“I’ve set up a meeting for you with Prince Reynard tomorrow morning,” Bea said. Her voice sounded tight, almost strained over the line. It made the knot of anxiety in my gut churn a little harder.

  “Can we not call him by his royal title?”

  There was a quick pause. “Well, he is royal.”

  “Right, but he also goes by Fox Aspen, so can we call him that?”

  Another quick pause, then: “I’ve set up a meeting for you with Fox Aspen tomorrow morning.”

  I breathed in deeply, getting back to the gist of this whole meeting with Fox—something I was in no way prepared for. “Bea,” I started, half pleading. “Will you please just tell me what’s going on? I don’t understand why there needs to be all this… to do about me refusing to marry Fox. Shouldn’t that be enough—that I refused him and married someone else? I still fulfilled the stupid prophecy, I just did it in a way that didn’t rip my entire life away from me. Why is this such a big deal?”

  I couldn’t believe that wanting to keep my life, to preserve my sense of self, was such a terrible crime. Yet, Bea had been a good friend to me, and I didn’t like that my actions had upset her so much and there was clearly a gap in our friendship now.

  Bea let out a shaky breath, sending a little skitter of static over the line. “This is a matter between Winter and Autumn, Taliyah. And more than that, it’s a matter between royals. I can’t get in the middle of it—it’s just not… well, it’s not my place. I’m sorry. You’re going to have to discuss it with Prince Reynard, er Fox Aspen, if you want answers.”

  She hung up before I could press her any further, and I plunked my head down onto the table with a groan of frustration.

  I could have called her back. I could have gone over to her place and talked to her in person so she couldn’t hang up on me. Even thrown my weight around as the so-called Princess Olwen and demanded answers. But that would have all been a pretty crappy way to repay someone who’d gone out of her way to help me, even been a friend when I needed one. Besides, half the reason I’d dug my heels in so hard over everything was owing to the high-handed way that Fox had blown into my life and demanded everything he had. Suddenly trying to pull ‘more royal than thou’ on Bea was a shade of hypocrisy that was a little too far for me.

  And if I was being honest, which I always tried to be, I might have pushed harder if it weren’t for one thing. Bea hadn’t sounded annoyed, or even angry. She’d sounded scared. And I had no clue what to make of that.

  Whatever was going on, she was afraid to get into it. She didn’t have a royal title, she wasn’t Sidhe, and she didn’t have any allies from her own Spring Court that would have her back if things went sideways in a spectacularly messy way, which was looking more and more likely.

  She wanted to stay out of it, to protect herself. I would respect that.

  Of course, that didn’t stop me from lightly banging my head on the table a couple of times. I had to keep it quiet, though. I didn’t want my parents to come in, wondering if I’d suddenly decided to take up self-flagellation.

  I still had to pack a couple of bags for the boys. They were leaving in the morning to take a quick trip with my parents to meet the extended family in Portland before my parents left for Florida. I’d been meaning to take them to meet the family myself, but in light of all the faerie related bullshit my life had become lately, most of my time had been taken up in trying to keep the peace and learning how not to bury Haven Hollow in snow.

  I was just grateful that my parents and my sons were going to be out of the line of fire for a few days, because I was starting to get the feeling that whatever was coming, it was going to be ugly.

  I hauled myself up with a sigh and headed down the hall to the boys’ room. With the door opened just a crack, I could look through and see them sleeping, safe and sound in their beds. Sean was sprawled across the bottom bunk like a lizard, his blankets all twisted around him in a way that I would have found claustrophobic. Charlie was bundled up in the top bunk like a burrito. I could only see the top of his head, and the ears of his stuffed rabbit peeking out above the edge of his comforter. Seeing them sleeping soundly made something in my chest relax.

  I’d let them each pick out their own sheet set and comforter for the bunk bed—Sean had chosen to go with a Star Wars theme and Charlie had gone video gamer. Seeing them sleeping now reminded me of when I was much, much younger, and Cain and I had shared a room. We’d had our own bunk beds—very similar to these actually—and I remembered the debates we’d had over who should have the top bunk. The pillow wars had been epic.

