Page 57 of Fae Tithe

Helena paused for a moment before rubbing her knuckle along her jaw. She lowered her voice. “He has a plan. To remove the Seelie Court. I—”

“We,” Lance chimed in, reaching across the table and covering her hand with his.

“—We. We are offering to help with the King.” She turned her hand under his grasp and Helena laced her fingers through his. “We are going to remove the King,” Helena whispered.

Eleanor furrowed her brow. “Remove… what do you—” Her heart hammered. She can’t possibly mean kill. The Changeling swallowed. “Mum… you can’t… it’s not safe.”

“El, you’re not safe. Not while he’s alive. I promised you, I – we – would take care of it. Have I ever broken a promise?”

“No,” Eleanor and Lance replied in unison.

Simon strode over, his strong arms balancing drinks on one tray, and three big bowls of stew on another. He beamed at Eleanor as he set the tray of pints on the table. Simon placed a glass of mead each in front of Helena and Lance. Then, he set a freshly-squeezed orange juice in front of the Changeling. It seemed he was lingering longer than necessary. Eleanor did not mind so much.

She met his gaze, bright blue shining back. He has pretty eyes.

Simon quirked his lip up at Eleanor, revealing a cute dimple on each cheek. She could not help but smile back.

“I’m so happy they got you out,” he whispered, stacking the empty wooden tray under the full one, before placing a steaming bowl of stew in front of the Changeling. He turned to Helena. “Dec got my message from you. He should be here any moment. I… uh, he knows what you want to talk about.” Another bowl was placed in front of Helena, and then Lance.

“Thanks.” The Merman nodded. He lifted his hand from Helena’s and reached forward, picking up the cup, the pint glass small in his broad grasp.

“No problem,” Simon replied. He turned back to Eleanor and gave her another brilliant smile before exiting the alcove.

The Changeling deeply inhaled through her nose at the delicious scent wafting at her from the bowl. Tender goat meat stewed for hours in generously spiced tomato gravy sat in front of her, and Eleanor wasted no time tucking in.

She took the first bite, the meat melting on her tongue as she closed her eyes in bliss. Just like Aunty Rose makes. I miss her so Faedamn much. I can’t wait to see her and the boys.

About halfway through her bowl, Helena straightened up and placed her spoon down onto the tabletop. “That’s him,” she said quietly to Eleanor, nodding her head towards the bar. “He’s half Fae too.”

The Changeling studied Declan’s movements as he swaggered across the pub. Thin as a pin and clad in dark grey, the young man could be mistaken for a streak of smoke the way he wafted effortlessly to the bar bench. Eleanor watched him as he leant over it to kiss Beth on the cheek before accepting a pint of beer from her.

Declan turned his head to the alcove where they sat and cut a smug grin across the pub to her. He even gave Eleanor a wink.

She wrinkled her nose back at him. Bit cocky, isn’t he?

He sauntered over to their table, drink in hand. “Room for one more?” he asked. One half of his mouth turned upwards in a grin, still eyeing Eleanor.

“Of course,” Lance replied gruffly, yanking out the chair next to him.

The Merman’s towering frame took up most of the side of the table he sat on. Declan’s bravado dissipated as he lowered himself onto the offered seat next to the High Prince. Eleanor stifled a giggle as he perched on the wooden chair, clutching his glass with both hands.

She took in his somehow familiar features. Hazel eyes, fluffy blonde hair and pointed ears. He was slim and small beneath his dark grey cloak. The material was held in place by a brooch, onyx in colour, shaped like a small bird in flight.

“It worked, then. You got out?” Declan asked Eleanor, but before she could answer, he turned to Helena, giving her a wink. “Looks like you owe my faeries some Seels.”

“She’s not paying you anything. You’re lucky I don’t tide-damn drown you, like I promised. Things didn’t go as planned,” Lance answered for them through gritted teeth. “We got caught. The Fae guards weren’t exactly incapacitated by the time we got in there. We had to figure our own way out.”

“No need for threats.” Declan sipped his drink. “I suppose I’ll waive the rest of the fee.” He tapped his chin with his finger, then shrugged. “It was the first time the kitchen staff had tried spiking their meals, so I suppose there was always a risk it wouldn’t work well.” Declan put down his glass, reached over, and took a slice of the bread.

“You… you didn’t know if it would work before you sent us in there?” Helena growled. “Declan, if you’re wasting my time now, I’m— ”

“I’m not. Look, time was short, okay? The Seelie Court was only gone for a little while. The faeries did their best with the limited time they had. I mean, you got her out, didn’t you?” he whispered harshly.

“'Her' is sitting right here!” Eleanor hissed. “You shouldn’t have misled my parents that way. It was only thanks to Lance negotiating with the Seelie Court that we got out.”

Declan turned to his head to the Merman next to him and looked him up and down. “I have to ask, how? I have never heard of them negotiating with anyone.”

The Merman placed his spoon down on the table and turned his hand upwards. A hovering water orb appeared above his palm. It swirled, growing larger and larger, until it was the size of Declan’s head.