Lily Baker and the Thing that Happened Before Shayne Left
One Month Ago
On a glassy moonlit night, a young police officer moved from shadow to shadow. The cool wind kissed her cheeks and fluttered her blonde hair while starlight glimmered down the ink on her arms that told her life story in carefully woven pictures. She glanced over her shoulder every time a car passed on the road or a small animal scurried by. When she got to the back door of Desmount Tech Industries, she pulled her key card from her pocket and made her way inside.
Most of the halls were unlit, only flashing on via sensors when she entered them. She passed two people on her way to the stairs—overachievers who never went home, likely. Desmount Tech’s hardest workers. She probably owed them half the credit for bringing her inventions to life. She trotted up the stairs, the patters of her shoes echoing through the empty, wide-open space in the lobby. When she came around the bend to her lab, she saw someone waiting for her in the hall.
Gabe Desmount looked up from the file in his hands. He slapped it shut and cast her a charming, boyish smile. The kid was fresh out of high school, but he was probably the most powerful person—well, human anyway—that Lily knew. Definitely the richest. It showed in his tailored suit and how his hair was perfectly styled even in the middle of the night.
“Did it work?” Lily asked as Gabe handed her the file.
“We’ve only tested it against the fae blood samples we had. Obviously it’s difficult to shoot at real fae for our tests. But the bullets pulled left or right toward the targets and released our paralyzing toxin upon impact. One hit with our bullets, and any fae will tumble to the ground unable to move.” Gabe opened the lab door and led the way inside. He lifted a gun from a pedestal on the centre table, and he handed it to Lily. “This one is different though—our newest one. This one targets to kill. It releases a fast-working poison capsule once the bullet hits a body.”
Lily studied the gun, rolling it over in her hands. She lifted it as if she meant to fire. Then she lowered it to look it over again. “It feels nice. It’s not as heavy as my normal gun,” she said.
Gabe nodded. “We could make smaller versions of these and arm people across the country. Women could keep them in their purses. The goal is to make them so they’ll do minimal-to-no damage to us humans, even if fired by accident, so it wouldn’t be a safety concern. But people will be able to defend themselves if fairies try to kidnap them like with what happened to your friend last Christmas.”
Lily handed the gun back, but Gabe shook his head. “You keep it. You’re the one in the company of fae, Baker.”
Lily chuckled. “My fairies aren’t the ones we need to worry about.”
The edge of Gabe’s mouth tugged like he wanted to disagree. He turned for the table though and picked up a stack of papers. “You can look over the design if you’d like. I don’t need these back.” He offered them to her, and Lily tucked them under her arm along with the new weapon.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she said. She turned to leave when Gabe spoke again.
“Isn’t it getting hard?” he asked, stopping her at the door.
There was something in his voice that made Lily not want to ask what he meant, but she did anyway. “Is what getting hard?” she said over her shoulder.
“All the sneaking around? Working a full day at the station, and then coming here to work more in the evenings? Hiding the truth from the fae in your midst?” he clarified. Gabe slid his hands into his pockets. “You could quit being a cop and come work for me full time. You know I could use your expertise on all this specialty tech. And you could help me test the gear for the Canadian police forces, too.”
Lily glanced at the museum of weaponry on the walls. Things she’d help build. Designs she’d thought of all on her own. Desmount Tech would probably pay better than the force. But…
“I have siblings to protect,” she said. “I need to be a cop.”
Gabe nodded and folded his arms. “Well, my offer stands now or later if you change your mind. Get home safe, Baker.”
Lily waved as she left, closing the door quietly behind her.
She moved through the halls and tapped her way back down the lobby staircase. No one was around anymore when she made her way through the back halls. The gun and papers slipped when she reached for the back door, so she pulled them from beneath her arm as she pushed her way outside.
She came to a halt. The door slammed shut behind her. Wind prickled her ears as a strange, warm sensation dragged over her back like a finger running along her skin. Or , like someone’s heated, magical gaze was sizing her up.
She spun and raised the gun, dropping her papers. The sheets of information and diagrams flew into the wind and dispersed as she took in a tall, annoying, admittedly handsome fairy watching her, his white hair ruffling in the breeze, his t-shirt flapping against his body. Shayne was barefoot on the cold sidewalk on top of being completely unwelcome. Lily’s papers glided down around him, then rolled away in too many directions for her to chase.
She moved to lower her gun, but Shayne grabbed it. He held it there. Aimed at him.
“What are you planning to do with this fairy killer, ugly Human?” he asked. His smile was taunting, but there was a thinness to his lips that made Lily think he was mad. She looked right then left as she tried to come up with an answer he’d buy. “Fine,” he said first. “I’ll go destroy everything I just saw up in that room, then.” He nodded toward the building behind her.
