Page 21

21

Luna

T hey all thought I had magic.

I hadn’t been ready to start testing it yesterday, even with Vincent’s quiet and confident examples.

He knew the topic of my magic was uncomfortable for me.

I remembered the first time he’d brought it up on the beach.

His explanation made more sense than I was comfortable with.

He’d assumed I controlled water the first night we met.

Though he’d been quick to say he eventually found out I was half-fae before coming to me with his request, it was an interesting piece of information nonetheless.

When he’d first heard my name, he thought I was fae.

I wanted us to get past these first impressions, no matter how good- or bad-intentioned.

Now, my mind was spinning, I hadn’t slept, and I was a jumble of nerves.

It was safe to say I wasn’t sure what to do about the inn or Vincent when I opened the door to Parkview Tavern to meet Darius .

A dull roar of conversation greeted me as I entered.

Most chairs and barstools were occupied with excited patrons.

I should have come earlier.

If Darius was rude and dismissive, I’d rather be at a table so fewer people could hear the disaster in progress.

I sighed and slid through the crowd, moving toward the bar.

This was yet another reminder of how I was failing.

The influx of travelers continued.

More visitors arrived every day, but still, none made their way to Cliff House Inn.

I clenched my teeth.

We still had two and a half weeks left until Long Night.

I could figure this out.

I’d put in words with Winchester and Earthbend inns when I did my initial research.

I’d given them each a generous tip of the money Darius had provided for repairs to send customers our way once they were full.

They’d said they were happy to help when they had no occupancy.

With the volume of unfamiliar faces in the tavern today, I had a hard time imagining their inns weren’t filled, but still, not one inquiry had come my way.

I had to face facts.

Evelyn was right.

My inn was cursed by blood magic.

Another question for my absentee father: did he know?

I wasn’t sure now was the time to broach the topic when my ultimate goal was to get Vincent and myself invited to Pierce House.

I should focus on being charming, but I had never been good at hiding my feelings.

And I was feeling frustrated.

Approaching the bar, I waved at Seraphina.

She gave me a nod in return and gestured to a table on the left.

I assumed she needed me to take a quick order; Evelyn was busy with a customer while someone else flagged her for more drinks.

I could help.

It was still early, and we’d have to wait for a table anyway, even once Darius did arrive.

As I turned, though, my brows raised in surprise.

Darius sat quietly where she’d gestured.

He had a book propped open before him and something in a mug steamed by his hand as he turned the page.

He was here already?

I had arrived fifteen minutes early and thought that was a lot, but he was all set up like he’d been there for a while.

Like he’d known the place would be packed and wanted to procure us that table.

Someone could have knocked me over with a feather.

This was maybe the last thing I’d expected tonight.

I rolled my shoulders back.

I had asked for this.

It was time to go through with it.

Slowly, I pushed through the crowd again to get to him.

He looked up at my approach.

“Luna!” he said brightly, marking his page and closing the book.

“This place is packed! Looks like business is good for your friend.”

That caught me off-guard on multiple counts.

I was still spinning from the fact that he’d arrived early—how did he know Seraphina was my friend?

“Yeah,” I said hesitantly.

“Thanks for grabbing the table. I had no idea it would be this bad.”

He gestured for me to sit.

“Cliff House has been keeping you that busy, then? You haven’t been working here, too?”

His smile seemed harmless enough, but with Darius, I was always trying to figure out what he could do with the information I provided.

“I haven’t. Seraphina said I was essentially fired until the Long Night; then we could talk.”

He chuckled.

“Sounds like a good friend.”

Seraphina showed up at that moment.

She set a Solstice Sip on my side of the table and gestured to Darius’s drink.

“Do you need a refill?”

“No, thanks. What did she bring you?” Darius asked, examining my drink.

“It’s the Sweet Solstice Sip,” I said.

“Or, at least, it’s the recipe and the honey liqueur from the original. Have you tried one?” I wanted him to be at ease when I finally worked up the nerve to ask him my questions.

He shook his head.

“That’s from the Andiveron boy’s column?” His nostrils flared as he asked, but I nodded.

It shouldn’t surprise me that Darius knew who wrote the supposedly anonymous column.

“Ah, I don’t keep up with fae trends too well,” he said, but I heard something between his words, like maybe it wasn’t so much fae trends he didn’t keep up with as much as Andiveron trends he didn’t care for.

I wondered if inviting Vincent and me to Pierce House would be a bigger ask than I’d realized.

Was there something between Vincent’s family and mine?

Other than animosity from being in different courts?

“Do you two want food?” Seraphina asked.

“Yes, please,” I said.

Darius ordered the soup of the day.

Seraphina disappeared.

“You didn’t order,” he said.

I raised my glass and smiled.

“She knows what I like.”

Darius raised his mug, and I found myself clinking our glasses together.

“Thanks for meeting me,” I said.

He tilted his head as if in question.

“I’m always happy to do so, Luna. I hope you know that.”

I absolutely did not know that and wasn’t sure how to respond.

If that was true, I wanted to know why.

I took a sip of my drink, considering.

I decided the only way out was through.

Darius had no reason to do what I asked, but if what he said was true, if he was always happy to meet, then he would be happy to host Vincent and me.

At this point, there was only a tiny chance our plan for the inn would work, given that I had no idea how to access my magic.

