At least this was one thing I could do—try to not only find a killer, but stop him or her.

  But I was going to need help.

  I slipped my phone out of my pocket and called Poppy.

  “Fifi,” she answered after a ring and a half. “How are you? Are you okay? I heard about what happened at the haunted house and it’s just terrible.”

  And just like that, my throat closed up and tears burned the corners of my eyes. Poppy was just so nice. Still, while I appreciated her sympathy, none of what was happening was really about me. I cleared my throat, but my voice was still a little husky when I managed to squeeze some words out.

  “I’m okay, all things considered. I was actually calling for a… a favor.”

  “Of course. Anything.”

  “Thanks, Poppy.”

  “Did you want to come over?”

  “Are you… are you busy?”

  “Nah, Marty and Finn are just playing a video game, but I’m not doing much other than playing around with some new potions. Head on over.”

  It was funny. Before Roy and I had entered into whatever it was we were in (I was still hesitating to call it a relationship but after last night, I was pretty sure that’s what it was), just hearing Marty’s name would have hurt me, like the ache you get from pressing on an old bruise. Why? Because I’d had a crush on Marty for years.

  Marty was a good guy and a null, maybe he was even my friend, but the crush I’d been carrying around for the only guy who could never be taken in by my succubus allure, was gone. Which was really, really good, since he was dating Poppy. It was already awkward enough, me seeing Roy when he and Poppy had only broken up a few months ago. But she’d never said or done anything that showed she was upset about it. In fact, she’d been really supportive about the two of us being together and for that, I was really grateful. Poppy was definitely a good person, and I was so happy to call her my friend.

  “Thanks, Poppy. I have some things I need to take care of now, though.” I stood and dusted myself off with my free hand. “I was wondering if you still had Fox Aspen’s number.”

  “Fox Aspen,” she repeated, surprised. “I think so. Hang on a second.”

  I could almost hear the questions Poppy was holding back. I couldn’t blame her. Fox was a strange character who had blown into town maybe a year ago, helped stop Janara’s coup, and was gone again. But if I was going to get to the bottom of what had happened to Viviana, he was my best shot.

  Poppy texted me his contact information, and it beeped over the line.

  “There. I just sent his info over to you.”

  “Thanks, Poppy. I’ve got to run,” I continued, before she could get another word out.

  I winced, feeling like a jerk. I didn’t want to be rude to Poppy, she’d done a lot for me and I’d always be grateful to her for being the one who’d invented my repulsion potion, not to mention she was the one who made my supply. Without it, I’d still be getting mobbed on the regular by anyone with even a passing interest in women. That was the succubus way. With the potion, I actually had a shot at a normal life.

  But with everything going on, the less people knew about me talking to Fox, the better.

  I took a deep breath, and dialed his number, my pulse thrumming double time while I waited for him to pick up.

  Chapter Twelve

  The Next Day

  I pawed through my overstuffed closet, trying to figure out what in the world to wear to meet a Fae prince, because that’s exactly what Fox Aspen was.

  Even though he also worked as a detective of sorts, he was Fae royalty and he was also the intended of Taliyah, even though she didn’t know that yet. Actually, I wondered if that part of her memory had been returned to her? Or maybe she’d never known Fox was intended for her from the get-go?

  Hangers scraped across the bar with a metallic screech as I went through my choices again, but no new perfect outfit magically appeared since the last time I’d taken stock of my closet, more’s the pity. I made a face as I pulled something made almost entirely out of straps from the back of my closet and dropped it on the ground to donate later. Angelo must have put it in there, gods only knew why, because I would never wear something that looked like it was strung together with dental floss.

  I’d managed to get through to Fox the night before, but he hadn’t been able to meet with me right away. Without giving away too much information, just to be on the safe side, I’d somehow managed to convince him of the pretty severe urgency of the situation, and he’d promised he’d be in town by morning.