“What room?” Lily asked, her mouth going dry. His dramatic, slow blinking told her exactly what room he spoke of. That he knew. He’d seen. “Don’t touch anything,” she warned, thinking of the months of work she had hiding away in that room .
Shayne yanked her gun, pulling her hand with it. He pressed the barrel against his beating heart—right where one single shot would end him. “Are you going to shoot me, Human?” he asked.
“Are you crazy, Shayne?” Lily rasped. She tried to jerk the gun back, but he didn’t let go. In fact, he slid his other hand around hers, wrapping his thumb over her forefinger and placing a dangerous amount of pressure on the trigger. “Shayne!” she scolded. “This will kill you!” But when her eyes flashed up from the gun, she found he wasn’t smiling anymore. She rarely saw Shayne serious; it made her words catch in the back of her throat.
“Never talk about killing a fairy to a fairy,” he articulated. “And especially …” Shayne tugged the gun away, forcing Lily to lose her grip and stumble forward into his chest. In the same motion, he caught her waist and swung her around, pinning her against the wall of Desmount Tech. An eruption of butterflies spilled into her stomach when their faces came inches apart and his lips almost bumped into hers. “...never aim a weapon at one unless you’re prepared to shoot it,” he finished. Lily pulled her mouth closed and forced her gaze up to his eyes where it belonged.
“Now, tell me—who was that dashing human you just met inside?” Shayne asked, seeming in no hurry to stop sandwiching her between himself and the building. “I don’t feel threatened, which means you must not be growing a crush for him. But there is something toiling in my fairy feels…” He glanced off, tapping the barrel of Lily’s gun against his lip in thought.
“Jealousy?” Lily guessed.
Shayne squeezed an eye shut like he was thinking harder. “That can’t be it.”
She huffed. “Seriously, Shayne? Is this why you’ve been looking so tired lately? Because you’ve been following me around at night?” She tried to squirm out of his hold, but he flashed a smile, watching as she failed to escape.
“Why don’t we say it is?” he said, and she stopped her fleeing attempt.
“For real?”
Shayne snorted a laugh, dragging the handle of the gun across his eyebrow to scratch it. Lily’s skin tightened as the gun’s barrel aimed toward his head, his heart, his everywhere else.
“If I look tired, Lily , it’s because you’re exhausting to fake date.”
She grunted. “It’s not my fault we’re doing this. I keep telling everyone at the station we broke up, but then you show up the next day with coffee and assure everyone we’re still together. Why is that, Shayne?”
“You’re happy when I do,” he stated.
She raised an eyebrow when he didn’t elaborate. Then he laughed at himself.
“Your pupils dilate whenever I walk into your workplace. Your cheeks turn a smidgen pink. Your breathing even changes. You might hate my guts most days, Human, but I think I accidentally became your happily ever after . You miss me when I don’t show up at the station—admit it.” He grinned too much, and Lily made a face.
“I’m not admitting that,” she said.
“Admit it. Do it.”
“No!”
“Why, Human, why?”
“Because I’m not a liar, Shayne.”
He tilted his head in thought. “See, that sounded like a lie to me.”
Lily sighed and rubbed her temple. “I don’t need a happily ever after, you weirdo. Those are just in fairytales.”
“Did you forget what I am? And everyone wants a happily ever after,” he objected. “Sure, we all think Cress is obnoxious every time he opens his mouth about his wedding, but he’s right about one thing—and that’s being happy. It’s why my brothers and I chose to stay here. This is where happiness is.”
“Yeah, well…” Lily shook her head in disbelief “…I always said I’d never get married. So stop telling me what I want, and grabbing me like this, and following me at night,” she said.
“Hmm.” Shayne eyed her. “I suppose only time will tell whether you’re a liar or not. And you like it when I grab you. Let me walk you home.”
“No way. I have two legs and I’m perfectly capable of walking myself home.”
Shayne rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes. We all know you’re a hero on legs. Now stop saying such sassy things with that curvy mouth of yours. It gets my insides all feely.”
The last of Lily’s papers took flight off the sidewalk in a gust of wind, creating a ruckus and disappearing into the city of Toronto where she’d never find them. She watched them soar away. “I’m pretty sure you’ve really lost your mind,” she muttered. “Which one of your clueless brothers let you become King of the High Court of the Coffee Bean?”
Shayne sucked in a deep breath, and she caught him staring at her lips when she looked back. His mouth was pinched as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. Lily couldn’t imagine what he had to ponder so hard about, but she failed to find her voice to ask when his grip on her tightened. His hand suddenly felt warmer against her back.
