“We’ll get to that.” I blinked. “So you lived with a whole bunch of other women and dragons in a castle?”
She nodded. “The food was quite good there. Dragon shifters are very into fine cheeses. And there was gold everywhere.”
None of this was what I had been expecting, but my stomach rumbled at the mention of fine cheeses.
Already, I was heading for the wardrobe to get dressed. “Hazel, we have a lot to catch up on, and I’m taking you to breakfast. I mean, dinner.”
“Where exactly are we going?”
“To the bar.” I frowned at her as I pulled on a dress. “You don’t seem nearly as traumatized as I was expecting. Considering we had a whole apocalypse and everything.”
She shrugged. “Maybe the Earth needed a reckoning. Maybe it was time for a purification.”
What. The. Hell. Was she saying this for the benefit of people who might be listening, or did she really believe that?
“Purification,” I repeated.
“Keep the humans in balance,” she said lightly. “Is there alcohol in this bar? Because the dragons let me drink whisky.”
As I grabbed her hand, I scowled at her. “You are sixteen, and you are about to find that the dragons and I do not have the same rules.”
She rubbed my arm gently. “Sweet sister. You don’t get to make the rules now.”
I bit down on an angry retort. We’d only just reunited, so I wasn’t going to start arguing with her. Plus, I had to accept the fact that we’d been separated for nearly two years now, and a lot had changed. Maybe people grew up fast in the world of the Great Nightmare.
Hell, I’d never killed anyone before all this started, and last night I’d gloated over the body of a convulsing angel.
As I led her into the bar, I grinned to find Elan sitting at the counter over a glass of whisky. Bruises and scratches marred his pale skin.
“Elan!”
“Ruby!” He grinned, pointing at me. “You know, for a demon, you really got into the spirit of Eimmal. I’m always impressed with someone willing to throw themselves into new cultures with such abandon.”
I took a deep breath. “I can’t say I’ll be doing the same next year. Took me a while to get the dirt out of my nails.”
“Anyway, I’m glad to see you’ve recovered from Johnny’s drunken attack.”
So the rumors had spread around the castle already. “Not only have I recovered, but I’ve got my little succubus sister with me. Elan, meet Hazel.”
Elan lifted his whisky glass. “To the succubi! Creatures of ancient terror and seductive legend, mothers of all demons…” He trailed off, frowning. “That’s a bit much, isn’t it?”
I was already behind the bar, pulling out bread for sandwiches. “Hazel, apparently, has been living in a castle with amazing food.”
She beamed, “And I learned how to ride on the back of a dragon.”
I smiled uneasily. “Great.”
“What have you been doing?” She gestured at the empty bar. “Have you been in Hotemet Castle the whole time?”
I glanced at the arched doorway, catching a glimpse of an angel with dark wings and stormy gray eyes drifting past. Was it really true—that Adonis and I were on the same side after all? The fact that I was standing here, still breathing, suggested it was.
Adonis was working against the other angels, and that meant I had a lot of questions to ask him as soon as I could get him alone.
“Helloooo!” Hazel waved her hand in front of my face. “Did you hear me? Have you been here the whole time?”
“No, not the whole time.”
We had a lot to catch up on, a million stories to swap, but I didn’t want to tell her all of them—didn’t want to tell her about the things I’d done, or the starvation that had gnawed at my ribs. I’d be leaving out the rats, and the murder of Dickhead. The raw, overwhelming terror.
I’d put on a show. I’d stick to the funny stories—Elan’s cat sweatshirts, a jaunt through the night sky with an angel, my accidental entrance into Adonis’s bedroom.
In the world of the Great Nightmare, only our stories kept us sane, and as we sat in the warm light of the bar, I’d be telling her only the ones I wanted her to hear.
We hope you enjoyed Covert Fae. To read about Ruby’s first encounter with Kratos—and her experiences on the day the Great Nightmare began—you can sign up here. We will also keep you updated about upcoming releases.
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to my amazing beta readers: Michael and Jenna, and to my editors, Robin and Kristen.
Doc Wendigo, Shayne Rutherford, and Brian Jaramillo contributed their design expertise to a gorgeous cover.
About the Author
C.N. Crawford is sometimes one person, and sometimes two. We live in Vermont with our son.
Christine grew up in New England and has a lifelong interest in local folklore—with a particular fondness for creepy old cemeteries. She is a psychologist who spent eight years in London obsessively learning about its history, and misses it every day.
Also by C.N. Crawford
C.N. Crawford has written two other series that take place in the Demons of Fire and Night world.
Please Check out the Vampire’s Mage series, and The Shadows and Flame series for more books in the same universe.
A full listing of our books are found here:
http://www.cncrawford.com/books/
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