  I’d spent most of my night tossing and turning and staring up at my ceiling, wondering if this hadn’t just been the pinnacle of my horrible decisions I’ve made for the past few days. I thought I’d been doing the right thing, but that had been true when I’d revealed Taliyah’s secret, too. This was kind of a big one, though. Maybe even bigger than potentially zapping Taliyah’s brain by breaking the spell on her too early.

  Fox Aspen was the Prince of the Autumn Court of the Fae, so he was honor and duty bound to put Fae business at the top of his priorities. But he’d also become pretty tight with the leader of the Hunter Guild of America, and had been working closely with them for a long time now.

  So, while I desperately wanted to know if there was a hunter anywhere near the Hollow the night Viviana was killed, bringing Fox in might become an actual disaster, especially if enough people recognized him. Supernaturals weren’t exactly fond of hunters.

  “Ugh.” I slammed all the clothing hangers to one side and went through all the options again. I’d already messed things up for Taliyah pretty spectacularly, so it was only right that I helped to clean the mess back up. If I had to do some politicking, then so be it. Just because I hated it, didn’t mean I was bad at it.

  No one did dueling egos like demons.

  I figured I couldn’t go wrong with a little bit of flattery where Fox was concerned, so autumn colors were my best choice. I didn’t have a lot of options there, being pale with silver hair, I didn’t go for a lot of earthy tones. But I did have a nice sweater dress with a cowl neck in a red, the color of fallen maple leaves. It paired with some tasteful pale gold jewelry and some knee-high suede boots. Yes, it wasn’t exactly your average summer outfit, but I didn’t care. I had an Autumn prince I needed to impress, so I was going to do everything in my power to do just that. I finished the whole ensemble with some light makeup that felt a little bit like donning war paint, but there it was.

  ***

  By some minor miracle, I actually found some street parking along Main Street downtown (Haven Hollow’s tourist months were summer and fall—most specifically, right around Halloween). Fox had agreed to meet me at Stompers Creamery, the ice cream shop just down the block from Poppy and Wanda’s stores.

  I parked my 4Runner, and hurried up the street, heart feeling thick in my throat as I tried not to think about what I would do if Fox didn’t show up. Or if he did show up, but refused to help me. Or if his showing up then resulted in World War III in Haven Hollow.

  It wasn’t until I caught sight of a head of russet hair through the small gap of windows of Stomper’s Creamery, those not covered by posters for the big high school football game, that I realized I’d been holding my breath, and could finally release it.

  It wasn’t that I thought Fox had lied about showing up today, or that he was lying about taking me seriously. Fae couldn’t actually tell a falsehood. Of course, most of them could convince you the sky was green without ever explicitly stating it, but still. It was just that so many things had just gone so wrong lately that I was kind of clinging to my last few shreds of hope.

  The bells jangled cheerfully as I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Behind the counter, Stanley Stomper waved at me. He grinned, showing big blocky, horse-like teeth, which was a fitting comparison, considering he was a centaur. The little white soda jerk hat he always wore sat at a jaunty angle on top of his head.

  “Fifi! Good to see you.”

  Fox looked up at my name, and I smiled, raising my hand in greeting as Fox did the same. Then I turned to the counter to say hello and make small talk with Stanley as I also made my order—an extra strong coffee because I needed the added energy this morning.

  Fox already had some kind of sundae abomination sitting on the table in front of him which he was happily making his way through. I could barely see the ice cream through the whipped cream, candies, sprinkles, and brownie bits heaped on top of the decadent thing. Honestly, it looked like his sundae was more toppings than actual ice cream. He lifted a spoonful of pure sugar to his mouth, and my teeth ached just to watch him do it.

  From hanging out with Bea, I knew Faeries loved sugar in pretty much any form. But Fox Aspen was lucky he was Fae, because for anyone else, that bowl of glucose would keep a dentist busy for a solid year. Just looking at it made me want to run into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

  Instead, I continued to the front counter. It was tall enough, and glamoured to help hide the fact that Stanley, the owner and proprietor, was all horse from the waist down. Yep, he was a big bay stallion with a carefully groomed dark tail. Stompers did big business in the summer months, but Stanley made good use of his drive-through window at the side of the building so the tourists wouldn’t take note of him below-the-waist. As to the walk-ins? Stanley was glamoured to look human.