Out of nowhere, he shook his head like he was clearing it. “Go home then,” he said. “Go to bed and stop making fairy guns and instigating other midnight mischiefs. You should remember that if you keep throwing rocks at fairies, eventually you’ll hit one.” He leaned in and whispered, “Then all the wicked fairies will come for you. Not just me.”
He released his hold on her waist and pulled back, setting her free. The cool night spilled over Lily’s body, making her wonder how he could be so warm in this weather in just a t-shirt.
“You want me to leave while you still have my gun?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yes.” His eyes dropped back to her mouth, briefly. “Before this brainless King does something he’ll regret and leaves you enchanted for the next two days.” A wide smile returned to his face. “I’m sure I don’t even have to use magic to do that.”
Heat struck Lily’s cheeks. She folded her arms. “Unreal,” she muttered. “You can’t just keep that gun. You’re going to give it back, right?” The chilly evening didn’t feel cold anymore, and she had the impulse to shake her shirt to cool herself. But of course, she wouldn’t be caught dead doing that in front of Shayne.
Shayne laughed without answering. He continued to laugh as he headed down the sidewalk, not even saying goodbye. He twirled the gun around his finger. Lily watched—going rigid every time the barrel swung toward him—until he turned at the end of the block and disappeared into the cool Toronto night.
It took Lily several moments of coaching herself before she was able to step into Fae Café the next morning. The bell at the door had always brought her a sense of comfort, but today it sounded like a warning siren. She clasped her hands and took in a deep breath when she was inside, inhaling the fragrance of freshly ground coffee beans and hot-out-of-the-oven strawberry turnovers. Mor glanced up from the counter and shot her a partial smile before returning his attention to the coffee pot he was half emptying into a to-go cup.
Mor had smiled. Like nothing was wrong today.
Like Shayne hadn’t told his Brotherhood besties what he’d discovered about her last night.
Lily’s shoulders relaxed. She unclasped her hands and headed into the café. But she slowed her walk, her feet coming together when she felt the warm, phantom sensation of knuckles stroking along her arm. She cut a sharp glare over to the seat in the corner.
Shayne winked.
He was wearing a zip-up hoodie today with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. He raised a coffee to his lips with theatrical slowness, keeping his gaze pinned on her as he did it. He didn’t blink once as he sipped. As he lowered his burgundy mug back to the table beside him.
Lily took in a deep breath and put her attention back on the things ahead—on Mor who was having a nice day, on the kitchen where the smell of turnovers wafted from, on the quiet TV sharing upcoming show previews, on Dranian coming from the back room carrying a box of paper cups. Business as usual. That was all she cared to focus on.
Not the fairy assassin in the corner wearing the exact sort of cozy sweater she loved, with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows to show the strength in his forearms, watching her keenly with his I’m-trying-to-get-your-attention eyes .
She cursed the day she’d admitted out loud to Kate that she liked it when guys wore sweaters. That cozy sweaters made her want to snuggle right into their chest. She still blushed whenever she thought about how she’d realized too late that all the fairies in the next room were listening, and she’d even gone as far as to admit she always noticed when guys ‘pushed their sleeves up to their elbows.’
She wanted to die.
Lily bit her lips together, avoiding looking left. No, Shayne hadn’t told his brothers about what she was doing at Desmount Tech, but he was sure making her pay for her crimes in his own way.
“Are you working here today?” Lily asked Mor, putting extra effort into making this day normal. She slid a to-go cup off the stack when she reached the counter, and Mor nudged the coffee pot over.
“Just for the morning. Are you heading into work?” He sipped his coffee, but his gaze slid over to someone sitting in the corner. Then back to Lily.
“Yeah.” Lily only realized how unsteady her hands were when she tried to pour her coffee. She almost missed the cup. Mor’s eyes flickered to her pouring, but he didn’t say anything. She tried to lift a paper lid off the stack but ended up with three stuck together. She shook them. They were fastened like glue.
She shook it again.
Finally, Mor snatched the lids and flicked one off the top. He fastened it to her coffee cup then settled his brown-silver gaze on her.
“Queensbane, what’s going on between you two?” He nodded toward the corner of the room.
“I stole her gun,” Shayne admitted without missing a beat, causing Lily to spin and cast him a look of warning that was probably also filled with some worry and begging. She hated that fairies could hear human pulses, because right now hers rivalled the rhythm of a wild nightclub.
Mor scowled. “You’re going to get a good beating one day if you keep stealing things, Shayne. And when did you graduate from stealing trinkets to human weapons?” He reached for the cloth behind the cash register and began washing everything like he was hardly listening to himself or waiting for an answer. He got particularly focused on a stain at the end of the counter.
Lily took the opportunity to cross the café and stand in front of the sweater-wearing gun thief. He flashed her a smile that made her toes curl in her shoes. The worst part was that she couldn’t scold him. At least, not in front of the others. She heard Cress and Kate come out of the kitchen behind her, discussing something too quiet to hear. A chair squeaked where Dranian must have sat down to sort the cups.
