by Cate Corvin
I looked in the mirror and decided mascara was in order. My late night had left purple shadows under my eyes. “Today is the day,” I told my tired reflection. “You can do this. You are awesome.”
I wasn’t even sad about putting on my fake fairy wings and practically skipped out of the apartment.
Carabosse was already outside, draped in glittering veils and watering her boxes of primroses at the bottom of the stairs. The cat sìth sat by her feet, its tail curled around its paws.
I waved to her, feeling cheery despite my tiredness. “Morning, Carabosse!”
The hedgewitch looked up and put a hand over her chest. “I never get quite used to those little hoochie pants,” she muttered, and said louder, “Morning, Briallen!”
I stopped and crouched down to scratch the cat’s little head. It purred and headbutted my fingers. “What’d the daily horoscope say?”
Carabosse paused in her watering and squinted at the sky, her face wrinkling even further. “That today is a good day for change. Pfft. More like it’ll be a good day to close the shop and put my feet up. My legs aren’t what they used to be. Someone needs to repave these cobblestones; I almost twisted my ankle the other evening.”
I glanced up. The sky was still misty, but I wouldn’t take that as a bad sign. It was a great day for getting a new permanent position with Robin.
I said goodbye before Carabosse could inventory the various things about her that were ‘no longer what they used to be’ and made my way to Web and Peaseblossom, determined to beat Gwyn to the counter.
I firmly pushed the fact that he was a Wild Hunter to a dark closet in the back of my brain. Flirting was harmless, right? It wasn’t like he was trying to sweep me away to the Otherworld on his bike or anything.
But when I got there, Gwyn was already sitting outside on the stone wall, with a white box next to him. My stomach did its customary slow flip at the sight of him. Thin little braids with silver beads in them were scattered in his thick mane of caramel hair this morning, and his tee shirt was green today, with a ram’s skull on the front.
He gave me a slow smile. “Good morning, Briallen Bananatree.”
I leaned my bike on the sidewalk and sat next to him. “I was supposed to get breakfast this time.”
“Beat ya to it. You’re gonna have to be quicker than that.” Gwyn handed me a napkin and deliberately moved the box aside, scooting a little closer.
I took a lemon twist, ignoring the fact that I was blushing. It was pretty much impossible to not blush in his vicinity.
“Oh,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Lemontree today. Switching things up on me.”
“I’ve got to keep you on your toes.” I took a big bite and wiped the crumbs away with the back of my hand.
We ate in comfortable silence. Gwyn nibbled a muffin, occasionally looking at me askance. “What?” I asked, wondering if I’d missed a crumb or five. “Is there something on my face?”
Gwyn’s garnet eyes were veiled, his expression impossible to read. “Now, don’t take this the wrong way, because you’re the most glorious being walking the streets of Avilion, but you look tired today.”
I thought of the char spread all over the alley. The bits that had once been a Fae.
“I was walking home last night.” I didn’t even try to stop my mouth from running off by itself today. There was no point with Gwyn. “And I found a Ghosthand victim. It was like the body had been trampled this time.”
“You live a very exciting life. Spill.”
I gave him the gory details, getting it all off my chest. I wasn’t going to stop seeing that alley in my nightmares anytime soon.
“The Garda wanted to question me, but Robin Goodfellow intervened. So I got to skip that interview, but then my roommates needed the whole story.” I sighed. “I only got a few hours of sleep.”
Gwyn frowned. “Goodfellow didn’t haul you in?”
I paused mid-bite. I’d been able to say Robin’s name to him, even though the binding potion I’d taken specifically prohibited me from mentioning his name. I hadn’t even been able to tell Clove and Tarragon.
“No,” I said slowly. “He believed me.”
“Lucky banana,” Gwyn told me. “Those who go into the Garda cells often don’t come out. Goodfellow’s not known for being easy on them.”
I nibbled the tart. Maybe I could tell him I worked for Robin.
But if I could and did, Robin would probably be furious for spilling it, and that was the last thing I needed today. “I guess I am lucky. I just wish I hadn’t seen the body.”
