Chapter 1
Idon’t know what the hell I expected when we got to Faerie, but it wasn’t this.
Rev is strutting around, playing to the loud ass group I think is his tour staff and crew.
They’re all rushing up to fawn over him as he greets them one by one, while Tiernan keeps a watchful eye.
He cuts his gaze to me, cocking his brow, and I shrug.
I’ll have to get used to this at some point, so it might as well be now.
Loud motherfuckers are part and parcel when you work at a bar, so that’s more annoying than problematic.
What’s making my back teeth grind is the glut of touchy chicks who keep cooing at him.
“You seem tense,” Dezi says with a smirk.
Glaring at him, I walk over to Khol and let him tug me into his arms. Public displays of affection are hard for me, but Fer isn’t here and I refuse to admit I’m struggling with this.
Fiadh Morgenstern does not get jealous and certainly not of bubble-brained rockstar groupies.
A soft hiss by my ear distracts and I turn my head to look up at the basilisk. “What?”
His voice is a whisper against my ear when he replies, “You’re hot as fuck when you’re planning to gut people.”
How the fuck did he…
“I can feel it,” he responds to my inner thought with a wicked grin. “Which means Prince Prissy Pants can, too. I bet he likes it. Keep picturing the slow deaths of those chicks, and he’ll break it off to hide us away in that weird fucking tour bus.”
That gets a chuckle out of me, even though I know it was likely his goal.
He’s not wrong about the two-tier, dark and sparkly vehicle that looks like an emo wet dream.
It’s in the band’s colors and expertly painted to draw every ounce of attention possible while announcing the royal rocker.
If Fer were here, she’d laugh her ass off knowing I have to ride around in the thing like it’s not ridiculous.
Dezi’s voice brings me out of my thoughts. “It’s not a weakness to miss her, witchling.”
I roll my eyes at him. “I know you pre-date humanity or something, but cool it with the Yoda act. Being young doesn’t make me stupid, you know.”
He frowns, looking confused. “I was merely trying to be comforting.”
Khol snorts, shaking his head as he looks at the vampire in disbelief. “Sassy doesn’t need coddling, bloodsucker. She needs to feel powerful and in control. That’s when she’s able to let people in because she feels safe. How the fuck have you survived this long being that dumb about women?”
It takes everything in me not to burst into laughter. Khol would not have been the one I’d peg as the smart one.
“Very well. Since you’re her mate, I’ll listen.” The vampire gives him a pointed look. “Which is one of the many skills I’ve developed over the millennia-plus I’ve been alive, snakelet. You’d do well to remember that.”
“For fuck’s sake, put them away, guys,” I mutter. “It’s bad enough that Seńor Sparklepants is voguing over there. I don’t need you two waving your many dicks around as well. It’ll give these groupies the wrong idea.”
“And that would be?” Dezi asks with a smug smile.
I look at him for a moment, taking in the dark, violent nature of his handsome features.
He doesn’t look a fucking day over thirty-something, no matter how many bazillion years old he is.
His sharply creased black shirt and pants make his pale skin stand out in the bright atmosphere of Daybreak, especially since he’s wearing silver jewelry accents I’ve not seen before.
His dog tag chain is visible in the vee of his half-buttoned shirt, plus he has interesting cuffs and rings adorning his wrists and fingers.
One sparkling ruby glimmers from his ear—all decorations he’s not worn at Cocktails.
“That the two of you are open for business—which you are not,” I finally manage.
My brows furrow as I look away, catching my broad, sexy leopard keeping the Prince safe in his usual icy blue and charcoal oxford and dress pants.
Revelin is dressed exactly as you’d expect the rocker to based on his promotional shit, so the three of them look about as different as men could look.
And I know the leather wearing bad boy behind me has yet another style.
“The members of this fucking boy band aren’t up for grabs—only Rev’s bandmates. ”
Khol shakes his head and I feel his hair brush my cheek. “Not true, Sassy. He told me all of his band, even the backup gals are spoken for. It’s why he felt comfortable touring with them—no chance for a Stevie Nicks situation.”