  At the time, it had seemed like sharing a room with my brother was the worst and so unfair. When we’d moved to a bigger house and each gotten our own bedrooms, I’d been thrilled. Who knew that a few decades later, I’d think back to that innocent time and I’d miss sharing that space—not only that, but I’d really miss my brother.

  Cain might still be around, technically. But he was a ghost, who could only express himself through Darla’s body. I’d never be able to hug him, the real him, again. We’d never call each other, or meet up, just the two of us, to hash out some case one of us was working on. And one day, he’d move on again, and we wouldn’t even have the strange, broken telephone conversations we had now.

  I could feel tears starting behind my eyes and I had to blink them back because if I gave in, I knew what would be coming—a deluge. And not just about Cain. I’d already cried myself to sleep for months after I’d learned about his death.

  Part of my motivation for adopting the boys had been kind of an effort at paying it forward. The Morgans had taken me in and given me a home, a real family. They’d loved and supported me, and never made me feel like I wasn’t really their kid. I wanted to do the same. And I loved Sean and Charlie to pieces, they were every bit as much my family as Mom or Dad or Cain, or even Marty was. That was part of the reason all this faerie garbage had me so pissed off.

  The Winter and Autumn courts acted like I owed them something—like all that mattered to them was seeing Olwen take the crown. And now that I’d made my decision and taken a stand against them, I was actually terrified that in staying in the Hollow, refusing to play into their court intrigue garbage, that these new powers and so-called position were going to get my kids hurt. I was just too big a target and in not being able to control my powers, that was also a weakness. Not to mention the fact that the Fae had already proven themselves to be petty and vengeful. So, it wasn’t outside the scope of reality to assume they’d want their pound of flesh. And they probably also knew where to hit me the hardest—my children.

  If something actually happened to my boys, God help them all. I’d bury the world in winter.

  I took a step back and tugged the door shut quietly. Then I wiped away the frost imprint where my hand had been on the doorknob and reminded myself that it was a very good thing my parents and my children were leaving Haven Hollow for the foreseeable future. They’d be safer in Portland, especially because they’d be staying with relatives and I was fairly sure the Fae courts didn’t know the addresses of my extended family. I hoped not anyway.

  My phone rang, and I hurried back to the kitchen before I answered it, hoping the sound didn’t wake anyone in the house. As much as it irritated me sometimes, the Chief of Police was always on call. And if this was more faerie business, I wouldn’t want them to overhear the language I was about to use.

  “Chief Morgan,” I answered, not bothering to glance at the display. If they were calling at this time of night, it was probably important.

  “Hey, Taliyah… Sorry to bother you.”

  “Fifi,” I said in some surprise. “What’s up?”

  Fifi was a member of the Supernatural Council of Haven Hollow, and the town’s resident succubus. For a demon, she was a pretty nice person. Fifi had been the one to tell me who I was under a metric ton of faerie magic, which had accidentally broken my seal early.

  I appreciated what she’d done, even if I’d been pretty pissed at first (not at her, of course). I knew she’d been trying to help me, and had felt bad that everyone in town seemed to know who I was except for me. She hadn’t known my boys were adopted either, and she’d been worried about them coming into their powers as they aged, with none of us understanding what was going on. She’d definitely done me a solid and it was because of that that I considered her a friend, as much as I’d allow people to be close to me. Bea was right there too, but it was a superficial sort of friendship, no doubt owing to the fact that it was very difficult for me to let people get close to me. Maverick was really the only one I’d allowed in and even then, I hadn’t fully allowed him in.

  But back to Fifi and the fact that she’d told me the truth before I was meant to know, in breaking the seal before it was set to fade away on its own, that was probably the exact reason why I’d remained myself, that I’d maintained my hold on Taliyah, instead of being overwritten with Olwen’s memories. At least that was Fox’s theory.

  And if that was the case, I really needed to send Fifi a fruit basket or something.

