Page 82 of Faerie Hunted

But only fae of a certain class, I realized looking at them.

Nothing on the outside marked them as above their Unseelie counterparts, but they were distinguishable now that I’d keyed into the differences. Their energy signatures were different, which meant they worked their magic in another way from the Seelie.

I kept my mouth shut rather than pointing them out.

People of all walks of life crowded the sidewalks with the return of the sun. The rain from before had dried up and left the landscape bright and verdant. In the distance, the rolling and crashing waves were inaudible but their loamy white caps broke through the rich navy of the ocean.

People went unnoticed.

There were too many bodies crowded together in a single area for anyone to stand out from the crowd. Even us, in our disguises. We huddled together as much for a sense of safety as because the crush of life left no room for us to spread out and maneuver.

No wonder my mom came here to disappear.

We stopped close enough to the sea to see the bobbing of boats on the horizon. Although we were on a different part of the coast, away from Sea’s Deep, my skin prickled in discomfort.

I held out my hand to Laina. “Let me see the map.” My cheeks flushed, realizing I just gave the damn queen an order. “Please.”

My rushed remembrance of manners passed right over their heads. Laina rustled in the pocket of her cloak and held it out to me.

The lines etched in magic were the same crimson-brown as dried blood. Duh, blood magic, I realized with a start.

They converged on a small square at the end of the nearest block, leading out to one of the piers where boats docked.

“Where does the line end?” Mike asked.

He pressed closer and the wind brought a gust of his scent to torture me, I was sure.

The slightly citrusy undertone to his scent wound straight through me and stroked claws along my heart. I shuddered. “It looks like we're only a few blocks away.”

“Great sense of direction must come with the territory,” he joked with a weak grin.

My own smile was genuine when I gave it to him. “People like me have built-in compasses. It’s kind of our thing.”

Onyx harrumphed his agreement to the statement.

We hurried, checking our surroundings every so often.

I wasn’t sure how we’d determine friend from foe unless someone came at us with a knife to the throat. Or wearing one of those medallions to cross through the wall. That might be our only signal.

Worry dogged my steps over uneven cobblestones. Bronwen made some noise of approval in the back of her throat and when I turned around to face her, she stared at the horizon like she wanted to shift and fly toward it.

I ground my back teeth. Focus! We had limited time before—well, before everything turned to shit. I had to find my mom and if the blood magic worked, then we were getting close.

I kept the map in hand and traced my finger along the route, marking every sideroad we passed.

The road curved around following the natural lines of the shore. It reminded me of those places in Scotland, the medieval harbors we learned about in history class.

The shore did have a certain charm, along with the stench of brine and the salty breeze rolling in from the water. I saw how easy it would be to sink into one of those stone buildings facing the water and lose an afternoon. Or two.

A good book and something cool to drink?

Or maybe Bronwen had a point, and the image of floating over the ocean waves bobbed along by an unseen wind held so much appeal my magic began to tingle, heralding the change.

Mike nudged me in the back and I focused on the feeling. “Isn’t this it?”

He stared over my shoulder at the map and I glanced down in surprise.

The building at the end of the block boasted salt-worn shutters with peeling paint. No amount of magic would make it look like anything other than a handyman’s special. The front stoop sagged under the weight of too many feet to count that had worn the stones smooth from following the same path.

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