I knew I probably looked like a hangdog puppy, but it was impossible to look perky and unphased by corpses on two hours of sleep.
Gwyn reached out and took my hand, wrapping his big fingers around mine. It felt as natural as breathing, except for the mounting flush on my cheeks that intensified the moment he touched me.
“You’re blushing again, Bananas,” he remarked, changing the subject for my sake. “When are you gonna take me up on that motorbike ride?”
“Which one?” I smiled up at him. “Oh, you mean the one you haven’t asked me on yet?”
His eyes crinkled at the corners when he grinned. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
“Hmm.” I took another bite of tart while I thought it over, still holding Gwyn’s hand and feeling pretty comfortable about it… except for the faint tinge of guilt that I hadn’t told him I was working for Robin. Whom I had a massive crush on. “If, hypothetically, someone were to ask me, then I suppose I’d say yes.”
After all, Robin was my boss. A crush wouldn’t overcome that divide; it’d die out in time, or he’d have to fire me.
Besides that, riding a motorbike with a Wild Hunter wasn’t like I was getting married to him or anything.
Just simple, harmless flirting.
Gwyn’s hand tightened. The monkshood plant tattooed on him flexed with his movements. “Good to know. Just in case someone on a bike ever finds you wandering around at night when you should be behind a locked door.” Gwyn gave me a sidelong glance with those garnet eyes.
I balled up the napkin in my free hand. Yeah, that was about the last time I was ever going to walk home alone at night. Next time Robin offered me a ride, I’d be all for it. “Something tells me if the Ghosthand really wanted me dead, a locked door wouldn’t do too much for me.”
“Still.” Gwyn ran his thumb over my knuckles.
“Still,” I agreed, pleasant tingles flowing through my arm. Harmless flirting, Appletree. Keep your cool.
He held out his other hand and I stared at his empty palm.
“Hand the phone over,” he said. “Let me put my number in.”
My face was probably on the verge of exploding as I slid the Acorn 8 out of my pocket and unlocked it for him. It definitely felt hot enough that I might’ve been the tiniest bit on fire. It was weird how he brought that out in me.
Maybe it was because of his air of being totally fucking awesome. Robin was fun to poke at, but Gwyn struck me as the kind of guy who couldn’t be phased by anything.
Meanwhile, I regularly snorted in the most unattractive possible way and looked like a wobbly baby deer in high heels.
Gwyn plucked it out of my hands and began typing, his brow creased. “You ever need a ride, you know who to call,” he told me, handing the phone back. “Don’t be a stranger.”
“Well, we can’t be strangers if we’re meeting for breakfast dates,” I mumbled, shoving the phone back in my pocket.
Gwyn’s teeth flashed briefly. “Ah, so you finally acknowledge that they’re dates. Now we’re making progress.”
I looked up at him, momentarily dumbstruck. Gentry just didn’t come like this. They were haughty, cold, walled off in their estates and far removed from the Lessers. “Gwyn, why would you want to date a Lesser?”
His smile slowly faded. I immediately wished I could rewind time and shove the words back in my mouth.
We weren’t dating. He was just teasing me. T
hat was the sort of thing a serious girlfriend would ask. The presumption was off the charts.
“You know, these little breakfast dates make the rest of the day easier.” His hand tightened around mine. “Making you blush gives me something to laugh about when everything else is dark.”
“Gwyn…” I had so many things I wanted to ask and couldn’t think of a clear way to phrase them. How hard was life in the Wild Hunt if having breakfast with me was a bright spot in his day?
He glanced down at a battered watch, his expression shuttered. “You’re late, Bananatree. Better get that ass moving.”
I sucked in a breath and swallowed all my questions. “Um. Right.”
Maybe I’d screwed up our lighthearted little mornings by asking at all. It wasn’t my business what a Wild Hunter wanted to do with his time, or what he did when he was with them. The less I knew, the better.
I stood up and brushed the crumbs off my legs, avoiding his gaze.
