Page 11 of The Never Queen

“I need some coffee,” I say, straightening my dress as I head for the door.

“Darling.”

It used to be, that when Pan said my name, it sounded like an oath.

Now it sounds like a plea.

I come to a stop in the doorway.

“We’ll address the fae pushback. You don’t have to be concerned.”

Of course the men think this is about power. Of course they would never suspect it was about worth.

“I know,” I say easily, barely looking at him over my shoulder. “I’m not worried at all.”

Then I push off the stone floor and fly up into the last blue dregs of daylight.

5

WINNIE

The twins come in from the balcony in a flurry of wind and chiming bells.

The coffee pot is spitting out rich brown liquid. I do find it slightly alarming that my new ritual is consuming enough coffee to turn a kitten into a panther, all while the day descends into night. When we decided to shift our sleep schedules to match Pan’s, I didn’t consider all of the other things I would be shifting. I try to have at least one cup in the sunlight before it disappears.

“What are you talking about?” I ask the twins and pull myself up onto the island counter, bare legs swinging.

Another chime, this one from Kas, muttered over his shoulder, before he turns to me and smiles, wedging himself between my legs. “I was just giving Bash a hard time for losing the race.”

“Lies!” Bash says and then plucks a tart from the glass tray beside me. He shoves the entire thing in his mouth and talks around the food. “I beat him to the Rock and back to the house.”

I arch a brow at Kas. “Is that true?”

“We’ll never know.”

“We will!” Bash swallows. “We know because I am saying it.”

I hunch forward, draping my arms around Kas’s neck, kissing him as I hook my legs around him, drawing him in.

“We should have a party,” Bash is saying, and then another string of chimes.

I disentangle myself from Kas. “Why are you talking in fae? What are you hiding?”

The dark cut of Kas’s brow sinks. Another chime. Then he turns his attention back to me and smiles. “We were discussing what we’ll do to you tonight.”

He’s distracting me now. I don’t blame him. It’s a tactic I also like to use.

“I’d like to fuck you in the stars in the grotto,” Bash says, hooking his hand into my hair, pulling me sideways so he can kiss me.

Kas’s warm hands are splayed over my thighs, and the warmth is jarring against the slight chill in the air, causing me to shiver.

Bash pulls back, letting me go. “It’s better on a new moon. We should wait a few weeks.”

“Wait, what grotto?”

The twins share a knowing look before Kas answers. “It’s beneath Marooner’s Rock. You have to swim down into the lagoon and through a tunnel in the rock. On new moons, the minnows in the grotto glow phosphorescent making it look like you’re swimming in the stars.”

“How long have you known about this place and why haven’t you told me until now?”