“The ball. That’s why there was a ball tonight. You hoped Titania would be among the student population to Ascend.”
He canted his head to me. “Apt deduction. It pleases me to discover you are as bright as you are beautiful.”
The praise made me flush with pleasure. “Now what will you do?”
“I will continue to wait for her, which means I shall continue to watch you.”
“Right. Because that’s not intimidating at all to know.”
His smile widened, and the flames in his eyes flared again. “If that is all, I should take my leave of you and return to Tir na Nog.”
“No… that’s all. Thank you again, Your Majesty, for everything. I appreciated Dain’s help as well.”
“Do not worry, you will see him again.” He took my hand and bowed. “Take care of yourself, Lady Skylar, and look after your friends as well. I foresee more trouble ahead, for all of you, but you most of all.”
As he turned to leave, I reached and caught his sleeve. Oberon paused, raised one brow, and turned his gaze on me. I dropped my fingers from his arm and sucked in a shaky breath.
“Please, what do you know about the prophecy that involves me?”
“I may be the king of the fae, but I am far from all-knowing. In my dreams, I see you dancing among shadows in moonlight, but you are not alone. Though you wear Titania’s Heartflame, many hands are at the edge of the darkness, pale and white and writhing like larvae, each of them reaching for you. And then the gloom overtakes all, and I know not what comes next.”
“What do I do?”
He stepped back, warm light beginning to coalesce around his body. Behind him, Dain and Eldan had already vanished, there in the shadows one second and gone the next, like ghosts. “What you have always done. Learn. Fight. Never lose hope.”
“But—”
Fire engulfed the king, a brilliant scarlet and gold pillar that rushed toward the sky. Then he was gone, leaving me with more questions than answers.
14
I Date Him for the Abs
After sleeping away most of Friday morning, I roused a little after noon to accompany Gabriel to work. He talked me through his photography process during the ride to Fiesta Chicago, an upscale Latin-themed restaurant where his clients had reserved an event room for their wedding.
A valet took the keys when we arrived, and I helped him carry the equipment inside without knowing what the hell most of it did.
“I can’t believe you convinced Tristal to give me extra credit points for this.”
“Oh, trust me, you will earn it.”
“You know, technically, we’re not supposed to help every Jane or Joe who crosses our path.”
“Yeah, I know, but this is a wedding, and Tristal gave permission for you to practice. My client is your guinea pig. Her name is Karina.”
“Awesome.”
“And if you fuck it up too bad, the deposit for my services is nonrefundable, so…”
“Ha, ha.”
He looked over and grinned. “Don’t let me down. I have a four-point-nine-star Yelp review average I’d like to keep.”
“What happened to the point-one?”
He shrugged. “Idiot one-starred me back when I was less discerning about the jobs I took. Anyway, this should be really easy. Do me a favor though and dull your hair before we meet the guests or the clients.”
“Oh! Sorry.”
A simple glamour shimmered over my hair, turning it wavy and glossy black instead of curly and multi-colored. Our kind stood out at weddings and family events, so it was a bad idea to draw more attention than necessary to myself. If someone figured out there was a faerie present, I’d be besieged by wishes and requests for help.
The venue was both colorful and classy, modern with an old-world flourish. While Gabriel scoped out the building for photogenic opportunities, a bridesmaid in a blush pink dress directed me upstairs to the room where the bride prepared for her special day.
I knocked. Another bridesmaid opened the door. “Hello. I’m Skylar, and I’m helping out your photographer. Mind if I come in to ask the bride a few questions?”
“Oh my gosh, yes, please.”
Karina sat in front of a vanity with a team of women bustling around her. One applied her makeup while two others worked on her hair. And her dress was this hideous and flouncy thing made from taffeta and too much tulle. She didn’t look happy.
“Gabriel is taking a look around, but he wanted me to ask if there are any particular places where you wanted your pictures taken.”
“Outside in the garden if the light is good enough for it. There’s a huge watercolor downstairs too.” As she described her vision, bridesmaids chimed in with dissenting opinions, negating all her ideas before she could even get most of them out.
Fuck. That.
I wondered if Gabriel had invited me along with an ulterior motive, hoping my faerie magic would diffuse pushy family and friends.
A thin woman with permanent frown lines in her forehead made a disgusted sound. “Dear, you shouldn’t take this dress outside into the garden. It’ll stain. Didn’t you see those filthy garden stones?”
Karina sighed. “That wouldn’t be a problem if I wasn’t wearing white, Roseanne.”
Another woman chimed in, “The gold dress was tawdry, Karina. This is your wedding. You don’t want to be tacky on your big day.”
“Actually, the garden idea sounds great,” I said. Her future mother-in-law—at least, the colors associated with their auras alluded the older, overbearing woman beside Karina was the soon-to-be MIL—turned to stare at me.
“We didn’t ask you,” Roseanne said nastily.
“And no one asked you,” came out of my mouth before I could bite it back. “I came to speak with the bride to ask her preferences for her bridal shoot.”
Karina sharply turned away, a tiny giggle escaping her. In the mirror’s reflection, I saw her struggle to maintain a straight face.
