Page 16 of Suspicions on the Stage
He blinks, then actually laughs. I don’t know how to respond to that, so I just glare at him while he finishes expressing his mirth. When he’s finally done, he shakes his head and says, “Literal jackasses, huh?”
“For sure,” I drawl sarcastically. “Because we couldn’t have made it easier for you to calm the fuck down and try to be part of the chill. You’ve just refused to do it, asshole.”
“I have reasons, Morgana. It’s not because I’m just a fucker.”
I put my fingers on my temples, wishing I had a baseball bat to thunk him over the noggin with. “Liam clarified that you have issues. However, they’re not an excuse for treating everyone like shit, nor do they allow you much more grace for acting like an idiot. Get your shit together, man. We’re all too old for this BS, and apparently, now it’s too dangerous for us to miss things because we’re fighting with you.”
The dragon nods, ruffling his hair with his hand. “Okay. I’ll do what I can. It won’t be quick and I’ll fuck up a lot. I’ve been angry so long that people on this side of the Veil were still called serfs and lords, Morgana.”
“Mother Medusa, save me from men and their fucking idiotic ego-driven grudges.” I point at him, my eyes dark as I turn on my heel to walk towards the demons and supes in the royal tents.. “You need therapy, dude.”
I cannot believe the universe has paired me with yet another emotionally stunted dragon with baggage that could fill a fucking 747.
suspicious minds
IGNATIUS
Thankfully, Morgana looks unharmed as she strides over to us, but her expression tells me she’s not just pissed about the fallen orc. That look screams irritation at the grumpy dragon, who can’t seem to get out of his own way, especially because the other one is finishing the Fae creature still. I checked that out a couple times, but I can’t really get a good bead on what the demon hybrid is doing besides scaring the damn thing into a quivering ball. I’m smart enough not to ask the giant shark guy, though. Questioning his authority doesn’t feel like a good use of my time.
The weird thing is… we’re not finding bodies for the Harvest emissaries—live or dead.
“Where did they go, Iggy? This is so weird,” Slade mutters as he tosses a charred piece of table. “There’s not even, like… detritus to prove they were even here.”
“Very suspicious indeed, siren.”
Slade looks at the mono-syllabic shark, pushing up his glasses nervously. “Yeah. I mean, if they were dissolved—or whatever—there should besomething, even if it’s a signature.”
“I don’t smell a fucking thing, either,” Lucas sighs. “Nothing recent, at least.”
Morgana’s eyes narrow as she joins us, looking around with an assessing gaze. “They’re gone, and it’s not because they were killed or incinerated. Someone took them, I think. The orc was a distraction for a good old-fashioned kidnapping.”
Liam comes back from his trip across the pathway to the Reaping tent, a grimace on his handsome features. “That story mirrors the one from the other side. I’m uncertain why anyone would want such a low level Fae, though. Representatives from the courts who would attendthissort of thing aren’t privy to important intel or strategic secrets. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Perhaps, Prince, the other courts are less discerning about who they send to this side of the Veil.” Kaspar stomps over, running a hand through his dark hair. “Your father and the general would be more cautious, but the other royals might not.”
“They could be missing to distract from undeclared guests who are also no longer here.”
Everyone looks at the serious looking rainbow-haired demon curiously. He’s standing with the gorgeous blond that had snake-like features during the fight as they assess our tent. The blond smirks, shrugging as they brush off their designer clothing.
“Being part of a royal envoy that is here without a genuine invitation, flying under the radar until now—I’m simply suggesting that as much as we all did not want anyone to realizewe’re here, others could have made the same mistake. The Fae courts are as full of intrigue as ours, yes? Perhaps the visitors had serious business and were betrayed, leaving missing beings of great importance no one realizes are missing as yet.”
Son of a bitch. If that’s true, weallneed to get the fuck out of here.
“You might be right, Xerxes,” the shark says gruffly. “That means we should be gone before the dust settles.”
I nod at him, turning to Liam and Morgana. “They’re right. We did our duty helping to save lives, but none of us were invited to this affair, and that possibility leaves us in uncomfortable cross-hairs. It’s time to make like a banana.”
Slade chuckles as he steps over the rubble to get to Morgana. “I agree. We saw my folks and the ones Tracer suggested. I’d like to explore more, but Iggy and the demons are right. If this is a political landmine, we need to hop on Thorne’s plane before anyone can point fingers.”
“Thank you for the help,” Li says as he looks at the gathering of demon hybrids who are now watching us. “You should get the Prince and your other companions out of here, too.”
The rainbow-haired, willowy demon lifts his hand calmly, shooting a burst of magic across the sky toward the area where their leader is handling the orc. I can’t see what he’s doing in the smoke, but I guess that’s some sort of… demon signal? Who knows? But the small red-haired Kitsuné pokes his head out of his tails to smile at our girl shyly.
He reminds me a bit of Slade, to be honest.
“Prince Jasper would thank you for fighting with us if he weren’t locking down the orc. Please accept our gratitude on his behalf, Morgana, and family.” The studious guy looks at his companions, tilting his head. “The Fae Prince is right, I think. We should find Salem and Kit Kat quickly, then get as far from the Faerie territory as possible.”
I frown at them. “You won’t be leaving?”
