Page 95 of Shifting Winds
Twenty-Nine
Adisturbance at the wards had me making my way outside, wobbling as I adjusted to the kitten heels I wore. I shoved a pair of slippers in my bag in case I changed my mind, or in the event of needing to run.
Either scenario was highly likely when it came to my luck.
Marek, Rowan’s wolf, waved at me. He’d come back yesterday with little fanfare, though the relief on his face when he spotted me hale and hearty had thawed my heart a little.
Next to him stood a man of my similar height with pale skin and swirling green eyes.
Birch, the strange tree man I’d met at my father’s introduction party.
I reached back inside and grabbed my shawl, then headed toward him.
Birch gave me a little bow once I was outside the wards. “Well met, Evie. You look lovely this evening.”
“And you look quite handsome, Birch.” He wore a shiny suit of forest green with a black shirt and green tie. His nut-brown hair was swept away from his face, showing off his strange eyes.
“Thank you, my dear.” He held out his arm. “I am your escort this evening.”
I wrapped my fingers around his elbow and turned to Marek. “I’ll be home around?—”
Birch’s eyebrows lifted. “The fae have no concept of time, but if I had to guess, I’d say a few hours.”
“Around eleven, I hope, though there’s no reason to be concerned if I’m a little later.”
Marek nodded, his gaze drifting away from me to rest on Birch. He was young enough to have never met a fae.
“This is Birch, a friend of the Fae King.”
Birch offered Marek a tiny bow of his head. “Well met, wolf.”
“Marek,” I said. “He’s one of Lord Rowan’s.”
“Ah,” Birch said. “I do not personally know your Lord, but he seems like a fair ruler.”
Marek nodded eagerly. “He is, sir.”
Birch smiled with a little too many teeth making Marek blink in surprise. “Keep an eye on our dear Evie’s house.” He reached into his pocket and handed Marek a small round device. “If anything happens, you can reach me by speaking my name into this device. It will only work once, so make sure to use it only for an emergency.”
“Th—thank you,” Marek said, tucking the device into his pocket.
“I’m assuming I’ll have no cell service?”
Birch gave me an amused look. “Hold on, dear Evie, and I’ll have you there in a jiffy.”
I tightened my fingers. Seconds later came a disorienting jolt and a sense of strange otherness.
Seconds after that, I stood in a hall of gleaming marble and gold.
“Welcome to The Hall of Fae,” Birch said.
I gawked. “There’s no sports memorabilia,” I murmured.
Birch gave me a strange look. “Sports?”
“Hall of Fame?”
His brow furrowed.
