Page 59 of Welcome to Fae Cafe

Kate tried not to fall asleep as she sat on the floor listening to the fae argue with her face leaning on her fist. The rest of the book club members gaped from their little half circle on the floor in the bookstore’s meeting room. All except for Mor—he sat off to the side, basking in the sun by the window and making ridiculous guesses to solve a crossword puzzle in the newspaper. It was like he didn’t even realize his fellow fae were fighting. Every few seconds, he reached for the latte Kate had made for him before they left her apartment that morning, and he took a sip without looking up from the paper.

“That’s not at all what it’s like!” Dranian shouted. It had been ten minutes since he jumped to his feet. He’d been that way ever since Shayne suggested one of the books Kate made them read depicted a fae’s personality adequately.

“What about Lord Swendle? The writer was practically telling his life’s story!” Shayne objected, throwing a book at Dranian. It hit Dranian in the chest and tumbled to the floor.

“How dare you?! Lord Swendle is practically a saint of the sky deities!” Dranian growled.

When the fae had first walked into the book club five days ago, the girls in the meeting room had stared, giggled, or blushed. Kate had hoped that bringing the assassins every day might give them some real human exposure, but it seemed like theBook Nerd Herdgirls were no longer interested in book club at all.

The fae Prince didn’t show up once in those five days. Mor kept a close watch at the apartment window each night, Dranian stood guard down at the café door, and Shayne spent most of his evenings on the rooftop with his crossbow loaded. For the first time in ages, Kate was sleeping like a baby.

Kate released a startled sound when she dozed off and fell off balance.

Shayne glanced over at her, taking his attention off Dranian for the first time since the discussion began. “Tell him he’s wrong, Kate!” he shouted, pointing at his fellow assassin.

Kate rubbed her eyes, smearing her makeup. “Well, I don’t know Lord Swendle, so obviously I can’t comment on that.”

Mor released a snort-laugh from the side of the room. But his laughter fell away when Dranian swung a real punch and nearly landed it in Shayne’s face.

Shayne and Dranian went back at it, Dranianopening his own book to point at a paragraph. He muttered something too low for the rest of the book club to hear.

Iris—Book Nerd Herdorganizer—slid wide around the fae-fight to reach Kate’s side. “Where did you meet these guys?” she asked, beaming. “They’re so invested in the story. It’s adorable. Why can’t all guys be like this?”

“Well, today’s your lucky day.” Kate lifted a hand toward Shayne and Dranian. “Take your pick. I’ll set you up on a date—”

“Human.” Mor appeared behind Kate. “We must leave before this situation escalates.”

Kate looked up just in time to see Dranian charge Shayne. He grabbed him around the middle and lifted him off the floor. Shayne whacked Dranian’s back with his book as he was carried and slammed against the wall. The wall cracked up to the ceiling while Shayne punched Dranian’s nose in retaliation, drawing blood. A second later, he kicked Dranian with his bare foot while the fae was hunched.

Blood dripped to the floor.

Fae growled.

Shayne’s muscles flexed.

Girls shrieked and scurried away.

Iris clapped.

Kate sprang up and ran over as Dranian’s hands wound around Shayne’s throat.

“Stop! Stay still!” she shouted, and both fae froze with their limbs in mid-strike. “It’s time to go.” She shot a look back to Mor who was scooping up the scattered books. He bowed in farewell to the book club girls who bit back smiles and waved.

“See you next time!” Iris shouted, but to Kate, she mouthed, “Make sure you bring that one back.” She jutted her thumb toward Shayne as Mor snatched the fae by his shirt and dragged him toward the exit.

They tumbled out of the bookstore a bloody, heated mess of alpha male pride and sore attitudes. The chilly air didn’t cool anyone down fast enough, and Dranian leaned away and eyed Shayne behind Mor’s back. Shayne unexpectedly grinned through a bloody lip, and that only seemed to anger Dranian more.

Kate’s phone alarm went off. She stopped walking to pull it from her pocket, leaving Mor to hold Shayne’s and Dranian’s collars. She gasped when she realized. “I’m late! I have to go!”

Mor looked back at her with the widest, most accusing eyes she’d seen on a fae.

“Sorry,” she said as she jogged across the parking lot.

“Wait… Human,wait!” Mor called after her. “You can’t leave me with these two! Command them not to fight at least!” His words drowned out as Kate rounded the bookstore and chased speeding cars down the road.

Minutes later, she stopped outside theYarn & Stitch, panting and breathing a sigh of relief when she saw the lights on inside. Her fingers traced her pocket where she hid the note of questions she planned to ask. She’d spent an hour this morning at a table in the café scribbling down the things she felt were the most important to know.

She rubbed her warm neck as she trotted up the steps and opened the door. She’d just lifted her foot to go inside when a fistful of her knit sweater was grabbed from behind.

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