  Stanley grinned at me, looking genuinely pleased as he leaned forward, his hands on the counter. He’d really mastered the customer service smile. No matter how hard I tried, it always looked a little fake on me.

  “Just the coffee for you, Fifi?”

  I glanced over the ice cream quickly, not really in the mood but also not wanting to be rude if I didn’t order any of the sweet confection. Stanley was easily offended. “And, uh, can I get a scoop of the coffee ice cream, as well, please?”

  “No problem.” With a showy flip and a flourish, Stanley had my little red and white striped paper cup in my hand in about three seconds flat. The steaming cup of extra strong coffee was right behind it.

  I thanked him and headed for the booth in the corner, glancing around at the other patrons. What I wanted to discuss with Fox wasn’t something I wanted bandied about Haven Hollow. There was not only a supernatural gossip network in the Hollow, but it was also thriving.

  The place was pretty empty, which I had a feeling had something to do with Fox. With his Fae abilities, he could encourage humans to do whatever he wanted them to—it was a form of mind control, only less ‘control’ and more ‘suggestion’. Even now, two humans were just making their way out of the shop, ice cream in hand and clearly unfinished.

  I was grateful for his little trick. I didn’t want an audience and Fox had clearly already realized as much. So, now, it was just Fox and me, Stanley, and a young woman arguing with an older man on the opposite side of the building, father and daughter if I was hearing their not-quite-quiet-enough argument right. They seemed pretty wrapped up in whatever was going on over there so I wasn’t too concerned about them overhearing us. As to Stanley? He had slightly better than human hearing as a centaur, so as long as Fox and I kept our voices down, we were probably fine.

  The girl bickering with her father on the other side of the room actually looked familiar, for some reason. I frowned, trying to place her as I crossed the linoleum floors towards Fox, the heels of my boots clicking. It hit me then: she was the young succubus-to-be whom I’d seen trying to eat her date’s face at the haunted house when Roy and I had been standing in line. My heart gave a little sympathetic twinge as I remembered the time when I’d been coming into my own, trying to understand what being a succubus really meant.

  Those were rough years, when your powers just started coming on line. I wondered if that was the subject her father was arguing with her about. I could only imagine it would be doubly hard, having a parent that wasn’t supernatural. And the older man hit my radar as a mundane.

  I slid into the booth, careful not to spill my coffee, and smiled at Fox.

  “Thank you for coming to speak with me.”

  He took another spoonful of gummy worms and peanut butter chips, and I fought not to make a face. I needed his help, so I couldn’t afford to come off as judgmental about his, admittedly horrifying taste in desserts.

  “What is it that I can do for you, exactly, Seraphina?” Fox’s voice was low and smooth as velvet. I could feel it brushing along my spine, and I ruthlessly stomped down on a shiver. Only one man’s voice got to give me the tingle. I was a one-man succubus, whether my inner succubus liked it or not.

  I knew it would look extra suspicious if I glanced around, all furtive like I was in a bad spy movie, but I really didn’t want to be overheard. If our meeting became public knowledge, especially blown up to Godzilla size by the gossip circuit, it would be really, very not good for anyone involved, and a lot of people might end up upset or hurt.

  Stanley was at the other end of the counter, wiping things down. But I wouldn’t be able to see what the too sexy co-ed from the other night was doing without actually craning around in my seat to find out.

  Right then, her voice spiraled up in a way that made me a little worried for Stanley’s pretty glass ware.

  “-lie to me like that, Dad! That’s bullshit and you know it!”

  Sure, the pitch was eye-watering, but at least it meant she was probably too focused on her own fight to bother with paying attention to whatever was going on in my corner.

  “That juicy, huh?” Fox asked as I turned my attention back to him and found him smirking at me.

  “I just… don’t want anyone to hear us,” I whispered.

  “What’s going on?”

