Chapter 18
Oh my god. I actually thought I might be falling in love. With Boone having gone back to his dell to prepare for the election this evening, I was off to Jax’s. I’d called Charlie at the dating agency, and she’d said she and Kim were having lunch there and were eagerly awaiting an update.
I couldn’t help it. The moment I walked in and saw their expectant faces, I beamed. Kim patted the seat next to her. “Well, well, looks like we’ve got a winner again.”
I sat on the chair. “Your procedures are a little unorthodox. Part algorithms and part Seer visions, along with the whole supernatural part of the agency which I was previously unaware of. Just how many more men could I have dated?” I laughed.
Kim laughed too. “As long as Withernsea’s singles find their happy ever after, we don’t mind if we have a little assistance, and given we seem to have found your one, I don’t think you need to know how many more men are on our books. Just know that there’s more to Withernsea than meets the eye. Much more.”
“Did your eyes just flash yellow?” I asked, wondering if I was seeing things.
“Might have.” Kim winked.
Was she a wolf?
“And there really is a Seer. Can you thank Ebony for me?”
Charlie looked towards the doorway. “You can thank her yourself. She’s here.”
I turned my head and soon lost the smile off my face.
Ebony rushed towards me, grabbing my hand. “Zara. You’re in danger. You must listen to me. I’ve seen it. You’re dancing and you can’t stop. It’s the dance of the dead. You must not fall for the music. Or you’ll dance until you die.”
I scoffed, looking at Charlie and Kim, ready to be reassured by their faces, but instead, they looked horrified.
“Take a seat, Ebs. We’d better talk about this some more,” Charlie told her.
“I’ll go to the counter. This situation calls for coffee and chocolate doughnuts,” Kim added, getting up and heading over to the young woman behind the counter.
“Okay, Ebs, so can you go through this with us again, but with less drama this time,” Charlie requested.
“How can I do ‘you might die’ with less drama?” Ebony replied in a voice laden with heavy sarcasm.
“It’s only might, so let’s discuss the ways Zara can avoid it, maybe?” Charlie encouraged.
Ebony rolled her eyes. “Darling, I already did that. I said do not join in the dancing.”
“There you go then,” Kim told me. “Don’t dance and all shall be well.”
“The beat of some faery music is enchanting on purpose. To kill their enemies,” Ebony stated.
“How do I avoid this then? I want to help Boone tonight, but not so much I risk my life.”
“I can’t assist. All I can do is give you the information of what I’ve seen,” Ebony said.
“I have an idea,” Kim announced. “It’s what I do when all three of my children are crying.”
With that, we began to make a plan.
* * *
Boone met me later out near the caravan park and escorted me to the dell. Once more, I crossed over the stones and shrunk down. This time, however, I knew this was really happening. It would take some getting used to that was for sure.
He introduced me to his friend, Seeley; alongside Seeley’s wife, Marin; and their five children.
“Great to meet you,” Marin said, with a welcoming smile.
I smiled back.
Boone looked at me quizzically. I wasn’t sure why. He then pointed to the table of food that was laid out.
“Zara, make sure you do eat the food, okay? You’ll be fae,” he said.
“Pardon?” I said, tugging at my ear.
“Don’t eat the food or you’ll become fae,” he stated.
‘Oh,” I replied, shocked at how I’d misheard. Shit, I needed to concentrate if I was going to survive the evening.
“Come to the ladies with me?” Marin said. I could see the questions on her face and knew she wanted a private chat with me.
“Sure.”
“Don’t be too long. It’s my speech soon,” Boone reminded me.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I reassured him.
As soon as we reached the bathroom, Marin lifted up my hair to reveal my earplugs.
“You’ve got to help me,” I implored. “A Seer told me that I’d be swept into a dance of the dead.”
Marin’s mouth dropped open. “I’d like to say Dornan wouldn’t stoop that low, but I know he would. Okay, you put them back in and I’ll cover for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Shame you won’t be able to hear Boone’s speech.”
“I already have. He practiced it with me.” I’d helped him put the words together and it was an incredible speech, about inclusivity, and the possibility of others such as humans joining the fae. But not expectation. That people were free to live their lives as they chose and if there was a need for a greater population in the future, then to look at what had happened with Boone himself. He’d needed the Withernsea Dell and they had come through for him.
Marin visited the toilet and then after washing and drying her hands, she put her arm through mine.
“I’ve got your back, girl. Put your earplugs back in properly,” she said.
I knew then that I’d just made a friend for life.
* * *
Boone delivered his speech to rapturous applause. I couldn’t hear it well, but I could see the crowd’s enthusiasm.
I didn’t know what Dornan said in his speech afterwards, but there was a lot of over-confidence in his body language and a lot of posturing. People applauded though, just as they had with Boone, so it was unclear as to which way the vote would go.
As people began to gather and dance around us, I knew music was playing now. I could hear it but dulled down. Boone, however, didn’t look unduly concerned so these couldn’t be the enchanted tunes. He began to move in close and I smiled at him. He smiled back and for a moment it was like only the two of us were present in the dell. Then people bumped into us, Marin and Seeley suddenly distracted in trying to keep their children safe. Dornan appeared and I saw him look at me and say something to Boone, but as I couldn’t hear, I was none the wiser. Then he yanked at my arm. As I whirled back around to Boone for help, I saw he was being dragged away by other male Fae.
“Get off me, you brute,” I yelled at Dornan, but he just sniggered, and began towing me in the opposite direction to Boone.