Page 13 of Monster’s Consort (Blackthorn Academy for Supernaturals #18)

The wings were reminiscent of bat wings and the whole thing looked like some strange comic book style transport had been meshed together with actual metal.

But it was also rather large. Large enough it could fit all of us, if we indeed squished inside.

“Whoa,” Norman said, his tentacles skittering along the metal. “This is sick,” he said.

“Meh, it’s all right,” Wanda said apathetically.

Norman turned to look at her. “All right? Look at this puppy!”

“Won’t your parents be mad if we steal their ride?” Delaney asked, a sly grin on her face.

Desmond blew some dark hair out of his eyes. “What they don’t know won’t kill them. Besides, they’ll be tied up with Queen Amaranth for the next couple days while they hash out terms for the treaty.”

“Treaty?” I asked. “What treaty?”

Desmond waved his hand, and the doors slid open.

Norman did not waste a second as he crawled inside, squealing about the velvet interior and the large seats. I could see his tentacles still spilling out the doors, touching everything with his suckers, the popping sound echoing in the hanger.

“That’s why we’re here,” Desmond said with a shrug. “To make peace.”

“Peace?” Bane asked, raising an eyebrow. “Now, after all these fucking years? What changed?”

Desmond caught my gaze, his vibrant purple pools glistening for a moment like summer rain.

He looked away. “Does it matter?” he asked.

Bane opened his mouth, but Desmond dismissed him with a wave.

“They are doing the right thing.”

He sauntered past us just as Wanda slithered inside.

I watched as Desmond helped Delaney in, how he held her hand for a moment to help her step up into the opening, despite the fact she was not short. At all. She could have easily gone in of her own accord but perhaps he was being polite.

“Seems too good to be true, right?” Bane asked, nudging my arm.

“I supposed it does seem a little too neat, but?—”

“But what?” he asked as Desmond turned to look at us.

“But perhaps people can change,” I said plainly. “You did.”

Bane looked at me with warmth in his eyes, a soft smile tugging his lips.

“Violet—”

“Now come, we can’t stay here in this hanger all day. We have errands to run.”

And with that, I left my gancanagh hot on my tail as I slipped inside the Dark Fae Prince’s sky chariot, headed for our quest.

* * *

Town was bustling. I’d only ever visited it once during the semester, what between my academics, falling in love with a gancanagh , getting kidnapped, and discovering I was a long lost princess of a fabled kingdom and all.

Still, there was something so refreshing and warm about all the shops lining the stone streets, all the folks walking about and dining on delicacies and shopping to their heart’s content.

Though I could have done without the dreaded heat. It seemed no matter where I went, in whatever realm I existed, the heat was unbearable in the summer.

I was not made for heat. Not like my fiancé. He thrived in it.

Delaney had magicked us all up sunglasses, to be “less conspicuous” as she said. I didn’t think it was difficult to ascertain who we were. Not even top tier glamours could hide my appearance for long. I was still quite terrible at those glamour spells.

“Oh, do you think we’ll have time to shop?” Delaney asked.

“We are here on a mission,” Bane said plainly. “Get the barrels, and get out.”

“Oh, come on, Bane.” Norman slithered a tentacle around his shoulders.

Bane swatted at it and I didn’t miss the laugh in Desmond’s voice.

“I would think you of all people would want to let loose a little,” Norman said.

“So stuffy in that castle and all,” Wanda drawled, and dare I say there was a tinge of humor in her voice. “Perhaps it’s rotting your feeble little incubus brain.”

“Our brains are not feeble in the slightest, Wanda,” Desmond said.

Delaney giggled.

I didn’t miss Wanda’s apathetic glare directed at the prince.

“Well, perhaps they should study Bane’s then. Lord knows, the decision to bind oneself to a faerie had to have been a severe lapse in judgment.”

I smacked her in the arm. “I, for one, think it was a genius idea,” I taunted her.

She raised an eyebrow, smirking at me. “Yes, I’m sure you do. You are drinking his Kool-Aid, after all.”

Delaney laughed, and so did the rest of us.

“Yes, well, we can’t all be cold fishes, can we Wanda? Some of us have to live happily ever after.”

The words were simple and teasing, but the silence formed like a sudden storm.

Wanda stopped, and we all did, too.

“You think there is only one way to do that, Bane? News flash, some of us don’t want a happy ever after.”

“Who doesn’t want that?” Desmond asked, his voice strangely soft.

Wanda grit her teeth at him, then at Bane. “What, exactly?” she nipped. “What do you define as such? Finding some poor girl to swoon over your incubus charms? Placate your stupid fragile egos?” Her tone had gone from taunting to vicious. Bane had said something that she took to heart.

Perhaps much deeper.

“Wanda...” Norm’s voice infiltrated the space.

She spun on her heels and sneered at him. “Finding some... some... damsel in distress so you can waltz in and be the hero?”

“Wanda, I didn’t mean?—”

She crossed her arms, leaning closer to Bane, her eyes burning with fire. “Of course you didn’t. You never do. Men are all the same. Monster or not.”

“And what about the women?” Delaney asked, pulling all of our attention.

The sun shone down on Wanda, lighting up her hair and showing the shadows on her face. Beneath the light, she looked positively breathtaking.

She twisted her lips. “Yes, well, the women are not any better, in my opinion.”

Delaney’s expression shifted, her frown evident.

“So what is your version of happily ever after then, Wanda?” Desmond spoke softly.

She crossed her arms. “The end of this conversation, for starters,” she said. “Perhaps we should split up.”

“Split up?” Norman’s voice escalated as he took a step forth. “But we just got here, and?—”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Bane said gruffly. He tugged on my hand.

“Delaney said she wants to shop, and I’m sure we don’t have a lot of time if we want to get back in enough time Desmond’s parents won’t notice we stole their chariot, so?—”

“Then that’s it? We grab the barrels and the girls get a shopping spree?”

Wanda growled. “Or we could pick up the barrels and you could pretend to be in an American shopping montage.”

“I would love a shopping montage,” Norman said as Bane and Wanda both told him to be quiet.

“Perhaps you could use a drink,” Bane said.

“We could all meet up at the bar,” Delaney said. “After.”

“I think that sounds like a great idea,” Norman said, stepping between Wanda and Bane.

“We’ll get the barrels, load them into the chariot, and grab us a table. You three can join us after a bit for a pint and then we’ll peace out?”

“I think that’s a lovely idea,” Delaney said, grabbing Wanda by the hand. She slid her fingers between Wanda’s webbed ones and I noted the way Wanda instantly relaxed.

Interesting...

“Come on, then,” Desmond said, pushing forth between Bane and Norman. “The day is not getting any longer.”

I pulled Bane to me and kissed him. He held me close for a brief moment as I whispered in his ear, “Be careful.”

“Always,” he whispered back, tiny sparks of fire warming my blood.

And as I watched him walk off, I felt an anxiety that had nothing to do with magic or consort drama.

I only worried that when I again found my fiancé and the prince, they would both be in one piece.