  Fifi sighed over the line. “I’m really sorry, Taliyah. I know it’s the holidays and I’m sure you’re busy but there’s been a noise complaint over on Mabon Avenue.”

  I blinked, taken aback. Whatever I’d thought she’d been calling about, this wasn’t it. Why would Fifi call me about something as somewhat insignificant as a noise complaint, especially when it didn’t sound like she was the one complaining? “I’m actually off tonight, Fifi. The other officers at the precinct can handle it.”

  “Unfortunately, they can’t,” Fifi said, sounding even further apologetic. “It’s a bachelor party full of Incubi, and each of them is capable of seducing the pants off damn near anyone. The station already sent out an officer, and I’m pretty sure they have his pants already. One of my cousins definitely leans that way. And if they all get wild enough, their pheromones will start leaking into the neighborhood, and then we’ll have a real situation on our hands.”

  Son of a bitch. I blew out a breath. “Yeah, okay. I’ll handle it.”

  “Thanks, Taliyah. Sorry again.”

  Fifi hung up, and I stuffed my phone back into my pocket before heading to my room to get dressed in my uniform. Somehow, I didn’t think my slouchy red and green sweater covered in little reindeer was going to lend me the authority I’d need to get a pack of horny Incubi to rein it in for the night.

  That was the only good part about the whole seal breaking and finding out I was Fae thing. At least I was in the know now. I wasn’t on the outside anymore, like Cain had been when he was alive, thinking there was some shadow conspiracy moving chess pieces behind the scenes. Now I knew for sure there was a shadow conspiracy, but that it was all people just trying to live their lives, and keep themselves safe while they did so. I couldn’t imagine having to deal with an Incubus party without knowing what they were. Just having to walk in, totally blind and unprotected, like one of my poor deputies apparently had.

  I’d encountered plenty of out of line bachelor parties before, the human kind at least, and I knew just how obnoxious a bunch of men could be when in a group and drunk. They didn’t take kindly to being told to rein it in. And that was without the added bit about being demons. And the demon part of the equation meant I’d need some backup. Furthermore, I couldn’t take anyone with me who couldn’t protect themselves…

  I finished shrugging on my jacket before grabbing my phone and calling Maverick, who I already knew would be up at this hour. He was a night owl and then some.

  He answered before the second ring. “Miss me already?”

  “I need your help,” I said tersely as I clipped my badge onto my belt.

  “My help?”

  “I need backup.”

  All the teasing vanished from his tone. “What’s going on?”

  “Bachelor party full of Incubi are getting a little rowdy for their neighbors. Also, I might need to rescue the first officer who was sent to deal with the noise complaint.”

  “I’ll meet you there,” he said. “What’s the address?”

  I gave him the address Fifi had sent me, and he hung up without saying goodbye.

  I stopped in the living room long enough to ask my mom (who had apparently heard me and woken up) to keep an ear out for the boys, before I headed out to my cruiser.

  Incubus or not, a party full of rowdy guys was something I knew how to handle.

  I plugged the address into my GPS and headed out into the night.

  Chapter Nine

  Maverick was waiting for me when I pulled up in front of the unassuming house in one of the further out suburbs of Haven Hollow.

  As soon as I opened the cruiser’s door, I got slapped in the face with a wave of musk and the ash of concentrated sex magic that caused my lip to curl up in distaste.

  I’d felt it once before, months back when Fifi’s brother Angelo had tried to put the moves on me. He’d only tried it once, lucky for him. His sex magic just didn’t have the same potency any longer, now that I was coming into my own powers, so that was one small blessing out of this otherwise huge pile of crap.

  As I started for the driveway, Maverick straightened up from his slump against the driver’s side door of his car. He fished a little vial of something out of his jacket, popped the cork, and rubbed a little bit of the liquid inside his wrists, and then, strangely, under his eyes.

  “What’s that?” I jerked my chin towards the half-empty vial.

  “It’s a de-lusting oil.”

