"Oh, you know, just...going out stuff. Hit a food truck, then we'd go to the punk club. Dance, or just slam into people, more like. Pull Waylon out of some stupid fight with a drunk guy. Then go to the diner and maybe wander around Wal-Mart making asses of ourselves." Ansel laughed and I got this feeling that whatever he thought was making an ass of himself was actually kind of cute.
“Oh? Is there something to do at Wal-Mart? I thought it was just where hick humans shop."
"We have one back home in Portland," Ansel said. "We shop there, mostly because it's open at four am. But yes, it is also where the wolves with weird beards and the most skanky cats shop. Especially the four am crowd, let me tell you."
I was relaxing now. "That sounds pretty awesome."
"It's stupid. But you know how to be stupid, roller girl."
"I forgot you saw that..." I groaned, looking to the window.
"It's okay. I found it pretty charming. Like something I would do." He leaned in closer to me, getting a more conspiratorial whisper. "So what do you think of Viktor?"
"Well, I read an article about him in Vanity Fair and it sounded to me like he had a terrible life, like the kind that would turn out a super-villain, so I'm wary."
"Smart take. But he says he's your consort."
I chewed on my fingernail a minute while watching Viktor working on a laptop. "Well, what about you?"
"What about me?" Ansel asked, extending an arm behind his head, stretching out a little. He had long legs.
"Do you think you might be a consort?"
"Yours?"
I nodded.
He sighed. "You don't really want me to be your consort, chickadee."
"What? Well, I certainly prefer you to Viktor."
"I don't blame you, based on the last hour, but..."
"So you don't...feel anything?" I felt stupid now, wondering if my own instincts were just going haywire from stress.
"I didn't want to be a consort," he said. "I'm a flirt. I've slept around. Waylon acts like he's been waiting for Frankie his whole life, and he actually has, because he only had one girlfriend before."
"Well, we're birds!" I said. "I'm a flirt too. I would have slept with DJ Tonearm in two seconds if I wasn't a pet."
"But...settling down..."
"Maybe you're not a consort anyway," I said, tossing my hair. "Because I would think you couldn't resist me if you were my consort, and I'm sure I could find plenty of guys who can't resist me who aren't my consort anyway." I was trying to tease, but I was also sorry I'd opened up that much. I didn't really know what was going on. I just knew I felt safe with him, but also...happy. That really felt like something.
Ansel's expression had turned more serious, and he nursed the end of his Guinness. "A consort. With Viktor. Saving the world."
"I'm not excited about it either," I said. "I melted someone's brain with my powers when I was trying to make peace." That memory leapt right back into my mind and it all felt so overwhelming.
Ansel saw my face, and the redness that was surely tinging my eyes. My face showed my emotions too easily. He put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me against his own broad shoulder, against the velvety texture of his jacket.
"Sorry, chickadee. You're right. Whatever my job might be, yours is the hardest. I won't become one of your problems. Anyway, you will probably need me around to deal with Viktor, eh?"
"I think I can handle Viktor," I murmured.
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. It’s a feeling I have. I just need someone I can let down my guard with the rest of the time.”
Chapter Two
Waylon
"She's your girl, isn't she?" Flor asked me, as we were settling in for the flight to Colorado. He told us to call him Flor. I got it; a delicate name like Florian just sounded like a pet bird, and this guy was no pet bird.
"Yes. But...the queens have three consorts. I'm sure she won't forget about her first consort, no matter what happens."
"Three consorts," Alistair said, with a hint of violence in his voice. "I've heard that."
"Chill, Richie Rich," I said. "I know she's your pet, but you're going to have to let it go. If you're actually on the shifters' side, that is." I sipped my coffee reluctantly. I went to all the trouble to make the pot, but I was envious of Flor's hard stuff. I rarely drank anymore, but I hated airplanes. The first time I ever got on one was just three days after I lost my eyesight, and the turbulence on takeoff that day almost drove me to a panic attack of claustrophobia, but since my dad was there blaming me for everything, I had pent it all up and tried to look tough.
Of course, he kicked me out the next day anyway. So...bad memories. I didn't need extra jitters, as it turned out.
"I'm Mina's consort," Alistair said. "I'm a wolf. She's my queen. I've always known that as much as I've known anything, even before I knew what all this was."
"I could really use some filling in," Flor said. "You're a wolf, Merryweather? Did you figure out that your guards have been doing business with me?"
"Yes, I did!" Alistair flared at him. "That's why I was there, to get to the bottom of it and help Frankie's guy, maybe to get her back to us by using him. And here we all are anyway..."
"Except Vik isn't much of a team player," I said.
"Do you know where he would take Mina?" Alistair asked.
"No. And Ansel's gone too. I won't let it stand either."
"If there's some fucking up to do for pay, I'm in," Flor said. "Is my brother in danger?"
"I hope not. But I think we'll get along."
Flor grunted, or maybe that was too indelicate a word. More of a sharp "hm". "Are you sure you don't want something stiffer? You look a little pale."
"No. I used to have an alcohol problem."
"I hope we're not expected to stop having an alcohol problem," Florian said, in his dry tone. He had the most unemotional voice I'd ever heard, like he'd been brought back from the dead and his soul didn't quite take. But if actions spoke louder than words, I didn't think he was a bad guy.
In fact, he had Ansel's knack for offering me help without making me feel incompetent. He had quietly handed me the coffee filters and offered me a no-big-deal, "There's the button to brew.”
I wouldn't forget that he was profiting off wolf fights, though. That reminded me of my dad.
I still decided it was better to fill him in as much as I knew at this point. If anything else, it helped keep my mind off Frankie just taking her sweet time with Ian. I felt a void when she wasn't around, but I also found that I didn't want to interrupt her happiness.
I’ll demand a reward later…
"So that prophecy is true?" Florian narrowed his eyes. "You really believe that three girls could save the world?"
"Three girls and nine guys," Alistair said.
"How? Why? It sounds like a fairy tale. I mean, why three? Why now?"