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CHAPTER TWELVE

NOVA

T he alley is ... cramped.

Cobblestones dig into the soles of my boots, uneven and slick with rain. Narrow walls close us in, their peeling paint—blue on one side, faded brick on the other—giving the place an abandoned, forgotten feel. There’s a heavy smell of garbage and something like rusted iron or the kind of old pipes you’d find in any number of the castle’s dungeons back home.

The air feels different here. Heavier, thicker, and I don’t mean with magic. It’s just ... Earth. Polluted, Callum had warned us. Foul. But there’s a trace of nostalgia in the mix, too. I wonder if this is what they call history—buildings so old they’ve absorbed the lives of everyone who passed through. Though compared to the ancient architecture in Bedlam, this is but a blip on the map for us.

For all its grime and noise, it’s ... fascinating. Beautiful, even. I love it.

Though the roar of engines is a sensory overload.

Tai leans against the wall, his eyes darting to every shadow like he expects trouble. Callum, on the other hand, stands in the center of the alley, looking more at ease than I’ve ever seen him.

“This is Earth?” I murmur, turning in a slow circle to take it all in. The alley seems to press in on us, claustrophobic compared to the sprawling openness of Bedlam. The rain hits differently here, harder and colder, sliding down my face in icy streams. I wipe it away and glance up, squinting at the tangled mess of lines stretching across the gap between the buildings. “Giant spiders?” I whisper, glancing around me as though one might be hiding behind the giant metal contraption next to the door. Those are the weirdest webs I’ve ever seen, strung up between giant, leafless trees and tangled into strange patterns.

My mother was from here. Born on Earth. Raised among humans. But when I try to picture her in a place like this, my mind draws a blank. She doesn’t belong here—not in my memories, at least. She belongs to sprawling fae cities and moonlit courts, to the kind of beauty that breathes magic into the air.

Callum roars with laughter. “Power lines, lass. Manufactured magic.” He grins at me. “Not all of it’s like this.” He runs a hand through his hair. “This is just a stop-off.”

A faint hum vibrates through the ground as a giant something rumbles past the alley’s mouth, its engine a low growl. I jump, heart pounding.

“What the fuck was that?” I glance between them, my fingers curling around the edge of my coat.

Callum chuckles softly, his smirk crooked. “A city bus. Ye’ll get used to it.”

I don’t think I will. The sound is strange—too mechanical, too loud—and the oily smell it leaves behind lingers in the air. Bedlam doesn’t allow engines, so the only time I’ve seen vehicles is in the very few smuggled Earth movies I was allowed to watch.

“Shouldn’t we be doing something?” I ask, shifting on my feet as another car roars past, spraying water across the pavement.

Tai finally speaks. “We need to move carefully. The humans aren’t used to our kind. Even with glamours, we can’t draw attention to ourselves.”

The drizzle soaks into my hair, flattening it against my scalp, and I shiver despite myself.

I glance at Callum, who doesn’t look remotely concerned. “And you think we won’t stand out?”

He tilts his head toward me, his green eyes bright with amusement. “That’s why we’re in the alley, lass. Blend first, wander later. Ye flinch every time a car passes.”

That’s because I’m used to being able to blend into shadows, and even tucked away off the road, I feel so exposed. But he’s right, I need to get a grip if I’m going to seem human. It’s all so jarring.

I push away the discomfort and focus on Callum’s face instead. He’s grinning like this is the best day of his life, and maybe it is. I catch myself smiling back.

“I think I hate it here already,” I say, but there’s no bite to my words. He knows I’m lying through my teeth.

His grin widens, and for a moment, I almost forget the noise and the smell and the cold. Almost.

The wind claws at my coat as Callum steps closer, his cheeks flushed, either from the cold or the ridiculous idea he’s about to pitch. Probably both. His eyes catch mine, green and bright with that mischievous spark that always seems to light him up when he knows he’s about to get his way.

“They’re no’ gonna let us all through as is.” His accent is thicker than I’ve heard it. “You and Tai? Too foreign. Too ... striking. They’ll clock ye right away as tourists, and tourists stick out. Trust me, ye don’t want the hassle, not when yer trying to get into a critical care unit.”

I blink at him, unsure whether to be offended or intrigued by the “too striking” part. Before I can say anything, he smirks, pushing on like this is the most obvious solution in the world.

“So, here’s what we’ll do. Ye and I? Married. Tai?” He jerks his thumb at the fae shadowing us like a broody gargoyle. “Yer the brother coming to see his critically ill father.”

“Married?” I choke on the word, the cold air searing my throat.

“Aye, lass. Married,” Callum says, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world.

Tai, who’s been silently watching us from a step back, stiffens. His jaw tightens, and for a moment, I swear the temperature around us drops.

“Absolutely not,” he bites, the words clipped.

Callum raises an eyebrow. “Ye got a better plan?”

Tai folds his arms, the muscles in his shoulders shifting beneath his coat. The tension in his stance screams that he’s two seconds away from doing something drastic, like punching the Highlander in the face.

“You can’t be serious,” Tai mutters.

