Page 32 of Tragic Ink
Chapter 11
Cupids& Cuties, the annual celebration that always took over Havenwood Falls, was three days away, and the evidence was all over town. I didn’t necessarily hate Valentine’s Day. Hating it would have required giving a shit in some way, which I didn’t. Normally, I had no problem ignoring the whole thing, though I did roll my eyes at the cliché hearts and cupids I ended up tattooing on couples this time of year. Still, I couldn’t hate on a holiday—or a town event—that was so good forbusiness.
This year was different,though.
Business was already booming, thanks to the herbs wearing off. And Rhys Graywalk was currently walking next to me—a simple thing that made my heart race and my palms sweat. He was also eyeing the pink and red décor currently coating the townsquare.
“Wow, that’s a lot of pink,” hesaid.
“Ugh. It’s stupid is what itis.”
We’d had to park around the corner thanks to all the service vehicles delivering décor for the square. I wove through the swarm of them on our way from Rhys’ truck to my apartment. As if it wasn’t weird enough that Rhys Graywalk was about to see where I lived, now we had to navigate there through an entire herd of cardboard cupids being carried by delivery workers who wouldn’t stop smiling at me and offering ahello.
My life had become really fuckingweird.
“When you say ‘stupid’ are you referring to Cupids & Cuties?” Rhys asked, increasing his pace to keep up with me. “Or the entire concept of Valentine’sDay?”
“All of it, yes, but mostly the event itself. The idea that an enchanted arrow can lead you to your true love and when it does, you have to kiss the person right there in front of a ballroom full of people? It’sbullshit.”
“Spoken like a trueGrinch.”
I caught his teasing grin and scowled as I turned to climb the steps that led to the shop. “Are you saying you’re a fan?” I asked, suddenly nervous that he’d tell me he’d been there every year and made out with a different girl eachtime.
But he shook his head. “Actually, I’ve never been.” He bumped my shoulder. “I had a feeling the arrow wouldn’t work without you there, so I’ve always skippedit.”
My face heated, but I ducked my head, grumbling to cover up my pleasure at his words. “Well, I think love takes a lot more work to find than an enchantedarrow.”
“Can’t disagreethere.”
At the top of the stairs, I unlocked the door of my shop and headed inside. I didn’t stop in the dark shop, but kept walking straight through to the next set of stairs that led up to my apartment. “You can just wait down here if you want,” I said, not bothering to look back in case it gave away just how nervous I was to have Rhys in my livingquarters.
But his footsteps didn’t slow or stop, and his voice came from close behind me as I shoved open the door at the top of the steps. “No way. I’m not letting you out of my sight after lastnight.”
I bit back a quick retort, mostly because I didn’t want to ruin the agreement I’d managed to get out of him at all. I’d had a hell of a time convincing him to let me come here in the first place. And part of me would have been happy to stay away until all this was resolved, but I couldn’t afford not to be here when my first client showed. Not with the packed schedule I had thanks to the herbs wearing off and the people in this town actually wanting to be around me. Rhys had argued, but I’d convinced him to give me ten minutes. Not eleven. Ten. That was it. The plan was to grab a few things, reschedule all my appointments for the next couple of days, and get out again.Fast.
It should have been more than enough, but then I stepped through my front door, and the energy signature in my tiny one-bedroom hit me. It was fae, but it wasn’tmine.
I took a quick step back, but Rhys was even faster, grabbing me by the waist and yanking me behind him. I huddled behind him, my heart pounding. Rhys didn’t move a muscle as we bothlistened.
Outside, there was a thud, and my head whipped to the window. Rhys bolted, beating me there, and together we peered at the street below. I caught sight of a man’s shoulders and head just before the figure’s feet hit the ground. Once he’d landed, he looked up at us, and it took me a moment to register what I wasseeing.
Walter Glass stood staring up at us from where he’d just swung himself down two floors using the rafters and railings. The only thing different about him from the last time I’d seen him, other than the fact that he was supposed to be dead, were his eyes. The brown color had changed to a bright yellow, glowing to an impossible hue before dimming again. He blinked, and the yellow vanished, replaced once again by the dull brown that Iremembered.
“Impossible,” I said, but even as I breathed the word, his eyes flashed with fury, and a ripple of magic passed over his face. It was only a split second, but it was enough, and I realized why we hadn’t been able to identify the signaturebefore.
“It’s a glamour,” Rhys saidflatly.
I didn’t argue. I knew Rhys had received this particular gift during his Awakening, and now he could see through any fae’s glamour, Seelie or Unseelie, no matter how old orpowerful.
“That’s not Walter,” I said, the hushed words coming out more like aquestion.
“No, it’s a fae glamoured to look like Walter. It’s also the same energy signature I sensed at Aelwyn’s. And again last night,” Rhys added. His voice was quiet now, like a simmering rage that he was keeping under tightcontrol.
“Can you see his face?” I asked. “Do you recognizehim?”
“Yes. I’ve never seen him before, but his markings suggest he’s an Unseelie soldier of somekind.”
“Seriously?” How in the hell would an Unseelie soldier get into Havenwood Fallsunchecked?
