Page 14 of Tasteful Anarchy and Tangled Auras
I smile gently. “So, Adi, what shall we do instead?”
Adelaide
WE TALK AND TALK ANDtalk. He tells me of his mother and father: from a lower house, and far down the line for the head of said house. How they were good parents despite—or maybe because—of it. We talk of his travels. He likes to visit the other FECs. He’d spent years at each, getting to know the inhabitants. He’d also been to every town and village in our FEC. He tells me of his love of the outdoors. He is a bit older than me, at one hundred and twenty-eight years, but honestly, that’s still pretty close in age for Fae. I describe my coffeehouse, Kobold Java Shop, in Boston. I tell him of my time at Trinity and at UC Davis. We talk of everything except my family and the Elfin Ancharcists. It’s as if we both feel those topics are too heavy for trying to get to know each other, since we know we’ll have to coexist for a while.
“You’ve seriously never heard of the Roxy? It wasthepunk club in London. It was incredible! I used to hop on the train and spend the weekend there.”
He chuckles, dimple showing. “No, I really haven’t. I told you, I’m not one for human pop culture.”
I hop up and go to my record player. “Now listen to this. This is classic right here.” I put on a Ramones album. Bryn stands to join me.
“How...how is that working?” He gets down on his hands and knees, trying to figure it out. I notice a long knife’s handle sticking out of its scabbard. Or, shit, is that a short sword? I don’t know. How did I miss that before? I wonder if it’s spelled. Most nymphs don’t carry weapons, unless they are a Queen’s Guard.
Finding the cord of the record player, he pulls it until he has the plug in his hand. “What is this?”
I laugh. “Rory knows a puca who’s crazy good with energy spells. He owed me a favor.” I think I see his face dim.
“And who is Rory?” Bryn breathes softly, as he walks to the wet bar to grab us another drink.
“My best friend but you’re more his type than me, so you needn’t be worried about him. Not that you have any claim to jealousy,” I add pertly.
“I see,” he murmurs, distractedly digging in the bar cabinet. “Would you like this in a glass?” He holds up a Guiness.
I warm a bit and roll a curl of my hair around my finger as I nod. He’s been oddly solicitous all evening. I mean, it wouldn’t have been odd, if he played by Court rules. Because that’s what he is doing: playing by Court rules. I go over to the fire and poke it a bit to give myself something to do besides stare at him. Goddess, he is beautiful. It’s really no wonder he’s not into a short, curvy, half-or-less-breed. He could have any female, or just about any male, he wanted. He’d made his lack of interest in me clear, so I should probably at leastattemptto stop thinking about riding his huge cock to an orgasm—or seven.
He sits behind me on the rug, handing me my beer and leaning back languidly to stare at the fire.
I take a deep breath. It’s time to do this. “Tell me about the Elfin Anarchists.”
He sighs and sits up. His gaze sharpens. “We’ve been around since the early 1990s. It really all started with the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
“The Berlin Wall?” I ask, slightly incredulous. He shoots me a look that very obviously says not to interrupt. I hold up my hands, and he continues.
“A small group of Fae, here in FEC2, decided to quietly start organizing. The EA was formed shortly after. Over time, we’ve grown to have roots in every FEC. We’ve expanded slowly by being very selective in adding members. Our end goal is theabolition of the FECs and the reintroduction of the Fae to the lands we once shared with humans. However, and though there is still some argument internally, we feel the best way to achieve this is through becoming self-governing societies based on a non-hierarchical institution. Thus, the fall of the monarchies: the Light, the Dark, and the Green Court here. Many within our organization, in recent years, have argued that the more urgent goal is the elimination of the indentured servitude and caste system. However, many, including me, believe that we must remove the heads of the Courts to free those in servitude. Unfortunately, and this is not widely known, we are starting to fight internally: violence-driven fast change, or slower change that keeps more in service for longer unfairly. Thirty years of organization will go down the drain if we don’t move soon.” His hazel eyes glow. “And that, Priestess, brings me to you.”
Chapter 6
Adelaide
“Imaintain that this is a really bad idea,” I say as Bryn gently presses me into a plush chair in my reception room. Or, “our” reception room, since he’s now officially my consort and had been sharing my living space for the last week or so. Grandmother has assured me that if I take a second consort, she’d have more rooms arranged so the men have their own beds. But not until.
