Queen of the Fae (Dragon's Gift The Dark Fae #3) - Linsey Hall Page 0,6
had Aunt tried to use us as weapons, but after we’d escaped her clutches, our first friend in the real world had turned us over to the Order of the Magica. We’d barely escaped, but the experience had been formative, to say the least.
“I have to stop my mother to save Tarron. It’s the only way. Because whatever she’s going to do can only be fixed with his death. The vision was clear on that.”
“How is that possible?”
“I have no idea. I couldn’t see details, but that bit was clear.”
Claire appeared at our table, her face scrubbed clean and her dark hair wet from a quick shower. She was now dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, with a little black apron slung around her waist. She set a tray on the table. “Compliments of the house. Connor’s working on your potion.”
“Thanks.”
She smiled, but there were shadows in her eyes.
“Bad day?” I asked.
“Not a fun job.” She shivered. “Sometimes being a mercenary sucks.”
I didn't tell her to get a new job. Claire knew what she was about, even if it left scars.
I squeezed her hand, a rare show of affection. I wasn’t much of a toucher, and she knew it.
“Thanks.” She smiled, then disappeared.
I ignored the steaming espresso and savory pastry that sat on the tray. “Give me a moment.”
I closed my eyes, calling upon my gift. I’d done this two dozen times before, trying to see my mother. To figure out what she was up to and how I could stop her. Maybe I could see something else based on the vision she’d sent me.
Nothing came to me.
“Shit.” I opened my eyes. “When I try, I can’t see anything.”
“She’s a powerful Fae. She may be blocked from you.”
“Hopefully Aethelred can see something that I can’t.” The seer was massively powerful, and though he didn’t see all, what he did see was true. I prayed that my power worked differently—that I saw potential futures. Not the one true future.
“Eat,” Aeri commanded. “Once Connor tells us what was in that potion bomb, we need to go fix our house.”
I swigged back the espresso and picked up the pasty. The half-moon shaped pastry was full of savory filling—beef and potatoes in this case. The traditional version. It was a classic back in Cornwall, where Claire and Connor had come from. They’d made it a specialty at P & P, and pretty much everyone in town was a fan.
I was just finishing the pastry when Connor came out of the back, his face set in concerned lines.
“Shit,” I muttered. Quickly, I unwrapped a butterscotch and shoved it in my mouth.
Aeri turned and frowned. “Double shit. Connor doesn’t usually look so dire.”
From the expression on his face, this was going to be bigger than butterscotch. Stress tugged at me, tightening my muscles.
He joined us and sat in one of the cushy chairs, leaning forward and propping his hands on his knees. “It’s a mind control potion.”
I’d feared as much when I’d seen the black stripes running through the red. My mother’s mind control magic worked like a black smoke that filled your lungs and polluted your mind.
“How bad?” I asked.
“Strong. Very. But I think its efficacy depends on quantity. You got that sleeve off quickly, so it shouldn’t be too strong. For now.”
“So the influence could grow? It could get worse?”
“Could. Definitely don’t get hit with another dose. One more and whoever made this potion bomb will be your master.”
I grimaced. “I’ll try not to.”
I leaned back in the chair. Shit. My mother was trying to work her mind control even from a distance. It had probably allowed the Unseelie to send me the vision.
I rubbed my arms, feeling weird. Like there were spiders in my head, or something. Some kind of horrible, unfamiliar force that could strike at any time.
“Is there an antidote?” Aeri asked.
“Not one that I’m familiar with.”
“The antidote will be killing my mother,” I muttered.
Connor grimaced. “Family drama?”
“You could put it that way.”
“Well, I’ll see if I can come up with another antidote. Just in case you need it.”
“Thanks, you’re the best.”
He nodded, then stood. “Good luck.”
As he walked back to the counter, Aeri left a wad of cash on the table. It was far more than our food would have cost.
“A thank you,” she said.
Connor had helped us because he liked us, but we liked to make things even. In this case, since we were busy, it would have to be with cash.