  I looked at him. “Um, is there something you want to tell me? I thought we were walking into a house full of dudes?”

  He raised one brow at me. “I’m not into guys, Tally,” he said in the voice of a disappointed parent. “But if an Incubus is trying hard enough, they can still be distracting, and I’d rather just skip that whole song and dance.” He offered me the vial. “You want some?”

  I thought about it, but in the end, I shook my head. While the sex magic that was leaking out of the house and into the air surrounding it was irritating, the smell of Maverick’s potion was almost worse. It was like trying to breathe in an elevator with someone who didn’t understand that perfume was meant to be dabbed on, not applied with a power washer. Though, I wondered if Maverick’s potions were something I could stock for my deputies to use. I wasn’t sure how I’d explain that I needed them to slap on some perfume samplers before they went out on the streets, though.

  “I actually think I can handle whatever they’re going to sling at me,” I said with a shrug as I motioned to the house.

  Maverick took me at my word and popped the cork back into the top of the vial, slipping it into one of the little pockets inside his coat. “It must be your new abilities as a Faerie Queen coming online.”

  “I’m actually just a princess.” Even saying the title made my lips screw up like I’d bitten into something sour. “To be a queen, I’d need to get myself coronated.”

  I left the implied ‘over my dead body’ as subtext, but from the way Maverick’s lips twitched, he heard it loud and clear.

  “Be that as it may,” he said with surprising diplomacy. “You are high Sidhe, one of the Fae royalty. That means you’re going to be a tough one to bespell.”

  I turned to stalk up the driveway, with Maverick falling in at my back. “Well, that’s one good thing about my condition then,” I muttered. “Basically, the only good thing.”

  The sounds of the party were spilling down the driveway and into the neighborhood. I was able to hear the cacophony the second I’d opened my cruiser door. Men’s laughter, cheering, and music with a steady, pulsing bass note to it that sounded like a throbbing heartbeat. No wonder the neighbors were pissed. If the music hadn’t kept them awake, then the pervasive musk of sex magic spilling into the night would.

  I rapped three times on the door before I thought to myself that Maverick was right—I did knock like a cop. There was no response from inside, other than another swell of raucous laughter. Maverick did his thing with the booming knock, but it was ignored too.

  My temper crackled underneath my skin, and I had to suck in a careful breath before I froze the front of the entire house. When there was a dip in the music, I raised my voice to call through the door.

  “Open the door, or I will break it down.”

  I would have, too. Hell, I might have even enjoyed it. After the past few days I’d had, I deserved a little mayhem.

  Apparently, the Incubi inside heard the annoyance in my tone, because not five seconds later, the door opened. A blonde Incubus draped himself artfully across the doorway, looking me up and down like I was some sort of sugar confection. I’m sure he was trying to draw my attention to his bare chest, and the undone button of his jeans, but I kept my eyes on his face, hoping he could see in my expression just how very unimpressed I was with this entire situation.

  The Incubus leered, looking at me through his eyelashes. “We ordered a faerie stripper to show up in a naughty nurse outfit, not a cop. But if you wanna leave the clothes at the door, I’m sure we can still find a spot for you.” Then he looked past me at Maverick who was standing just behind me. “And him too.”

  The urge to punch the guy right in his perfect nose rose up inside me like a winter storm, sudden and brutal, but I forced the feeling back down. Instead, I smiled, though it was really more a quick baring of teeth, something a wolf might do before it ripped someone’s throat out. Too bad the Incubus was too busy staring at my chest for him to see the expression on my face. I flashed my badge, making sure he got a good look. At least he wasn’t so drunk that he didn’t recognize the real thing, because a little frown formed between his brows. He blinked a few times, like he was trying to think of something to say. I saved him the trouble.

  “I’m the Chief of Police for Haven Hollow, and if you and your friends don’t cut the racket, I’m going to have you all arrested.”

  The Incubus blinked, clearly not sure how to react. I was betting he wasn’t the brains of the party. I opened my mouth to help his limping thoughts along, when a familiar laugh from inside stopped me cold.