Huh. I wasn’t giving the Prince enough credit, it seems.
“La Magra, save me.” Dezi looks exasperated for a moment, and when we don’t respond, he sighs.
“That will make our deviations from the group much harder. The band won’t be out looking for…
company… and the followers, staff, and the like will want them all, including your royal, to entertain them any time we have downtime. ”
“Shit,” I groan as I roll my eyes back. “Slipping away is going to be a bitch if there are always eyes on us.”
“Worse,” Khol says as he subtly tilts his head to a woman standing on dias above the rest. She’s tall, willowy, and looks like she might be from the Midnight Court.
Her eyes are zeroed in on Revelin like he’s prey, and the crowd is preventing her from hunting.
“I’m pretty sure that’s Amethyst Crimson. ”
Who the fuck is that?
Dezi scratches his jaw as he studies her. “I believe you’re right, Bedia. Amethyst is known for being a blend of Midnight and Reaping. She’s fierce, unyielding, and supposedly more power hungry than your High Mage, witchling.”
I frown, pulling out of Khol’s arms to stand on my own. Something about that description makes me unwilling to allow her to see me in a position that could be considered weak. This time, I ask out loud. “Who the fuck is she?”
They seem taken aback that I’m not aware, but my basilisk recovers first. “She’s Darkness Falls’ manager. People say she’s helped them stay at the top of the charts for a century despite Rev being royal, not because.”
“If she’s as good as you claim and as strong as he says, we should get along fine,” I reply with a shrug. “I’m not one for wallflowers and since I’m sort of footloose for the first time in my life here, I’d like to meet a chick who doesn’t lie down for bullshit.”
Neither of them speaks and I narrow my gaze as I look between them. Something is definitely wrong and even the snarky fucking mosquito doesn’t want to tell me. I cross my arms over my chest, tapping my foot as I wait. They stay silent and I finally get irritated and throw my hands in the air.
“Fucking spill it before I kick both yours asses.”
Dezi clears his throat, obviously the sacrificial lamb this round.
“There are many rumors—unconfirmed, I might add—that she’s stayed with the band so long because she believes the King will pressure the Prince into marrying her.
Prior to the past few months, she’s always with him.
I believe the only reason you haven’t met her yet is because she’s been arranging the tour. ”
Well, isn’t that just fucking peachy?
It takes almost an hour for my mate to work his way through the throng of people who showed up to greet him when we arrived.
His last stop was the watchful Amethyst, who touched him far more than I would deem necessary while they spoke.
The damn vampire kept snickering to himself as my ire rose, but to my surprise, Khol stayed focused on keeping me murderous but calm.
Maybe that’s a learned trait from his twin?
Frowning as I think about my sister for a second, I blow out a long breath.
This is a lot of peopling for me without teaching anyone a lesson.
I’ll have to work on my extroversion skills on this journey because I doubt this will be the only time we’ll be stuck in the background observing the fawning.
As my Fae Prince finally heads toward us, I notice there’s a tiredness to his face that only we can see.
Being ‘on’ all the time has to be exhausting, even for someone as comfortable with fame and fans as he is.
“You look as though you’re going to slash through the people with your knife, lass,” he says with a small grin.
I shrug and he leans in, placing his forehead against mine.
“All these supes have worked with me and the band for years, so I had to give them all of my attention to amp things up for the tour. I promise I won’t leave you lurking in the shadows like a secret again; this will be your ‘coming out’ party as much as it is my album’s. ”
My eyes widen in a look of sheer horror. “I’m sorry, what?!”
That gets a full on belly laugh from Dezi and even Khol is trying to hide his reaction behind his hand.
Tiernan strides over, glaring at all the men surrounding me as he takes in my expression.
