on why they wanted her, and it wasn’t for her beauty. Turned out, she didn’t like being a taboo conquest any more than Andy did.
She’d called Andy an idiot for taking so long to realize it.
“Are you saying he’s going to stay?” Macy asked. Any hint of hostility she might’ve felt toward Yasmine had completely dried up. Yasmine had been Macy’s shoulder to cry on most nights. Andy had tried to help—so had Rod—but something about a crying woman heaving against him made Andy get a hard-on, and that got awkward real quick, because this place’s stupid pants and loose underwear showed everything off. Not everyone was as confident as Steve.
“Charity is going to ace that cooking thing, and then they’ll welcome her in,” Rod said. “These people can’t cook for shit. As soon as she gets the green light, she’ll want to stay. Bet you anything.”
“Why wouldn’t she?” Yasmine asked. “She’s royalty. Real, honest-to-God royalty. Have you seen how the people treat her? They love her. They fawn all over her, halvsie or not. But Devon would never get the grandmother’s approval. Hallen is Charity’s intended match—”
The door swung open, admitting a tired Penny, followed by an aloof Emery. If it bothered Emery to be largely ignored by the fae, he’d never let on. Andy almost wondered if he preferred it.
“What do you mean, Hallen is Charity’s intended match?” Macy asked, turning to face Yasmine. Rod stood between them.
“Oh yes, I heard that just today,” Penny said, dropping a pile of rocks on the very little surface space this place had.
“Do you mind?” Andy asked, pointing. “This is my tiny cabin. Keep your rocks in your own tiny cabin.”
“They’re power stones. All of them!” Penny beamed at them. “They basically shouted to me from across that field with all the people fighting. I’ll tell you something, Reagan would give her left arm to stroll through this place. She’d be tickled by their attempts to ignore her. She’d bring the battlefield to the center of their serenity circle, or whatever it is they do in the center green.”
“We need to put that on our bucket list,” Emery said. “Invite Reagan to the Flush to raise hell.”
Penny laughed with glee. “Eventually she’ll probably bust through the elves to get to us. She has to be going stir-crazy without trouble to find and then throw me into.”
“Sorry…you were saying that you heard Hallen is intended for Charity?” Andy reminded her. Penny could get lost on the thought train and never return.
“Oh yeah. I was sitting in someone’s front yard, analyzing a new plant I’d found, when I heard someone talking about it. No one closes their windows here. You’d think they would want a little privacy. Anyway, they think he’s a perfect fit because he’s from a high-status family, has a great skill set, and has proven himself on the battlefield. They didn’t say who he was fighting against, but I found it pretty surprising, since he hesitated with a kill shot when going after those demons the other week…”
She let that comment trail off, although Andy was pretty sure she’d voiced what all of them were thinking. Hallen was a coward, and worse, he was a stuck-up prick.
“What’s his skill set?” Macy asked.
“Candle making,” Emery said, picking up a candle from the shelf near his head. “The way he uses colors and smells is masterful, I guess.”
“That’s what he’s heralded for? Candle making?” Andy said. “He can fight and make candles and suddenly he’s better than Devon?”
“Devon can’t make candles,” Rod said. “He can just fight.”
“I’m sure he could make candles if he wanted to,” Andy replied. “He could rock this place with candles. Do you know why he doesn’t? Because scented candles are only good for stinky bathrooms.”
Macy and Penny burst out laughing. Emery pulled over a chair from the small round table and stationed it between Yasmine at the window and Andy’s bed on the floor. He sat and looked out the window, keeping watch. What from, Andy had never bothered to ask. Emery wasn’t used to relaxing when he was in the Realm. Old habits…
“Where’s Steve?” Emery asked.
“He was going to go pick a fight with someone who pissed him off earlier,” Rod said, dumping the carrots on steroids into a pot over a magical blue flame.
“That’s the other thing.” Andy pointed at the flame. “Other types of fae make useful things. Like that flame. It’s used for cooking and lighting—useful. But not these fae. Their job is