Magic necessary to save the inn.

My eyes met his.

They looked so much like my own, bright blue and welcoming, although I’d never once felt welcome by him .

I took a deep breath.

“I didn’t know that. Why would I know that?” I asked, trying not to sound confrontational.

I wasn’t sure it worked; I was too caught up in hearing the answer.

He sat up straighter.

“I guess that’s a fair question.” He took a sip of his drink.

I was more than surprised by his assessment, by the careful consideration of my question and his open response.

“Maybe it’s easier if we start fresh. I’d like you to be able to come to me with anything. I want to help you in any way I can.”

My fingers wrapped around my glass again.

“Why give me such an impossible task with the inn, then? If you want to help me?”

He laughed, but it didn’t sound joyful.

“I’m pretty sure you’re the only one that can save it. And if you’re not interested in doing so, there is no point in me holding on to it.”

I lifted my glass to my lips again.

His words were similar to Evelyn’s.

They made me wonder if he, too, was aware of the blood magic.

I wasn’t ready to ask him about that, especially considering the memory.

Starting fresh was also a concept I didn’t know how to address.

Were we to pretend the last twenty-five years hadn’t happened?

That he hadn’t abandoned me?

Was this some misalignment between humans and fae?

Twenty-five years probably seemed like nothing to him.

It might not be much to me in the span of my lifetime, either, but those years he’d ignored me still hurt.

“So,” he started when he must have realized I couldn’t find the words to say anything else, “do you have plans for your name day?”

I cleared my throat.

Then took another big gulp as I desperately tried to understand his question.

“What?”

He licked his lips like maybe he was reconsidering.

I was sure I’d heard him correctly.

I didn’t know why he would be asking .

“Do you have plans for your name day next week?” He swallowed hard and tapped his fingers against the side of his drink.

“I wondered if we could host you at the house. Your grandmother and I would be thrilled to have you for a meal.”

I sucked in a breath.

Exactly what I needed was falling into my lap, and I wasn’t entirely sure what to do about it.

Thankfully, Seraphina arrived at that moment to deliver the food.

She brought Darius his soup, and for me, a meat pie.

I couldn’t even get excited over one of my favorite dishes as I contemplated how to respond to Darius.

Seraphina gave me a weak smile as if she wanted to offer me some support but couldn’t interrupt my meal.

“You two need anything else?” she asked.

Yes, I need answers that make sense .

But that wasn’t her problem.

I smiled and shook my head, and she was gone.

Once again, I was alone with Darius—my estranged father who wanted to host a name day meal for me.

No matter how inconceivable the offer, I couldn’t waste this opportunity.

“I’d like to come,” I said as I cut into the pie, letting the steam burst out through the slit, “but I’d like to bring someone.”

Darius made a noncommittal “Oh?” sound, like a question.

It was like he expected me to provide more information.

I figured I needed to.

What was I going to say?

I’d had plenty of time to develop a story but had failed.

I knew I was a lousy liar, and my lack of relationship with Darius wouldn’t make me any better.

“I’d like to bring Vincent Andiveron,” I said carefully, tasting the name on my tongue.

Darius’s eyebrows rose.

“You know him, then? It’s not just enjoying his column?” He gestured to the drink near my plate.

“Yes.” I took another sip.

Darius waited for more.

I wasn’t sure I had more to say.

He clearly wanted to know what Vincent and I were to each other.

I honestly wished I knew, but I had no idea.

Unfortunately, Darius seemed content to wait, lifting a spoonful of soup to his mouth with a patient smile in place.

He was fae.

Who knew how long he could outlast me here?

I let honesty reign as Darius’s quiet patience defeated me.

“I know you’re waiting for some explanation, but I don’t have one. We’ve been…seeing each other,” I said hesitantly.

I knew that had connotations that weren’t precisely true to Vincent and me, but it felt true enough that I could say it with a straight face.

Darius’s eyebrows raised farther.

“He’s important to me, and therefore it would be nice, if I was to come to a family home that I’ve never been invited to, to have someone familiar…someone who will look out for me should things not go the way I expect.”

I hadn’t realized what I would say until the words were out.

Now that they were, they felt like the ones I’d been searching for all along.

I might not be sure Vincent and I could have a romantic future after all the pain of this bargain we’d made, but I knew I cared for him.

I believed he cared about me as more than a means to an end, too.

Even if we were visiting Pierce House to see if my father was up to some nefarious activity, I wanted Vincent by my side when I found out the truth.

Though I hated to admit it, I wanted to know if my father was attempting to keep half-fae like myself from learning about their magic, especially with this recent change of heart.

This whole discussion was a total turn from everything I’d expected.

I was getting exactly what I needed, so I wouldn’t press, but my curiosity was more than piqued.

Why now?

I hadn’t even given him the report about the inn.

I hadn’t had to ask for my favor—he’d offered me exactly what I needed.

It was too good to be true, I was sure.

But I wanted to save Cliff House, and this was our ticket to do so .

I let out a breath and met Darius’s steely blue gaze.

My confusion must have been apparent.

He was no longer smiling, but he nodded.

“If that’s what you wish, we’d be happy to have you both.”

I took a bite of the pie, unable to enjoy it.

What had I gotten myself into?