The Summer King Bundle 3 Stories - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,20

at the hands of those they’d trusted.

I exhaled roughly as I eased my grip off the arm of the chair. “I….” I started to apologize but stopped and decided to be as bluntly honest as Faye. “I was raised to hunt fae and taught that there was no such thing as a good fae. And yes, there were some members of the Order who knew of your existence, but the majority of us didn’t know that the Summer Court had escaped into our world after the war with the Winter Court, and were just trying to live their best lives as human. If anyone had suggested two years ago that there were good fae out there, fae who weren’t feeding on humans, I would’ve laughed straight in their face.”

Faye’s jaw hardened, but I wasn’t done. “And you know damn well the Winter fae, those still loyal to the Queen, far outnumber you all. Two years, Faye. That’s all I’ve had, all many of us had to come to terms with the idea that not all fae are evil incarnate. So, yes, the fae make me uncomfortable. Just as I’m sure we make you uncomfortable.”

“Of course some of you make us uncomfortable, considering there are still some Order members who want to kill us,” Faye shot back.

“I think what Faye is trying to say this whole time, is that we have a fairly serious issue, and we’re worried that your… uncomfortableness may get in the way of helping us resolve this issue.” Tanner folded his hands on the desk. “That is all.”

Okay. Wow. This was getting awkward. “May I be painfully honest?”

“Of course.” Tanner sat back.

“Besides Ivy and Ren, there is not a single member of the Order who isn’t uncomfortable around the fae or may be somewhat prejudiced by all their years fighting fae who want nothing more than to enslave mankind and destroy them. Even Ren isn’t exactly going to be rolling out the red carpet, and his wife is half-fae,” I said, holding their stares. “So, if you’re worried that my uncomfortableness is going to be an issue, then you are going to have the same problem with any Order member besides Ivy. Either you tell me why you wanted a meeting with the Order or you wait until Ivy gets back. Your call.”

“It’s not just that we make you nervous.” Faye tapped the file on her denim-covered thigh. “It’s also that we scare you.”

My head snapped in her direction. “You do not scare me.”

“Is that so?” she murmured.

“That’s so. And just to clarify, the anxiety you’re sniffing isn’t because of you two. I’m just an anxious person ninety percent of the time. You guys make me uncomfortable, but you do not make me anxious or scared. There’s a Mississippi River’s worth of difference between the two.”

A measure of respect filled Faye’s eyes. Not much, but I saw it.

“Well then, we will make do, won’t we?” Tanner said.

Slowly, I turned back to him, thinking he sounded like he had as much faith as I did that Tink wouldn’t create a mess by the time I got home. “I guess so.”

“We needed to speak with the Order because we’ve been noticing a disturbing trend.” Tanner took the file Faye handed to him. “Over the last month, several of our younglings have gone missing, and we fear the Order is involved.”

Chapter 8

All right, I wasn’t expecting that.

He opened the file, and I could see a glossy colored photograph of a young man—a young fae. “As you know, many members of the Summer Court do not venture outside these walls. It’s not something that we prohibit, but many find everything they need provided for them here.”

I nodded absently. The fact that most of the Summer fae remained within the hidden, sprawling compound worked perfectly for us. It often meant that the fae we encountered on the streets weren’t the friendly neighborhood sort.

“Some of the younglings want to experience the… human world and all it has to offer. It has become a sort of rite of passage in a way.” Faye propped a slim hip against the desk. “They always keep their loved ones in the loop and they’re never gone too long.”

“Four in the last month have not come back,” Tanner said grimly. “Their parents and friends have not heard from them and the last we’ve seen them is when they left.”

I took several moments to process this. “When you say younglings, are we talking about children size, teenagers or early