Page 27 of A Taste of Bliss

He looks to Liz. “This is Charlotte’s daughter, then?”

“Her youngest,” Liz replies with a nod.

He huffs and nods. “Very well,” he says with a cursory glance at me. With unfortunate timing, a waiter picks that moment to walk down the hallway. The gray-haired male reaches out, snagging the waiter by the collar, his tray going flying and the food crashing to the floor. He spins the waiter around, his hand now on the back of his neck. “Notice anything unusual?” he asks, his voice laced with seething anger.

“Yves,” Liz warns, putting herself between me and the male. So this is Yves Lyra, the head of the council. “Do you really think a waiter has had the time or the ability to rob a hallway while they’ve been shuttling food back and forth?”

Lyra turns his face back towards us. “He must have seen something. Well, boy? Did you see who was taking my property?”

The waiter, looking like he’s about to pee himself, shakes his head. “Everything was just here the last time I came this way. I swear.”

Lyra releases his grip on the waiter, who takes a shaky step backwards. “Go find me your manager, and clean this shit up.” The waiter nods and runs out of the hallway. Lyra stalks off without so much as a goodbye, shouting for someone else about the missing decor.

Liz takes my hand and leads me out of the hallway, shaking her head. “What the hell was that?” I ask.

“Yves Lyra,” she replies, as if that explains everything. We walk back towards the portal that leads to the fae council building. “Best to stay off his radar. He’s a purist and not a big fan of succubi.”

“Why?”

“Well, the purist part—because he’s an ass and was raised by asses. The succubi part—rumor has it when he was younger, he asked your mother out and she rejected him.”

“Sounds like a fucking prick,” I mutter. I can’t help but wonder how my mother ever crossed paths with him.

“He really is,” Liz says with a sigh. We reach the hallway portal and she motions for me to go through first. We find our way back to the first portal we used to get here. When we come out on the other side, we’re back in the Starlight District and the bright afternoon sun has been replaced by early morning darkness.

CHAPTER NINE

BLISS

The tinkleof the bell on Liz’s shop’s door sounds as I push the door open, letting it swing shut behind me. I’m instantly lured into a sense of calm at the earthy musk of incense burning and the relaxing meditation music being played. Dericia glances up at me from the front counter, a grin coming to her face quickly.

“To what do I owe this pleasure? Twice in one week?” Reese asks, as she comes around the counter and hugs me. She holds me extra tight and I relish in the comforting feel.

“Liz said she restocked the Hair B Gone, so I stopped by to grab some.”

Reese laughs, eyeing my hair that’s braided into two plaits, both with white ribbons at the end. “Not for your scalp, correct?”

I match her laugh. “I’m not feeling quite that adventurous right now. Can I get the one with the built-in color guard?”

Dericia rummages through the shelves behind the counter, grabbing a pink lotion bottle and handing it to me. It’s a spelled lotion that once applied, starts working to remove unwanted hair. It’s super quick and the hair takes a while to grow back, so it’s better than waxing, shaving, or laser.

Liz had been making this lotion for years before she ever opened her shop. Imayhave been the reason she’s added a bright orange color guard. It’s now super obvious where it’s been applied, and if washed off quickly enough, it won’t take any hair with it.

“Anything else?” Reese asks in an over-the-top sweet customer service voice.

I laugh and take the bag Reese hands me with the lotion in it. “I also wanted to see if you were gonna be closing up shop soon?” I ask tentatively. After our night out, I really realized just how much I hated not seeing her and Amelia regularly, but since I’m still pissed at Amelia, I think a one-on-one hangout with my best friend is just what I need.

Not to mention I very much need to take my mind off the wraith’s offer and my abnormal bond.

Of course I’m not going to go through with the deal.

Even if I can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to have what the wraith is offering.

“I was just about to,” Reese replies. “But then I’m gonna walk up the block to that craft store. I want to bedazzle my bass. Come with?”

“Sure.” I nod, grinning as I imagine Reese holding her black bass covered in pink and purple rhinestones. I quirk my brows at her. “That doesn’t sound like it’d be your taste, though.”

“Black rhinestones,” Reese says, as if reading my mind. “I just want a bit of glitter and glitz, ya know?”