Spin the Shadows (Dark and Wicked Fae #1) - Cate Corvin Page 0,33
face wrinkling even further. “That today is a good day for change. Pfft. More like it’ll be a good day to close the shop and put my feet up. My legs aren’t what they used to be. Someone needs to repave these cobblestones; I almost twisted my ankle the other evening.”
I glanced up. The sky was still misty, but I wouldn’t take that as a bad sign. It was a great day for getting a new permanent position with Robin.
I said goodbye before Carabosse could inventory the various things about her that were ‘no longer what they used to be’ and made my way to Web and Peaseblossom, determined to beat Gwyn to the counter.
I firmly pushed the fact that he was a Wild Hunter to a dark closet in the back of my brain. Flirting was harmless, right? It wasn’t like he was trying to sweep me away to the Otherworld on his bike or anything.
But when I got there, Gwyn was already sitting outside on the stone wall, with a white box next to him. My stomach did its customary slow flip at the sight of him. Thin little braids with silver beads in them were scattered in his thick mane of caramel hair this morning, and his tee shirt was green today, with a ram’s skull on the front.
He gave me a slow smile. “Good morning, Briallen Bananatree.”
I leaned my bike on the sidewalk and sat next to him. “I was supposed to get breakfast this time.”
“Beat ya to it. You’re gonna have to be quicker than that.” Gwyn handed me a napkin and deliberately moved the box aside, scooting a little closer.
I took a lemon twist, ignoring the fact that I was blushing. It was pretty much impossible to not blush in his vicinity.
“Oh,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Lemontree today. Switching things up on me.”
“I’ve got to keep you on your toes.” I took a big bite and wiped the crumbs away with the back of my hand.
We ate in comfortable silence. Gwyn nibbled a muffin, occasionally looking at me askance. “What?” I asked, wondering if I’d missed a crumb or five. “Is there something on my face?”
Gwyn’s garnet eyes were veiled, his expression impossible to read. “Now, don’t take this the wrong way, because you’re the most glorious being walking the streets of Avilion, but you look tired today.”
I thought of the char spread all over the alley. The bits that had once been a Fae.
“I was walking home last night.” I didn’t even try to stop my mouth from running off by itself today. There was no point with Gwyn. “And I found a Ghosthand victim. It was like the body had been trampled this time.”
“You live a very exciting life. Spill.”
I gave him the gory details, getting it all off my chest. I wasn’t going to stop seeing that alley in my nightmares anytime soon.
“The Garda wanted to question me, but Robin Goodfellow intervened. So I got to skip that interview, but then my roommates needed the whole story.” I sighed. “I only got a few hours of sleep.”
Gwyn frowned. “Goodfellow didn’t haul you in?”
I paused mid-bite. I’d been able to say Robin’s name to him, even though the binding potion I’d taken specifically prohibited me from mentioning his name. I hadn’t even been able to tell Clove and Tarragon.
“No,” I said slowly. “He believed me.”
“Lucky banana,” Gwyn told me. “Those who go into the Garda cells often don’t come out. Goodfellow’s not known for being easy on them.”
I nibbled the tart. Maybe I could tell him I worked for Robin.
But if I could and did, Robin would probably be furious for spilling it, and that was the last thing I needed today. “I guess I am lucky. I just wish I hadn’t seen the body.”
I knew I probably looked like a hangdog puppy, but it was impossible to look perky and unphased by corpses on two hours of sleep.
Gwyn reached out and took my hand, wrapping his big fingers around mine. It felt as natural as breathing, except for the mounting flush on my cheeks that intensified the moment he touched me.
“You’re blushing again, Bananas,” he remarked, changing the subject for my sake. “When are you gonna take me up on that motorbike ride?”
“Which one?” I smiled up at him. “Oh, you mean the one you haven’t asked me on yet?”
His eyes crinkled at the corners when he grinned. “Yeah, that’s the one.”