Bat Out of Hell (Promised to the Demons #2) - Lidiya Foxglove Page 0,1
his life. Maybe he didn't even care if he rotted in a faery prison. I sighed. "Piers...helped me get through the swamp safely and make healing tonics for Jenny. So I didn't bring him as a prisoner of war."
"Oh, puh-lease," a very American voice rose above the gentle murmurs of the faery court.
The queen raised an amused eyebrow. "I imagine you have something to say about this, Lady Daisy?"
Piers' ex-fiancee swept out of the crowd with three imposing men just behind her. "Bevan! What the ever-living fuck are you doing hanging out with Piers in the first place? Let it be known throughout the land that he is the literal worst."
"You remember me," I said. "How do you recognize me out of bat form?"
"You just announced yourself," she said.
“Yes. I did." Dumbass.
To be fair, Daisy could throw off a lot of people. She was wearing a bright yellow gown that sat off-shoulder and showed off her breasts, but it also had billowing long sleeves, and a sweeping skirt slit up to her thigh, with gold stiletto sandals. Daisy had always been a lot to handle. She grew up in the same elite circle of wizards as my family, where inheritances and patriarchal arranged marriages were the order of the day. The only reason a familiar like me knew Daisy was because she was betrothed to the younger brother of my witch. When he fell for someone else, Daisy was passed to the older cousin--Piers. When that went south, she agreed to marry a faery lord just for the alliance.
Needless to say, Daisy understood transactional relationships.
"Are you aware of all the absolutely horrible stuff he did?” she asked me.
"I am extremely aware and have been reminding him of it frequently," I said, irritated. "But still, I have to acknowledge that he was helpful in Sinistral and..."
"And so, he can go to jail," Daisy said. "Man, just when I think I'll never have to see this guy again, he keeps popping up like a pimple. Not that I have a lot of experience with those..."
"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Piers Nicolescu?" Queen Morgana asked.
"No," Piers said.
"Nothing in your defense?"
"You all know what I did," Piers said. "And you probably know why I did it. If you need to send me to jail, I would say that all is fair. I would have done the same thing. I just hope you won’t blame Jenny for being acquainted to me. She needs your help.”
"I might hate martyr Piers even more than unrepentant a-hole Piers," Daisy said.
"Lass, do you think it's possible he might just be tired of a life of crime?" asked one of Daisy's male attendants. "He looks like he's been through the wringer already."
“Orson, don't treat him like a hurt cow," Daisy said. "I don't think he deserves even one hand. He once tried to grope my boobs with that hand--and very clumsily."
"I was trying to put an arm around you," Piers said, turning slightly pink. His blush was stark because he was so pale.
"I say again, puh-lease!"
The faery court was getting a good evening soap opera out of all of this. I couldn't believe I was thinking this, but I actually did feel the tiniest bit sorry for Piers. I had no doubt he was a lousy fiancé for her, but I also could tell he had no sense of how to be suave and romantic, and even if his intentions were okay, anyone with Daisy's personality would have crushed him. She needed someone who could handle her.
“Piers,” Queen Morgana said. “I have heard of your various deeds from Lady Daisy. This is the realm of the fae, where both chaos and order have their place, and fighting for your territory is not a crime, but cruelty…well, you will be judged if you are to stay here, in a way that will give you a fate you deserve, be it kind or cruel.”
“I understand,” Piers said. I don’t think he expected anything good to come of it.
I appealed directly to Queen Morgana. "Look, I won't stand in the way of the laws of your realm. But I came here to get help for Jenny. I would feel better if I personally repaid the favor, because I am the one who loves Jenny and her health is my personal responsibility, not Piers. I have a number of skills which I would gladly place in Your Majesty's hands until the debt is repaid."