But Gwyn leaned forward and tapped his cheek. “Can I get one for the road?”
His eyes were glittering with suppressed amusement, but my heart was galloping overtime in my chest, slamming against my ribcage.
I leaned over, finding it suddenly very hard to breathe, and my lips just brushed the smooth skin of his cheek.
Gwyn turned his head, his lips catching me full on the mouth. They were soft and warm, molding against mine perfectly, and one of his big hands reached up and brushed the edge of my jaw.
I couldn’t breathe at all, terrified of breaking the moment. His tongue gently traced the edge of my lip and he bit down on the spot gently, a nibble that sent electric shocks through my veins.
Maybe we stood that way for only a moment. Maybe it was for an entire sunlit spring. Time didn’t seem to have meaning anymore.
But Gwyn broke away first, his eyes heavy-lidded. “You should get to work before I carry you off to the Otherworld,” he rumbled, and I backed away on shaky legs.
“Work,” I repeated. “I forgot about that.”
And that was the honest truth.
He smiled, a little more animation coming into his handsome face. I regretted seeing the look of almost primal hunger vanish. “From bananas, to lemons, to… tomatoes.”
I pressed the back of my hand to my burning cheeks. “I’m handing all the blame for that over to you. This is your fault.”
Gwyn got up off the stone wall, stretching over me to his full height. The smell of his cologne along with the sight of his shirt stretched over a broad chest was enough to send my imagination straight into the filthiest gutter in Avilion. “I’m happy to be at fault… as long as you’re here for breakfast tomorrow.”
I picked up my bike and turned it towards Fairy Ferry. “It’s a date.”
“Good.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, a half-smirk on his lips. His very lush, kiss-swollen lips that I couldn’t take my eyes off of.
Branches help me, but it took all my willpower to start walking away from that. My brain was wallowing in the mental gutter like the happiest pig in the world.
I’d made it around the corner and down to the next stoplight when someone tapped my shoulder.
I turned around and suddenly Gwyn was kissing me again, burying his hands in my hair, his tongue sliding between my lips and tangling around mine.
My bike clattered to the pavement when I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck.
Everything vanished around me; all I could think of was how silky Gwyn’s hair felt in my hands, the heat of his skin over hard muscle, and the way he leaned over me, sucking my lip into his mouth and making a low sound in his throat that made my knees weak.
I lost all track of time and space until a satyr wolf-whistled from a passing car.
Gwyn let me go, leaving me feeling like I’d just taken a free-fall plunge straight out of the sky. I could hear my own blood pulsing in my ears as I gazed up at him.
He gave me a wolfish grin. “And that’s for good luck for the rest of the day. Until tomorrow, Bananas.”
I raised a hand in farewell, not trusting my voice to get the job done.
Gwyn whistled cheerfully as he walked back the way he came. He winked when he glanced over his shoulder and saw me still staring at him, but it was impossible to flush redder than I already was.
I walked on clouds all the way to Fairy Ferry.
The bell tinkled as I pushed the door open. The Ferry girls were getting their packages sorted, some of them already biking out into the city.
Numa popped up behind his desk, practically quivering with rage. His little hooves clip-clopped as he trotted around the desk, his eyes glued on my chest region.
If he was going to yell at me, he could at least have the decency to yell at my face.
My cheeks hurt from smiling so widely. I had all the good luck I needed.
“Late AGAIN, Appletree!” His shout died out when he saw my wild grin. “What are you smiling about? You can have the shit deliveries today—”
I yanked off my fake wings, popping the elastic bands and sending a cloud of glitter to the floor. “I quit, you perv!”
He stopped dead in his tracks, looking thunderstruck as I tossed the pixie wings at him. “You can’t quit,” he sputtered.
I just cackled, feeling amazingly good.
No, I felt better than good.
I felt fucking awesome.
I walked out, picked up my bike, and took a deep breath. “Thanks, Gwyn.” I cackled again.
Then I turned towards Thornwood and started pedaling to my new boss.
