Page 6 of A Dead End Wedding

“What glamour?” Puzzled, I looked more carefully at the riders. The horses were gorgeous. All pure white with black manes and tails.

Behind me, I heard Aunt Ruby and Eleanor walk out onto the porch.

The riders …

“Something makes me only see the horses clearly,” I said, realizing it just then. “Why?”

“Games,” Jack said, biting off the word. “Always games.”

Holding my hand, Jack took a step forward and waved the envelope in the air. “We see you, honored guests of the Callahans and the citizenry of Dead End. Please drop your glamour, that we might know you.”

I glanced at him, still surprised when he demonstrated one of the many, many things he’d learned in his years leading the fight for the good guys during the vampire wars. Formal Fae speech was clearly one of them.

A wave of icy, crystalline-pure magic swept over us, ringing in my bones like the peals of a silver bell, and then I could finally see the riders.

I gasped, and behind me I heard twin echoing gasps.

These Fae weregorgeous.

Sure, they’realllovely, but these seemed to take the whole “We are Fae, and we are too beautiful for you to comprehend” thing to an extreme. The lead rider sat tall in his saddle, and his straight fall of snow-white hair was so long the ends brushed against his horse’s back. The hair color had nothing to do with age; the Fae were immortal. His appearance was of a man in his early thirties, but he could have been thousands of years old. His eyes were a glowing mix of green and gold, and his face was poetry.

Wow.

I shook my head, sure that the glamour was causing this reaction. After all, I was engaged to the hottest man I’d ever met and loved him with all my heart. Jack was six feet and four inches of hard muscle, with wavy bronze hair, green eyes, and a smile that could turn so wickedly seductive it was a wonder I didn’t go up in flames when he used it on me.

But still.

This Fae was beautiful.

And he was smiling at me.

“Jack Shepherd,” the Fae drawled. “How unlike you to turn up in such a peaceful place. Shouldn’t you be out chasing vampires?”

“Rhys na Garanwyn,” Jack gritted out from between clenched teeth. “Howlikeyou to show up where there’s trouble. Shouldn’t you be off pulling the wings off flies?”

The Fae threw his head back and laughed, and his laughter was as beautiful as the rest of him. Deep, rich, and husky, the sound made me shiver, and I could hear twin sighs behind me.

“Is he using glamour on us, or is he really that pretty?” I asked Jack in a whisper.

“I really am that pretty,” Rhys said, leaning forward on his horse, his teeth gleaming in a sensual smile. “If you like, we can go somewhere private and discuss my beauty.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Enough about me. Let’s talk about whatyouthink of me, right?”

The Fae looked confused, but Jack laughed. “Exactly right. Okay, what do you want, na Garanwyn?”

Aunt Ruby pushed forward and took the envelope from Jack. “I am Mayor Ruby Callahan of Dead End. Welcome to our town. Are you the bearer?”

“I am the Bearer.” When he said it, we could hear the capital B. “I am here to instruct you as to the terms of the proposed renewal Bargain of your town charter.”

Another capital B. The Fae took Bargains extremely seriously.

“This can’t be good,” Jack muttered.

“Well, we certainly want to renew,” Aunt Ruby said, but she looked nervous and put a hand on my arm for support. “What is the Bargain? What terms do you ask of us? Do you work for Viviette?”

Jack winced. “If anything, Viviette works for him. Rhys na Garanwyn is second only to the king and queen of the Seelie Court in the hierarchy of all Fae royalty.”

“You’re a prince?” I tilted my head. “I met the king and queen of Atlantis. Do you know them? Do all you royals hang out together? Where’s your crown?”

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