Except, you know. With fire coming out of his daughter’s hands.
“So Ruby would be too young to have one yet?”
Rykoff patted him on the knee. “She is not yet of age. Woefully behind on her education, but not yet ready to open herself to an affinity.”
It sounded insane. “Open herself? So the elements are sentient in the fae world?”
“They’re sentient here too. But humans haven’t opened themselves to listen.” He shot Hugh a look when Hugh opened his mouth to ask more questions. “There’s a ritual. I do not know what would happen if a fae came of age without it. Perhaps an affinity would choose them anyway. Perhaps not. This is why it’s best if you let her come to the fae realm. She needs to know this side of herself.”
That was becoming more and more apparent. And it was terrifying. This wasn’t like sending her off to summer camp.
“If I let her visit, would she be allowed to come home?”
Rykoff’s silence stretched on, and Hugh’s heart sank more every moment it did.
“I want to tell you yes, but I do not know. It would be up to the queen. This has never happened before, at least not to my knowledge. I’m not a court scholar, but I’m not uneducated in the histories either. Ruby is special.”
Damn right she was.
Hugh pushed the rest of his Twizzlers away, his appetite gone. He couldn’t begin to imagine a life without Ruby, but he also didn’t want to be the reason she never knew her heritage. Who knew what would happen when she came of age. He certainly didn’t know how to help her. And if she had a fire affinity like Rykoff, there could be some very serious consequences to her power being unchecked.
Hugh flinched in surprise when Rykoff twined his fingers through Hugh’s where his hand rested in his lap.
“These are not problems that must be solved today. When I return to the court, I will secure a promise from the queen that Ruby may pass between the realms as she wishes.”
“You have a lot of confidence in your sway over the queen. I thought you’d tried to convince her Ambrose was dangerous. What if she doesn’t listen to you about Ruby either?”
Rykoff squeezed his hand. “Then I refuse to give her details about Ruby, the two of you continue to live in the mortal realm, and we find another way to help her. Perhaps the fae healer I told you about who lives in Nebraska could teach her.”
The cold pit of fear that had been growing in his belly eased a bit with Rykoff’s use of the word we.
“You’ll help her? You won’t just turn her in or leave us on our own?”
“Even if I have to leave the court myself. I would swear it on my fealty to the queen, but that seems traitorous in this instance, so I will give you my word instead.”
Hugh swallowed hard and nodded. He didn’t have to know Rykoff well to know that what he’d just promised was huge.
“All right. Thank you.”
It didn’t seem like enough, but it was all he could say. He didn’t start any more small talk the rest of the drive.
Chapter Nine
“I THOUGHT we were meeting with the sprite elders, not just one person.”
Hugh would have smacked him if it wouldn’t have been disrespectful to the sprite leaning against the large tumble dryer a few feet away.
“We are. Sprites share a collective consciousness. Like water, it flows through them, connecting them. So meeting with one is meeting with them all.”
“Why are we meeting here out in the open instead of at their court?”
The laundromat the sprites operated from was hardly out in the open. The windows were shuttered, and the place hadn’t been a functioning laundromat for years. He wasn’t sure how the sprites had come to use it as their terrestrial base of operations, but he bet the large drains that led to the lake were the reason they’d chosen it.
“Their court is underwater,” he hissed back. “Now shut up.”
T
he sprite pushed off the dryer and walked toward them. She looked like a middle-aged woman, but Hugh could see she was much older than that from her aura. It rippled and flowed with her energies and those of the rest of the elders. It was beyond intimidating.
She stopped in front of them, and Hugh bowed, pleased when Rykoff followed his lead without prompting.
“Rykoff of Harlow,” the sprite said, greeting the fae. “Prince of the summer court. Your presence is an honor to us.”
Hugh nearly swallowed his tongue. Rykoff was a prince? What the fuck?
The news utterly rocked Hugh, but this wasn’t the time or the place to discuss it. He shook his head when Rykoff opened his mouth.
Rykoff was a fairy prince. Jesus.
The missing prince he was here looking for must be his brother. His hatred for Ambrose and his refusal to give up his search suddenly made a lot more sense.
“The honor is ours,” Hugh replied after he’d found his voice again. “Thank you for granting us an audience.”
The sprite inclined her head in acknowledgment and turned to Rykoff.
“Speak.”
“We come seeking information about the rogue fae Ambrose of Wynne. We believe he seeks to trade with you.”
“This is true,” the sprite said. “We are not the first he has appealed to in his quest for his prize. No one has been willing to help him.”
“And will you?”
Hugh flinched at the brusqueness of Rykoff’s question, but the sprite did not seem to take offense.
“We will not. We have the information the traitor seeks, but the cost is too great. Meddling in this affair will start a war not only within the fae courts but also with the supernatural world.”
“How do we stop him?”
“We cannot answer that. Our neutrality holds the supernatural world together, and we must not risk it.”
Rykoff shifted his weight impatiently, and Hugh put a cautioning hand on his arm. They had to tread carefully here. The sprites were as fickle as the water they served, and the more they learned about Ambrose the worse Hugh’s gut felt about it. They couldn’t risk angering the sprites.
