The guy in the hot pink bathing suit had no idea how close the world had come to chaos. None of the people partying in the streets, laughing, drinking, and shouting knew that so many people—people I missed with every breath I took—had their lives brutally ended in an unknown war with the fae.
Hell, they didn’t even know that the fae were a real and almost always deadly thing that walked among them, blending in and hunting them. I never once wondered what it would be like to not know there were things out there that could end your life in a snap of their fingers, but I guess there was a blissfulness in that ignorance.
Across the street, a woman stepped out from the throng of people milling up and down the narrow sidewalk, dressed in black leather pants and a tight black thermal.
Crap.
Recognizing Jackie, I slinked back against the wall and reached up, tugging the bill of my Saints’ ball cap lower. The dark-skinned Order member stood on the curb, arms crossed as she watched Hot Pink Bathing Suit Guy, out of beads now, bend over and twerk.
Jackie was grinning now, but if she saw me, she wouldn’t be smiling anymore. She’d legit kick my butt and then drag said butt back home, because she’d know what I was doing out here.
Which was utter bullshit. Logic dictated that the Order needed all the help they could get.
But I wasn’t out here to patrol. I really was keeping an eye out for the younglings. I’d saved their photos to my phone, and pretty much had their faces committed to memory at this point. I figured if they were anywhere down here getting into trouble, they would be near Bourbon or Royal.
Part of me didn’t think it would be a big deal if Jackie saw me or not. Probably would never cross her mind that I’d be out patrolling or anything like that. She’d probably think I was out grabbing dinner or something.
I couldn’t risk it though.
Because if she did figure out what I was doing, I risked her discovering my other extracurricular activities.
Pushing away from the wall, I shoved both hands into my pockets as I pivoted to the left and headed for St. Louis Street. Crossing the street, I kept an eye out as I made my way toward Royal. It was so easy spotting tourists in the winter months. Locals were bundled up even though it was in the low fifties. Visitors were in T-shirts and jeans and skirts, obviously hailing from much colder climates. The Summer fae were the same, all toasty in their heavy jackets and wool beanies. You’d think it was below freezing seeing them, but the Winter fae? This wasn’t nearly cold enough for them.
And it didn’t take me long to find one.
Nearing Royal, I spotted the first suspicious fae of the evening and it wasn’t the fact the young man was wearing a thin shirt and worn jeans that gave him away as a not-so-friendly fae. At least this fae was a normal one.
A shudder worked its way through me as I picked up my pace. I knew that the fae in front of me was not of the Summer Court, and it had nothing to do with how he dressed. It was the fact he was stalking a young woman who appeared to have just gotten off work from one of the many restaurants, her all-black server clothing partially obscured by one of those fluffy down jackets.
I wasn’t technically patrolling, but if I saw a fae going after someone, I wasn’t just going to stand back and do nothing.
I was so not about that kind of life anymore.
My fingers curled around the thickest part of the stake as the distance between us evaporated. Fae hated all things iron. Just a mere touch would sting them, continuous contact would burn them.
And this fae was about to meet the business end of the stake. A direct hit to the chest wouldn’t kill them, but it would send them back to the Otherworld. And with the doorways to the Otherworld currently sealed, that was as good as dead.
Well, until the Queen decided to make another run for taking over the world and blew the doors wide open, but totes as good as dead until—
The young male glanced over his shoulder, not paying a lick of attention to me, but I stumbled.
Holy crap, I recognized the fae.
It was Elliot—the missing cousin’s friend. I was sure it was totally him, but that didn’t make sense. He was of the Summer Court and lived at Hotel Good Fae. And he and his parents didn’t feed or prey upon humans.
That didn’t mean they couldn’t. It was a choice they made, so that meant it was a choice they could change at any time. And who knew how many times that had happened in the past? It wasn’t exactly something anyone in the Order tracked.
Elliot suddenly hung a sharp left, slipping between two buildings, into a narrow alley. The girl was almost upon the intersection of Royal now, no longer of interest to him. Maybe I was wrong about the whole stalking thing. That was good news, but what the hell was he doing and where had he been?
Irritation spiked. Everyone worried the Order had killed this boy or that some other horrific thing had happened to him, but here he was, partying it up in the Quarter? So freaking annoying.
I hesitated for a moment at the mouth of the alley, knowing that following a fae, even if they were friendly, into an alley wasn’t exactly the brightest thing to do.
Jackie would follow him.
Ivy sure as hell would do it.
I could do it.
I needed to do it.
Squaring my shoulders, I drew in a shallow breath and followed him into the dimly lit passageway, prepared to let loose a lecture my mother would’ve been proud of—
Wait.
My steps slowed as a frown pulled at my mouth. The alley was a dead end, blocked by another brick building. Where in the hell did he go? I walked farther, past a large dumpster. Unless he was hiding in here, he’d….
Slowly, I lifted my gaze to the two- and three-story buildings crowding the alley that smelled like stale beer and poor life choices. A fae could easily climb or jump that height, but not a fae who wasn’t feeding. A fae who didn’t feed was stronger than a human, yes, but they didn’t have super jumping—
Thump.
Tiny hairs along the nape of my neck rose as I heard something land softly behind me. Instinct roared to life as I clutched the iron stake and spun around.
Elliot stood in the center of the alley, in the spot that had been empty seconds ago. Startled, I took a step back. For him to have made that jump…
“You’re following me,” he stated.
Apparently I had not been as stealthy as I thought. “Well, yes—”
“I know you,” he interrupted, arms loose at his sides as he drifted closer.
He did? I didn’t recall meeting him, but there was a chance he’d seen me at Hotel Good Fae in the days and weeks leading up to the battle with the Queen. But that was two years ago.
“I’m not sure if we’ve met.” My heart started hammering in my chest. “But I know your parents.”
His head cocked to the side, and in the darkness, his eyes looked like black pits.
The hair along the back of my neck was still standing. “Your parents are worried about you, Elliot. Where have you been?”
“My parents?” He straightened his head and moved even closer. “Those stupid posers? Those weak wannabe humans? They’re not my parents. Not anymore.”
Uh oh.
“And I know you. You’re with the Order.” Elliot hissed like a cornered cat, a very large and very pissed-off cat, and even in the shadowy alley, I could see the sabertooth-like teeth descending from his gaping mouth.