Page 39 of Welcome to Fae Cafe

Mor reached for theFairyBook of Rules and Masteriesand dragged the book over to himself. He flipped the pages slower and with much more care.

“It was a good kiss, too. It should have painted the heavens with gold and made the air smell of gingerberries,” Cress added with a mutter. He crumpled forward and rested his forehead against the cold tabletop. Perhaps a nap was in order.

“Here it is. This is the trick Shayne was talking about when he suggested the faeborn-cursed idea in the first place.” Mor turned the open book and pointed to a paragraph, and Cress peeked up from his position. The lines of dark text seemed to go on forever.

“Read it to me,” Cress commanded and closed his eyes, thinking of his fur-coated bedspread at the Silver Castle. Wishing for deep dreams that were clean and did not involve the object of his failed enchantment. Though, he hadn’t dreamt of his human target for several days. Perhaps he was starting to become free of her.

Mor’s deep voice filled the dark library like the old storytellers of the North. After a few stale paragraphs telling of things Cress already knew, Mor got to the part that said, “The key is to ensure that the human you wish to enchant has a spark of romantic feelings for the fairy bestowing the kissbeforethe enchanted kiss is performed. Even just a shallow feeling will be enough…”

Cress looked up to find Mor biting his lips together. A grin was dangerously close to showing.

“You think I did it wrong?” It was more of an accusation. “Should I have forced our lips together for longer?”

Mor ignored the question and kept reading, “But as with many rules of the fairies, the opposite can take place too, and a fairy ought to be careful not to kiss a human if there are any romantic feelings—”

“How did she not haveanyromantic feelings for me?” Cress stood—his chair screeched over the library floor.

Mor slapped the book shut and set it back on the table. “I can’t imagine how.” He was too composed to reveal if it was sarcasm.

“Females have been proposing to me for ten faeborn years. That measly human cannot possibly be an exception to my appeal.”

Mor placed a fist over his grinning mouth. “I apologize, Your Highness,” he said through his fingers. “This is the funniest thing that I have seen all year.”

“It’s not funny!” Cress kicked his chair, then folded his arms and paced. “She hid her real name, and it seems she cannot be swayed by an enchanted kiss. And now she’s enslaved my brothers! I’ve never been this furious in my entire faeborn life!”

“Yes. I know.” Mor nodded and turned the book back to himself. He bit his lips together tightly as he flipped through more pages. The corners of his mouth almost lifted again.

Cress stared long and hard at the curly-haired fairy. “We need to end this, Mor. We need to get back to the Ever Corners. Every day we’re here, it’ll be worse for you when we go back.” His shoulders dropped. “I’m worried about what the Court will do to you for my disobedience in coming here. I’m worried I won’t be able to stop them this time.”

Mor sighed and closed the book. “Don’t worry about me, Cress. The human just got lucky. We’ve watched her long enough for me to believe she’s not that good at this. Shayne is right—someone is helping her. We just need to figure out who it is and do what we do best; hunt him to his terrible death,” he said. “And in the meantime, you need to stay away from Shayne, Dranian, and me so we don’t learn your plans. We’ll be compelled to try and stop you from harming the human target if we know them.”

Cress’s chest filled as he ventured to the window. He watched the humans out in the cold as deep, rumbling clouds stole the heavens, toiling and darkening with his mood. He was going to wipe out the human realm with a storm soon if he didn’t calm himself. “You must swear to silence about all this once we return to the Ever Corners. None of our brothers will hear about how this human outsmarted us, and especially not the nobles of the North High Court. Do you understand?” he said over his shoulder. “I will be the talk of the North if they find out. Which is why I will hunt down every human Kate Kole loves most. I will return the suffering she’s caused me.” He breathed in that promise. He let it soak into his faeborn bones. He let it turn his will to flame.

After a moment, Cress sniffed. “Queensbane, why does this library smell like old fairy blood?”

Mor stood from the table, picked up the book, and tucked it beneath his arm. “The human didn’t specifically saywecouldn’t harm her, did she? She only specified that we couldn’t letyouharm her,” he thought aloud. “And the Queene only forbade me from using my Shadow Fairy gifts in‘any of the Four Corners’when I became her slave to join the North Brotherhood, correct?”

Cress’s jaw slid back and forth. “That’s correct.” He glanced back at Mor. “When was the last time you shadow-slipped?”

Mor looked off. “It’s been a while,” he admitted. He carried the ancient book to the back of the library and returned a moment later holding a large orange fruit. “Look!” he said, tossing the fruit to Cress. Cress caught it and held it up to study it. “It’s a human grape,” Mor said. “You have to peel it.”

Cress turned it over. A second later, he jutted his nail into the peel and began tearing off the skin. “It smells like a citrus drink.” He bit into it and sweetness bled into his mouth. He nodded, pleased with the taste, until something crunched between his molars. He stopped.

He spat the whole thing onto the floor and flung the remainder of the grape out the library window. “It has seeds,” he complained to Mor.

Mor was busy brushing dust off his sleeves. “Let’s go find Shayne and Dranian. I sent them ahead to gather supplies,” he said.

Cress shook his head. “No. Let’s split up now.”

Mor didn’t answer right away. “Are you certain?”

“Yes. You spy on the human and learn who’s helping her. I’m going to learn her real name, and soon I will tear apart her home with her inside it.”

Mor’s quiet moan filled the library. “Cress. Why did you tell me that?!”

13

Kate Kole and Hot Mochas with Hotter Tempers

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