Callum tilts his head, a crooked smile tugging at his lips. “Aye, I’m deadly serious. I mean, look at me—local, charming, devilishly handsome. Makes perfect sense, don’t it?”

“Not even remotely,” Tai growls, his glare burning a hole into Callum.

I raise a hand, cutting them both off before the bickering gets worse. “Fine,” I say, the word escaping in a puff of breath that swirls into the cold. “Whatever gets us through without trouble.”

Callum’s grin widens, and he claps his hands together. “That’s the spirit.”

Tai exhales sharply, his irritation unchecked as he moves to stand between us. With a quick flick of his fingers, he casts a silencing barrier around us, muting the sounds of the street beyond. The shimmer of magic prickles along my skin before fading into the air.

“Stay still,” Tai grumbles. “Never going to believe us if your fingers are bare. Wish I could just whittle something out of wood real quick, but this will have to do. It’ll drain me, though.”

He holds out a hand, and thin threads of magic spool together between his fingers, glinting like molten silver. The air grows warmer, pulsing with energy as the threads weave into delicate bands. When the magic finally dies down, two rings rest in his palm, with the tiniest gemstone I’ve ever seen on mine.

Callum reaches for the larger of the two, his fingers brushing against Tai’s. My guard flinches, the contact brief but enough to make his scowl deepen.

“Couldn’t have made a bigger stone?” The Scot inspects my ring, too.

Tai just levels him with a grin of his own. “Sorry, low on magic.”

But I understand the posturing for what it is.

“I’ll take that,” Callum says, plucking the ring with an exaggerated flourish. He turns to me, his grin back in full force.

“Now, then.” He takes my hand without hesitation, his calloused fingers warm against my chilled skin. “This here’s how it’s done proper.”

“Callum—” I start, but he cuts me off, lowering his voice to a mockingly solemn tone.

“Nova,” he says, sliding the ring onto my finger with theatrical precision. “By the power vested in me, by ... well, meself, I now declare ye stuck wi’ me.”

The simple ring fits snugly against my finger. The weight of it is strange, but the warmth of his hand lingers long after he lets go.

“There we go.” He steps back to admire his work. “Could’ve been a handfastin’, but that’d take ribbons, and I don’t think we’ve got any handy.” He winks. “Still, this’ll do.”

I glance down at the ring, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. “Stuck with you, huh?”

“Aye.” His grins softens just a little as he leans in to whisper, “Lucky me.”

A foreign kind of sensation takes flight in my stomach, the same one I felt when wedged inside a closet with my personal guard. It’s a warmth that spreads through my veins like honey, sticky and sweet.

A giggle escapes me, the sound too high-pitched, too unlike me. "Lucky you, indeed," I tease, but part of me wonders if he truly means it, or if it’s just the novelty of my being fae.

But no. The way his eyes linger on mine, the gentle curve of his smile—it all feels too real, too honest for mere playacting.

I know he likes me, he’s said as much.

Tai clears his throat, and I tear my gaze away from Callum to find my guard staring at us, his jaw clenched so tight it could crack sanguimetal. “Are we finished?”

“Almost.” Callum holds out his much larger ring to me.

I take it from him, my fingers brushing against his palm as I do. Carefully, I position the ring at the tip of his finger.

“Callum,” I say, pausing to think. A smirk tugs at my lips as something decidedly me forms in my head. “With this ring, I will stab anyone who annoys us … provided you get rid of the body.”

Callum’s laughter rumbles low, the sound filling the narrow alley. “Aye, now that’s the kind of commitment I like.”

Tai exhales loudly, muttering something that sounds suspiciously like a curse under his breath, but I don’t let it break my focus.

I slide the ring over Callum’s finger, noting how it fits perfectly on his rugged hand.

“Till death do us part,” I add cheekily, stepping back and crossing my arms. That’s about all I remember from Earth movies. “Or until we kill each other. Whichever comes first.”

Callum smirks, turning his hand over to admire the ring. “If we’re killin’ each other, at least let me go out on a full belly.”

I snort. “Deal.”

Tai shifts beside us, his irritation rolling off him in waves. His arms cross tightly over his chest, and his gaze darts between Callum and me like he’s mentally weighing how much worse this day can possibly get. “Now, are we finished?” he asks, his voice flat.

He’s the one who told me to date other people until we figure out how we’re going to undo the fae deal he made. But perhaps it’s best if I don’t do it right in front of his face.

A stab of guilt seeps into my chest.

“Patience, brother-in-law,” Callum quips, clapping Tai on the shoulder. “We’ve just tied the knot! Ye should be celebratin’.”

Tai’s glare could level a mountain.

“Fine,” Callum says, raising his hands in mock surrender. “We’re finished.”

I glance down at the ring on my finger, feeling the weight of it again. For something so small, it carries a surprising gravity—not just in what it represents, but in the way it makes me feel. My heart skips once, unbidden.

I tuck my hands into my pockets before anyone can notice. “Alright, Highlander.” I turn toward the mouth of the alley. “Let’s see if we can fool the humans.”

“Lead the way, Mrs. Mackenzie.” His grin is far too smug.

Behind us, Tai groans softly. “I’m going to need a drink after this.”