“Do you know what would make this situation better?” he asked suddenly, flashing both of us a wide grin.
I sighed. “Don’t say sex, please.”
“It’s definitely sex. Sex is always the answer.”
Collith lifted his head, and I expected to see fury or hatred in his eyes. There usually was when he was in a room with Laurie. But his face revealed nothing as he said, “We should order a ride. Fortuna’s shoes aren’t made for walking ten blocks.”
It hurt to agree with him on anything, so I didn’t respond. Laurie held up his phone, drawing our attention to the screen. “Already done. Shall we?”
I nodded, and we left the warm little coffee shop. Outside, a black sedan idled by the curb. Laurie opened the door and turned back to me. Headlights rushed past, shining bright behind him. At that moment, Laurie didn’t look real. He was too beautiful, too perfect.
“Are you ready, my exquisite queen?” he asked.
I didn’t bother telling him that I wasn’t a queen anymore. I stopped with one hand on the roof of the car. “Ready for what, exactly?”
Laurie gave me his very best grin, the one that screamed trouble and wicked things. “Why, to seize the day. Detain the evening. Torture the night,” he said.
I picked my skirt up and got into the backseat, saying over my shoulder, “Let’s just get this over with. No surprises, Laurie. We stick to the plan.”
Laurie got in and closed the door just as Collith started toward it. “Since when am I the wildcard in this story, Fortuna? Shall I review everything that’s happened in the past few months?”
Collith sifted, appearing on my other side, and Laurie gave him a cheery finger wave. I swore I could hear Collith’s teeth grinding together. I ignored both of them and looked out the window, watching the lights of Munich blur past. Despite the cold, the people of this city filled the sidewalks and gathered on corners. It was a place I would like to get to know, once I didn’t have enemies coming out of the walls like cockroaches.
Then a building rose up, and all thoughts of cockroaches ended.
The opera house was like nothing I’d ever seen before.
The car dropped us off at the doors, and we ascended the shallow steps. At the top, Laurie moved to stand on my left side, and Collith appeared on my right. Neither of them said a word, but by some unspoken signal, both males offered their arms. I hesitated for a beat, then accepted, trying to ignore my wild heartbeat.
We entered the opera house together. The three of us.
The stares began immediately. A string quartet played deeper in the theater. To my surprise, the crowd was made up of numerous species. Standing amongst the fae I’d expected were humans, shapeshifters, and vampires. Glamour was everywhere I looked, a shimmer at the corner of my eye, a blurred edge or a glimpse of something beneath. I’d gotten so used to the fae at the Unseelie Court. Beneath the ground, faeries embraced their true selves. Every urge and impulse. Even if, in some cases, those impulses were monstrous.
We found a spot along the edge of the room, still visible to the gossips, but apart enough that Laurie was able to make comments on every courtier that walked past. “That female has more baggage than the luggage carousel at LAX. Oh, God, he’s not a bombshell, that one is a fucking nuke. Keep your distance.”
A collective murmur traveled through the room.
Belanor had arrived.
My body reacted as if disaster had struck, like an earthquake or a bomb. Stay focused, Fortuna. I exhaled and summoned the Unseelie Queen. Belanor had brought a date, I noted clinically. It wasn’t Iris. This stranger didn’t matter, though. My gaze moved past her, then past the faerie at her side. Belanor didn’t matter, either. At least not yet—his part would come later, toward the end of the evening.
The couple had only taken a few steps when I spotted the person most vital to our plan tonight. He entered behind Belanor, his lovely face set in an expression of neutrality. Laurie tilted his head close to mine and spoke under his breath. “And there is our prize.”
I put my back to Vulen, knowing we’d reached the point of the evening I had been dreading. Laurie gave me a parting wink and strolled off on his own, plucking a cherry off a woman’s drink as he passed. He popped it into his mouth and vanished into the crowd, following Vulen to carry out the next phase of Operation Kill Belanor.
I looked at Collith. Remembering the part we were supposed to play, I gave him a warm smile and slid my hand into the crook of his arm. “Shall we find our seats?”
Without missing a beat, he returned my smile. It was a blatant reminder that Collith had been King of the Unseelie Court for years—he knew far more than I did when it came to plots and pretending.
The two of us were gaining attention. Though it was impossible to recognize me by my face, as it was ever-changing for each person who looked upon it, Laurie had planted seeds before our arrival. Even now, certain faeries rushed between clusters of other courtiers, passing on the shocking piece of gossip. I heard my name.
Collith Sylvyre and Fortuna Sworn.
They came together.
Didn’t they break up?
Our plan was working, but I didn’t know how I felt about that. The opera began just as Collith and I found our box. We slipped through a makeshift door of thick curtains.
The balcony was more private than I thought it would be. The lighting was low, faded, making the red velvet on the walls and chairs look soft. Warm. An invitation. I perched on the edge of the chair, my spine as stiff as a steel rod. Collith held his tie into place as he lowered onto the chair next to me. That lock of hair broke free of its careful styling again, and he raked it back in an automatic gesture, his eyes fixed on the stage below us. There was a sconce directly to his left, and it cast a glow over him. Dust motes floated past like bits of diamonds.
Inexplicably, I chose that moment to think of what he’d told me about sirens. The ones who are deaf to her sweet nothings are wholly and pathetically lost to another.
Would he still be immune to her song now? What would I hear?
Why don’t you focus on what you’re hearing now? that inner voice said. I tried to concentrate on the singers below us. Minutes ticked by. I gradually became aware of a prickling sensation. My hands tightened in my lap. “You’re staring at me,” I observed.
“I’m waiting for you to tell me.”
More singers entered the stage, adding their voices to the strange, lovely song. “Tell you what?”
Collith turned his face away and said, “Whatever it is that has you fidgeting like that.”
I hadn’t realized I was until the second he pointed it out. I clasped my hands together, staring hard at the figures on the stage. But all I could see, in that moment, was the baby from Mercy Wardwell’s vision spell.
“I’m late,” I whispered to Collith. He went still. I swallowed, turning my eyes back to the performance. “I didn’t even notice until this morning. I’ve been a little distracted. Laurie and I… Laurie and I used protection, so if I am pregnant, the odds are that it’s yours.”
Still, Collith said nothing. He was probably remembering those nights we’d gotten careless. Doing the math. The silence between us went on like a dark song of its own.
I was about to speak again when Collith disregarded the opera completely, shifting his legs to the side of the chair. He put his elbows on his knees and met my gaze. “I don’t care if it’s mine. I’ll help however you need me to, with or without a paternity test,” he told me.