“And now I’ll just go pass on the word and get back to you in a little bit.”
With no one to see me outside the door, I stepped into the Twilight and returned to the bridal party. An argument over what color lipstick to wear raged between Karina and the young woman beside her.
“What a nasty girl,” Roseanne muttered. “I’ll be sure to have a word with the photographer. He needs to know his assistant is a mouthy little bitch.”
There was a mouthy little bitch in the room, but it hadn’t been me.
After reining in my temper—a fae needed happy thoughts to work happy magic—I turned back to the stressing bride. “Breathe. Nothing but good things will come to you on this day as you stand beside the man you love with all your heart. No one else matters.”
Karina’s tense shoulders eased.
Perfect.
Then I turned to the woman doing her makeup. They resembled one another so closely they had to be sisters. “Remember, this is her day. Don’t stress over what color she wants, just help her feel beautiful.”
The orange tinge to their auras softened to peach as they reached a compromise and settled on a third, overlooked option. Her makeup might have been flawless by the time they finished, but her dress was still an eyesore.
Before I left the room, I visited each woman and gave them a little dose of luck and love, sparing even a pinch of faerie dust for Roseanne, the monster-in-law. Nothing—absolutely nothing—was going to ruin this bride’s special day.
With my job done, I left them to their preparations and sought out my boyfriend, ready to do my job as photographer’s assistant.
And to fix that hideous tulle monstrosity Roseanne had called a wedding gown.
* * *
During the return trip to campus after the wedding, I tried to pretend I didn’t see Gabriel eyeballing me.
“What?” I posed the question as innocently as possible.
“I can’t believe you did a Rags-to-Riches glamour on the bride in front of everyone.”
“It’s not like they figured out it was me. They just thought some benevolent garden faerie passed by and saw her taking photos by the roses.”
When I saw the dress of her dreams from the Twilight, a gown her mother-in-law had hated, I knew I couldn’t let Karina walk down the aisle in that taffeta eyesore. So, the moment she entered the garden for her shoot, I crept into the Twilight and pretended she was my Cinderella, outfitting her in a dreamy, pale shade of rose gold with a figure-hugging corset and mermaid skirt that traveled behind her in a luxurious, dirt-repelling lace and silk train.
She’d screamed.
Gabriel had almost dropped his camera. Then six of her brothers had charged outside, ready to fight until they saw her.
The dress I’d created for Karina had a short, eight-hour shelf life, but the photographs Gabriel had taken on her special day would last forever.
I grinned. “You know you were relieved you didn’t have to photograph her in that ugly shit her mother-in-law picked out.”
He chuckled finally and pulled into his parking spot. “I guess bringing you along was a great idea after all. So, you ready for your share of the cash?”
My brows jumped up. “My share of the what?”
“Your share of the cash. You worked.”
“Oh, no, you don’t have to—”
Gabriel fished an envelope out of his jacket then removed a stack of crisp bills that belonged in a rapper’s music video or a night out with the boys at a strip club. “This is only the tip.”
I stared at the cash wad, too thrown off by the amount to toss in a that’s what she said quip. “That’s a lot.”
“They paid us four grand, Sky. And thanks to your performance, Eduardo gave me this before they left the reception. Someone among the guests took up a collection and everyone pitched in. Because of the fae.” He split the stack and passed me a few bills. I counted out two-fifty and screamed internally.
I couldn’t make that much in two weeks at the campus bookstore due to my craptastic schedule, but I definitely planned to use a portion of it to enter an upcoming DDR competition with Julien.
“I’ll give you another cut once they pay the remainder. I have to go through and edit all the shots I took then upload them to a private page on my site for them to look through.”
“Wow. Thanks.”
He folded the rest of the money into his wallet. “You were a big help. So much I wondered if you’re interested in leaving the bookstore and giving me a hand.”
“Seriously?”
“Why not? Putting you on the iPad to take videos freed me to move around the room for photos. I have several jobs lined up for the spring. I trust you not to fuck shit up, and it’s better than working with a stranger. And you have a good eye when you’re not so caught up in proving you aren’t an artsy fae.”
“Hey.”
“It’s true. Sometimes you’re so hyperfocused on proving yourself that you forget what you are. That’s not an insult.”
I quieted and focused on my hands and the money I held.
“Julien told me you had a great time at the faerie soiree.”
“It was fun.
“Wasn’t so bad hanging with your own kind for a while, was it?”
I stiffened. “I never said it was. I hang out with Lia and Pilar all the time.”
“You know what I mean.” He reached over and took one of my hands. “I’m not bashing on you, Sky. I’m just glad to see you getting along with your fellow fae. And glad no one’s snubbing you for becoming a sentinel instead of a godmother.
“Julien probably had something to do with that. He’s been trying to befriend me since last year, and I’ve been a dick and blown him off.”
“Heh. Nah, he doesn’t think you’re a dick.”
“I hope not. To be honest, I thought he was trying to hit on me, and I had no idea how to turn him down without spilling the beans about us.”
“Nah. He’d probably rather bone me than you.”