12
Trepidation didn’t hit me until I rolled up to the Thornwood gates, which silently slid open to admit me. The Fae guard, settled in his box with a magazine, didn’t even look up as I pedaled through.
What if Robin didn’t want me working for him full-time? What if he told me I didn’t have what it took to become an agent?
On the other hand, he was the one who’d called my job ‘nonsense’. Twice, no less.
And if he was keeping me up for late nights while I needed to wake up for early mornings, I’d drop dead of exhaustion long before my six months were up.
I set my jaw, determined to make him see sense. Not only did he need me for this, but he was the one who’d embroiled me in it in the first place. Now that I knew what was going on, I wasn’t going to be able to rest until I saw it through to the end.
Not until every single one of those poor human girls were rescued and Brightkin was brought to justice.
In daylight, Robin’s house was much less creepy. It had the same architecture of many of the older Thornwood houses, making it look like an antique relic of times past, but nothing more than a charming, comfortable home.
Certainly not the kind of home where body parts were buried in the backyard, but I guess you never really knew until you tripped over a foot.
I parked my bike in its usual spot and made my way to the back door. It was unlocked, but I still opened it as quietly as possible, wondering if Robin slept through the mornings.
Indistinct voices emanated from the kitchen. I shut the door silently and crept down the hall.
Part of me felt bad for eavesdropping, but it could be chalked up to practice.
“Robin, she’s young. You pulled her into something so far over her head… of course things were bound to get out of hand. Surely you remember being new and foolhardy.”
Despite her size, Sisse’s voice was loud and clear. I pressed myself flat against the wall, listening for Robin’s deep voice.
When he spoke, he sounded tired. “I put her in danger. It doesn’t matter if she found the missing key I needed; if she hadn’t left when she did, she would’ve been raped. All because I told her to go in there.”
There was a moment of silence. When Sisse spoke again, she sounded gentle. “You would’ve helped her.
“Yes, I would’ve! And I would’ve blown the investigation!” Robin snapped. “Brightkin would’ve seen me for who I am, and he and Cald
er would’ve gone to ground. They might have fled the damn city for the seasonal Courts, and I have no jurisdiction in Tír na nÓg.”
Sisse scoffed. There was a clink of porcelain on wood. “Oh, please. Queen Lissar wouldn’t grant safe haven to criminals. Robin, see sense. You’ve been more alive and interested in your work than I’ve seen in years, and it all started when she walked through the door. Let the girl learn; you’ll catch Brightkin red-handed, and maybe you’ll finally have a partner you can trust again.”
There was the rustle of cloth, and then Robin’s voice was muffled. “I sent her out at night, Sisse. I, of all people, should know to never rely on a killer not changing their habits. I could’ve gotten her killed.”
Sisse just laughed. “Like you were much better off when the Queen tapped you for this job. She’ll learn, Robin. Give her a chance. You and I both know you’re dying to keep her.”
Robin was silent for a minute that stretched into eternity. “What if she doesn’t want a chance after that? Who wants to risk their life and safety? She should be allowed to walk away unscathed when all is said and done.”
I bit down hard on my lip, feeling both guilty and exhilarated by what I’d heard, and crept back down the hall. This time, I opened the door and shut it loudly, and made sure my steps were heard.
I burst into the kitchen. “Good morning!”
Robin was sitting at the kitchen table in front of a half-empty mug of black coffee. Sisse was parked at her little doll table.
The boss’s face was glum, on the verge of a scowl, but a tinge of hope rose under the burgeoning confusion. “Good morning, Miss Appletree. You weren’t expected until evening.” Was that cheer hiding under his grumpy tones, or was I imagining things?
I gave myself the mental pep talk under a sudden surge of panic, trying desperately to cling to the elation of the look on Numa’s face. You are awesome, Briallen. Kick ass. You can do it.
And I had Gwyn’s kiss for good luck.
“Well, I quit my nonsense courier job.” I tried to smile. “And I want to work for you. Full time. If you’re okay with that.”
