Page 105 of Welcome to Fae Cafe

She dropped her stare first and studied her socks as it dawned on her all over again.

Her pretend boyfriend. Maybe not so pretend after all.

Silver bells threaded along theYarn & Stitchdoor, and piles of snow littered the windowsills. The light melody of a Christmas carol drifted through the street from a shop down the road, and cars rumbled by with drivers entirely unaware of the mythical creatures huddled together knitting inside the yarn store.

Kate adjusted her pink sweater beneath her coat as she went in. Tea and tarts filled the table between the couches, steam coiling from the pot in waves. Kate kicked the snow off her boots, and all the knitting fae women lifted their heads.

“Ah.” Freida set her porcelain teacup on her lap. Her makeup and dazzling earrings were gone again. “My fairy goddaughter. It’s been a while, Kate Kole.”

“I haven’t been avoiding you on purpose,” Kate said as she shucked her coat and hung it on one of the hooks. She sat down beside Hazel and was about to explain when Hazel made a horrified face and scooted away.

“She smells of male fairy assassins!”

There were a few gasps, and some of the other women inched away, too.

“Yeah… well… that’s why I didn’t come back until now,” Kate admitted.

“Yuck!” Hazel plugged her nose. Then, with a nasally voice, she added, “And her tone is giving off… heartache. She feels strong heartache, too.” Hazel glanced over at Freida, who watched and listened to it all.

Gretchen stabbed her needles into her yarn ball. “Did you forget that Prince attacked us, Human? That he would have killed us all if he could have? And you’ve gotten cozy with that heartless blood spiller,” she said in her high voice.

“Did you forget thatyouled him here?!” Hazel added, and Freida lifted a hand.

“The human did not lead him here. Our own fairy yarn did. Let’s not blame Kate Kole for a thing she didn’t do,” the old woman said.

Kate cleared her throat and settled deeper into the couch. “He hasn’t attacked you since, though. There’s a reason for that.”

“We already know,” Freida said. She picked up her yarn and began to knit again. “I sensed the fairy crush weeks ago, remember? I can hear it in your tone now, too. That’s a dangerous game to play, Kate Kole. You should never fall for a fairy. And you should never allow a fairy to fall for you.”

Kate folded her hands. “I need your help,” she said.

“Yes, that’s obvious,” Freida said. She slid her needles from the yarn, tied the ends of her work, then held up her masterpiece: a long red scarf. “But don’t ask for help from us, fairy goddaughter. You won’t get it. Not forthem.”

“Why?” Kate hugged her arms to herself. “What’s your problem with them?”

“Ourproblem withthem?” Freida almost smiled, and Gretchen grunted. “We’re a black-marked bunch. We were once the Brotherhood’s counterpart, sent into all the Four Corners of Ever to hunt down enemies of the North by their side. But we abandoned our Queene and fought our way out of the North. The Brotherhood killed many of us that day. And after, they hunted us across the Corners until we slipped across the gate. We’ve been hiding here in blissful peace ever since.” Freida nodded toward the women around the couches. “Those assassins you smell of have instructions to kill us the moment they see us. They’re still loyal to that heartless creature they call a queene.”

“They’re not!” Kate shook her head. “Mor, Shayne, and Dranian are going to stay here, like you. Only Cress is going back to where he came from, and that’s why I need your help.”

Gretchen’s knitting needle snapped in half. She gripped both pieces tightly in her fist, shaking a little. Hazel slapped a hand over Gretchen’s knee to keep her still. Even Freida’s face was dark when she looked up.

“I will never trust them in my faeborn life after the blood they shed of my sisters. We will not share the human realm with them, Kate Kole. If they stay, we will kill them,” she promised.

Kate’s mouth parted. “But they’re not coming after you anymore! Can’t you help them just once? Cress is going to die if he goes back!”

Freida stood and rounded the table. She crouched before Kate, unrolling the red scarf, then she wrapped it around Kate’s neck in a loose knot, tucking it in nicely at the edges. “I’ll protect you if I can, fairy goddaughter. But I will not extend that generosity to them. We hope to see you at knitting club again if you survive whatever’s coming for those faeborn fools you’re keeping company with.”

With that, the old woman went back to her place on the couch and started unravelling a new ball of yarn. It seemed like the chat was finished.

“Then what should I do about the Shadow Fairies who’ve been following us?” Kate asked. The entire knitting club ignored her. So she stood. “Fine. I’ll enslave them like I did with the others. Any objections?” she asked. And then, when no one still spoke up, she said, “Is anyone here concerned that I might die when I go try to do this?”

Freida sighed but said nothing.

Kate looked from one woman to the next. She shook her head as she went to get her coat without a word. The club knitted in silence as she pulled it on and opened the door of theYarn & Stitch.

Freida’s voice was faint when she finally broke the quiet. “The names you plan to use won’t work on them, Kate Kole. And you’d be a fool to try and learn their real names. The moment you attempt to enslave a Shadow Fairy, it’ll show up behind you and run you through with a fairsaber before you can take your next breath.”

Kate stood in the doorway until Freida finished her warning.

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