“Where did you put my gun?” Lily asked Shayne straight-up. Instead of answering, he made a show of pushing his sleeves up a little more. “I need it. Where is it?” she tried again.
Shayne stood, making her step back. “Some place you’ll never find it,” he said. “But feel free to do a search.” He opened his arms, stretching them wide and presenting himself along with his smile. “I should warn you though, I’m pretty ticklish.”
“Wait a minute…” Kate’s words filled the café. “Is that you, Dranian? Why are you on TV?”
Shayne’s face changed. Lily was one turn away from seeing what Kate was talking about when Shayne’s arms flew around her and dragged her into a hug.
“Shayne! What are you doing?!” Lily’s words were muffled as he cradled the back of her head and smooshed her face into his shoulder.
“I’m here to make all your dreams come true, ugly Human. Feel free to snuggle happily ever after into the broad chest of a handsome male wearing a cozy sweater,” he invited. His arms were a straight jacket around her, but Lily managed to lift her head enough to see Cress yank Kate toward him the same way.
“I have something important to discuss with you, Katherine,” Cress said as he threw his weight into the kitchen doors and pulled her through with him. Kate was barely able to make a peep of protest before the doors swung closed after them.
Lily caught Shayne flicking his chin toward the TV. His eyes were tethered to someone across the room, and when Lily twisted to see, she caught Dranian on the other end.
Dranian nodded. He stood. Then he walked over to the TV and punched the life out of it.
Lily’s jaw dropped. “Are you for real?!” she screeched.
When she whipped her head back to Shayne, she found him biting down on his lips and casting daggers into Dranian’s back with his eyes as the whole TV came crashing to the floor, creating a ringing smash that must have echoed all the way down the street.
At the counter, Mor sighed and shook his head.
“What did you just do to our TV, Dranian?!” Lily shrieked. She tried tugging from Shayne again, and this time, he let her go. But he didn’t take his thin-lipped smile or his wide, pointed gaze off Dranian.
“I’m curious about that also,” Mor mumbled through his teeth.
Dranian looked from Mor to Shayne. To Lily. Then he said, “Oops.”
“Oops?” Lily folded her arms. “ Seriously ?”
“It was an accident,” Dranian said dully. But his face contorted a little. He bit his tongue like it hurt or was numb. Or like he was lying .
“Oh well,” Shayne piped up. “I guess there’s no more TV for a while.” He strutted on past, whistling to himself like Dranian hadn’t just bashed a hole through the café’s expensive TV. Shayne began gathering mugs off bistro tables, suddenly prepared to resume business as usual.
Dranian, though, glanced back to the wall where the TV had been. His eyes settled on something resting on the shelf and he headed over to it. He grabbed the remote, held it up, and said to Shayne, “Ah. Is this what you were nodding to?”
Mor slapped a hand over his face. “So much for secret-y things, you fool,” he muttered.
“Wait…” Lily let out a laugh of disbelief and turned toward Shayne. “Secret-y things?” Shayne didn’t seem so eager to make eye contact anymore. “What secret-y things? What have you four been up to?” Lily put her hands on her hips, but she swallowed her words when Shayne spun back around with a look that said, “If you ask, I’ll tell them your secret-y thing.”
Lily dropped her hands from her hips as her gusto fled. She swallowed and made a show of looking at her watch. “You’re lucky I have to get to work,” she said. She pursed her lips and stared at the floor, pretending to see something interesting down there. Then she turned for the café door.
“Goodbye, Human. Your hair is quite ugly today,” Shayne called after her in his most affectionate voice.
Lily’s jaw tightened. “Your face is ugly,” she snapped as she shot him a look over her shoulder. But he just smiled in an obnoxious way that made it clear he knew she was wrong.
She cringed at her own lame response as she pushed her way outside and pulled on her police cap. “Unreal,” she muttered. Even a middle schooler could have come up with a better comeback than that.
The morning air tickled Lily’s nose as she walked. She realized she’d left her coffee behind after all that. She sighed at the thought of having to drink the weak blend with the metallic aftertaste they had at the station. Officer Westbow had once cleaned out the coffee machine with vinegar, and the coffee had the sharp flavour mixed into it ever since. Lily considered going back to Fae Café to get her coffee, but…
Somehow, she became more helpless under Shayne’s gaze than when she was looking into the eyes of a charged criminal. He shouldn’t have been able to rattle her so much; she hadn’t suffered through a lifetime of challenges and beaten the odds stacked against her just to be thrown off by a fairy who most people in her world only thought existed in children’s books.
Lily adjusted her hat with a vengeance and marched all the way to work without looking back.