Page 43 of Solstice

“Can I help you?” came a voice from around the corner. I straightened at the familiar sight.

Smythe still had his glasses and his salt-and-pepper hair, but he looked ragged. Two years ago, he’d been healthy and attractive. Now, his cheeks had sunken, and dark circles lined the bags under his eyes. Time had not been kind.

“You.” He backed away, his wide eyes shifting between us. “No, no, get off my property. I’ve got nothing to say to you.”

“Wait, please.” Ivy went down the stairs and rushed after him. “We mean you no harm.”

“Your fiancé used his gift on me in broad daylight, where anyone could see. Then he left me there, a grave violation of proper etiquette.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, holding up my hands in solidarity. “I admit it was a shitty thing to do.”

He paused and let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders relaxing. “What do you want?”

“We just want to talk.” Ivy took another step toward him, but he quickly moved farther away.

“About?”

Two other people came around the side of the house, each with fairy tattoos going up their arms. I assumed these were the halflings he’d found after leaving Ireland.

“Pete?” one of them asked. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, Victor.” Smythe nodded, putting his hands on his hips. “This is Lex Fairfax and Ivy Washington. Surely you know Princess Miriam.”

“Aye.” Victor looked between us. “What are you doing here?”

Ivy cleared her throat and glanced at me before speaking. “The last time you saw Lex, you warned us not to go into the woods.”

“I did.” Smythe’s lips thinned. “And you didn’t listen. Now there’s a bloody patch of cursed thistles blocking the Veil.” Smythe looked at Miri. “I assume that’s your doing?”

Miri straightened and crossed her arms, but the fact he didn’t know they were gone meant he hadn’t heard much out of Faerie. Maybe we knew more than he did.

“I don’t know what you did when you went into the woods that night, but word’s spread about you four.” Smythe shook his head. “If you have the king pissed off enough that he’s looking for a way out, then there’s no fairy on earth that will help you. Least of all me.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. Smythe knew more than he was telling us, but I’d been a shit to him the last time I’d come for a visit, so it made sense he was reluctant to cooperate now.

“Get off my property before I call the police.” He turned and walked toward the back of the yard, Victor and the other fairy following him.

“If you change your mind,” Ivy called. “We’ll be at the B&B until tomorrow.”

“I won’t,” Smythe said before the sound of a slamming door punctuated his final decision. I debated kicking down the decrepit thing and rampaging through the space until I found him. I could use my gift tomakehim spill his secrets; it had worked on him before. But I had promised myself I wouldn’t do that again unless it was an emergency.

Did this qualify as one? I mean, we’d come all this fucking way.

“C’mon,” Ivy said, nodding toward an anxious Theo waiting in the SUV.

I pursed my lips and hesitated, but Miri grabbed my hand and tugged me along, dragging me with my tail tucked between my legs. Granted, Smythe had a point. We’d screwed with fairy royalty, sticking our noses where it didn’t belong. We were warned. We didn’t listen. Now we paid the price.

“He’s scared,” Ivy said after we climbed into the vehicle, closing the back door behind her. Miri and I were in the third row, and Theo patiently waited for us to give the go-ahead to leave.

“We need to convince him to trust us,” Miri said.

“How?” I sighed and rubbed my fingers over my eyes, exhausting seeping into my pores. “I already fucked that up two years ago.”

“We could bribe him,” Ivy cut in.

“Just like a Washington,” I teased, shaking my head.

“You got any better ideas?” She raised her eyebrows.

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