Page 65 of Filthy Fae

“So…next century?” He came around the SUV just as Summer, Winter, and Autumn exited the other doors.

The garage was dim, but I could see the grim expressions on all the fae princes’ faces, including my brother, Marius. The men looked a little odd in tailored suits as I was so used to seeing them in armor at my mother’s side. Only Naveen wore ripped jeans and a t-shirt, looking a bit like a rock star.

“Who’s in the van?” Autumn said as he crossed his arms over his wide chest. “I thought you were coming alone.”

“I was.” Taking in a steadying breath, I admitted, “That’s Scarlet’s sister. She volunteered to come with me to tell you guys and Oxonos the full truth of what happened at that party.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Winter said in a quiet voice as he reached for the car, probably going back for his weapon stash.

A gust of wind pushed through us, and the car door slammed shut, just missing Winter’s hand. Winter spun. “Not fucking funny, Naveen. You could have taken off my hand.”

My curly-haired brother shrugged like he could care less about earning the ire of the deadliest fae south of the Canadian winter forests. “I love you, man, and I don’t want to have to fight you. Fact is, though, no one draws a weapon on my little brother if I can help it.”

Autumn raised his hands. “We’re not making an aggressive move, but I think we deserve an explanation. The queen firmly believes that Zeezee Riley conspired to have her assassinated. We’ve spent the better part of this week hunting that werewolf down, but she’s been hiding out in a house surrounded in iron spikes.”

“You know something else is going on here, Autumn. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have tracked us in the forest to ask about the creature who attacked at dinner.”

“Can I come out now?” Zeezee yelled as she leaned across the console.

I spun. “These guys are a little jumpy, which is understandable considering they think you’re responsible for a massacre. Could you do your best to act... ” I tried to think of a polite way to say it, couldn’t think of anything, and went with, “Could you please not get yourself killed?”

She threw up her hands. “I didn’t have to come. I’m here to save my pack, okay?”

Clenching my jaw, I turned back to the four fae princes. “She’s probably going to be hostile. It’s not aggression. It’s just her personality.”

“Are we doing this here?” Naveen asked, glancing around the empty, dark garage.

“Oxonos was supposed to let you in before I got here.” I glanced at the door that clearly led to the house. “But he’s probably scared that you’re here to arrest him.”

“Did you tell him that we don’t do the queen’s bitch work?” Winter growled as he continued to glower my way.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the term ‘bitch work,’ but I got his meaning. The four fae princes protected the queen’s life, eliminating every possible threat to her, but not out of any loyalty to my mother. They did it out of self-preservation and loyalty to one another. When the queen said jump, they said, “If it’s not going to kill you, then go fuck yourself.”

Taking out my phone, I shot off a text to the illustrious owner of the house and waited for a response. It took nearly a minute, but Oxonos answered my text by unlocking the door to the house and slowly opening it.

Zeezee entered the house first, with me behind her, and then my two brothers preceded the other two fae princes. Oxonos’ pallor looked almost gray as he greeted us from the hallway.

“This way…” He paused to gesture deeper into his house. “I have tea and appetizers.”

“Hey Oxy,” Zeezee said as she paused before the man.

Oxonos pointedly ignored her, his face flushing. After a second, his eyes came up to meet mine. “She’s not welcome in my home.”

“Zeezee has an explanation. She’s just as much a victim as you are. More so, even, as you managed to avoid the attack.”

He shook his head. “She is not welcome here.” His voice had a harsh edge, as if a strong current of emotion ran just beneath the surface. “You cannot trust her.”

“You really love dogs,” Naveen said with the slightest smirk at the corner of his lips. He examined the walls where every few feet, there was a painting of a canine.

Oxonos mumbled something and hurried down the hall, leading us into a sitting room. There were several chairs pushed into the space around tea tables laden with steaming saucers and finger sandwiches. Oxonos needn’t have bothered. I was the only one who took a seat or a cup of tea, and I did it to be polite. Everyone else stood along the walls between paintings of terriers and hounds, watching each other warily.

“That creature you saw at the royal court was an incubus demon,” I said, realizing that it fell to me to get this started. “Someone conjured him at that party to frame the werewolves for Queen Titania’s murder. We don’t know who ordered it, but we know which necromancer conjured the demon. Zeezee, why don’t you tell them what happened, starting from when Nancy gave you the charms.”

Zeezee told the story with all the gentle sensitivity of a club to the head, but she was thorough. The princes’ expressions might as well have been stone for all that they showed. Even Marius, who was all warmth, watched with a glare that could freeze water.

The moment Zeezee finished, Oxonos slammed his hand down on the armrest of his chair. “Zeezee Riley is a liar who would say anything to shirk the blame. Take her to the queen, please, and tell Titania I had nothing to do with this woman’s plotting.”

Zeezee lifted her middle finger and pointed it around the room. “Go fuck yourself. I came here on good faith because you all are coming to attack my packmates. You think you’re going to drag me off to your bitch queen for something I didn’t do?”