Chapter 34
I stare at the white-haired man in front of us, my lips parted in surprise.
I glance back at Memnon, whose face is impassive. His magic, however, is beginning to leak from his palms.
My eyes drop to the card in my hand. “Did I just summon you?” I ask.
Had I realized speaking the words would actually call this man, I would’ve kept my big mouth shut.
The very tall, very pretty man scoffs. “I’m not a demon.” With a flick of his wrist and a whiplike strike of his own shadowy magic, his power snatches the card from my hand and drags it into his own clutches.
I don’t miss the way Memnon’s own power surges at the action, flooding our side of the room with plumes of indigo magic.
“If you didn’t have to come,” I say, “then why did you?”
“I would tell you, little witch”—next to me Memnon stills at the name—“but it would cost you.” The man—the Bargainer, I presume—tilts his head.
“I wonder what someone like you would be willing to pay,” he muses, clearly uncaring that he’s playing with a live grenade, taunting me in front of Memnon like this.
The sorcerer’s magic has already filled half the room.
“Careful, fae,” Memnon all but growls.
“Fae?” I echo, my eyebrows rising. The man is wearing a Def Leppard shirt, leather pants, and boots. Hardly the attire I imagine an Otherworldly creature would wear.
But when my gaze reaches the Bargainer’s ears, I find they’re pointed.
My heart begins to pound. “You’re exactly who we need to talk to,” I say to the man. If Eislyn is trying to rule or, hell, simply enter the Otherworld, the fae are the ones who should be notified about it.
The fairy pockets his business card. “Shame because, like I said, I am retired.”
And yet, he still hasn’t left Memnon’s office.
Memnon must have the same thought because he says, “If it paid well, would you make an exception?”
The fae hesitates. “Maybe, but then, my wife would have my balls.”
“She probably has them anyway,” I mutter under my breath.
The fairy narrows his gaze, his focus sharpening on me in a way that is decidedly uncomfortable.
Memnon notices it too because he moves around to the front of the desk, placing himself between me and the Bargainer. I see Memnon’s hair beginning to shift.
In response, the room grows darker.
The fairy’s gaze flits over Memnon. “I hear you’re a bloody pain in the ass.” He studies my soul mate a little longer. “And…you’re older than dust.”
This is the second time this fairy has said something about us he shouldn’t know.
The Bargainer toes the edge of the Persian rug at his feet. “You do, however, have decently nice taste in offices.”
Memnon lifts his chin. “Name your price.”
The Bargainer glances up. “Tell me your request first.”
“There’s a fairy who needs to be stopped,” I say from behind Memnon’s shoulder.
“You’re going to have to come out of hiding, sugar,” the Bargainer says. “I can’t see you.”
Now the sorcerer’s hair begins to blow in earnest
I slip off the edge of the desk and walk around Memnon. The Bargainer smirks as I approach him.
“Much better,” the man says. “Now, you want me to stop a fairy?” He clucks his tongue, strolling toward me.
“Even if I wasn’t retired, that would be a large ask.
Far too big for your little sugar daddy over here,” the Bargainer says, his eyes flicking to Memnon as he stops in front of me.
“And”—he smirks as his gaze returns to mine—“I’m afraid it’s far too big for you too, sugar,” he says with a wink.
I don’t know when Memnon moved to my side, but now his hand shoots out faster than I can follow, wrapping around the Bargainer’s throat.
Memnon’s other hand moves to his temple.
Memnon’s power pours off him, wrapping around the fairy and slipping into his eyes, his ears, his mouth and nose, sinking into his very flesh.
It’s a dizzying amount of magic, but it might do nothing against a fae.
“Do not toy with my wife,” Memnon growls, “…Night King.” He says this last part with a pinch of surprise.
My eyes widen with shock that Memnon was able to glean anything from the Bargainer’s mind through magic alone. But then his words hit me like a freight train, and my attention swings to the white-haired fairy.
We summoned a fae king?
Now it’s not my imagination—around us the room is darkening, which makes a whole lot of sense, given we are dealing with a fae king of the night.
The fairy’s eyes flutter as he fights Memnon’s mortal magic.
All at once the shadows seem to rush into the Bargainer. There’s a single moment where the room is devoid of the darkness. Then—
BOOM!
The windows shatter, metal shrieks, and Memnon and I are thrown backward as a wave of darkness ripples outward into the world around us.
I grunt as I hit one of the side walls of the office. Memnon is thrown into his desk, which slides nearly to the edge of the room. Beyond it is now nothing but air and the howling wind.
The Bargainer stalks forward. “Might want to spell yourself a pair of fucking wings, dickwad, because I’m throwing your awful ass off this building. I might even toss your long-lost wife out along with you.”
Memnon’s eyes are fully glowing now, the clouds of his indigo magic sparking with his power. “What did you say?”
The fairy walks up to him and presses a boot onto Memnon’s chest. The desk behind him groans as it scrapes closer to the open edge of the office. I can’t seem to drag enough air into my lungs for the scream building inside me.
The fairy leans down, his white hair dangling around his face. “I didn’t fucking stutter, did I, Memnon the Cursed?”
A concentrated burst of Memnon’s power explodes out of him, blowing my hair away from my face and knocking the Bargainer back a few paces. I cannot fathom how much magic went into that strike, and yet how little it did.
“Stop!” The word tears free from my throat. “Stop!” I shout, scrambling forward.
