Page 46 of Bargains with Benefits
I had to face facts. Evelyn was right. My inn was cursed by blood magic.
Another question for my absentee father: did he know? I wasn’t sure now was the time to broach the topic when my ultimate goal was to get Vincent and myself invited to Pierce House. I should focus on being charming, but I had never been good at hiding my feelings. And I was feeling frustrated.
Approaching the bar, I waved at Seraphina. She gave me a nod in return and gestured to a table on the left. I assumed she needed me to take a quick order; Evelyn was busy with a customer while someone else flagged her for more drinks. I could help. It was still early, and we’d have to wait for a table anyway, even once Darius did arrive. As I turned, though, my brows raised in surprise. Darius sat quietly where she’d gestured. He had a book propped open before him andsomething in a mug steamed by his hand as he turned the page.
He was here already?
I had arrived fifteen minutes early and thought that was a lot, but he was all set up like he’d been there for a while. Like he’d known the place would be packed and wanted to procure us that table. Someone could have knocked me over with a feather. This was maybe the last thing I’d expected tonight.
I rolled my shoulders back. I had asked for this. It was time to go through with it. Slowly, I pushed through the crowd again to get to him.
He looked up at my approach. “Luna!” he said brightly, marking his page and closing the book. “This place is packed! Looks like business is good for your friend.”
That caught me off-guard on multiple counts. I was still spinning from the fact that he’d arrived early—how did he know Seraphina was my friend?
“Yeah,” I said hesitantly. “Thanks for grabbing the table. I had no idea it would be this bad.”
He gestured for me to sit. “Cliff House has been keeping you that busy, then? You haven’t been working here, too?”
His smile seemed harmless enough, but with Darius, I was always trying to figure out what he could do with the information I provided.
“I haven’t. Seraphina said I was essentially fired until the Long Night; then we could talk.”
He chuckled. “Sounds like a good friend.”
Seraphina showed up at that moment. She set a Solstice Sip on my side of the table and gestured to Darius’s drink. “Do you need a refill?”
“No, thanks. What did she bring you?” Darius asked, examining my drink.
“It’s the Sweet Solstice Sip,” I said. “Or, at least, it’s the recipe and the honey liqueur from the original. Have you triedone?” I wanted him to be at ease when I finally worked up the nerve to ask him my questions.
He shook his head. “That’s from the Andiveron boy’s column?” His nostrils flared as he asked, but I nodded. It shouldn’t surprise me that Darius knew who wrote the supposedly anonymous column.
“Ah, I don’t keep up with fae trends too well,” he said, but I heard something between his words, like maybe it wasn’t so much fae trends he didn’t keep up with as much as Andiveron trends he didn’t care for. I wondered if inviting Vincent and me to Pierce House would be a bigger ask than I’d realized. Was there something between Vincent’s family and mine? Other than animosity from being in different courts?
“Do you two want food?” Seraphina asked.
“Yes, please,” I said.
Darius ordered the soup of the day. Seraphina disappeared.
“You didn’t order,” he said.
I raised my glass and smiled. “She knows what I like.”
Darius raised his mug, and I found myself clinking our glasses together.
“Thanks for meeting me,” I said.
He tilted his head as if in question. “I’m always happy to do so, Luna. I hope you know that.”
I absolutely didnotknow that and wasn’t sure how to respond. If that was true, I wanted to know why. I took a sip of my drink, considering. I decided the only way out was through. Darius had no reason to do what I asked, but if what he said was true, if he was always happy to meet, then he would be happy to host Vincent and me.
At this point, there was only a tiny chance our plan for the inn would work, given that I had no idea how to access my magic. Magic necessary to save the inn. My eyes met his. They looked so much like my own, bright blue and welcoming, although I’d never once felt welcome by him.
I took a deep breath. “I didn’t know that. Why would I know that?” I asked, trying not to sound confrontational. I wasn’t sure it worked; I was too caught up in hearing the answer.
He sat up straighter. “I guess that’s a fair question.” He took a sip of his drink. I was more than surprised by his assessment, by the careful consideration of my question and his open response. “Maybe it’s easier if we start fresh. I’d like you to be able to come to me with anything. I want to help you in any way I can.”