“What have you idiots done to her? Knuckles looks like she’s going to take off running and not stop until she hits the goddamn border. ”
I point at Rev, swallowing before I reply. “He says this stupid tour is going to… introduce me to everyone!”
The leopard blinks, then presses his lips together, and it’s obvious that he, too, wants to laugh.
My outrage grows as I realize all of them think this is fucking hysterical and I want to sink into the middle of the Earth.
Closing my eyes so I don’t shriek in frustration, I mutter to myself in my head, trying to calm down.
Suddenly, a rush of magic coasts over me and it feels like a warm blanket.
Damn. I just figured out how to soothe my rage. I wonder if—
“Holy shit!”
Turning, I look at the Prince in front of me.
Now his expression is shocked and I have no idea why.
Is it that surprising that I didn’t lose my temper?
I mean, I’m volatile, but not really that volatile.
I can be reasonable, especially when it’s a public place like this.
“What? What did I do? Why are you all looking at me like that?”
Tier is the first to find his tongue. “Knuckles, we aren’t making faces at you because we can’t see you.”
What.
Rev chuckles softly, his forehead still against mine. “I can feel my head touching yours, Sparkles, but you’re definitely invisible.”
“Oh, my fucking Goddess.” I blink as the others nod in agreement. “How did I do it? More importantly, how do I undo it?”
“Both excellent questions, witching,” Dezi says as he crosses his arms over his chest. “Your power is clearly growing, and this land is certainly aiding it. Didn’t you gain power the last time you visited?”
“It sure as hell did,” Khol answers while I continue trying to come to grips with this situation. “That’s when she started sparkling and glitter dusting and floating.”
“Mmmm,” the vampire says unhelpfully. “We should be extra careful while we explore Faerie. Fiadh may experience surges and ebbs; she will need help with learning control.”
Rev rolls his eyes, pulling back from me to give Dezi an irritated look.
“Excellent deduction, Captain Obvious. The problem at hand is helping her understand how to reverse what her magic did instinctually. When Fae magic develops in our young, we teach them that magic is deeply rooted in your emotions. Place intent behind your words and thoughts when you want to use it, but when you have ‘big feelings’, your magic will almost… assume… what you want and react.”
Suddenly, I know exactly what happened. Revelin announced that shit about introducing me, everyone was laughing, and an intense desire to disappear from the face of the Earth filled me. My magic must have responded to my thoughts to make me invisible.
Not a precision tool yet, clearly, but a good step.
A smile curls my lips as I close my eyes again and imagine that warm blanket I felt lift off me. When I open them again, the relief of the guys’ faces tells me I’ve worked it out. “Better?”
“Fuck, yes,” Rev breathes. “Don’t scare us like that.
We’re not sure how your magic works or why it didn’t do what it should have at your witchy birthday party.
If you get stuck, I can do my best based on centuries of magic knowledge, but I never know if it will help or hurt. Fae magic is… different.”
“I’ll be more careful. But you helped this time,” I admit. Looking around, I see the tension in all their frames and know what needs to happen. “But I think we need to get into your Magical Mystery Bus and chill out for a bit, Rev. This has been kind of a day so far.”
He grins boyishly, grabbing my hand before jerking his head at the others. “Don’t worry about the stuff. Illarion, my long-time Elven tour assistant, will bring it along once the others dissipate.”
Narrowing my eyes at him again, I curl my lip. “That bus isn’t supposed to house everyone, right?”
“Oh, lass,” he coos with a bright grin. “I like jealousy on you. But no… the bus is for me and whomever I invite at any time. For this tour, it’s just us unless we hold meetings during rides.
That may have to happen, by the way, but I’ll enjoy every second of you giving death glares to all and sundry during them. ”
Huffing, I tug on his hand. “Let’s go get comfortable. My temper isn’t reliable and all of you dimwits are enjoying the weird effects of Faerie’s magic on my emotions too much.”
But oddly, I seem to be the only questioning why the fuck Faerie is affecting a witch this much—I suppose that’s a question for later.