I rush to Memnon then, pulling my husband to his feet. His eyes are still glowing, but physically, he looks unharmed.
“Are you alright, est xsaya?” I say softly, the howling wind from beyond the gaping windows stirring my hair about my face.
Even as brightly lit as Memnon’s eyes are, I swear they gentle with my words. He reaches out to touch my cheek. “If you are safe, I am fine.”
“Good,” I sigh out, reaching for his hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles.
Then I release his hand and turn.
The Bargainer stands a few feet away, looking more than a little miffed about the whole situation. Darkness is gathering around him again.
I stalk over to him.
“Est amage…” Memnon cautions from behind me, his power deepening his voice.
“I’m fine,” I tell him, my eyes meeting the fairy’s. The term silly little fool flitters through my head.
Before I can even open my mouth, the Bargainer gives me a massively annoyed look. “Obviously I’m not going to help you, little witch.” He says the last part like an insult.
“Speak to her like that again, and I will cut out your tongue,” Memnon says, the low pitch of his voice drawing out goose bumps along my skin.
Across from me, the Bargainer smiles, and it’s full of nefarious intent. “Is that right?”
Maiden, Mother, Crone, this is impossible.
“There is a millennia-old fae princess from the Flora Kingdom named Eislyn Alder,” I rush out, “who has lived in exile on Earth for the last two thousand years as punishment for a failed coup against her father.”
The Bargainer stiffens as he hears my words, but he seems to be listening, so I continue on.
“She’s been a menace here in the human world ever since,” I say, “one Memnon and I have had personal experiences with. And we now have reason to believe she’s going to try to return to the Otherworld and reclaim the Flora Kingdom throne. ”
The fairy’s gaze flicks over me; his eyes then move reluctantly to Memnon, who has prowled closer to us.
“And you want me to what, stop her?” the Bargainer says, returning his attention to me.
“To be completely honest,” I say, “I hadn’t really meant to call on you with that fancy card of yours. But now that you’re here, and you happen to know the threat, and you’re an actual king with actual power—yeah, stopping her would be great.”
The Bargainer smooths his shirt down, looking deeply put out. “Why should I insert myself into the politics of another nation simply to stop a contender for the crown? She sounds like a legitimate heir.”
Memnon steps up next to me and places a hand at the base of my neck. I glance over at him. His eyes are still glowing as he stares impassively at the Bargainer. His magic, however, lashes about us, restless and wild.
“She wants my soul mate.” My voice breaks as I stare at Memnon, who’s still consumed by his power.
The Bargainer’s eyes move between the two of us, and I think he might be softening until he says, “This all sounds very dire for you and Sugar Daddy here, but I still don’t see how this is my problem.”
He turns, beginning to walk to the door out of the office.
“Eislyn has an army of demons and other supernaturals that she’s bonded to her, and she controls them with absolute power,” I say.
The fairy pauses, and I barrel on, determined not to lose this chance. “She will use them to get her throne, just as she will use Memnon.”
The Bargainer hasn’t turned around, but he also hasn’t made another move to leave again.
“If you really are an Otherworld king,” I say, “then I promise you Eislyn is going to be a problem. If not now, then once she gets her throne. She has spent her life building and toppling empires. It’s how she entertains herself. She won’t stop at her own kingdom.”
Now the Bargainer turns; now he’s listening.
“You said you have a wife—a queen,” I continue. “If you care about her—”
The room darkens. In response, Memnon’s power rises, meeting the threat.
“She might not be safe,” I say to the Bargainer. “I wasn’t.” I swallow.
The fairy tilts his head, as though he’s listening to something we can’t hear.
His gaze drops to my stomach, then travels up to my face. “You’ve made your point.” After a moment, he says, “Tell me all you know about Eislyn.”
I glance at Memnon again, whose magic is still riding him hard, unsure whether he wants to add to this as well. But the monster that’s consumed my mate at the moment has taken no interest in strategizing, and my heart constricts at the cost Memnon is paying for his own power.
“It’s going to take a while.”
“I’ve got time.”
I clear my throat, glancing behind me at the open wall of windows. “Could you at least fix the glass for me? It’s fucking cold.”
The Bargainer stares at me for a moment, then I see his shadowy magic snake out, tendrils of it reaching far past the gaping opening.
Several moments later, thousands of shards of glass float up from far below and fit themselves back into the panes.
Memnon’s desk grinds forward, away from the ledge as the windows reform.
Once all the glass is filled in, the seams between each piece smooth until the windows are whole and clear once more.
“Happy, sugar?”
I bite back my retort. Goddess, but how I hate endearments coming from any other lips but Memnon’s.
“Thank you,” I force out.
“Now,” the Bargainer says, folding his arms, “tell me about this fairy.”
I draw in a deep breath. “When I first met Eislyn in 54 AD, she was already old…” I begin.
I don’t know how long it takes me to tell him everything I know, but somewhere during the conversation, Memnon’s power finally releases him. I see his body sag a little and his breath shudder out of him. But even once his power is tethered, he keeps silent, letting me talk.
The Bargainer, for his part, has taken to pacing the office as he listens, looking increasingly agitated.
When I finish, the fairy runs a hand over his face.
“Fuck,” he curses under his breath.
When he drops his hand, he looks resigned. “This is what I get for retiring,” he mutters to himself. Louder, to us, he says, “I’ll help you—for a price.”
Memnon’s the one who says, “Deal. But I’ll be the one paying.”