It took a moment for my voice to work, and when it did, it squeaked. “Julien is gay?”
“No. He’s, uh, shit, what’s the word? Pansexual. You know, down for whoever.”
“Equal opportunity, you mean.”
“Yeah, pretty much. I think he just leans toward the dudes. So yeah, no worries about him hitting on you. He called me right before the dance and asked if I wanted him to escort you and keep the other fae dudes off your ass.”
“You could have given me a heads-up.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
I jerked my hand back and thumped his chest, but he only laughed and caught my hand. “Jerk. Remind me of why I’m dating you.”
“My abs.”
“Oh. Yeah.”
Gabriel walked me to the townhouse, but didn’t come inside this time, hanging back to chat with the raven shifter sentinel perched on a branch in the yard instead.
I stepped into the living room to the smell of fresh roses from Avalon, their origin apparent because they shimmered in rainbow colors, morphing from red to orange to yellow and carrying through the spectrum until they pulsed violet and pearl. The rosebush came up to my waist, the plant itself in an opalescent, five-gallon pot.
“Whoa, what’s that?”
Liadan grinned from the couch. “Pilar received flowers from a mystery admirer.”
The aroma of the fresh flowers filled the entire living room, and they emitted a soft glow. When I leaned down closer to breathe them in, the kind of joy associated with a stroll through Tir na Nog pulsed through me. “King Oberon sent these?”
Pilar practically floated down the stairs. “We think so. I can’t believe it. He’s so nice. I still can’t believe he went through so much trouble to help me when I am nobody to him.”
I touched the necklace and eyed my friend, wondering.
Was it my duty to protect and guard the Heartflame until Pilar Ascended? And if so, how much longer would it be until that happened and one of my best friends was swept away forever to Tir na Nog, never to dwell in this world again?
* * *
Gabriel sent a text early Saturday evening about meeting him on the northwestern quad for a surprise. I rolled off the couch, pulled on some sweats—anticipating he’d work the dogshit out of me—and arrived about thirty minutes later to find him in cargo pants, a T-shirt, and hiking boots.
“What’s up? I thought you and Rodrigo were going out today.”
“Nah, he managed to convince Amalia to go out with him finally, so they drove up to the Jelly Belly Factory this afternoon.”
“Seriously?”
“Hey, he loves jelly beans, and you can buy the funny looking ones cheap. Plus, you know, Wisconsin cheese.”
“Well, in that case, text him and ask him to get me some cheese curds. But you still haven’t told me what we’re doing out here.”
“You’re going to fly with me today.”
My brows raised. “Fly? With you?”
“Yeah. Why not?”
“I don’t know how to fly.”
“You do. I saw you during one of your private lessons with Tristal.”
“Gabriel, I crashed into the ground and almost broke my ass during the fall.”
He grinned. “Saw that part too. What I’m saying is that I’m your new flight instructor, and I don’t feel like waiting until our official training session to start on this.”
“Fine, but… do you think we could go to Tir na Nog? It’s bad enough for you to see me eat dirt, I don’t need the rest of the campus to see it too.”
“Not a horrible idea.” He shifted with ease, a man one second and a large raven in the next. He made it appear effortless. “But let’s start here. Come on, get ’em out.” He tilted his head a moment later. “Why are you making faces at me?”
I hadn’t realized I was making any face at all. “It’s kind of weird talking to you when you’re a bird. You still sound like you, but… not.”
He laughed and flew onto the back of a bench. �
�That’s because I am still me.”
I stroked the feathers on his glossy crown, smoothing down a few that were out of place. He tilted his head into it then rubbed the side of his beak against my finger. “You know what I mean. Wolves and bears don’t talk in their animal form, so it’s different hearing a human-sounding voice out of your beak.”
“That’s the benefit of being a bird shifter. We all have different advantages and drawbacks. Same as the different kinds of fae.”
“There are only three types of shifter.”
“And dozens of kinds of fae. Which means you need to work on your best advantage and exercise those beautiful wings.”
A pleasant flush of warmth surged over my cheeks. “You think they’re beautiful?”
“I’m not repeating myself and swelling your ego. Wings out.”
Finding it easier and easier with each time, I mentally flexed my wings out and spread them behind me. The lights curled and shimmered beneath the sun in opal waves. One push raised me from the ground a few inches, and I hovered in place.
“Good. I remember when you were struggling to do that.”
“Working with Dain helped a little. He’s nice.”
Gabriel grunted. “Yeah, well. Let’s go for a flight through the Spring Meadow.”
He flew across the boundary into Tir na Nog before I could ask what turned him into a Grumpy Gus.
Pushing my wings back in a downward angle sent me careening forward on a gentle breeze. I tested it again, opting to follow through the air instead of walking on foot. Everything went well until the trees started to thicken.
“I thought we were going to the Spring Meadow?”
Gabriel circled back and around me. “We are. Just the way there is kind of packed. You’ve got a choice. You can weave through all these trunks, or we can go high and break the canopy.”
“But it’s high.”
The Scary Godmother: The Paranormal University Files: Skylar, Year 2 Page 14
