So I started up the stairs.
He said nothing as he walked behind me. We reached the next floor and entered a dark hallway where I could hear the steady thump of music coming from what sounded like the other side of the staircase. The hall also smelled like… fresh beignets. Part of me wanted to question that, but then the Prince brushed past me, the warmth of his body causing me to bite down on my lip. As he opened a door, I peeked around him. The room was circular, featuring a long, cushioned bench against the wall and a set dining table in the middle. There was a short rack glass on the table. Bright purple liquid filled half the glass. Nightshade.
“What kind of room is this?” I asked, folding my arms across my midsection.
“A private dining or party area. There are five of them on this floor. Nice hair, by the way.” He stalked past me.
“Shut up,” I muttered.
Smirking, he picked up his glass of Nightshade. “Still prefer the blond.”
“I still don’t care.” I watched him walk to the wide cushioned bench against the wall and sit. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing, but I already know.”
I ignored that. “This place is frequented by Winter fae and you’re the Summer Prince. I don’t understand how you can be here, hanging out and drinking with them.”
He eyed me as he sipped from his drink. “I help Everest out here. Make sure none of the fae get out of hand.”
Interesting. “And the Winter fae have no problem with you being here?”
“They usually don’t see me until it’s too late. Tonight is different because someone decided to refuse to leave.”
“Perhaps you should’ve just left me be,” I shot back as I started to pace. “So, what is this place, really? A front for fae to hang out and feed?”
“Everest is a… unique businessman who caters to all.” He lowered the glass to his knee. “And he does so with the utmost discretion while providing a… safe place for both species.”
“Safe place?”
“The fae can come here and see to their needs without harming humans in the process.”
My lips parted. “I’ve seen what goes on up here.”
He tilted his head. “And how, pray tell, did you find yourself on this floor? Didn’t know the… activities up here were your kind of thing.”
“They’re not,” I snapped, flushing. I turned from him, pacing away. “I got up here once, very carefully.”
The Prince didn’t respond to that immediately. “And when you got up that one time, did the humans look like they were here against their will?”
“Oh, so they’re volunteers?” I faced him. “Want me to go grab you one of them?”
“I already had Everest do that for me.”
My eyes narrowed on his faint smile.
“Sometimes, when Everest is expecting a certain… clientele, he will reach out to me to make sure there are additional resources here just in case.”
I mulled that over. “How do the humans here keep this a secret if they aren’t glamoured?”
“Who would believe them?”
“They could obtain evidence.”
“They don’t,” he said, and then he took another drink. “You know, you won’t be allowed back here now.”
I smirked at that as I started pacing in front of him. “I’m not worried. I can get back in here if I want to.”
“He’ll be looking out for you.”
“He won’t recognize me.”
“But I always will.”
I shivered, unnerved by that. “Do you live here? Are you always here?”
The Prince didn’t answer that.
“What do you think will happen if the Order ever discovers this place exists? They’re not going to allow it to continue to operate.”
“Who says those who need to know don’t already?”
I stopped and stared at him. “Are you suggesting that Miles is aware of this place and hasn’t shut it down?”
“I’m not suggesting anything. You filled in the blanks.”
I snapped my mouth shut. My first reaction was not to believe him, but the Order had… It had lied about a lot of things and kept a lot of secrets. I knew that. So certain members knowing about this venue could be true.
“I knew it was you Saturday night, from the moment I saw you in that room.”
“That much I figured,” I said, but my stomach still dropped. “Why didn’t you call me out, if you knew it was me?”
He was quiet for a moment. “I wanted to see how far you would let it go.”
Heat blasted my cheeks. “Not very far.”
The Prince lifted a brow. “My hand was right above your—”
“I know where your hand was,” I snapped, cutting him off as that heat in my face hit my veins. “Trust me. It’s something I won’t forget.”
“No doubt,” he murmured, his lips curling into a faint smile.
My eyes narrowed. “As in not in a good way.”
“I’m curious,” he replied, watching me through hooded eyes. “If it wasn’t in a good way, why did you allow it?”
I inhaled sharply. “I was pretending to be entranced.”
“Hmm.”
“I was!”
“If that’s what you need to tell yourself.”
I caught his meaning and I was this close to throwing my clutch at him. The dude was insufferable and mainly because he was so freaking right, and I sort of hated him for that. “I have no idea how you knew that was me.”
“I… I just knew,” he said like that was an acceptable answer.
Irritation flared to life and I decided right then and there I could also ask demanding, annoying questions as I dropped my clutch on the table. “So why were you at Flux? A club frequented by your enemy?”
He was dragging his thumb along the rim of his glass. “I was there looking for Tobias, but you already know that.”
“Why were you looking for him?”
“Do you always ask so many questions?”
“You wanted to have this chat,” I reminded him, crossing my arms again. “Why were you looking for him?”
“He knows how to find someone I need to speak with.” His gaze dipped and there was a flash of straight, white teeth as he dragged them along his lower lip. I looked away as he said, “Alas, whatever information he had, he took that back to the Otherworld with him.”
“Can’t say I’m too torn about that.”
“Of course not,” he replied wryly.
“What information do you think he had?” I asked.
“He knows where a certain Ancient is that I would really love to murder.”
My brows lifted at that. “Let me guess, an Ancient that sided with the Queen?”
The Prince nodded.
“Do you happen to know his name?”
A heartbeat passed. “Aric.”
That name rang a bell. “Tobias did mention someone by the name of Aric.”
Everything about The Prince became very still, so much so he could’ve stopped breathing. “Did he now?”
“Yes. Aric was coming to meet Tobias and the other fae. He would’ve been there within an hour.”