Spin the Shadows (Dark and Wicked Fae #1) - Cate Corvin Page 0,10
he deserved.”
I mulled it over for a moment, then took a deep breath and tossed back the shot. It tasted like spring, flavored with peppermint and newly blooming flowers, and as soon as it hit my stomach it spread through my abdomen with the same fire as the dwarven ale.
Sisse leaned against the decanter, laughing. “Perfection. Now we can get on with the plan.”
I slammed the shot glass on his desk. “Agreement bound. So, what’s my first job and when do I show up?” The sooner I got my six months out of the way, the better.
He picked up the shot glass and it vanished in his large hand. His eyes drifted across the Fairy Ferry logo on my shirt again. “You’ll report here every dusk when you’re finished with this courier nonsense. As for the job… have you ever heard of a honeypot?”
4
I fumbled the keys into the lock of my apartment door and walked into chaos.
Tarragon and Clove were sitting on the sagging couch, glaring at me with identical accusatory looks mingled with relief.
“Do you think you could call a selkie if you’re going to be back late?” Clove accused, standing up and pacing the living room in a way that told me he’d been doing it for several hours now. “Ghosthand Killer, Briallen. Killer. Tends to strike at night. We thought you might be dead in an alley somewhere.”
I just stared at them, the peppermint-and-spring taste of Robin’s jade potion still in my mouth. It was much later than I’d thought. “I was…”
My tired mind raced through my options. There was no way I could outright tell them I’d accepted an extorted job offer from the Seelie Queen’s fixer.
“I was running a late package for Numa,” I offered, the excuse sounding lame even to me. “And I needed to be alone. I broke up with Ioin.”
That did them in.
Both Clove and Tarragon exchanged loaded looks. I sighed and picked their skins up off the floor while they held a silent conversation with their eyeballs.
“Look, Bri… we wanted to talk to you about that.” Tarragon sounded uncharacteristically uncomfortable.
Clove was much more direct. “Ioin is a douche of the highest degree, and you’re better off without him. All he wanted to do was ogle the nymphs.” The look on his handsome face was contemptuous. “Humans aren’t worth your time. You deserve better than that, Bri.”
My mouth dropped open, an excuse already forming the way one always did. I shut it slowly, swallowing all those old excuses down.
I wasn’t even angry anymore, just tired and disappointed. “Right. Well, I’m going to get some sleep. With Spring Break coming up, we’re going to have a lot more courier deliveries with all the humans arriving.”
“Sure you don’t want to stay up and have a drink?” Tarragon held up a bottle of sapphire pixie wine.
I shook my head and slipped into my room, closing the door quietly behind me before I raised my hands and buried them in my hair.
I was working for Robin Goodfellow. The Queen’s Left fucking Hand.
Every part of me itched to burst back out there and scream the news, but if he was telling the truth— and I was sure he was— I wouldn’t be able to say a single word.
I got ready for bed, stripping off my stupid Fairy Ferry uniform and leaving it in a pile in the corner, and flopped across the pink blanket my mom had knit for me before I came to Avilion. It still smelled like apples, even after repeated washings.
I stared out the window overhead, my Dandelion+ lying face down on my chest. Usually Ioin would be texting me good night by now, but the phone remained silent.
It was a strange relief.
I closed my eyes, and the last thing I thought before I fell asleep was that Robin’s eyes were the exact same shade as the pixie wine.
Ioin might’ve wounded my pride, but there was no way he was keeping Web and Peaseblossom from me. He could find another bakery; I’d already staked my claim on this one.
Fortunately, there was no sign of him or his new sylph girlfriend.
I got there before the line was too long, but when I got to the counter, Sylvaine shrugged apologetically. “The same guy bought out all the tarts again. All I have is apple.”
What a jerk. Didn’t he understand the importance of a daily pastry? I was going to wither away to skin and bones at this rate.