“Keenan probably told her to spy on us.” Maili’s voice stood out from the rest, and Rika knew that if Maili came near, she would force the confrontation she’d wanted earlier. She probably wouldn’t don a glamour to appear human, so Rika would be left looking like she was swatting at empty air—or she’d have to endure an attack without reacting. Neither option sounded appealing.

Rika grabbed Jayce’s hands. “Can we go inside?”

“Inside where?”

Her gaze darted around. The only place nearby was a multilevel, tile-roofed, yellow-walled building where clusters of mortals were coming in and out. She pointed. “There.”

“Umm.”

“Please?” She stood and tugged so that he came to his feet beside her.

The faeries were almost too near now. Although Jayce couldn’t see them, he’d obviously noticed Rika’s tense posture and expression. He turned away to call out to Del and Kayley. “Hey.”

After a moment, his friends stopped kissing. Del, arms still around Kayley, answered, “What?”

“Dead Ends?”

Kayley shrugged and pulled farther away from Del. After they put their clothes to rights, Del and Kayley, each with an arm around the other, sauntered toward them. The couple was almost as bold as Summer Court faeries in their affection, and Rika couldn’t help but think that there were traits that were as much mortal as fey.

Together Rika and the three mortals walked to the door of the club. Del and Kayley seemed like they were trying to be polite to her, but they weren’t going out of their way to talk to her. Perhaps if she were someone else, their attitude would upset her, but considering how difficult she’d found even talking this slight amount, she was relieved by their feigned indifference. Plus, she’d watched them often enough to know that they weren’t truly indifferent; until they determined if she was staying, they simply didn’t see the need to bother getting to know her. They were Jayce’s friends, and he didn’t often date. He did have a lot of random conversations with girls he didn’t ever spend a second night hanging out with. There was no reason for his friends to think they’d see a girl who showed up out of nowhere again the next day. And they might not. She’d be there, but that didn’t mean they’d see her—they hadn’t the past few months despite how often she’d been with them.

In comfortable silence, they joined the small cluster of people outside Dead Ends. Like the rest of the town, the people here reflected an odd mix of styles. Some people were dressed in what Rika considered elaborate costumes, while others wore clothes as casual as Jayce’s were.