Page 60 of Siren's Gift

"There’s two of you!" Frankie shook my hand off, then groaned and clutched her head. "What’d ya put in that last glass, Saul?"

"I shoulda put in water," Saul muttered under his breath. "Or arsenic."

"Frankie, it’s us. Bree and Marissa." I was determined to say what I needed to say, even if she didn’t want to hear it. "We’re back."

"Surprise!" Marissa grinned. "Vince tagged along to buy us a drink. Isn’t that so nice of him?"

Still looking sheepish, Vincent gave Frankie a quick wave before heading to the other end of the bar, where the bartender had retreated.

She squinted again and moved in closer, peering at my and Marissa’s faces. "Man, I gotta hand it t’ya, Saul. Whatever you put in there is makin’ these hallucinations look really real."

"Can hallucinations do this?" Marissa leaned forward and tapped her on the nose. "Boop."

After uncrossing her eyes, Frankie looked thoughtful. "Come ta think of it, I dunno."

"They’re real, Frankie," Saul called out helpfully.

The fae woman narrowed her eyes, looking at Marissa and me in earnest. Seconds passed, and just when it started to get awkward, she closed her eyes. "Oh, for the love of the Other."

She snapped her fingers, and a bright purple spark of magic crackled to life. It zipped around her body from head to toe, leaving a faint but dazzling shimmer in its wake. When she opened her eyes again, her irises flashed violet before dimming back to brown. All signs of intoxication were gone.

Fae magic could be so handy.

"Godsdamnit, Frankie!" Saul slapped his towel on the bar before leaning over it. "You know the rules. No magic. None. Zip. Zilch."

"I musta forgot."

"That’s the third time today!"

"Yeah? Well, take it up with the dragons. They’re the whole reason I’m here." She cackled as he muttered under his breath and returned to cleaning. "Knew that would shut the ol’ goat up."

"Frankie."

This time when she met my gaze, her tough exterior cracked. Tears glistened in her eyes. "Damn you for makin’ me worry like that, Bree." Her voice was rough, unsteady in a way I had never heard before.

I opened my mouth to apologize, but before I could get a single word out, she caught me in a fierce, bone-crushing hug. Of all the reactions I’d expected, this was not one of them.

Marissa had predicted she’d smack me over the head. And honestly? I had braced for a good smack. That would have made sense. Hugs did not fit the no-nonsense, sharp-as-nails fae woman I knew.

Yet here she was, clinging to me like she’d thought she’d lost me forever.

I hesitated for only a second before wrapping my arms around her, breathing in the familiar scent of something electric that always clung to her, like the air before a storm. Only now it was tinged with smoke and ash. A lump formed in my throat.

Then another pair of slender arms slipped around us both, and I knew without looking that Marissa had joined in.

I smiled, squeezing them tighter.

For the first time in a long, long while, things felt right again.

Until a fourth pair of arms joined the hug, much larger and hairier than the others.

"Damnit, Vince," Frankie mumble-yelled against my shoulder. "This hug ain’t for you. Bugger off."

The big arms lifted, and Vincent’s grumbles followed him back to his stool.

Poor guy.

When we disentangled ourselves, all a bit more sniffly than before, Frankie shook her finger at Marissa and me. "Don’t you ever run off like that again. Either of you. Ya hear me?"

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