Page 36 of Reap the Night
We approached him, and he dropped us a nod. “I see you made it.”
Wait, was he the same bouncer from outside?
He smirked and ushered us through the arch before I could ask.
There was a dip in my belly, a sting along my wrist, then we were no longer under the stars in a field but stood on slabs of ice in what looked like the inside of a giant domed ice chamber.
And yet it wasn’t cold.
I touched the floor with my fingertips. Frozen. Real, then.
Orbs of amber light hovered above us, providing an intimate ambience.
Several clusters of people, human and fae, sat in large high-backed seats that made everyone look small. Some people’s feet didn’t even reach the ground. Everyone had a drink, though—either held in a fluted glass or a rose petal one.
Humans and fae mingling.
Silvered humans.
VIPs like us.
Wings and horns and tails were on display here. There was no dancing, though, just conversation, music, and table service.
“I see a free table.” Merry hurried off, and we followed her.
No one paid us much attention, too wrapped up in their own conversations.
We claimed a table for six.
“None of this is what I expected,” Padma said.
“What did you expect?” Edwin asked.
“Club vibe with bass beat music and sweaty bodies.” She shrugged and took a swig of her beer.
“Do the fae sweat?” Holly asked the group.
“I’m sweating now,” Merry said.
Holly leaned in and sniffed her. “All I smell is peaches.”
Merry grinned up at her. “I know.”
“Your sweat smells like peaches?” Holly looked impressed and took another sniff.
“Tastes like them too.”
I caught the flare in Holly’s eyes before she dropped her eyelids to half-mast to hide it.
I scanned the room, past the bar at the back and into the shadows, where hulking figures sat, hidden in gloom. “Does anyone see Crush?”
“It would be hard not to spot him,” Edwin said. “The guy is mahusive.”
“Mahusive is not a word,” Merry said.
“It is now.”
“He might not be here tonight,” Padma said.