  I took a deep breath and leaned in closer as I whispered again, “We have yet another dead supernatural on our hands in the Hollow,” I said, pushing my ice cream around with my spoon and watching it start to melt. The coffee was still too hot to drink.

  “Okay, and?” Fox asked, sounding hurried and slightly impatient.

  “And our Chief of Police is a little…”

  “Olwen,” he said, clearly in the know that Taliyah was our chief of police.

  “Yeah,” I answered. “She’s under the weather.”

  It wasn’t exactly a lie, I thought, biting the inside of my cheek. It wasn’t a great idea to outright lie to the Fae, but considering the last I’d heard, Taliyah was hip deep in snow inside her house, ‘under the weather’ seemed like a fair enough assessment and a literal one, at that.

  “And what am I doing here now then?” Fox asked.

  “What I need from you, is an answer to a question and a favor.” I took a half a spoon full of coffee ice cream and popped it into my mouth. It was really good and made me wish I was in a better mood to appreciate it. Now, unfortunately, the only thing I could pay any attention to was the knot currently in my stomach.

  Fox arched a russet brow at me, and the smile that crept across his face was downright vulpine. “You can ask for a favor, if you like. But remember, the Fae don’t do anything for free. If I help you, I’ll need you to commit to a tithe.”

  Well, I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I definitely didn’t like the sound of it. I knew the Fae didn’t really help out of the goodness of their hearts. I mean, I’d read fairy tales. And while I knew the Brother’s Grim and stories like Tam Lin were as far off the mark about the Fae as the Wizard of Oz was about witches, the Fae definitely took their bargains seriously. I just wasn’t sure how the tithe system worked.

  Normally the idea of owing someone a solid didn’t bother me. But this seemed weirdly formal, and it made me hesitate. In the end though, what choice did I have? I needed Fox’s help, and I was pretty sure he knew that.

  “Okay,” I said, hoping he couldn’t hear the reluctance as I dragged out the word.

  “Then we’re in agreement?” Fox asked, just to be sure. I nodded, and he smiled even more broadly. “And what’s the favor you require?”

  I swallowed hard, wondering if there was some sort of cosmic contract uniting the two of us now. If so, it wasn’t as though I’d seen or felt anything. Pushing the thoughts to the back of my mind, I focused on Fox. “I need your help solving this murder case and, as part of that, I’ll need access to the mortician you have on retainer and I’m going to need… continued access.” Well, I’d need continued access for Taliyah’s sake—if she was going to keep her position as Chief of Police, which it seemed she had no intentions of giving up, she was going to need to have access to a coroner who focused on supernaturals.

  As to the coroner, I’d met the man once, and he’d struck me as bizarre, but I supposed anyone who specialized in dead supernaturals was going to be a bit odd, even for one of us. But Haven Hollow wasn’t the sleepy little town it had been when I’d first moved here. It seemed like it was getting more dangerous by the day, with murders and missing children, witch wars, even a serial killer. Taliyah was pretty much standing one woman against the world, trying to keep the chaos at bay, and I might have screwed up badly by breaking the spell on her too early, but if she wanted to stay Chief Morgan, then she was going to need all the resources she could get to solve the flood of supernatural crimes. Having access to such a coroner could give her a bit of a leg up.

  Fox’s golden eyes flicked over my face, and I felt a lot like a bug under a microscope. I fought not to squirm under the intensity of his gaze but found it difficult because he was in a word—handsome. Exceedingly so.

  Because I’d grown up with literal sex demons, a pretty face wasn’t usually anything that would turn my head. But Fox Aspen was on a whole other level, even with the spell he wore wrapped around him like a bespoke suit that kept him looking human for the masses. People sometimes talked about celebrities being ‘glamorous’—about how they have that little brush of something extra, something that makes people flock to them, admire them, worship them even. But the word ‘glamour’ originated with the Fae, and Fox had it on overload. Even hiding his power as carefully as he was, he had that extra something and then some—enough that if it were on full bore, he’d draw people to him like bees to a flower.