Page 20 of Taken By the Fae

“Besides not having any idea what happened between the time I passed out in that alley and waking up here, I’m fine. I was mostly worried about you, and when I tried to talk to Tristan, well, I’m sure you can imagine how that went. You know him better than I do.”

Allison nods. “Tristan brought you back here last night while Max and I shifted to the hotel.”

My pulse jumps at the thought of Tristan being in here. Of putting me to bed. Heat flares in my cheeks, and I glance away. At least I was unconscious; otherwise, I probably would’ve puked on him during the shift. “What happened at the hotel?”

“Nothing you’re probably worried about. He didn’t hurt me.”

“Good,” I say, then lower my voice and add, “because I sort of threatened him.”

Her eyes pop wide. “Youwhat?”

I offer a humorless laugh. “I, uh, just made it clear that if he hurt you, there would be consequences for his actions.”

Her brows draw together, concern filling her eyes. “Aurora.”

I bite the inside of my cheek, then say, “I told him I’d make sure he would regret abducting me.”

She closes her eyes, letting out a slow breath as she runs her fingers through her hair. “I love you for being protective of me, but that was so incredibly stupid, I want to shake you.”

“It’s fine,” I tell her. “You’re back now, and it’s fine.”

She shakes her head. “Fine? Aurora, with the news of your fae lineage, Tristan won’t let Max’s mistake go so easily. He can’t. Which means he isn’t finished with you.”

The panic that’s been living on the surface rears its unforgiving head.

He isn’t finished with you.

And it all goes back to why this happened.

I clear my throat. “What did you do? Why did Tristan send Max after you?”

Her gaze lowers, and she scratches the back of her neck. “Fae living in the human world are required to follow certain rules. One of which has to do with who we associate with, um, romantically.”

My forehead creases. “Are you kidding me? Fae aren’t allowed to be with humans? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard since I found out about all of this.”

She pauses, offering a tight-lipped smile. “You don’t know the half of it.”

“No kidding. So what? You have to break up with Oliver?”

“It’s not safe for him to know about the fae, same as it isn’t for you. Part of Tristan’s position means protecting his people against threats, including exposure.”

“How noble,” I deadpan.

Allison frowns. “I may not like the guy—in fact, he scares the shit out of me sometimes—but I respect him. He has worked hard for years protecting us from the unseelie court.”

“I’m going to need more than that.” This is the second timecourthas come up without an explanation.

She blinks at me. “Right. Sorry. I’m not sure how much you know.” Lowering herself to the end of her bed, she clasps her hands in her lap, focusing her attention on me. “There are two fae courts—the seelie court and the unseelie court. Tristan is a knight of the seelie court and the king’s right hand.”

“Of course there’s a fae king,” I mutter.

Allison pulls her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment, as if she’s worried about overwhelming me.That crazy train has left the station. “There’s also a fae queen who rules the unseelie court.”

I drop onto my bed before my legs give out. “Tristan works for the seelie king?”

“Yeah. In business terms, Tristan is a manager, and the king is the CEO.” Weirdly enough, that helps me make sense of it.

I almost laugh. “Manager of the seelie fae.”

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