Page 60 of Riot of Autumn

21

RUBY

After Ezra and I finally made it out of the shower last night, we found our friends waiting for us with a variety of smirks, disgust, and boredom on their faces. Davis had been the disgusted one. Archer looked like he couldn’t wait to go tell someone what he’d overheard. Unfortunately for him, everyone who would have cared was already sitting in Ezra’s living room.

The team meeting was beyond frustrating. Everyone was anxious, but no one had any ideas about what the hell to do. We rehashed the same conversations we’d already had half a dozen times with the same outcome. No answers. No clue how to stop the Fae from gathering on our island and slowly taking things over.

With the Duke doing his magic sucking juju, things are only going to get worse. Lena, as always, is intent on finding an answer in her books, but that’s not getting us anywhere. I, on the other hand, have a kernel of an idea that won’t stop bothering me. It’s probably a bad idea, but I’m not known for making good choices.

We talked until I fell asleep sitting up and Ezra finally told everyone to fuck off. Zara and Rhys went back to my place, so Axil didn’t have to be alone all night. My poor baby. He was getting some snuggle time tonight.

I’ve been dragging all day and my shift at the diner has felt a thousand years long. Puck’s is packed today with customers hungover from the bonfire last night, in need of a greasy lunch. Or maybe it’s a hangover of the magical variety, because the Duke had everyone dry humping each other all over the beach. What was even the point of that? Is he some kind of succubus who feeds off sexual energy? Or is he just a giant perv? Maybe it’s the control, being able to make other people his puppets.

I’m clearing off empty plates from a table when I overhear a conversation that has my butt cheeks clenching.

“—heard some other royalty is coming to town on Halloween.”

Two women who look like they partied hard last night, and haven’t been home yet, are soaking up last night’s regrets with greasy burgers and fries.

“Oh, do you think they’re single?” The friend giggles.

I balance my dirty plates and slowly pass the talking women, trying not to be obvious about my eavesdropping.

“Jana said she was a queen. Can you imagine? A queen here? On this little island?”

I stop in horror. There’s no way. They can’t be talking about what I think they’re talking about. The Queen of Fairy can’t be coming here. Why would she even want to? Aren’t all these other assholes trying to figure out how to get home?

Unless that’s not what they want.

“Um, excuse me. Can you stop listening to our conversation?”

It takes me a second to realize the woman is talking to me. She’s tapping her manicured nails against the table, her mouth open as she huffs at me.

I frown at her and shake my head, not about to get into a fight with a customer. Tecia wouldn’t care, but my thoughts are too jumbled to come up with any clever retorts at the moment. I walk away in a daze, dropping the dirty dishes off in a bin and wiping my hands off on a towel.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I find our group chat with nervous fingers. After last night’s conversation, everyone is going to freak the fuck out. I tap out a group message and wait for my phone to blow up.

Ruby: So…some crusty lady with a boot up her ass just said she heard a queen is coming to town on Halloween. It’s not what I think it is right? Nothing to worry about? Probably a tribute band and not the leader of a race of supernatural beings from another realm?

Miri: Jesus Ruby, that’s a mouthful. Also, are you fucking kidding me!

Archer: Lydia Delaney stopped by the office this morning and told me the same thing.

Lena: And you didn’t think you should share that with the rest of us? Are you feeling okay?

Archer: I was trying to dig up more info first.

Rhys: Do we know anything else?

Archer: Lydia thinks they’re foreign royalty who want to invest in the island. That’s all she knew.

Ezra: Ruby, you feel like checking out the closet at fuckface’s house again?

Miri: We all know what happened in the closet. {smirk}

Archer: Yeah, we do.

Rhys: Are we going to keep talking about Ezra and Ruby fucking around in closets, or are we going to discuss the huge fucking problem looming?

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