Page 60 of Fake Dating a Human 101

Shayne thought that was it. That they would all go their separate ways now that Cosmo’s fit of anger had been handled. But then…

Cosmo’s face spread into a smile.

And because of that, Shayne’s smile faded.

“Everyone leave.” Cosmo’s command boomed over the banquet hall.

Immediately, every fairy in sight dropped their breakfast utensils and began rushing for the hall doors. They escaped two at a time, and soon the large hall was empty, save for Shayne, Cosmo, and the unfortunate human who’d found herself in the middle of a terrible fairy feud. The doors swished closed, and everything went quiet.

“If you care for that human so much, go tend to her wounds, Lyro,” Cosmo invited. He nodded past Shayne with his chin toward the helpless thing still huddled on the floor. “Why don’t you check if she’s alright?”

“Ha! So you can stab me while my back is turned?” Shayne guessed, though he knew Cosmo wouldn’t take that risk. “Absolutely not. I don’t care for humans—I just wanted to see if you were afraid of me, and it seems you are. Admit it.”

Cosmo shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe it,” he said, more to himself.

Shayne bit the inside of his cheek, wondering if he’d missed something. But his mind fled to the human on the floor behind him, possibly bleeding. Possibly terrified. If he could have kicked Cosmo out the banquet hall doors, he would have. All he wanted to do now was make sure the human wasn’t broken, but he couldnothave a Riothin-blooded fairy see him tend to a human, and so, he folded his arms and waited.

“Well, then.” Cosmo backed away, and to Shayne’s relief, he turned for the doors. “I have other things to do today,” he muttered as he marched.

Shayne waited. And waited. And waited. Andfinally, Cosmo left, the great doors banging closed after him and returning the banquet hall to silence.

It was the first second Shayne dropped the calm look from his face. He spun and fell to a knee, listening for the human’s rhythms. He thought she’d passed out, until he saw her sitting there, alert.

“Are you alright, Human? Are you hurt?” he asked. Shayne lifted a hand toward her hunched shoulder, but he stopped short when she lifted her face to his.

Her once watery-eyed, startled face had changed. Shayne blinked in surprise, something dropping into the pit of his stomach at the sight of her wide, growing smile.

“No…” he rasped, tearing back.

The female threw her head back and roared in laughter, filling the hall with it. Her hair slid off her ears, showing their arched points, and Shayne realized just how much of a fool he was. Realized that Cosmo had tricked him into revealing something about himself none of his enemies should ever know. And that Cosmo was winning after all—not only in the game.

“Did you think I was really doing all that to a measly human?” Cosmo’s voice came from behind him, and Shayne froze to the floor. Cosmo hadn’t made a peep when he’d returned. “Those who know me know I can act viciously when I want to,” he added. He crouched and leaned in to whisper in Shayne’s ear, “And you should know; the things I do to real humans are much, much worse.”

Shayne spun and punched. He knew better—queensbane, he knew better—but unfortunately his fist didn’t.

Cosmo took the hit with a growl. His breathing was heavy when he spun back and sized Shayne up with glowing green eyes. He lightly touched his cheekbone where a new swell would soon match the patch from the fruit.

“What a poor sport you are. No fun,” he said. “But I’m learning all sorts of things about you, ShayneLyro. Including the best way to rile you up.”

Shayne climbed to his feet and sped past Cosmo. He rushed for the doors, pushing out to brave the halls with a pounding heart. The scent in the hallway was metallic and icy, and Shayne coughed on the air entering his lungs. The agonies of this House created a vast sea where no direction seemed to take him to the surface.

He found himself in the backyard gardens minutes later. He wasn’t even sure how he got outside. He looked back at the House of Riothin as his heartbeat settled. As he started to think rationally for the first time in several minutes.

“They know,” he muttered. “Queensbane, they know.” He dragged his fingers into his hair and began to pace along the stepping stones. Chilly wind whispered across his flesh and a sprinkle of snow fell over the garden, but he hardly noticed.

He cursed the sky deities and fell onto a stone bench, dropping his head into his hands.

“You fool,” he snapped at himself. He’d come all the way here to ensure nothing fae, magical, or dangerous went near the human realm. He had one job to do; to ensure word reached the House of Lyro that Shayne was under the protection of Riothin. All he’d needed was for the High Lord to send that stupid letter, and the Lyro House would have forgotten about Shayne’s humans, forgotten about forcing Shayne into the heir’s seat, and might have eventually forgotten about Shayne altogether. Now, not only did his own family know about his affairs with humans, the House of Riothin had discovered it, too.

“It doesn’t matter,” he told himself. He dropped his hands and clasped them. “This doesn’t change anything.”

It wasn’t like Cosmo’s discovery would reveal anything about Shayne’s connections in the human realm. In fact, Cosmo might not even tell anyone what Shayne had done in the banquet hall. It didn’t matter one bit. Not at all.

Except that now Cosmo knew that he could control Shayne by torturing humans.

“Sky deities, why?!” Shayne growled. At least he hadn’t been holding his crossbow during that catastrophe. He might have handled things even worse.

“If you’re having a conversation with yourself, I can leave.”

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