men. “Lady Evelina is jumpy today, but I don’t blame her. Instead, we’ll respect her every wish. The Winter King has issued a challenge, and as your king, I’ve responded. King Rowan thought his chocolate pleased Lady Evelina more than the immortal roses of the Summer Court, so I want you to go to the human stores and collect hundreds of the best chocolates for Lady Evelina. Empty the shelves if you must.”
The six men bowed at Baron, each murmuring, “Yes, my King,” and turned on their heels.
Was he for real?
“Stop!” I barked. I didn’t want them to come back with hundreds of chocolates heaping outside my door. It’d be another disaster.
Baron raised an eyebrow at me. “But I thought you preferred chocolate over roses.”
Was he trying to punish me for favoring Roman’s gift? I hadn’t accepted either bribe.
“Candies are bad for teeth,” I said. “I can’t afford a dental plan for my siblings!”
Rowan whistled, and seven new men filed into my front yard.
While these men also wore menacing armor, they were different than Baron’s tribe. Baron’s knights seemed to appear from the warmest area on Earth, with tanned skin and short hair. Rowan’s group looked like they were all carved from ice with pale skin and long hair of different shades of silver. The new group also carried longswords behind their backs, the hilt sticking out above their shoulders.
So, this bunch was called Winter Fae.
Seven against six was a statement of power and arrogance. Rowan had outmaneuvered Baron again in numbers.
“They must halt, too,” I shouted. “It’s already bad enough the two of you are standing right outside my door.”
Rowan raised a hand, and the Winter Fae stopped advancing. The Summer and the Winter knights glared at each other. When someone in the Summer camp snarled, a few knights in the Winter group growled back. When the snarling escalated, both sides drew their swords. With a battle cry, they charged each other.
What the bloody hell?
The swordsmen crossed their steel. They swung, ducked, parried, and lunged. Every single knight was ferocious and vicious, worse than career criminals. Blades found their targets on both sides, and blood sprayed on the ground in front of my house.
As if this day wasn’t bizarre enough, a freaking battle had just broken out in front of my family home, which sheltered four children and two teens.
A blaze of fury shook me.
“Fuck off!” I shrieked, my eyes burning with rage. “Everyone back off! I’m using my elephant gun with iron bullets on you assholes if you don’t comply. Get out of my yard and never come back!”
“Back off,” Baron called.
“Stop,” Rowan ordered.
The two opposite groups immediately broke off and stayed in their lane but still glared at each other, eager for another bloody conflict, if their Fae mafia bosses ever gave them another go.
Baron and Rowan waved their minions away. And in an instant, the Summer and Winter thugs cleared out of my yard.
“I want you two to leave my property as well, and take your roses and chocolate,” I said sternly. “I don’t have time or energy for all your freak shows. I have a family to look after. Leave me alone, or you’ll be served with a restraining order, or suffer worse consequences.”
“I can’t stay away from you, Lady Evie, even if I hope to,” Rowan said ruefully, his expression pained, yet the heat in his gray-blue eyes never dwindled. My body responded to his heat again, willing and ready without shame.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I hissed, annoyed when my voice sounded husky.
“It’s beyond my ability as well, to not be close to you,” Baron said, leaning toward me as if he wanted to bury his nose against my hair to inhale my scent. I had to leash my body tightly to prevent it from inching toward him.
“This is nuts,” I said. “I don’t need stalkers. Now get off my property before I call the cops.”
I was bluffing, knowing that calling cops wouldn’t do a damn thing. And part of me didn’t want them to leave. However, my cold reason also laid out for me how bad it would end up if I entangled with the Fae. If I didn’t have to look after my family, I might walk on the wild side and let hell loose.
“You’re drawn to me, too,” Baron said. “You can’t help it any more than I can.”
“Excuse me?” I narrowed my eyes at him. He spoke the truth, but I didn’t want him to know that. He was