Fallon was the last to slide out of the booth. With all of us standing, I realized how big each of them was. Fallon had to be at least six-four, maybe even six-five. He wasn’t as broad as the hunter, but he was strong and lean. And Barnabas was a couple inches over six feet too.

Next to the three of them, I had to crane my neck up to make eye contact.

Kaillen inched closer to me, his hand drifting behind my back to press against my spine. I felt his questioning emotion through our bond, his fear that I was having second thoughts about him.

I gave him a reassuring smile, but it still struck me that there was so much I didn’t know.

A low discontented growl came from him, and he nodded toward the door. “Let’s get moving. If the two of you are joining us, we go to Culasberee now.”

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 17

“Culasberee?” Barnabas replied once we were on the sidewalk outside. “How wonderful. That’s where me ship is.”

I angled my head at the lilting accent that had just entered his tone.

“I know,” Kaillen replied. “Which I’m guessing is another reason you’d be more than happy to join.”

The vamp rubbed his hands together. “Me always likes to see me beauty.”

“Here we go.” Fallon rolled his eyes as the four of us headed to the corner of the cobblestone street, then dipped into a small bend just off the sidewalk that wasn’t busy.

Fairy residents strolled by while Fallon stood with an exasperated expression and Barnabas tipped a pretend hat in a passing fairy’s direction—a rather attractive female fairy.

Kaillen pulled a portal key from one of his many harness contraptions. He probably had a bucket of them, just like Prisha did.

Since leaving the salopas, he’d stayed at my side, constantly touching me as though to reassure himself that I hadn’t run away again.

Considering I had a habit of that, I couldn’t blame him, but we were mated now. I wasn’t running. Still . . .

“Are there other illegal activities that you get up to that I should be aware of?” I asked Kaillen quietly when Barnabas and Fallon fell into a discussion about ships—well, Barnabas did and Fallon seemed to be appeasing him, even though he didn’t pretend to feign interest.

“What do you consider illegal?” Kaillen grinned cockily, but that subtle anise scent rose from him again.

“I know you’re faking your confidence right now.”

His smile wiped clean, and that licorice scent grew. “You know I’m a hunter. By definition, my job walks on the gray side of the law.”

“I know that, but you just encouraged your friend to compel a supe and drink from him. That’s not the gray side of the law. That’s firmly in the illegal spectrum of practices that could get you both sent to the supernatural prison.”

Barnabas glanced over his shoulder at my comment, but Fallon had good enough manners to pretend that he hadn’t heard us.

I gave them my back and lowered my voice further. “And your friends are assassins. You can get away with your hunter stuff, since that in itself isn’t illegal, but what they do is totally illegal.”

“Are you saying that killing people for money isn’t something you approve of?” A hesitant smile tugged at his lips.

“This isn’t a joke.”

“On the contrary, everything can be a joke.”

“Kaillen . . .” I gritted my teeth.

He ran a finger across my cheek, grazing the skin just enough to elicit a tingle down my spine. His teasing expression evaporated, a graver one taking its place. “It’s all they’ve ever known. They didn’t grow up in a conventional manner, so they had to learn how to survive in the only way they could. Don’t hold that against them.”

I took a step back, breaking contact with his incessant fingers. I couldn’t think clearly when he was touching me like that. “I’m not judging them. Honestly, I’m not. The way I think of them doesn’t change just ’cause of what they choose to do for work, but it does make me think about what other stuff I’m going to get dragged into. You’re talking to the nine-to-five lady who pays her taxes, remember?”

His devilish smile returned. “A very sexy nine-to-five lady.”

I rolled my eyes but a smile tugged at my lips. “Are there more surprises I should know about? No more secrets, remember?”

His brow furrowed. “It didn’t occur to me to tell you about their professions, but in hindsight, I probably should have so you weren’t surprised.”

Some of the worry in me eased. “That would have been nice.”

The anise in his scent calmed, and he stepped closer to me. “Since I’m now an open book”—he smirked when I rolled my eyes—“I suppose I should tell you that we’re now on our way to find an old seafaring friend of Barnabas’s in Culasberee. Valahan has a nasty bite and an even fouler mouth, but he also owns a tavern near the port—The Crow’s Nest—and is involved in black-market activity. If anyone’s trying to escape via the sea while running from the authorities, Valahan will know.”

“Okay.” My stiff posture relaxed even more. “And are there any other potential surprises I should be aware of?”

The hunter cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe. Last time Fallon, Barnabas, and I were at The Crow’s Nest, we beat six of Valahan’s fairies in several games of poker. Last I heard, they weren’t very happy with us.”

“Why not?”

“We might have completely cleaned them out. I believe one now has problems with his wife because of it.”

“Then maybe they shouldn’t play poker. Losing money is part of the game.”

He grinned devilishly. “I do enjoy that sharp tongue of yours.” His hand drifted down to my lower back, as he leaned in to kiss my neck.

The feel of him, and the musk rising from his scent, made my heart thrum faster.

Barnabas called from behind us, “Do you two need a room? Or perhaps we should just move deeper into this lane so he can fuck you against a wall. I do love a good show.”

Kaillen snarled at his friend, and I muffled a laugh, but thankfully the vampire’s blatant interest in watching me have sex with my mate had dampened my arousal.

Still, I stepped closer to Kaillen and loved the feel of his heavy arm settling around my shoulders as he pulled me in. He did it as naturally as breathing. And that licorice fragrance had completely left his scent since we were once again on common ground.

“See, told you I could be an open book.” He gave me a crooked grin.

I snorted a laugh.

“Ready to go?” Kaillen called to his friends. “The hunt has officially begun.”

∞     ∞     ∞

The portal key dropped us onto a field just outside of the port city of Culasberee. Dusk had arrived, and the fae sun was sinking lower to the horizon. Since there were no electric or engine-powered vehicles in the fae realm, it was generally much quieter and more tranquil than earth, and Culasberee was no exception.

The air was filled with foreign bird calls as the wind whistled through a nearby grove of trees, and faint music floated to us from some distant region in the city.

Even though the day was ending, the sweeping field surrounding Culasberee was awash with color—moss, butternut, sapphire, cotton candy. The field was like a beautiful painted canvas.

Colors in the fae lands were always brighter and more vivid than on earth, and an underlying scent of magic perpetually floated through the air. Thanks to my newly enhanced werewolf senses, all of the field’s colors appeared sharper and magnetic somehow. And the fragrances erupting from the wildflowers, trees, and foliage tickled my nose with a million new aromas that I didn’t even know how to begin cataloguing.

“Such a lovely city, is it not?” Barnabas quipped.